Good inspiration can come from anywhere.

As the kitchen from my dream job is features on Hooked on Houses. I take a moment to look back, and remember the process that brought it to fruition. I remember many years ago while on a business trip watching "Practical Magic". Now any movie with a great Victorian house usually pulls me in whether the plot is good or not. I'm focused on the unsung character, the house itself. I'm a guy so that hunting instinct is strong. I hunt for things. The perfect light fixture, paint color, pattern, you name it. Sitting there in my hotel room watching that movie. I found the perfect period kitchen. I logged away the details. gather pictures of it as reference. Storing up the information to make that kitchen for myself one day. When this dream job came to me. It was the perfect opportunity to pull that file out as reference. But as the design process It was my intention to change it here and there to make it unique to this project. It became clear as I tried to make alterations that nothing was as good as the original. Now, I live by the motto that good inspiration can come from anywhere, even a movie. I was inspired to the point that I couldn't mess with perfection. We made every effort to capture the spirit of that fabulous kitchen. Alteration had to be made to fit the space and layout of the house. We went as far as to create what looks to be a converted porch for the dining area just to give us the opportunity to do that great pass through area. The large wood work table was designed and built to our specifications. It took 6 men to move it into place. Despite its weight it was designed to be rotated 90 degrees to make it into a great serving buffet for large gathering. I was very specific on where the lights were to be hung. so that when the table was moved in this way the light fixture was still centered over the table. I'm funny that way. The granite counter tops proved to be a challenge. We wanted the look of the old marble with out the stain ablitiy of marble. I think we found the perfect piece of stone. I selected the slabs myself. The tile proved to be a challenge too. I found what looked to be an exact match to that in the movie. The problem was the price was that of a Hollywood production too. The final selection fit the bill. the color was perfect and it had an aged crackle to it. You have to agree that the AGA range truly ages this kitchen. There was never a question as to what range we would use. It is the heart of that kitchen, and a warm heart at that. That range is constantly warm. It took three days to warm that puppy up to service ready temperatures. The appliances are hidden, with good reason. A visible microwave or DW would spoil the illusion here. The Sub zero, although easy to hide, finding the icebox hardware was not. I found many antique sets that held an antique price. I ultimately had to find reproductions, but the color was the problem. Everything new came in bright shiny brass. A few dips in the acid and some faux painting wizardry and they looked "old". Worth the effort I think. I regret to say that the cabinet company that created the cabinets is no more. The owner retired after this project. We are not sure if this project put him over the edge or if he in fact wanted to retire. I'm sure that I gave them heart burn on more than one occasion. I was very picky about the cabinets. I had them construct a prototype, (which I kept for myself) so that I could make any changes before they went into full production. I can't express the importance of a prototype on a project like this. It was invaluable for tuning everything to be perfect. Working out every milling profile, the placement of the hinges, the height and location of the mullions and so on. As you can see, the million little decisions that had to be made and coordinated brought this beautiful kitchen into being. It truly is a jewel in my career crown even if every little detail was not a creation of my own. I had plenty of other opportunities to flex that creative muscle elsewhere in this house. Thank you Julia for thinking of my project. and for supplying me with my daily house fix. Someday maybe I will be wealthy enough to hire you to write my text for these things. Writing is not my forte. http://www.oviattpratt.com/