Kitchen is a "Joy" to cook in! June '07 feature

Carol Morrow of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, wanted her new Charles Lantz kitchen to reflect the style and age of her 1925 home. "I didn't want a reproduction," she notes, "I wanted to be respectful of the house, but fully functional."

Carol is a graduate of Sheridan College's three year diploma program from the School of Craft and Design (ceramics).

As the creator of Delectile - beautiful handmade tiles and a participant in the Lunenburg Craft Show and Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council Christmas Market, she has a discerning eye.

She chose Charles Lantz Cabinetry to bring her vision to life. "This kitchen is a joy to cook in," she declares with satisfaction.

The original kitchen presented some challenges to the design process - not the least being the room housed no less than five doors and two windows. The uncomfortably low sink was in the pantry and the pantry was behind a wall that chopped a good sized chunk off the kitchen.

After 40 or so drafts, Carol was content. "Charles took my pictures and made them real," she says. " He had a couple of suggestions that were very good. Dana Tanner did the building."

Photo below shows a popular Charles Lantz Cabinetry feature that makes use of limited space. Now you see the mini pantry . . .

. . . and now, you don't!

The pantry wall was removed, enabling the new kitchen a good growth spurt. The painted Shaker style cabinets and their detailed features well suits the house. One of Carol's "favourite" features removes the compostables from view - cleanly and efficiently hiding them under the counter - with easy access to the container from the counter.

The photos to the left show the upper and lower cabinets in one corner of the kitchen. Note the use of glass doors to create a lovely accent. The photos below show a well-designed storage system.

"All this storage," Carol says with enthusiasm, "and I can get to it!"

Can she ever - thanks to this remarkable, fully accessible use of storage space. The two-stage shelving unit is smoothly pulled out once, then again further - bringing the heavy mixing bowls and pans into reach, eliminating the need for Carol's least favourite kitchen shelving unit, the Lazy Susan!

She played a large part in her kitchen decor - hand crafting thousands of tiles - each one different - to be used in the back splashes. The design is inspired by a traditional quilting pattern: Cathedral Windows.

Photos below, from left:Carol isn't the only one happy with her Charles Lantz Cabinetry kitchen - one look at her thriving orchids and it's obvious they are too; Cabinet doorknobs bring a shell collection to the kitchen; This photo shows a sample of CLC detail work that enhances the retro look; Of the thousands of tiles Carol Morrow created for her own back-splash, this is her favourite.