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The kitchen island is a mixed-media sculpture created from industrial and organic materials.
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Spanning from floor to ceiling, the chalice structure supporting the ovens introduces a circular form that is echoed in the island sculpture, lending the space cohesion.
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With laminated layers of acrylic, wood, resin, stainless steel and paint, the wall cubbies are individual parts that form a seamless whole. Cabinetmaker David Sleightholm made his own sheet stock for the panels, sandpapering each piece to achieve the correct shadow line. The diagonal striped panels lining the interior of each individual box add another layer of visual complexity to the composition. The walls were handpainted by Diane Sink Williams of Art to Di For.
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Back-painted glass cabinetry in white by Custom Kitchens Inc. creates a subtle sheen that bounces light around the room. The hand-painted walls are by Art to Di For.
The homeowners who commissioned this custom kitchen don’t cook. But their hunger for original art serves up a feast for the eyes.
The project required a singular team. Kathy Corbet of Kathy Corbet Interiors, Kyle and Carter Hendrick of Custom Kitchens Inc., and David Sleightholm of Sleightholm Arts shared one goal: Make it extraordinary.
Corbet, a Richmond decorator with roots in fashion, is known for collaborating with artisans to source unique materials.
The Hendrick brothers, vice presidents and part of the third generation of family-owned Custom Kitchens, provided general contracting, coordination with the project’s contributors and the technical fluency to make the vision structurally sound.
Sleightholm, a Maryland-based mixed-media artist, had a long-standing relationship with the homeowners. He says his superpower is seeing what isn’t there and coming to the table with multiple solutions.
In this kitchen, Sleightholm’s eye went first to the wall ovens. A standard cabinet would have divided the room, blocking sightlines. Instead, he designed a vessel to cradle the appliances. The chalice form rises from the floor to encapsulate the wood-clad double ovens before meeting the ceiling. Programmable lighting changes character by the hour.
The island echoes the chalice shape but rotated on its side. Its three sections include a stainless steel structure, a glass-topped prep area and a moveable desk. The sculpture unites metal, glass, wood, brick and felt in a single composition. One end bristles with industrial references suggesting motion: nosecone, gear, propeller. On the other, an ethereal, anemone-like element by renowned Dutch Canadian felt artist Marjolein Dallinga floats beneath a brick arch.
The storage cubbies appear to roll out of the wall — an illusion built from painstaking joinery and handmade sheet stock. Sleightholm compares the craftsmanship to a live drumming performance. A synthesizer can replicate the sound, but not the experience.
The room’s finishes allow the art to take the lead. Clean white cabinetry, hand-painted walls that shift subtly from silver to gold, dark wire-brushed wood floors and a marbled ceiling create a space that suggests travel, architecture and museums.
In this visual feast, collaboration was the secret ingredient. “It took many amazing people to make this project work,” Corbet says.
Sleightholm agrees. “I wanted my work to look good and elevate everyone else’s.”
