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Georgia Kukoski says she’s always loved designing pantries for her clients and was thrilled to have the opportunity to design a walk-in pantry for herself.
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“When you downsize, you’ve got to look at space differently,” Kukoski says. “In our old house, we only used the kitchen island for cooking; here we use it for a lot more.”
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The kitchen before renovation
When it came time for Georgia Kukoski and her husband, Mark, to downsize after their children went off to college, they moved back into the house in Westbury Estates where Kukoski lived before their marriage. Working with Charlie Shade of C.L. Shade Drafting on the overall design plan, they also brought in Kathy Corbet of Kathy Corbet Interiors to consult and help with sourcing.
After identifying the areas of their home that they used the most, they went room by room to evaluate their potential to be used in multiple ways.
Kukoski, a designer for Closet Factory, became her own client and got to work. She and Mark went through all the cabinets in their former kitchen and pantry and planned where each item would be located in their new home. This ensured that all drawers and cabinets were utilized and functional.
The kitchen is open to the rest of the living space, so they opted for a Sonoma accented tile wall designed by Stacy Garcia instead of upper cabinets. Lower cabinets by Perimeter are painted in Sherwin Williams Lazy Gray with Vicostone engineered-quartz countertops in Blue Savoy. Stainless-steel appliances by Thermador complete the modern look.
With no dining room, meals are served at the large island, which offers additional storage and serves as a multipurpose workspace for organizing and working on home projects.
Once the kitchen was completed, it was time for Kukoski to design and organize the pantry. Working with cabinets from Closet Factory, she chose Storm Melamine with Arctic Groovz backing on the doors and drawer faces. With the pantry being an area that can be multifunctional, it was designed to store not only food items, but also small appliances and china. A countertop inside the pantry makes room for an espresso maker and a Vitamix, which frees up counter space in the kitchen.
