Recalling a Braque or Klee painting in tone, with ultra-sophisticated touches throughout, the Asheville-area kitchen of Michael and Marsha Shlaer is a monument to modern done right. “Marsha was the driving force behind the whole project, including the unique concrete tops from Hardcore Concrete, down to the type of recycled glass incorporated into the island top,” reveals artisan Craig Weis of Architectural Woodcraft.
Weis and his crew installed the seal-sleek, minimalist cabinetry, using rift-sawn oak with a gray wash stain. The same look, a marvelous matte glamour, surfaces in Architectural Woodcraft’s showpiece oval island, embedded with a stream of harmonious bits of colored glass. Meanwhile, the bar (per Michael) was topped with Australian cypress.
A grid of exposed low beams, dark and crisp and geometric, proves that this feature is not only for rustic-look homes. Horizontal savvy happens again in the spare built-ins above the sink: The expected backsplash is replaced by display shelves for pottery and sculpture. Underneath, the sink is crowned by a dramatically modern goosehead faucet.
Low pendant lighting over the island, while offering a burnished glow, is nowhere near traditional; instead, its look of mighty minimalism reflects the room’s overall style. The floor is gasp-worthy, a specially stained concrete. Shlaer worked with her painter to create the dramatic swirled scheme, using colors that begin in the foyer and repeat throughout the main floor. Grays, greens, and aqua segue from the living area to the kitchen — where, she says, “the floor [also] picks up the colors of glass embedded in the concrete counters” — and then into the bedroom and study, “where warm rust and bronze predominate.” The flow winds into the master bath, done in a palette of soft browns and ambers. In the kitchen and living areas, Benjamin Moore’s mild “Crisp Khaki” was used on all walls, letting the splashier colors predominate.
The easygoing Weis was unfazed by what Shlaer calls her many “artistic lightbulbs.”
“Working with Craig was such a treat,” she says. “I would have an idea, and he could run with it.”
RESOURCES
Architect: John D. Rogers, Rogers/Chenevert Architects
Contractor: Beverly-Grant
Cabinetry: Craig Weis, Architectural Woodcraft *
Countertops: Hardcore Concrete Designs
Chairs: Sourced by Traci Kearns, Alchemy Design Studio
Fixtures and Hardware: Bella Hardware & Bath *