Heavy Metal

Elevating the home kitchen to a new level of cool.

By Elyse Glickman

For years, everyone, from homeowners to real estate agents and interior designers, credit the kitchen as the proverbial heart of every home. It's a place for food preparation, informal dining, food storage, office space and a study hall for those with kids.

With so much time spent in the kitchen, veteran interior designer Richard T. Anuskiewicz is a proponent of upgrading and gracefully camouflaging the exteriors of the appliances to stretch the room’s versatility. Anuskiewicz is the creative director for Monogram Designer Collection, which debuted at the 2023 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. Refined metals, materials and customizable elements result in statement-making pieces that finish the kitchen’s look—much in the way fine jewelry enhances the wearer.

“We bring something different to the equation that elevates the look of the kitchen and responds to what people now expect from their appliances,” Anuskiewicz says.

“We wanted to disrupt the luxury home space with the first-ever custom 96-inch-high refrigeration panels that run floor to ceiling, along with custom hoods and handles allowing consumers to personalize their appliances. Each component is designed with a tailored, refined style and proportions that result in a more personalized kitchen.”

Anuskiewicz notes two different aesthetics, forged from brass and titanium, provide the foundation for an elevated kitchen. The Brass Collection features gold and polished hues rooted in classical architecture that work in traditional or antique decor schemes. The Titanium Collection is a more modern luxury aesthetic based upon “the art of reductionism,” with sleek lines and dark-charcoal muted tones. The accents on the doors for both collections are crafted from sustainably sourced leather and brass.

“The door panels don’t play a role in energy efficiency of the appliance, as they are affixed to the outside of the refrigerator door,” he details, addressing some clients’ questions about sustainability and the value the upgrades could add to their homes.

“Each piece of the collection is made to order, so there is less waste in the manufacturing process,” he says. “Furthermore, the interior elements of the refrigerator were designed with a sustainable mindset, including metal and glass components instead of plastic, and LED lighting allowing for easy viewing of the contents.

The hardware is wrapped in Greenguard Gold Certified durable leather, which certifies that it meets industry standards for low chemical emissions.”