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kitchen design Debbie and Bryan’s new 21st century kitchen.

A New Kitchen For Serving Two or Two Hundred

By Sarah Gleim

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sk any homeowner who has ever been without one for Clive Christian, worked with the couple on redesigning the and they would most certainly attest that a well- kitchen. “Their home felt like an English manor,” she says. “The designed kitchen is essential to keeping a family kitchen was a complete misfit in this home.” Originally, Debbie functional. But that sentiment is doubly true for a wanted to replace only the kitchen cabinets, but she was eventufamily that relishes in the art of entertainally persuaded to change the layout of the ing, even if the “family” is a couple of kitchen, although the room’s main footempty-nesters who are more often than print essentially stayed the same. “The not simply entertaining each other. biggest difference is that we removed a That was certainly the case for homecounter peninsula that divided the room owners Debbie and Bryan, whose passion between the kitchen and the breakfast for entertaining was the driving force table area,” Verta says. By placing the behind having their kitchen brought up to breakfast table in an adjoining sunroom 21st century standards. “The kitchen was and eliminating the peninsula, the kitchthe original 1979 kitchen,” says Debbie. en space doubled in size, allowing ample The Shaws farmhouse “We still had the original white Formica room for a large island. fireclay sink counters. It was very stark.”

Debbie says, “I cook dinner for Bryan complements the Old World feel of this home.

The couple was already in the process and myself regularly, and now the flow of building on a master suite addition, so of the kitchen makes moving around a they decided it was the best time to go forward and remodel the lot easier. It also makes serving food much easier and the island kitchen as well. To achieve this goal, the homeowners called upon is a great prep area. I really like having my tools at my finger Clive Christian, a premier British kitchen company that recently tips.” Aside from ease of use, Debbie’s biggest priority was to opened a showroom in Atlanta. Heather Verta, Design Director have enough oven space for when she entertains large groups.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HAIGWOOD; PHOTO STYLING BY HEATHER VERTA, CLIVE CHRISTIAN KITCHENS FLOWERS BY LE JARDIN FRANCAIS, MARIE-LAURE COSTE DUJOLS, FLORAL & GARDEN, ATLANTA

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Debbie’s new center island adds functionality to the kitchen.

Built-in cabinetry appears freestanding when stopped short of the ceiling.

“We like to have large holiday parties and entertain at home for friends, so oven space was always a problem,” Debbie says.

To ensure she would have enough oven space to cook for 2 or 200, she opted for a freestanding stainless steel Wolf gas range/ oven combo and a pair of cabinet-mounted stainless steel Wolf convection ovens. Debbie says, “All three ovens are really big and wide so I can fit large pans inside. They also provide two different heat sources - both gas and electric.”

The couple was able to re-use their existing double door SubZero refrigerator; it was simply re-paneled to match the new Clive Christian-designed custom cabinetry. Verta comments, “One unique aspect of the cabinetry is that it isn’t built all the way to the ceiling. Many people feel that their cabinets must go to the ceiling when it is 8-feet high, but by making the cabinets a bit shorter, a wonderful shadow line is created along the ceiling, assisting with the impression that the cabinetry is freestanding.

This ‘unfitted’ look is usually desirable when trying to create an Old World feeling. The newly installed cabinetry was then hand painted by Clive Christian artists who antique and soften the corners of the cabinetry to give the impression that the kitchen is original to the home and has been painted over many times.”

To continue the English manor theme, the homeowners chose a Shaws farmhouse fireclay sink, which Fine details was handmade in England. add a luxurious quality to They were also able to salcabinetry. vage the kitchen’s original limestone floor, which simply required replacing a few missing tiles. For added elegance, Italian marble countertops in Calacatta Borghini continue up the wall and along the kitchen’s backsplash, creating a clean, seamless look. Even though marble is much more porous than are traditional stone countertops such as granite, Debbie says she couldn’t be more pleased with her choice. “We sealed the marble three times to protect it, so it will be fine,” she says.

Given that the couple has already hosted five wedding parties and their own daughter’s wedding reception since the renovation was completed, the kitchen’s design—both functionally and aesthetically—has been put to the test. Debbie says, “We are just thrilled with this new space.” Anyone visiting the home for the first time would never know that the kitchen was brand new. It now seamlessly complements this gracious home.

Winter 2004

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STYLE

WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY

CLINTON SMITH Ç PHOTOGRAPHED BY

ERICA GEORGE DINES

THE DINING ROOM OF MARIELAURE COSTE DUJOLS AND THIBAUT DEVILLARD IS BOTH RUSTIC AND CHIC. OPPOSITE: COSTE DUJOLS, AT HOME, IN A GARDEN OF HER OWN DESIGN WITH HER WEIMARANERS CHLOE AND EMMA. THE BISTRO TABLE, PEA GRAVEL PATHS AND CLIPPED BOXWOOD EVOKE THE LANDSCAPE OF THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.

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DESIGN DOSSIER

MARIE-LAURE COSTE DUJOLS This French-born, Atlanta-based floral designer and events planner brings a European sensibility to work and life

For Marie-Laure Coste Dujols, flowers are all in a day’s work. One day she can be called upon to conceptualize the design scheme for a wedding while the next has her finalizing details for a rustic kitchen garden or selecting plants for a more formal boxwood parterre. But when she’s not on site with one of her projects, Coste Dujols can be found at her bucolic Riverside compound along the city’s western edge that she shares with her husband, Thibaut Devillard. There, she and Devillard—with whom she also works—raise exotic chickens and quail.

And, during summer months, they tend to their organic vegetable gardens, bursting at the seams with more than 30 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

In between working on her own projects around the house as well as those that are work-related (her atelier is located on the property), Coste Dujols is also readying a new retail venture—think Parisian-style floral shop—that’s slated to open later this summer in one of Atlanta’s hottest shopping areas. (Complete details can be found later this month at blog.atlantahomesmag.com).

Meanwhile, Coste Dujols and her team continue to create the striking floral designs—both contemporary and traditional— for which her firm is known,

filling some of Buckhead’s most gracious homes and the city’s top businesses (like The Four Seasons Hotel). For Coste Dujols, it’s all in a day’s work.

WHEN I GET AN UNEXPECTED DAY TO MYSELF…if I don’t have enough time to go to the mountains, I hike with the dogs along the river at Cochran’s Mill near Palmetto, where Thibaut and I got married the first time around!

MY FAVORITE MUSEUMS ARE…the Rodin Museum in Paris, the Dali Museum in Barcelona, the gardens of the Getty in Los Angeles—and many, many gardens.

MY HOME REFLECTS…who I am and the way I live. I’ve brought a bit of the French countryside to a Georgia bungalow!

MY FAVORITE PLACE FOR QUIET CONTEMPLATION IS…my chicken

coop and my vegetable garden.

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO MOST IS…my husband, my mother and

my good friend Hardy.

MY FAVORITE WAY TO ENTERTAIN AT HOME IS…to cook for friends—

large pool parties or intimate dinners in our garden.

THE ONE PLACE IN ATLANTA I ALWAYS TAKE GUESTS IS…for a quick lunch at Star Provisions and casual dinners at JCT Kitchen. If we have time, we head to Serenbe.

MY SIGNATURE COLOR IS…white, white, white and blue-gray.

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STYLE (profile) this page, clockwise from left Coste Dujols likens the Sebright chicken’s white feathers, outlined in chocolate brown, to a Chanel suit. Coste Dujols in her organic garden. She and her husband, Thibaut, cultivate shiitake mushrooms. The quail eggs are collected from birds kept on the property. opposite Chickens in their swanky coop. Floral designs by Coste Dujols. Returning from the garden with her two sidekicks and a basket full of organic goodies. Coste Dujols is the South’s exclusive distributor of cocoa shell mulch, which retains moisture better than other mulches. Plus, it lasts longer and smells better (yes, like chocolate). The shells come off of the beans during the roasting process.

MY FAVORI∏ES throughout the seasons and from my travels to beautiful old places.

FAVORITE TABLE LINENS:

MY PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL

Chanel and Dior, because some of my chickens wear Chanel’s suits and Dior’s coiΩe!

FAVORITE DINNERWARE: Anything very old and simple FAVORITE FLOWER: Hellebores FAVORITE MUSIC: Right now I’m going through an MIG phase. I listen to a lot more French artists since I moved to Atlanta; I guess it’s nostalgia—and my husband is not happy about it!

FAVORITE WINE: I really love red Burgundies for their finesse, enjoy the South African Sauvignon Blancs and I buy a lot of organic wines.

MOMENT CAME WHEN…

MY FAVORITE SHOPPING SPOTS

THE ONE BEAUTY PRODUCT I

FOR CLOTHING ARE…in Parisian

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IS…my Dr.

The Four Seasons Hotel asked me for Le Jardin Francais’ services exclusively.

boutiques and thrift stores.

Hauschka Rose face cream.

THE PLACE I LOVE TO TRAVEL IS…

WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW

MY SUNDAY ROUTINE…is to read

ABOUT ME IS…I hate anything

on the sofa, with the windows open, while my husband makes crêpes for breakfast.

Then I go down to the garden to visit my chickens.

the South of France; I have to go, religiously, once a year to resource myself. And 10 years ago we discovered the unspoiled beauty of North Captiva Island, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. There is something magical about this place—no cars, no restaurants, no shopping, just beautiful private homes on an almost-deserted island, where nature is still very untouched and wild.

new. I love to knit, I have chickens and quail, and I grow shitake mushrooms.

THE CAR I DRIVE IS…a Ford 150 pickup that everyone says is too big for me.

I GET MY BEST INSPIRATION FROM…observing nature

THE FIRST THING I SEE WHEN I WAKE UP…are my dogs and cats

who sneaked on the bed during the night, then my husband—if he’s not already gone—and then the birds and trees that surround our bedroom windows.

Linen and burlap FAVORITE FASHION DESIGNERS:

FAVORITE ARTISANAL FOOD:

Saucisson—it’s like a countrystyle dry sausage—as well as sheep’s and goat cheeses FAVORITE ARTIST: I’m drawn to artwork from many diΩerent periods. I love nudes, too many to list—from Ingres and Rodin to Man Ray—but I also like the work of several small unknown artists. Locally, I think Todd Murphy’s work is brilliant.

FAVORITE FURNITURE STYLE:

Country French antiques MARIE-LAURE COSTE DUJOLS LE JARDIN FRANCAIS, (404) 792-1680; LEJARDINFRANCAIS.COM

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