Someone's in the Kitchen With ...

Kathy Grey is at work in her design studio and showroom Hunt Country Kitchen & Bath in Marshall.

Photo by Vicky Moon

Jett, an elegant Afghan Hound, is Kathy Grey’s constant companion at home and at the office.

Photo courtesy

By Vicky Moon

Kathy Grey has a lifelong love of cooking.

“I watched by grandmother make scalloped potatoes and memorized it,” Grey recently recalled, adding that she also often observed her grandmother making hot fudge from scratch.

She also has a penchant for design and eventually attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in her hometown of Los Angeles, earning a degree in interior design.

Kathy’s career launched in LA, initially working for an architect in Beverly Hills who specialized in kitchen design and offered German custom cabinetry. She later relocated to Nashville with a top kitchen remodeling group, where she honed site management skills in addition to working as a designer.

As her career evolved, she eventually was able to combine her culinary background with architecture and, voila…Hunt Country Kitchen & Bath Studio in Marshall.

Her goal is to create a space with “the least amount of steps,” she said. That concept also embraces innovative consideration of body dynamics, including the space in lower cabinets. Kathy’s designs frequently include drawers in under the counter cabinets, eliminating the back-breaking stress of crawling around to search for a pot or pan. At any time, she has between three to six projects percolating in different stages. She’s absorbed in the complete development of not only kitchens, but also baths, laundry suites, tack rooms, entertainments spaces, and more. This embraces design, production selections throughout the building or remodeling process, along with site management.

Hunt Country Kitchens & Bath collaborates with industry partners, including Miller Home Improvements and Daniel J Moore Design, the latter occupying the shop across the hall. In 2016, she collaborated with them and they were honored with a first place National Chrysalis Design award for kitchen design in the category of kitchen remodel over $150,000. She’s also won numerous design awards, including regional winner of the respected Sub-Zero Wolf Design contest.

Her 300-square-foot studio on West Main Street serves both as her workspace and as a showcase for custom cabinetry products she offers, including cabinetry from Stylecraft Corp., out of Terre Hill, Pennsylvania and Hagerstown Cabinetry from Maryland.

In addition to custom cabinetry, Kathy showcases solid brass hardware from Water Street Brass, hand-made and finished to order from Lakewood, New York, and Emtek hardware, among others suppliers.

Hunt Country Kitchen & Bath Studio exhibits and markets details including selections of all finishes required for a complete renovation from cabinetry, hardware, countertops, backsplash materials, lighting and paint selections.

It would be remiss not to mention she is now able to indulge a shared passion in this part of the country…a love of horses.

“Icy, is my mare,” she said, “and just an amazing girl. We’ve been together approximately 18 years trail riding and popping over logs and coops. She’s a once-in-a- lifetime horse.”

Her second horse is Indy, a gelding, and they’re now working on ground manners. There’s also an elegant black Afghan Hound named Jett. Each day, after feeding and caring for the horses, they go for a long walk rain, shine or snow. “I’m happy to have dogs and horses,” she said. “I’m happy to work and I enjoy what I do.”

Hunt Country Kitchen & Bath Studio

8393 West Main , Marshall VA 20115

540-364-5402 o 540-272-0846 c www.huntcountrykitchens.com

Showroom hours Tuesday - Friday noon to 4 p.m. Available additional days and hours by appointment.