THE COOLEST KITCHEN

Thank you for the tour Marisabel!

Galley kitchens are cool, gallery kitchens are cooler.

How great is this? A Mondrian kitchen! Could there be a more perfect transition from our art section to our home and garden section? No, the answer is no. If you are not familiar with Mondrian’s work, the gist is that the work distilled life down to its most basic elements, primary colors, black, white, vertical lines, and horizontal lines. A Dutchman, he was a member of the art movement knows as “De Stijl” –Dutch for “The Style.”

Envisioned by homeowner Marisabel Governeur, and built by the local pros at G. Christianson Construction in Corvallis, we saw this kitchen online and immediately knew we had to feature it.

Marisabel’s family was originally from Venezuela, and immigrated to New York, where she grew up. She told us that her movements as a child were tightly controlled. Being the baby, and the only girl, she had a shortlist of places she was allowed to go. One of them was the Metropolitan Museum aside Central Park. It was indoors, and the chance of something bad happening to her there was very low, so it was “mom approved.” She credits her time spent at the Met as the beginnings of her lifelong art appreciation.

Although she was a product of a privileged family, she was not an idle slacker. She earned a degree from UC Berkeley in California, and later worked for John’s Hopkins as a worldwide travelling midwife. She has travelled a lot. As she got older and came to be in charge of her life, her list of places to go expanded, dramatically.

After her career in the medical world, we are lucky to have her. She is retired and living in Albany. Although she is older, you’d never guess. She’s a ball of fire, knows what she wants, and how to make things happen. An inspiration.

When we talked about her kitchen criteria, she was very clear on what she needed, and the kitchen is built accordingly. One of her desires was a baking station, so her cabinetry is cleverly built to at once hide her mixer and measuring cups, while also allowing instant access. Another key element is a coffee station, also built in. Very functional, and when not in use, very clean and cool. The giant black countertop is in keeping with the style, and looks fabulous.

She had G. Christianson build a skylight where they used to just be flat ceiling to introduce natural light, and it’s spectacular. There are no half measures, the build is very impressive. Marisabel said that the G. Christianson’s cabinet shop called her during the build to let her know that the yellow cabinet doors were requiring 18 coats of paint to achieve the perfect, saturated yellow color. An arduous process with a stunning result. Bravo Marisabel, and hats off to the team at G. Christianson Construction for the fabulous work bringing her kitchen vision to life.

For more: gchristiansonconstruction.com