Ask Our Designers A Question

I would like to get your opinion regarding staggering the height of kitchen cabinets for a small 12 x 17 U-shape kitchen with 8' ceiling. House is colonial. On each end will be 2 corner cabinets of maybe 36" and about 4" crown molding. The cabinets flanking the chimney hood will be at 30". Then next to the small cabinet next to the hood will be the refrigerator cabinet. Right opposite the refrigerator- will be a microwave cabinet. Should I also use a 36" tall cabinet on that? I am not sure if this lay-out will make the kitchen look too busy. Thank you very much for your assistance.

Staggering Cabinet Heights — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Hi Marilyn! Staggering the heights of cabinets is a great way to add variety to an otherwise simple design. Although, with an 8 ft ceiling you would really want to use 6” of crown otherwise you will have a strange gap between the top of the crown and the ceiling if you use only 4”. I think that in your particular space, taking the refrigerator cabinet to the ceiling is a great idea. Not only is it appealing visually, but functionally you will have more storage space in the cabinets you do take to the ceiling which helps compensate for the shorter cabinets. Drury Designer Brigitte Fabi

Looking for help in choosing a granite counter top for a dark red toned cherry kitchen. There is not a lot of natural light. I really like rainforest green, however wondering if it is not too dark. I like the mid to dark greens and trying to stay away from gold.

Granite countertop colors to compliment cherry cabinetry — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Thanks for your question Linda. I think that green colored granite would complement your cherry cabinets very nicely. These colors together will add a feel of richness to your kitchen. If you go with a dark green I would suggest Verde Butterfly or Golden Lightening. You could also go with a light green that has movement such as Wild Sea or Wild West green. Black colored granite would also look great such as a Verde Melograno or Atlantic Black.

Golden Lightening Granite

We have attached a picture of a kitchen that we did that represents cherry cabinets with Golden Lightening tops. I hope that you find this information helpful.

Thank you

My husband and I came across your blue bath cabinet on the HGTV website. Were these cabinets unfinished and then painted? If not, who made the cabinets? If so, can you tell me whose paint was used? I absolutely love this bath design, paint and cabinets. Thank you so much.

Custom Grabill Painted Finish on Vanity — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Custom Blue Painted Finish

The bathroom vanity cabinet that you are referring to was supplied by Grabill Cabinetry and the finish was applied in their shop as per our sample. It is a custom painted finish color we helped our client create for their bathroom design and remodel in Hinsdale, IL.

I saw your kitchens on the Designer Portfolio on HGTV.com. I noticed you used many creamy colored granite tops with cream colored cabinets. I am having a really hard time picking out a granite color for my kitchen. I have cream cabinet and darker stained hardwood floors. The granites I have considered are either too yellow or too plain. Can you please share some of the lighter tone granites you have used in the pictures or any colors you would recommend? This would be so helpful.

Cream colored granite tops for kitchen — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0600

Thanks for your question Jennifer. While granite colors and names vary by each vendor and lot, and each slab varies, here is a list colors that we find our clients gravitating towards lately when using off-white and cream colored cabinetry.

Taupe Pearl
Luce De Luna
Cashmere White
Golden Tulip
Snow White
Calcutta Gold

Of course, each slab should be hand selected, as we do for each of our clients at our suppliers for consistency and to insure that the slab is the correct color. Hope this helps. Good Luck! Gail Drury, CMKBD / Drury Design

I need someone to tell me what the floor plan should be for my kitchen. It is connected to our family room, which is perfect for entertaining, but I want it all to flow together. Our kitchen is currently in a "U" shape, having counter on all three sides, with our family room on the other side of the 10 ft long counter top. This is where we need help! Do we disconnect this 10 ft long counter top and make it an island? We would love to have seating in our kitchen, but if we put stools on the other side of this 10 ft long counter top, we will sacrifice seating in our family room. Can you tell me what the layout should be for this kitchen?

Stuck on Island — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0600

It sounds like your kitchen is a shape that could possibly lend itself to different layouts depending on the size. If the room is 13 feet or wider you could forgo the peninsula and have an island with stools on the back side. If your kitchen is 12 feet wide you can still fit an island but it would be a narrow one and there would be no room for stools on the back side. Possibly depending on the length of the space opening up into your family room, the island could angle or curve into a wider space with the seating on the angled or curved area where the island is wider.

Don't despair if your kitchen is under 12 feet wide and an island doesn't fit. Maybe the solution would be a more creative penninsula shape that angles or curves out into the newly enlarged space. The seating could then wrap around the end of the penninsula making a cozy eating area.

I hope this helps and good luck with your design decisions. Gail Drury, CMKBD

I’ve seen the kitchen pictures on your site and like the backsplashes. I am doing Daltile’s Torreon tumbled travertine in my kitchen backsplash, but need to decide if I want to enhance the tiles. I like the look and color of the tile out of the box but wonder if it is too chalk like and would it be better to use an enhancing sealer. I have honey oak cabinets, a dark walnut floor, and Orix Brown granite (smokey taupe in color) and Sherwin Williams Sands of Time paint on the walls. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thank you, Bev

Should I enhance my tumbled travertine tile in my kitchen backsplash? — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Thank you for your interest in our designs Bev. After researching your specific tile material, I do not think it would be of your best interest to enhance your tile. The characteristic of a tumbled travertine is that it has a lot of pits and is very uneven. If you were to apply an enhancer to any tumbled travertine it would soak it up right away and not change the appearance of the tile. The tile would still have a dry, chalky look to it. But, that is the beauty of tumbled travertine. You may have noticed that in many of the client kitchens we have used a tumbled travertine. I have attached pictures of two kitchens designs that include tumbled travertine backsplashes for your information. After researching your tile, paint color, granite, cabinet and floor color I do think that the travertine backsplash will fit right in with your new kitchen, as it looks beautiful on a backsplash. I also recommend that you seal the tile once it is installed. Hope this was of help to you and good luck on your new Kitchen!

In the 2007 edition of "Kitchen Ideas That Work” by Beth Veillette a photo of a backsplash from Drury is shown on page 72. It appears to made from glass and is different and beautiful. I am hoping you can tell me who is the manufacturer and perhaps some contact information. Thank you for your consideration.

Art Glass Backsplash — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Thanks Dan. Here is the kitchen image I believe you are referring to.

Art Glass Backsplash

This client-inspired art glass backsplash was designed for suburban Chicago kitchen remodel and provided by Sheri Law Art Glass. You will find more of her talented work and contact information at http://www.sherilawartglass.com/.

I suggest giving Sheri a call to find out more and let her know we directed you her way. Let me know if we can be of further assistance. Thank you and good luck!

Jim Drury

You are truly artists. We are remodeling our kitchen and thought you did a masterful job on the one pictured in trendsideas.com/go/25766. We were particularly struck by the hand-hammered range hood. Can you provide the mfg's contact information or website? I sure wish we lived in the Chicago area so we could hire you to design our kitchen.

Hand-Hammered Range Hood in Kitchen Trends Magazine — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Thanks for the kind words about our designs Jill. We worked with Mitchel and Mitchel on this custom hood design. Go to www.mitchelandmitchel.com to learn more about their custom hoods and other products. Please use our name. Don't know where your house is but If you would like some design help on your new kitchen just let us know...we'd be glad to assist. Gail Drury, CMKBD

I would love to know the name and size of the gray limestone wall tile in the contemporary bathroom in your portofolio on the website.

Limestone Tile in Contemporary Master Bath — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The name of the wall tile in the bathroom that you referring to is Lagos Azul and the size is 3” x 16”. It was sourced by The Tile Gallery in Chicago. Our contact there is Brock. Look forward to working with you in the near future on your project if you would like my asssitance. Tina Muller

I saw Tina's award winning design at the Wolf Sub Zero website (white kitchen). I love the arched window in the photo and would like to know the manufacturer and any other information about the window. Thanks. Everything looks great. Appreciate the information. Holly

Kitchen Window — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Thanks for posting your question on our website. The manufacturer of that window is Marvin. It was a custom order. You can have it installed with a box bay as shown in our Spring 2010 Design Guide, or without the boxed bay, but I think the boxed bay window really opens up a room. I have also installed the window in smaller kitchens with 8' ceilings and it still looks awesome. Please let me know if you have further questions. Regards, Tina L. Muller

Saw your kitchen in TRENDS magazine. We LOVE the granite in that kitchen. Can you share the name/kind of granite you used for it? Thanks in advance.

Granite Used in Kitchen on Cover of Kitchen Trends — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The granite you are referring to is actually a quartzite - a natural stone material like granite that is harder and denser than either granite or marble. The color of the material in the kitchen in question is called Oyster Pearl. For additional information about this client kitchen remodel go to the Articles and Features page here on our website. Look for the Kitchen Trends Magazine cover under the title - "Leading Statement" and click on the image to see the full feature article in Kitchen Trends Magazine.

Who is the manufacturer of this backsplash tile design?

Backsplash tile design — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

This backsplash is from Sonoma Tilemakers and is part of the MoSuprema line of 1 x1 mosaics. Please go to the Sonoma website and to the MoSuprema image gallery to see the full product offering

Thank you so much for your inquiry!

Brigitte Fabi, CKD/CBD

I have been admiring your bathroom vanities and designs. Could you tell me if your cabinetry is all custom made? I am trying to remodel our master bath (in L.A. area) and am having difficulty finding someone who does custom cabinets well.

Custom Made Cabinetry — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Yes most all of the cabinetry including trim you see here on our website is custom cabinetry...meaning that it is designed and manufactured specifically for the each the different client projects that you see in our portfolios. Additionally, the finishes - colors, stains, glazing, distressing, and the like are all to the clients exact specifications per each project and while may look somewhat similar no two are the same.

I suggest you find a NKBA kitchen and bath business near you by going to NKBA.org and finding the NKBA Pro Search on the home page to find a qualified professional in your area. Or, if you would like us to help you design your new master bath, just let us know.

Gail Drury, CMKBD

I am inquiring about the countertops used in a contemporary kitchen I saw on your site. The kitchen had dark cabinets and wood floors with what looks like Carrara marble countertops with a glass raised counter surround. What kind of countertops were used in this kitchen Carrara?

Carrera Marble Countertops — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0500

I believe that you are referring to this Contemporary Naperville Kitchen remodel. That top is not Carrera marble. It is Wild Sea granite.

While Carrera marble is very popular and historically has been used for kitchen surfaces, it is not recommend for kitchen counters because of its tendency to stain and etch easily from common kitchen liquids - wine, oils, juice... So, it is not for everyone - especially for fussy housekeepers or those who don't want the extra maintenance . But if our clients really want it and are willing to take the extra care, we say go for it as it is striking.

If you look through our kitchen gallery you will find only a handful of Carrera marble countertops. Often we recommend granites, quartzites, or engineered stones that look much like marbles, but are less porous and are more stain resistant and etch less easily.

Best of luck Beth!

Gail Drury, CMKBD