Feature: Indiana Tones
January 1, 2008
When kitchen designer Rob Klein and his wife purchased their 1980s 6,000-square-foot ranch-style home in Carmel, Ind., the kitchen needed a lot of help. Klein, a Wm Ohs dealer, wanted the space to be contemporary but warm, similar in quality to the company’s richly detailed old-world craftsmanship. Indeed, he was about to compromise and incorporate an understated model within a streamlined setting when founder and creative director William Ohs told him of a new collection in the offing—one that would combine the cutting-edge styling Klein wanted with Wm Ohs’ traditional construction techniques.
"It sounded perfect," Klein says. "So I offered to let them use my kitchen as the prototype." The resulting Simplicité kitchen is quietly bold, with a subtle linearity underscored by the horizontal graining of the wood doors and drawer fronts as well as the integrated channel pulls that eliminate the need for hardware.
Klein selected rift-sawn white oak in an obsidian finish, then topped the base cabinets with Calcutta gold marble—a dazzling stone accented by the green of the La Cornue range. Flared legs, one of four options, distinguish the islands with an Asian profile echoed in the stainless steel range hood.
Stainless steel is found throughout the space, including the open shelves that house the lighting, the tambour behind which the Kleins installed a Miele speed oven and coffeemaker, the tall, glass-fronted pantry units, the open pullouts over the lower cabinets and a handsome toe-kick raised up on a dust seal that compresses to the floor—an ingenious touch that prevents water spots when mopping.
"I love having a bit of contrast throughout the kitchen," says Klein. "It’s a working kitchen with commercial elements that doesn’t look too industrial."
As for Ohs, Simplicité represents a design philosophy he intends to pursue. "People like classic. They don’t want something over the top, but they do want something that is subtle and streamlined," says Ohs. "You see that in cars, too. When you look at a Mercedes-Benz you don’t see a lot of trim. It’s about proportion and line rather than decoration."
Wm Ohs, 303.371.6550, www.wmohs.com
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