2013 Ultimate Up North Kitchen Tour: #1, Brutus

Northern Michigan’s 2013 Ultimate Up North Kitchen Tour: #1, Rustic Spirit in Brutus

Designer: Kathy McCreight, CKD, Classic Cabinets & Interiors, 231.439.9294, cabinetsinteriors.com

Find driving directions on your ticket: MyNorthTickets.com

Designer Kathy McCreight’s mission in this kitchen in a family cottage on Burt Lake was twofold. First she updated the 1970s-era kitchen while preserving the rustic spirit of the rest of the cottage. Secondly, she needed to provide the homeowners with a place to settle for casually eating, serving, visiting, working at laptops, drinking morning coffee … where they could enjoy a lake view.

Kathy used rustic alder cabinets and a coffee-toned ash floor to harmonize with the knotty pine paneling in the rest of the cottage. A backsplash of rough-cut, stacked quartz stone plays off the stone fireplace in the adjacent living room. By strategically mounting a glass-fronted wall cabinet atop the counter cabinets, Kathy created the illusion of an old-fashioned hutch. Gold-toned cielo de oro granite on the perimeter countertops and on the island emphasizes the room’s warm tones.

And that island: Kathy knew it had to be large and multi-functional—so she designed a 49-square-foot dream staging area (custom shaped to fit the room) that switch-hits from working to entertaining. A pop-up outlet is there when needed and disappears when not—charge a laptop, heat a crockpot stew. Likewise, a built-in lift-up mixer shelf makes getting out (and putting back) the KitchenAid mixer a breeze. The island even has a file drawer to store paper work. But the best seats at that island, of course, are the four that look directly out the new sliding glass door that frames a picture-perfect view of Burt Lake.

Cabinets:

Woodland Cabinetry

Builder:

McBride Construction

Electrician:

Northern Electric

Plumber:

W.W. Fairbairn’s

Fixtures:

Ferguson Enterprises

Furniture:

Cottage Drawer Too?