2013 Ultimate Up North Kitchen Tour: #3, Petoskey

Northern Michigan's 2013 Ultimate Up North Kitchen Tour: #3, Home on the Road in Petoskey

Designer: Dawn Whyte, Designs By Dawn, 231.347.1977, lakestreetdesignstudio.com/dawnwhyte

Find driving directions on your ticket: MyNorthTickets.com

Craig Rose, owner of Hearthside Grove Luxury Motorcoach Resort, wanted his resort’s clubhouse kitchen to be welcoming to resort guests and to function as a professional kitchen for hosting cooking demonstrations. Enter award-winning kitchen designer Dawn Whyte, who found herself faced with an additional challenge when she took on the job: one side of the kitchen is a steel bi-fold door that opens to a seated auditorium, meaning that Dawn had only three walls on which to hang cabinets, mount countertops and set appliances.

This designer thrives on challenges, so no problem there! By outfitting the kitchen with a 21-foot-long peninsula and two islands, Dawn gave the kitchen ample space for work, storage and staging. The kitchen’s high-end Wolf /Sub-Zero appliances and a commercial sink faucet make motorcoach resort guests and their visitors happy to cook. Wood grain ceramic tile flooring offers the look of the real thing but will hold up to anything anyone using the kitchen dishes out.

Dawn used color and texture to create a room that transcends straightforward function. Scandinavian gray cabinetry glazed in a warm lemon shade sets a crisp yet homey tone. Marblelike Cambria Torquay counters add an elegant touch that is contrasted by a wall covered in rustic stacked stone. An exuberant Soho glass tile backsplash mirrors the variety of neutral, earthy tones in the kitchen. The final touch, twin glass and stainless chandeliers designed by Dawn’s business partner, Renee Guthrie (Renee Guthrie Design), are a brilliant, whimsical touch.

The upshot is a kitchen that does everything Craig wanted and more: When he and his wife Edith want to invite more guests to dinner than can comfortably fit in the kitchen of their nearby renovated Victorian, they move the party over to the kitchen that feels like home, only bigger.

Cabinets:

Starmark Cabinetry; Ayr Custom Cabinets

Builder:

Wildwood Builders

Plumber:

Ballard’s Plumbing & Heating

Flooring:

Hamill’s Carpet ?Sales & Service

Appliances:

Trevarrow

Get a preview to the 2013 Ultimate Up North Kitchen Tour in the October issue of Northern Home & Cottage & Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine.