Home design, just like fashion, is cyclical.
It used to be that only white was right when it came to creating a beautiful kitchen.
Homeowners, continuing to rebel against the dark paneling of the 1970s and the drab cabinets of the ’80s, wanted bright and cheery kitchens that radiated.
Maybe that’s why the kitchen in Mike and Karen Carriker’s home featured white laminate cabinets – flat-faced, knobless and trimmed with oak – when they bought it about six years ago.
Now, of course, we want warmth; we want cozy; those bright white cabinets have gone out of style, and earth tones, including chocolate browns and slate grays, are back in fashion.
Big time.
Nowhere is that trend more beautifully illustrated, perhaps, than in the new Carriker kitchen, where a variety of earthy, beautiful woods has replaced those ubiquitous white cabinets.
“I’ve always liked neutrals,” Karen Carriker said. “I like black and brown and white. I hope it doesn’t go out of style.”
Though only hindsight will truly tell, today the Carrikers’ kitchen seems positively timeless with simple maple cabinets trimmed with walnut crown molding.
Dark brown quartz-composite countertops are sleek and durable. Black square iron knobs accent every cabinet drawer and door, and silvery-gray accent tiles add an air of elegance all around the room.
“It’s just very warm. It’s simple,” Karen Carriker said. “I think I find it soothing. I don’t like a lot of doodads.”
The Carrikers served as their own project managers and did most of their own demolition for their project. They hired numerous professionals for the rest, including Seattle artist and furniture maker Bill Jacobs.
He had done wonderful work for two of their friends and went on to create the Carrikers’ one-of-a-kind custom cabinets and the kitchen’s crown jewel – an S-curve bar made of beech burl wood that presides over a base of hand-burnished copper.
“He’s really more of an artist,” Karen Carriker said. “He truly is a genius.”
The Carrikers never really had a fancy kitchen until now.
In fact, for the first 10 years of their marriage, they moved all around the world as part of Mike Carriker’s job as a U.S. Navy pilot.
It wasn’t until after he had retired from the Navy and had worked as a test pilot for Boeing for more than a decade that they ultimately found their dream home in Everett, a fixer upper built in the late 1970s with a killer view of Possession Sound.
Karen Carriker, who is proud of their down-to-earth Midwest roots, relishes their new kitchen’s modern conveniences, including an instant-hot faucet that produces near-boiling water on demand, a built-in hand soap dispenser, a subtle push-button disposal and high-end appliances, including a drawer-style microwave.
“I grew up in Kansas,” she said. “We had nothing like this.”
Mike Carriker said the kitchen’s design is a dramatic improvement over the old one, which didn’t have a central island, but instead had a long peninsula that jutted into the room, allowing only one route to the garage and laundry room.
Traffic flow is a breeze now, even with large groups, thanks to their two kitchen sinks and curvaceous and plentiful counters.
It’s the perfect venue to host parties or their two sons’ many friends. Their kitchen opens up to a large deck that takes full advance of their view on clear days.
“We’re really living the dream,” said Karen Carriker, looking out to bright, blue waters. “We’ve been so fortunate.”
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com.
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