A ga cookers were the heart and main heat source of English manors during most of the 20th century.
Invented by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, the enamel-coated cast-iron ranges quickly became an iconic part of English manor life: a place to cook, bake, dry clothes, heat the domestic hot water and warm the house.
It’s no surprise that a Stanwood couple with a love of all things English chose a modern version of the Aga cooker as the centerpiece of a kitchen remodel and their home.
The modern Aga hasn’t changed much since its invention. The range stays heated all the time, almost like having a furnace in the kitchen. Its design remains sleek and simple with no knobs or timers. Its five ovens and three burners stay set at varying degrees so cooks can roast in one oven and raise dough in another.
The Aga in this kitchen costs $15,000 and takes up three times the space of a typical modern range.
Before the estimated $80,000 remodel, the room still contained the 1970s laminate countertops and cabinets. Workers gutted the kitchen and built solid wood cabinets with doors that sit flush against the frame. The countertops are black granite slabs, roughened slightly by flame, and the flooring consists of stone tiles in a random pattern.
The kitchen is designed to appear as if it were pieced together over time. The owners wanted to avoid a contrived look, so interior designer Garrett Kuhlman of h2k design in Stanwood added what he called “vignettes of character,” small touches that make the kitchen feel older. A corner cubby with arched doors appears to be squeezed into a nook in the corner, for instance.
Dan Wickstrom of Stanwood was the contractor for the project and Pete’s Cabinets of Everett built the cabinetry.
The center island is fitted with a 2-inch thick slab of cherry wood and adorned with turned legs to give it a furniture appearance. Reproduction light fixtures in anodized bronze complete the look.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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