Posted: May 2007

"Being a cook, I needed the kitchen to be functional as well as contemporary, so maximizing counterspace and placement of appliances was crucial to the success of the final product.


Jon Gaetz, a contemporary design fan from Seattle, had a vision when he walked into the kitchen of his mid-century home in the Seward Park area. "Bad linoleum floors, the original oven, stove ...and a really old fridge" were just some of the elements that needed an upgrade.

Finding the Perfect Contractor

"We wanted elements that would compliment the mid-century design of the house, and HenryBuilt was a natural choice based on their use of materials," said Jon. HenryBuilt, a company based in Seattle and New York, offers a unique combination of classically modern design, superb craft and premium quality, sustainable materials.

"They were new to the kitchen business, after years of designing furniture, and had recently developed a modular system which allowed us to pick from a range of pre-designed cabinet configurations that could be modified to fit our space."

Defined Design

"I designed the kitchen using HenryBuilt's cabinet options and worked with their designer to draw up the plans," said Jon. Many of the materials used by HenryBuilt were the first of their kind to be used in a Seattle-based kitchen. "The countertop had to be flown in from Finland in two large pieces and finding an installer that was familiar with the product was...challenging," he smiles.

Fast-track Functionality

"We began initial design and research before we even moved into the house in October," said Jon. By the time the boxes were moved in, all appliances and fixtures were ordered and cabinet measurements were being taken. "We had a very tight timeline, due to an annual holiday party we host on December 10th. Using the modular cabinet system and pre-ordering appliances helped us meet that date with just a few minor adjustments. We also had it painted before the cabinets were installed, which was a really good call."

The Result

While Jon loves his streamlined kitchen, there are some choices he would reconsider."I would definitely choose a different floor. The black terrazzo is high maintenance and installation proved to be a big problem. We had to have it re-done twice, due to scratches in the material and grout. We should have asked more questions about installation process.

Since so many of the products were new to the U.S., it was difficult to find installers that were familiar with the product, despite their continued assurance that all would be ok. I guess the good news was that we had something no one else in Seattle had at that time."

Advice from a Remodeling Veteran

1. "Give yourself enough time -- don't have unrealistic timelines or budgets. Everything takes longer and costs more than you imagine.

2. If you're acting as your own general contractor, be prepared to spend a lot of time on the phone scheduling and re-scheduling contractors that don't always show up on time...or at all.

3. Be very aware of the products you are buying. Even if money is no object, doing the research about what you're buying is critical.

4. Lead-times vary, so make sure that your ordering synchs up. Not all suppliers will be willing to hold onto your product if your oven shows up a month before your cabinets are done.

5. Measure your internal dimensions of your cabinets and make sure that wine glasses, flutes, etc. all have enough clearance.

6. Before remodeling - especially in an older home - incorporate potential electrical
upgrades into your budget. We didn't even think about that and it ended up tacking an extra $9,000 onto our project.

7. Document everything with your contractor/cabinet builder.
Do not attempt to work without a designer unless you know all the details that must be accounted for. Otherwise you will end up spending extra time and money on the back end fixing things that were not incorporated into the original design.

8. Buy a Durat countertop from Finland. It's the best product on the market!" -- Jon Gaetz