Achieving the piano-shaped curves both on the island base and the granite top became a feat of engineering. “We supported it with a steel plate so it wouldn’t end up on their laps,” Armstrong-Scott assures.
Kitchen & Bath
Sleek Storage Solutions
A Crestwood condominium gets creative in the kitchen, with a place for everything and everything in its place.
BY
Andrea Darr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Steve Sanders


A tall but narrow shelf pantry keeps stemware easily accessible yet stored away from items used every day.


Baking is a hobby for Hakan, who needs her heavy mixer within easy reach. The corner of the kitchen houses a bi-fold cabinet door with an outlet inside so that Hakan can simply pull the appliance forward and use it right there. 
For Carm Hakan, who downsized with her husband Bart into a unit at the historic Crestwood Condominiums in Brookside this summer, less is more — except when it comes to her kitchen storage. The fabulous Italian cook could not do without equally fabulous appliances and cabinets for her supplies.

“I cooked in the same kitchen for 31 years so I knew what I needed to do here. I was able to say, ‘this worked, but if I did it this way, it would be even better,’” Hakan says.

To achieve the ultimate organizational system — and a beautiful new kitchen — she hired Kristeen Armstrong-Scott, CKD, of Armstrong Kitchens, who brought some out-of-the-box ideas to the design.

One of the most unique elements came about because of the building’s remodeling restrictions. The Crestwood is on the National Historic Register so its exterior — and therefore Hakan’s windows — could not be changed. In response, Armstrong-Scott designed cabinet drawers without faces in front of the windows, giving the same amount of storage space and the bonus of allowing more light into the room.

“It is a fitted kitchen with a whiff of the unfitted,” Armstrong-Scott says.

It truly is fitted to every square inch and with a storage solution for every one of Hakan’s objects. Roll out slotted cabinets handle awkward-shaped and oversized serving dishes, cookie trays and cutting boards. Metal mixing bowls go in one cabinet; glass and measuring cups go in another. Two deep drawers for pots and pans with two separate shallow drawers above just for the lids solve the common problem of never being able to fit both in the same drawer.

While Armstrong-Scott carefully considered every layer of the functional design, she also included some unexpected aesthetic ingredients, such as the inclusion of three different cabinet styles and two different granite tops. “There’s a fine line between a mix and a mess,” she comments. “It’s a bit of an art form to get it all together.”

Hakan, a visual, creative woman, appreciates that. “Kristeen saw the same vision I saw from the beginning. She was able to satisfy me and I’m not easily satisfied,” Hakan says.