Great interior design is always about the bigger picture. It’s never just one piece that brings the entire space together into a cohesive package. For an interior designer in San Francisco, CA, like Amanda Holstien, it’s always critical to understand how each piece works with the rest, so the finished product will tie together perfectly.
With that said, a single statement piece can often put a design over the top. What was already a nice design can become a head-turner with the addition of one key component. In the case of one of Amanda’s recent projects, it was the Designer DS1 Range Hood from CopperSmith® that played that role. Let’s take a closer look at how this impressive project came together.
Designer Amanda Holstein poses in a bold blue kitchen where a custom CopperSmith hood brings warmth and luxury to the space
Design That Reflects the Owner – And the City
For a designer like Amanda, reflecting the personality of a homeowner in a design project is always top of mind. Getting to know the client and understanding how to represent the client through interior design is a big part of the job.
In this case, the homeowner – Jeanne – has a big personality and truly lives a California lifestyle. She loves the ocean. She loves to surf. Finding a way to create a San Francisco design that would hold up to everything that Jeanne brings to her San Francisco life each day wasn’t going to be easy.
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Meeting that challenge started with the choice of a beautiful, deep blue for the cabinets. That shade offers an obvious connection to the ocean and immediately strays from what would be considered traditional. Then came the large copper vent hood. This bold, simple piece adds a touch of glamour to the kitchen that Amanda felt was just perfect for who Jeanne is and what her kitchen should represent.
Meeting the Challenges of an Older Home
The streets of San Francisco are lined with unique, sometimes historic, older homes. The architecture in the city is world-famous, and one could easily spend a day just walking the streets and admiring the incredible structures that have been in place for generations.
For a designer, working in one of these homes is a blessing and a curse. It’s a beautiful opportunity to tap into the existing character and style of the home. The design doesn’t need to be created from scratch – it can play off of the aesthetic elements that are already in place.
The challenge, of course, comes from the age of these buildings. After decades of standing tall near the Pacific Ocean, they start to show their age. Various components begin to shift and wear away. Nothing is square. Fitting new elements inside an older home often requires a custom touch. Ordering from a supplier like CopperSmith that can tailor every project to the precise dimensions required gets around a big hurdle and makes it possible to bring a specific design vision to life.
The Designer DS1 Was a Natural Choice
Finding a range hood that delivered the clean, simple, and elegant aesthetic Amanda desired wasn’t necessarily going to be easy. That task was complicated by the fact that there was a soffit at the top of the wall that needed to be navigated. So, it was unlikely that a pre-fab piece was going to do the job. This was going to need to be a custom order.
CopperSmith® was the perfect partner based on the needs of this project. First, we do custom as well as anyone in the industry. Whether it’s range hoods in California or any of our other products sold across the country, customization is standard. Our emphasis on providing clients with as much flexibility in the ordering process as possible allows us to serve very specific projects like this one. Working carefully around the soffit while maintaining the beautiful look of the Designer DS1 was a challenge that we were ready to meet.
The function of this new hood was also important. It’s a key design element, but the client in this project loves to cook and will be putting the hood to use regularly. The ventilation performance of the hood is just as impressive as the appearance. Even with ongoing use, it will continue to perform perfectly and earn its place as the focal point in this lovely space.
Mastering the Art of Balance
Using the large range hood as the centerpiece of the design introduced a lot of copper into the space. Amanda worked delicately with that shade in the rest of the design, not wanting to go too far in that direction. With the exception of a couple of small décor touches, the other metals stay away from copper, which leaves the space nicely balanced.
Looking at the finished kitchen, there isn’t one single element that takes away from any of the others. Yes, the copper hood is a bold element, but not using any other prominent copper components prevents the design from leaning so far in that direction that it becomes distracting. This is design done right by using quality materials with intelligent discretion.
Quality is Critical In Statement Pieces
The idea of adding a statement piece to a kitchen is immediately compelling. A prominent, featured item will draw the eye and give the rest of the design something to anchor to. There is often a point of hesitation with this plan, however, as one main concern can linger in the back of the mind – what if the statement piece falls short of expectations?
This is something of an “all-in” move, after all. It has to go right, or the whole design can fall apart. With so much on the line, only a trusted supplier like CopperSmith® is going to do. Amanda was able to pull off this statement piece because she trusted us to deliver something that not only fit her specs, but exceeded her – and her client’s – expectations.
Collaboration Makes the Exceptional Possible
Amanda Holstein is an outstanding designer. That much is evident by quickly scrolling through the images above. One of the essential skills for a designer to possess is knowing which partners to trust with key parts of a project.
CopperSmith® is proud to have played a prominent role in this kitchen remodel. Our Designer DS1 Range Hood was created with exactly these kinds of projects in mind. Given the custom nature of our products and our unwavering commitment to lofty quality standards, designers like Amanda know they can order from us with confidence. Her quote about the experience of working with CopperSmith sums up what we try to accomplish for our clients –
“Investing in a custom piece is an important decision. Finding a company that does things right is not always easy. CopperSmith does custom so right…..CopperSmith® delivered on time, on budget, there were no surprises, no challenges. It was such a seamless experience. As a designer, I’m so grateful for that, because that’s rare.”
For a tour of this stunning kitchen, along with an explanation of the project from Amanda, watch this video on our YouTube channel. You can also see more of Amanda’s great work by following her on Instagram.