The boutique kitchen design firm St. Charles of New York has opened an an inspirational new showroom in the A&D Building here, creating a virtual "art gallery" of kitchen ideas. Highlights include an eclectic mix of unusual materials from underlit onyx to exotic semi-precious stone, and a live kitchen for food and wine events, all topped off with a dash of sculpture and fashion, right down to Manolo Blahnik shoes.
The new 4,000-sq.-ft. showroom is on the 8th floor just down the hall from the smaller space St. Charles of New York outgrew after more than 40 years as one of the original tenants in the Architects & Designers Building at 150 East 58th St.
With its concentration of cabinet and appliance manufacturer showrooms, the A & D Building has long been a magnet for the interior designers and architects who are St. Charles of New York's primary clients. But because St. Charles of New York is a design firm, not a manufacturer, their challenge was to differentiate themselves and display ideas, not products.
"We do not have an identity based on a style or a manufacturer, unlike most of the companies in here," noted Robert Schwartz, principal. "We specialize in personalized customization."
"We don't have one identifiable look," added Karen Williams, principal. "We are a boutique design firm and we create the right style for our clients based on their needs."
So the questions the two principals, who have owned the company for 29 years, asked themselves were "How do we stand out?" and "How do we inspire people to enhance their lifestyle with a creative new kitchen?"
The solution was to devise a free-flowing and harmonious potpourri of contemporary, traditional and transitional vignettesˇ¦and not all of them kitchens. "We didn't want people to feel they were having the usual showroom experience of going from the white display to the cherry display to the oak display," Williams commented.
Instead, a curvaceous upholstered settee in a tiered warm rosewood furniture piece welcomes visitors. It is topped with an exotic French marble, Breccia Vendome, and highlighted by a circular multi-layered crystal chandelier.
"The entrance was done as a surprise. It says our showroom is not about cabinetry, but about creativity," Schwartz explained.
Another "un-kitchen" display is the Mondrian-inspired corner banquette with lacquered panels in multiple shades of blue forming what looks like a piece of modern art. "The panels are doors that we offer. But we didn't want to suggest doors per se, just colors and shapes and then leave the rest up to the designers' and clients' imaginations. It's much more creative than putting up six lacquer cabinets or door samples," Schwartz maintained.
But real life has not been forgotten, either. Adding a live kitchen for food and wine events was a top priority for the new showroom since both partners are food and wine enthusiasts and so are many of their upscale clientele
Cabinetry in the demonstration kitchen is a mix of stainless steel doors and quarter sawn oak in a cappuccino stain. The stainless doors include an unusual five-piece style with recessed center panel, as well as a flat panel door with integral handle. The countertop and backsplash are white crystallized glass. The island top is an aggregate of an exotic blue semi-precious stone, Dumorterite, rarely seen in the U.S.
"The island is work of art," Williams noted. "We make it a point to look for unusual and superior materials. We believe a variety of materials is just as important as a variety of styles."
Michael Pierce of Pierce Allen Architects, a colleague of St. Charles of New York for more than 20 years, was the architect for the interior space. "They were very creative with infrastructure solutions," Schwartz said. "It was important for us to capitalize on the light and the view of the adjacent Bloomberg building."
The showroom incorporates touches of art and fashion, Williams said, "because that's how people live today. Kitchens are not just a room with one function. And artwork is a further expression of the owner's personality."
Artist Joseph McDonnell's sculpture Ice Cubes has been hung over an island and transformed into a light fixture. Another of his works, an abstract stainless steel wall relief sculpture, is also on display.
Fashion also expresses personality, hence the Manolo Blahnik shoes and Bernardaud jewelry that accessorize the glass and quarter-sawn cherry cabinet with Swarovski crystal knobs and leather countertop.
"This piece might be a wardrobe cabinet in a master bedroom closet. It is filled with items our clients would actually live with," added Williams.
Other items their clients would live include classic and modern Bernardaud fine French porcelain dinnerware in glass-fronted cabinets. Coffee from Italy's finest purveyor, Illy, is served in the showroom, brewed in the striking new iperEspresso machines by acclaimed Italian architect and designer Luca Trazzi.
For your personally guided tour of the new gallery of kitchen ideas, please call 212-838-2812.
