march 10 • 2013 cathy lee a sparkling personality · and makai kitchens. my team lovingly...

In the last couple of weeks you’ve seenhow I’ve transformed some spaces at Y.Hata & Co., a 100-year-old food servic-

es company on Sand Island. In this last col-umn of the series, I’ll break down theupdates of two kitchens so you can getsome tips for yours.

Of Y. Hata’s kitchens, where employeesheat up food and have lunch, one was tobe a complete renovation and the other alight refresh. Y. Hata calls them the maukaand makai kitchens. My team lovinglyreferred to them as the Marsha and Jankitchens.

Do you remember Brady Bunch, the sit-com from the ’70s? Marsha got all theattention, while Jan was always in the back-ground. Here, Marsha was getting the com-plete makeover, of course, while Jan wouldkeep her original cabinets, refrigerator,appliances and flooring. Not wanting thoseusing the Jan kitchen to feel like they got

the raw end of the deal, we had to makesure Jan looked as good as possible whilegiving each their own distinct personality.

For Marsha, we started by knockingdown a wall to open up the kitchen andadd space. We also ripped out the flooringand cabinets and replaced them withaffordable but stylish and modern cabi-netry and a stainless steel refrigerator.

I wanted a clean, modern feel. Sticking

with the Y. Hata color scheme of red, white,black and gray, we laid a simple gray-blacktile on the floor. For the accent wall wechose a deep crimson which would allowthe oversized company statement boardsthat we designed in grays to pop off. In thecenter was a simple, contemporary bam-boo table surrounded by white chairs.

We weren’t going for just a kitchen, butmore of a lounge kitchen with a sort of

Starbucks feel — a cool, hip vibe wherepeople can eat lunch and relax. So besidesthe dining table, we gave them additionalseating with a sectional sofa. In a pinch,stools can be pulled up for even moreseating.

The Marsha kitchen looks fresh, modernand strong. The keys to this? Sticking withclean lines, from the dining table to the cab-inetry and even the angular statementboards, and a bold color scheme withbright, dramatic pops.

With the Jan kitchen, our challenge wasto make it look clean and fresh despite itsoutdated oak cabinets and black refrigera-tor. I knew immediately that Y. Hata’s colorpalette would not work here. This spaceneeded a completely different personality,and red and gray tones would make thecabinets feel older. Instead I selected acolor that on its own would instantlyscream fresh and modern: apple green.

My starting point was this set of afford-able green chairs. I tied in that color withthe same company statement boards,which we lit up in apple green instead ofgray. This made the room come alive anddrew your eye to its vibrant colors insteadof to the outdated finishes.

With the Jan kitchen, the goal was tocreate a bright, modern feel against anolder backdrop. The lines of the table andchairs are clean and contemporary here aswell, but it was the big, bold use of a strikingcolor that really did the trick. When creat-ing your kitchen, don’t be afraid of color.You can use it as an accent or in big splash-es to give your room a whole new person-ality — just like Jan’s!

Cathy Lee is president and designer ofCathy Lee Style and Cathy's Marketplace, afurniture and accessories showroom withdesign services at 1110 University Ave. Sherecently opened reStyle Hawaii, an affordable,style-conscious consignment warehouse withupholstering and repurposing services at 420Keawe St. To find out more, go towww.cathyleestyle.com.

A Sparkling PersonalityWhether you’re remodeling an entire room or making a few small changes to aspace, the right design elements can give any environment its own distinct style

14 MARCH 10 • 2013 CATHY LEE

>> The completed “Jan” kitchen

>> The completed “Marsha” kitchen

JUSTIN DOTSON PHOTOS

14 • MARCH 10, 2013 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT PUBLISHED BY OAHU PUBLICATIONS, INC. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED