The document discusses several ways to customize and personalize kitchen design through unique cabinetry and furnishings options available at showrooms in International Market Square. Valcucine offers art glass cabinet fronts with over 100 design options that can be further customized. Bespoke creates completely unique and one-of-a-kind kitchens through intricate custom designs. Belle Kitchens unveiled a new distressed "Patina" line to mimic the vintage charm of European kitchens.

1. Artful Living | Winter 2011 67
T
he kitchen is arguably the most important space in
the entire house. Often times, it’s also the dining
room, family room and home office all rolled into one.
And for that reason, it’s personal. So whether you’re
starting from scratch or simply changing out cabinets,
International Market Square makes it easy to express
yourself. We shopped the six show rooms for ways to make your
kitchen unique.
Art Glass
Leave it to the Italians to turn contemporary kitchens into dramatic
works of art. Cabinets, doors, tabletops — they can all be made into
masterpieces with Valcucine’s Artematica Vitrum Arte line, also known
as art glass.
“It’s really bringing beauty into the kitchen in a bigger way than
you would traditionally do,” says David Washburn, owner of Valcucine
features || trends
Make it Personal
Custom design brings beauty to the kitchen. | BY LORI STORM

2. 68 Artful Living | Winter 2011 Artful-LivingMag.com
“Design isn’t stagnant. Craftsmanship
isn’t stagnant. There are always ways
to do better.” —KEITH MORGAN
Minneapolis, located in IMS.
Customers can choose from more than 100 different designs,
ranging from abstract lines and graffiti to colorful cows and
decorative doodles. For the ultimate in customization, clients are
encouraged to submit original drawings or another artist’s work.
Valcucine’s designers will even create meaningful doodles based on a
customer’s personal story line.
“People are really looking for something that expresses who they are
and their taste ... And nobody is doing anything like this in the Twin
Cities,” Washburn says. “The truth of the matter is that kitchens don’t
end up being all that different. But if you have a piece of art, particularly
if it’s original art, there would be no other kitchen like it.”
The Artematica Vitrum Arte line is manufactured in Pordenone,
Italy, and then imported to the United States. The drawings are inlaid
on tempered, etched or transparent glass panels and then applied to an
innovative structural frame made completely of recyclable, anodized
aluminum. Washburn says the eco-friendly materials are extremely
durable and resistant to damage from smoke, steam and grease.
Couture Kitchens
Don’t expect to find any catalogs at the newly opened Bespoke
showroom at IMS. That’s because every kitchen and custom
furnishing designed by owner Keith Morgan and crafted at the nearby
workshop in St. Paul is one of a kind.
“Design isn’t stagnant. Craftsmanship isn’t stagnant. There are
always ways to do better,” Morgan stresses. “Once the design is
finished on paper, the design process doesn’t stop after it reaches the
workshop. It continually evolves throughout the fabrication.”
Bespoke features four separate kitchen lines: the Contemporary,
the Classic, the Estate and the Regency. Within each line are some
similarities, but again, each piece is truly custom.
“We aren’t interested in making the same thing again — we already
made it. That means essentially every time we do this it’s going to be a
prototype,” Morgan attests.
encouraging kitchens PREVIOUS PAGE Kitchens become
works of art with Valcucine’s art glass line. CURRENT PAGE
Bespoke impresses with its dynamic design in flooring/
paneling and The Regency kitchen line.
PHOTOGRAPHYPROVIDEDBYBESPOKE
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3. Artful Living | Winter 2011 69
Morgan, who spent the past 12 years developing Bespoke,
sees every surface as an opportunity. Even an ordinary
bread drawer is extraordinary with a series of intricate
designs. “It’s just as practical and as durable as any
other drawer box out there — it just has a surprise. Our
customers really have an appreciation for opening up
their cabinetry. It’s just like getting into their S-Class. They
want their interiors to be just as beautiful as the exteriors,”
he says.
Bespoke sources its wood, stone and other materials
from all over the globe. The company utilizes everything
from walnut and figured English sycamore to East Indian
rosewood. And just as you’d expect from Bespoke’s
uncompromising owner, Morgan is always on the hunt for
rare materials that are unique and have a story to them.
Old World Charm
It’s been called shabby chic: distressed furniture
adored for its vintage look and obvious signs of wear and
tear. In kitchens, it evokes the charm of European villas
and the ever-popular Old World style. Belle Kitchen in
Minneapolis recently worked with a Midwestern furniture
company to develop its own signature Patina line.
“It’s reminiscent of vintage with a cottage finish or
crackle finish,” says Belle Kitchen co-owner Jean-Claude
Desjardins. “We can do it on cabinets, doors, a buffet
hutch — really anything. We can do a lot of different
things with this new line. It’s fully custom and very
affordable compared to similar furniture lines.”
The distressed look is created by scraping, dragging,
even punching the wood with various tools. To add more
character, the furniture is then treated with glazes and
different finishes.
“You could do your whole kitchen, and it would look
like a house in the south of France,” Desjardins explains.
“But by doing a section or a piece it gives you the feeling
of a family heirloom, something that’s been passed down
generations.”
Desjardins, who owns Belle Kitchen with Tricia Bayer,
says the Patina line is perfect for those who want to redo
the kitchen of an older house but want an aesthetic that
fits the rest of the home.
“If you do a house like the one here on Mount Curve,
it’s a 1905 house. Some people don’t want it to look like a
brand-new kitchen,” Desjardins says.
The Patina line from Belle Kitchen is available in
countless colors and isn’t just for the kitchen; clients can
have custom pieces made to complete other parts of their
interior design.
shabby chic Belle Kitchens unveils its own
signature Patina line for kitchens.