Posted on June 30th,
2009
by John Kirchner
Susan Serra, CKD — that’s Certified Kitchen Designer — has been making kitchens look nicer and work better for more than 20 years. After all this time, though, she’s still rather fond of her first project. Susan was kind enough to take the time to contact the current owner of the home, make a visit to take some photos and answer some questions for this post. Thank you, Susan.
As a young couple, Susan and her husband bought a house in 1982 and, after a couple of years, she set out to redesign the kitchen. Without enough money to give the remodel the quality it deserved, Susan instead spent two years saving money and working on the design — as a home owner, not yet a professional designer. Then in 1986, she began to bring that design to life.
Susan noted that some of the elements in the remodeled kitchen stand out as unique for the time period, such as the extensive use of tile — on the counter tops and as a backsplash — which is actually a currently popular look, 20 years on, she said.
You can see a great slideshow of more photos Susan took here — and Susan’s right: This kitchen looks as great today as I imagine it did in 1986. Much of what’s in those photos is original as Susan designed and installed — including the Marvin window at the center of the photo above.
Many designs and styles can quickly and easily grow old and look very dated, but this kitchen has clearly stood the test of time. As Susan puts it, ”It’s a reflection of how, if a kitchen is designed to one’s personality rather than to a trend, it will take on more of a timeless look.”
Beyond designing beautiful kitchens, Susan is kind with sharing her expertise, too, on her blog and on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of Susan Serra, CKD. Gallery here.
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