The Color of Monet
When Harry and Laurie Schwartz set out to remodel the kitchen of their newly purchased Malibu home, they had more challenges than most homeowners.
First, the original 1950s kitchen was either “hideous” or “gross,” depending on which of them you asked. And yet their budget for a transformation was limited to the $7,500 they had raised at a garage sale, and out of that they planned to buy several pricey appliances, including an industrial-strength Wolf range.
Plus, the couple wanted a bright, vibrant kitchen in the spirit of Claude Monet’s kitchen in Giverny, France, which they visited last year. Harry was taken by the hundreds of “luscious” blue tiles lining the walls and the vibrant blue paint covering the ceiling, cabinets and table.
“I love that color. I’m addicted to that color. I want to paint myself that color,” enthused Harry, a chef and television personality who hosts a PBS show called “Chef Harry and Friends.”
And because Harry spends so much time in his kitchen, cooking for his own family, which includes daughter Alexa, 10, and prepping food for various television shows and functions, he wanted his surroundings to be nurturing.
“I live in the kitchen. It’s my business,” he said. “I wanted to be embraced.”
But what made changing the kitchen from boring to brilliant extraordinarily difficult was the stipulation that all the work had to be completed between April 1 of this year, when escrow closed, and April 16, when they moved in.
Why didn’t the family move into the house while the remodel was in progress? Laurie, a full-time homemaker, replied with a brisk shake of her head: “I’m OCD,” referring to obsessive-compulsive disorder. “I can’t stand to have workmen in the house. And living out of boxes? There’s no way.”
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Amazingly, the kitchen was, indeed, remade in two weeks. The success was attributed to:
1. A minimum of structural changes (most existing cabinets and counters were left in place).
2. Intense pre-planning.
3. Dedicated craftsmen who worked around the clock when necessary.
For the couple, replacing the worn linoleum floor was paramount. After the 42-year-old flooring was removed down to the plywood subfloor, 18-inch-wide bleached pine planks were installed.
Another critical issue was adjusting the uneven soffit, which lies just below the ceiling, so it would be consistent all around the kitchen. The soffit was missing in one place, which bothered Harry, a self-described “symmetry freak.”
Later, he spent tedious hours with a tape measure to make sure his plate collection was installed with precise spacing around the soffit.
To limit spending, the couple decided that the cabinets along one wall were acceptable, as was the tan tiled counter and back splash. The sink was OK and the dishwasher was nearly new. To infuse the all-important color and an openness into the kitchen, the cabinet doors were removed and the cabinets, backs and shelves were totally coated in what Harry calls “Monet Blue” paint.
On the opposite wall, the cabinets and counter were ripped out. “The counter was literally a piece of plywood,” said a horrified Harry.
Once that bare wall was covered in blue, it became a backdrop for the real working center of the kitchen, which includes an old dresser covered with a granite slab to create a baking station, the Wolf range, a stainless steel work table and a True brand industrial refrigerator with a glass door.
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Harry admits that the granite slab, cut and beveled to reflect the curves in the dresser top, was an extravagance at $550. But it creates a perfect place to sift flour, cut butter and roll out pastry. A curio cabinet above keeps spices handy.
The new range was also an extravagance, but less so because Harry bought a discounted floor model for $1,250 at Star Equipment in Van Nuys. Because Harry and Laurie have owned and operated several restaurants in Florida and Oklahoma, they know that buying appliances from a commercial supplier can save big bucks--in this case, up to several thousand dollars.
Likewise, they bought the stainless steel table at Star. On this surface, Harry does cooking, which he distinguishes from baking, aided by a Cuisinart, a canister of wooden spoons, and a liberal collection of pots and pans.
Next to the worktable is the industrial refrigerator, equipped with a see-through glass door and simple interior shelves. This suits the family because Alexa doesn’t have to open the door to search for a snack and Harry can readily inventory what he has on hand.
And Laurie doesn’t have to spend hours cleaning grime out of “all those nooks and crannies” you find inside a typical refrigerator’s door.
The home’s old refrigerator-freezer, now sitting in the laundry room, holds ice cream and ice. They use few frozen or canned foods, and a microwave oven is nowhere in sight.
“I don’t do microwave,” Harry declared.
Eventually, Harry wants to make cabinet doors composed of wooden frames and chicken wire inserts. But he definitely doesn’t plan to conceal an inch of his treasured blue paint, or his collections of cups and saucers, glasses and bowls.
“I like lots of stuff,” he said. “In some cases, more is better.”
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Source Book
Project: Transform drab 1950s kitchen into a Monet reproduction
Homeowners: Harry and Laurie Schwartz
Construction coordinator: Marshall Smith, Relocation Now, Pacific Palisades, (310) 454-4356
Floor and carpentry: Bill Haggerty, A-Z Home Improvements, (310) 317-2221
Appliances: Star Restaurant Equipment, Van Nuys, (818) 782-4460
Granite slab: Bourget-Coast Flagstone Co., Santa Monica, (310) 829-4010
Duration: 12 days
Cost: $7,450
Where the Money Went
Demo and repairs: $1,000
Painting: $1,000
Dump fees: $200
Gas line to range: $400
Floor: $1,000
Wolf range: $1,250
True refrigerator: $1,000
Appliance delivery and installation: $600
Granite for dresser: $550
Stainless worktable: $250
Exhaust fan and installation: $150
Miscellaneous hardware: $50
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Send Us Your Remodeling Tale
If you would like to have your remodeling project--large or small--considered for use in the Pardon Our Dust series, send before and after photos (copies only, please; we cannot return the pictures) and a brief description of the project, including costs, to Home Editor, Southern California Living, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include a daytime phone number.
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Pardon Our Dust is published every third Thursday in SoCal Living. Kathy Price-Robinson is a freelance writer who has reported about remodeling for nine years. She can be reached at kathyprice@aol.com.