Penny Chanco
Contributor
The laidback, wood and glass kitchen is publicly returning to the limelight.
“All through jiffies of crisis, people return to natural materials,” said architect Ned Carlos, who has made his name with a profuse use of hardwood, much of it sourced in Negros Oriental, where his studio’s kitchen projects are located.
Indeed, after a year in which most of us have spent more time than ever in our home kitchens, the drift has turned to materials that feel bucolic, rough-hewn, and forcefully soothing.
“We try to use as much wood as clients will let us,” said the architect of the Molave hardwood that has been essential to his kitchen makeovers.
The firm restored a few kitchens around its practice’s neighborhood, with naturally finished or wood-stained Molave and Gmelina. “The lumpier the wood, the tougher it is to clean, but it has a plentiful warmer sense and a laxer touch,” explained Ned, who matched the natural material with glass in heavier-use areas to make cleaning easier.
The design, confessesed the architect, necessitates a rather audacious client with a luxe budget.
“We have always favored a hardwood cabinet and have used them in most of our interior projects.”
Even for a painted cabinet, Ned likes to use white-wash and he lets the grain show through. He picks hardwood when it comes to kitchen cabinetry: “They are undoubtedly a permanent asset, predominantly if well-crafted.”