The kitchen is the heart of the home for most families. Rebecca Shirey Johnson, a member of the Will Johnson Building Company team, has found that to be true whether working with clients in the Triangle or watching the speed with which her military family made houses into homes during extensive world travels.

The trick has always been getting small kitchens to feel open and welcoming and to segregate work areas in large kitchens so multiple cooks can take ownership of their projects. Over the past couple of years, Shirey Johnson has helped design several kitchens with her husband, Ben Johnson, and his father Will, the general contractor of the firm.

When renovating on a budget, Shirey Johnson helps homeowners figure out where they can compromise so they can splurge a little on things they really want. If a kitchen is dark, using white or light paint hues is an inexpensive fix. Likewise, bead board as a backsplash instead of tile or copper saves money so the homeowner can afford a more expensive laminate top.

A splurge on hardware can give old cabinets a more custom look. How? Standard hardware is 4-inches. Paying for wider pulls gives stock cabinets that custom look, and they are easier to use for those whose hands are losing their agility or strength, Shirey Johnson says.

Sometimes a homeowner is really into a certain high-end material, such as granite, copper or tile. Maybe their dream is a kitchen filled with commercial appliances, which are very expensive.

Shirey Johnson advises accenting with that material – say using copper as a backsplash behind a range instead of using it throughout the kitchen. Use a custom paint color to highlight other areas and buy commercial-grade appliances by Kenmore instead of the higher-end European models.

When you have a client who can afford to build a high-end kitchen, there are still a lot of compromises to make. Just ask Rebecca Rosenberg, whose Chapel Hill kitchen is the center of her family life.

“Like most people’s homes, everyone meets in the kitchen,” Rosenberg said. “We cook together, we check-in here – it is the heart of our house. Now it is large enough so no cramping. It’s easy. There is a lot of light.” Rosenberg, who has built and remodeled other large homes for her family, was intent on creating a very functional space. She and Shirey Johnson measured for custom Lucite inserts so that everything would have a place – from flatware to glasses and dishes.

There is a rhyme and reason to where something is. Glasses and dishes are close to dishwasher. The butler pantry between kitchen and dining room has a sink and a dishwasher and serves as a good transitional space for formal entertaining. “The Rosenberg house is a great example of how we work with home owner and sub-contractors to create a space that no one of us could have accomplished alone,” Johnson said.

As an example, Johnson tells the story of how a hand towel bar became a refrigerator handle.

“The fridge they chose was huge, and they wanted it to blend in as part of the cabinets,” Johnson said. “We couldn’t find a piece of stock hardware that was in scale with the fridge, so one of our subcontractors suggested using a towel bar as a big handle. It fit the scale of the size of the fridge and was in keeping with the hardware on the cabinets. This kind of collaboration is what makes it fun for everybody.”

When it comes time to think about designing a new kitchen, bath, master suite or house, it’s nice to have a place to sit down with your builder and think it through. A place where you can see examples of the work he’s done and solutions to building challenges he’s found for other clients.

That’s why Will Johnson Building Company decided to open a design shop in Southern Village that is manned by one of his team from 9-5 Monday through Friday. You can talk with Will, the general contractor of the firm; his son, Ben, house and room designer; Ben’s wife, Rebecca, the purchasing agent and interior design coordinator; or Will’s wife, Laurie, financial officer and human resources manager, who connects those new to the area with all of the essentials – doctors, pharmacies, accountants.

Johnson was inspired at the National Home Builders Association Show last year. He got help from nationally known architects, as well as local companies such as Clear Tech, Fitch Lumber, Fergusons (plumbing and lighting) and Triangle Electric.

“We like to think of ourselves as a building company that emphases the importance of quality work and design,” Johnson said. “Our new show room beside Harrington Bank allows us to show home or room designs or cabinet details. We have a huge catalog of digital photos of projects we have finished. We wanted to show people what we could do in their living room – this wall of cabinets and media center is not unlike what many families would put in their living room or home office.”

For more information about the company or to set up an appointment after hours, go to www.willjohnsonbuilding.com or call 919-933-2100.

Sally Keeney can be reached at
shkeeney@yahoo.com or 919-932-0879.