A Blitz of Glitz: Robert Schwartz does the ultimate man cave

“Everyone knows what a kitchen looks like, but often people hire us to do an adjunct to the kitchen or a bar,” says Robert Schwartz, explaining why he threw caution to the wind and converted a bland conference room in his showroom into the ultimate leather-clad Man Cave.

“We were going for drama,” admits Schwartz, adding,”there’s a lot of bling.”

A blitz of glitz, the new Man Cave at the St. Charles of New York showroom.

The Mad-Man-worthy space is about 8×9. The glitz starts with base cabinets of quartered European larch, finished in a 100% gloss lacquered sheen. Not to be outdone, the wall cabinets are in a taupe-bronze shade of car paint with metallic flecking and high lacquered sheen. And to polish it all off, all the doors and drawers have nickel frames done by same guys who do all the work for Harley in York, Pa.

LEDS light up automatically when doors are opened. Cabinet frame was done by the guys who work on Harleys.

When opened, every door and drawer activates LED lighting and even the glass rollouts have LEDs. “We’re using these a lot more now,” Schwartz reports. “When people see it, they really want it.”

The lights sparkle in the mirrored and lacquer covered backsplashes.

As always with St. Charles of New York, one-of-kind artisanal touches abound. The countertop is blue tiger eye semiprecious stone, each slab pieced together by hand.

                                                                                                               

Hand-pieced blue tiger eye countertop is just one unusual material in the new St. Charles of New York bar.

Robert Schwartz says its was worth the wait for his handcrafted semiprecious stone countertop.

When Schwartz couldn’t find a rectangular polished nickel sink, he commissioned a metal crafter to build and plate one to his specs. The faucet was custom made as well.

And should anyone bounce off the Man Cave walls, they’ll encounter the finest Edelman leather.

A premium Edelman leather hide is cut on the premises at the St. Charles of New York showroom to cover walls of the bar.

The icing on the cake? The Octopus Baccarat fixture with 16 arms and light lavender colored Murano glass.

Karen Williams’ Blue Ribbon Color Palette Featured in Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine writes in its Winter 2011 issue about Karen Williams’ quiet and serene Blue Ribbon color palette, created for a 1,000-sq.-ft. showhouse kitchen. French blue and soft white cabinetry are set off with satin nickel hardware, all underlaid with elegant circles of glimmering glass tile.

Featured in Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine, this quiet palette of blue and white by Karen Williams is enlivened with a glass mosaic tile floor.

“For this large space, we wanted a delicate, slow-moving palette,” Williams said. “Your eye goes softly from one element to another, and it’s all tied together with white marble countertops with gray striations. The glass tile on the floor is unexpected and entertaining.”

A soft blue and white palette unites a large showhouse kitchen designed by Karen Williams.

Rustic Meets Industrial: Beautiful Kitchens & Baths Showcases a Karen Williams Color Palette

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine in its Winter issue highlights a fresh new color palette Karen Williams created for a kitchen in a converted barn home. No cliched country looks here. Instead, Williams combined blackened stainless steel and rustic barn wood cabinetry, topped with pewter and lavastone counters.

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine featured this rustic/industrial look as one of Karen Williams' four "no-fail" color palettes.

“We used colors and surfaces that look like materials a blacksmith might have left in the barn,” Williams told the magazine. “Each surface has its own distinct feel, and taken together, they make the kitchen look as if it’s always been there. But this palette also could be used in a loft or mountain home.”

Barn board and blackened stainless cabinetry are right at home in a rustic barn, but would work just as well in an urban loft.

Classic French: Beautiful Kitchens & Baths Features a Karen Williams Color Palette

One of four “no-fail” color palettes featured in the Winter issue of Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine is this Classic French concept created by Karen Williams for a new Chateau-style home in Florida. Inspired by a paneled room in Versailles, she brought the cabinetry to life in the color of French butter, then enhanced it with antique-inspired gold hardware. The unexpected dazzle comes from petrified-wood quartz countertops.

Karen Williams' updated French palette was featured in Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine.

“The cabinetry offers soft striations and gentle curves,” Williams explained, “and the paint color is neutral and calming. It was when we added the exotic wood countertop that the glamour factor went off the map. It’s like nothing you’ve seen before — simply stunning.”

A paneled room in Versailles inspired Karen Williams to create the soft striations and gentle curves of this buttery door.

Antique-style hardware pieces like this one further inspired her classic French palette.

When Williams added this exotic wood countertop to a classic French kitchen, the glamour factor went off the map.

Retro Urban: Beautiful Kitchens & Baths Features a Karen Williams Palette

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine featured four “no-fail” color palettes from Karen Williams in its Winter issue including this Retro Urban palette she devised for her own compact Manhattan kitchen. The designer combined powder-coated steel mint green cabinets with fumed oak cabinets, polished chrome hardware, and satin and glossy white mosaic tile.

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine featured the Retro Urban palette Karen Williams created for her own kitchen.

“The metal cabinetry gives it a retro vibe, and the fumed oak adds the look of mink that blends with the wood herringbone floor,” Williams told the magazine. “The mixed colors are muted and work in a relatively small space, and we kept the hardware intentionally simple. The backsplash adds sparkle. It’s fun, young, urban and very tactile.”

Fumed oak and mint green cabinetry with satin and glossy white mosaic tile create a fun, urban, tactile vibe in Karen Williams' Manhattan kitchen.

Who says kitchens aren’t a good investment?

After Sandy Weill, former chairman and CEO of Citigroup, bought his penthouse at 15 Central Park West in 2007, St. Charles of New York did the kitchen, and several other rooms. Weill bought the apartment for $43.7 million and now has it on the market for $88 million. Talk about appreciation!

St. Charles of New York has done five kitchens in the prestigious building by Robert A.M. Stern, which has attracted financial bigwigs and celebrities including Sting, Norman Lear, Denzel Washington, and Bob Costas.

St. Charles of New York has done five kitchens in the prestigious Robert A.M. Stern building.

Karen Williams shares her color tips with Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine

A kitchen’s color palette is 100 percent project-specific, Karen Williams told Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine in a  recent Color by Design feature headlined “The Beauty of Subtle Color.”  A home’s architectural style and location are two key elements she first considers.

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths magazine published four "no-fail" color palettes from Karen Williams.

For example, a white kitchen might work perfectly in a classic Hamptons cottage. But for an historic Baton Rouge home where many materials are natural or reclaimed, she recently recommended a classic French palette with Mediterranean influences.

With a color-shy client, Williams suggests considering a shade that appears in other rooms of the home, one they are already comfortable with, to inspire their kitchen palette.

Beautiful Kitchens & Baths cited Karen Williams' "dreamy color palettes" in a recent article.

Room size matters, too.  ”Most people think a large kitchen can accommodate a lot of color, but I feel that too much color in a large space can be overwhelming,” Williams told the magazine. “In such a setting the space itself provides plenty of drama, so I often use a more delicate palette to keep the overall impression in scale.”

“In smaller kitchens, you can have more fun with color because the space functions much like a piece of art that’s viewed singly and in its totality.”

Overall today she sees more combinations of color. “Homeowners are open to lacquered cabinets and grayer shades of oak. They’re experimenting far more now than in the past,” Williams told the magazine.

Elle Decor talks to Karen Williams about counter surfaces

Elle Decor magazine in its November “Punch List” feature interviewed Karen Williams and other leading designers including Steven Gambrel, Carl D’Aquino, Amy Lau, James Biber and Laura Kirar for a piece on surfaces. In the article titled “What the pros know,” Karen noted that while white marble is classic, some people are looking for what they feel are more durable options. She suggested three of her other favorite materials, pewter, lavastone and semiprecious stone.

She told Elle Decor she likes pewter tops, which are handmade in France, because they develop a soft patina as they age.

Karen Williams chose a pewter countertop for this bar, knowing it will develop a beautiful patina as it ages.

Semiprecious stone tops are a go-to for their brilliant colors and striking patterns.

For a new home in Florida, Karen Williams selected this petrified wood semiprecious stone for the countertop in the butler's pantry. She loves how it brings color and pattern into the room, which will have French-style cabinetry doors like this one.

And she loves lavastone because it’s heat, stain and scratch resistant, as well as having a subtle crackled texture. Plus she can create a custom color in it.

Karen Williams specified a custom blue lavastone countertop for a Florida highrise, picking up the color of the ocean outside the kitchen window.

Kitchen & Bath Ideas magazine talks to Karen Williams about ranges

Kitchen & Bath Ideas magazine sought expert advice from Karen Williams for an article in its December issue on choosing a range. In “Chef’s Choice,” Williams told readers they should think about “who cooks, how they cook and their skill level” when shopping for cooking equipment.

“If you’re an avid cook and the only person using it, a professional range may be the right fit, but if the babysitter is heating up chicken nuggets for the kids every day, a less complex model might be better,” she advised.

She also recommended taking into account all the new options now. “How much you need to learn in order to get the full benefits of the product should be a deciding factor when choosing a range,” she pointed out. Some people love learning a new technology like induction, others don’t want the hassle.

Larger or more complicated ranges aren’t always the best solution. Instead, it might make sense to combine your range with a drop-in component such as a steamer or fryer. Williams did that in her own kitchen, creating a custom cooking center with a teppanyaki grill and deep fryer.

With all the individual elements now available (deep fryers, wok units, induction units, grills, griddles), a custom range can be created to suit anyone’s needs.

And in  some kitchens the range may become the design focal point. In that case, you may want to splurge on a custom range where you select the color, the trim, and the cooking elements.

With all the choices now on the market, there is a great range for every cooking need.

Robert Schwartz: K+BB’s Go-To Guy for Top Products

When K+BB magazine wanted an expert’s insights on top products, they sought advice from Robert Schwartz. First, he explained, versatility is his mantra, rather than a singular aesthetic, although he confessed to a fondness for a furniture aesthetic and eclecticism. He told the magazine, “I’m about multiple pieces, heights, textures and finishes all tastefully co-existing.”

His sensibilities are reflected in some favorites he shared with the editor. Take, for example, his high gloss-lacquered cabinet doors in car paint colors. “A client could request a cabinet in Mercedes Silver or BMW Alpine White and we would use the same paint formulation as the car company,” he explained. Schwartz also does metallics in high gloss lacquer, and often frames the door in nickel for a striking look.

Another long-time but still fresh fav is white glass countertops which he has used for more than 20 years. Impervious to oil, lemon and wine, they are easy maintenance. And fronts can be mitered to any thickness, making them more versatile and convenient to transport than stone.

Schwartz also shed the light on LEDs which he thinks are  now “ready for prime time.” He likes the beautiful soft warm lighting for under cabinets, cabinet interiors, drawers and other kitchen applications.

Finally the Vinturi wine aerator is a favorite that lives close at hand in his own kitchen. A lover and collector of great wines, Schwartz can become impatient with the ritual of decanting and waiting until a red opens up. Pouring wine through the spinning Vinturi draws in air,  improving the bouquet and enhancing  flavors quickly. Cheers!