It Started With the Garage.
The garage may not be the first room that comes to mind when you think about custom cabinetry, but for many homeowners it is one of the hardest-working spaces in the house.
For this Frankford, Delaware home, the project ultimately extended across seven distinct spaces: the garage, pantry, cedar sport coat closet, Bedroom 2 closet, Bedroom 3 closet and two primary closets.
Rather than approaching each room as an isolated project, the goal was to consider how every space needed to function on its own while maintaining the same attention to space planning, materials and detail throughout the home.
Seven spaces. Different needs. One thoughtful approach.
Good design starts with what needs to be stored.
A successful garage is about more than putting doors in front of clutter. Cabinetry has to respond to the tools, equipment, household items and everyday necessities that actually live there.
Full-height cabinetry creates substantial storage while giving the room a cleaner architectural presence. The result is a garage that functions as part of the home rather than simply a place to put everything that does not have another destination.
The cabinetry was only one part of the transformation. The polyaspartic flooring was considered as part of the overall material palette from the beginning.
Cabinetry and flooring, considered together.
The garage was approached as a complete room, with the cabinetry finish and polyaspartic floor coating selected in relationship to one another rather than as separate decisions.
The polyaspartic floor introduces movement and contrast, while the Sapphire cabinetry provides a deeper architectural backdrop. Reviewing the materials together allowed the colors and textures to be considered before installation.
A pantry designed around everyday life.
Moving inside, the pantry demonstrates the same principle: storage should be designed around what belongs in the space, how often it is used and how easily it needs to be accessed.
Thoughtful shelving and organization transform a hardworking utility space into something easier to navigate every day, making better use of the available footprint without overcomplicating it.
A cedar closet dedicated to his sport coats.
This closet was designed with a very specific purpose: dedicated storage for his collection of sport coats. Rather than treating the space as another general closet, the design responds directly to what needed to be stored there.
Cedar has a long history in garment storage. Its naturally aromatic character makes it particularly well suited to a closet dedicated to jackets and wool garments, while the material brings warmth and richness to the space itself.
The natural grain and variation of the wood give the closet an entirely different character from the manufactured finishes used elsewhere in the home. Here, the material is not simply decorative. It is an integral part of the purpose and experience of the room.
It is also an example of what truly custom design allows: instead of asking a homeowner to adapt to a predetermined closet system, the storage can be designed around a specific collection and the way it needs to be cared for.
Two closets. Two people. Two individual solutions.
The two primary closets continue the same individualized approach. Each was planned around what needed to be stored and how the person using that space moves through it every day. Hanging space, shelving and cabinetry were considered independently rather than forcing both closets into the same formula.
The result is two distinct storage spaces that respond to different needs while still feeling connected to the larger design approach established throughout the home.
Designing an entire home does not mean making every space the same.
Across seven spaces, the needs were distinctly different. The garage required substantial cabinetry and a durable polyaspartic floor. The pantry needed accessible everyday organization. The secondary bedroom closets each presented their own storage requirements, while the two primary closets were planned independently for the people using them.
The cedar sport coat closet added another dimension entirely. Rather than general-purpose storage, it was created around a specific collection and demonstrates how both material and purpose can influence the design of a space.
What connects these spaces is not a matching system. It is the process behind them: understanding what belongs in each room, how the homeowner uses it and what materials, finishes and details will make that particular space work better.
What could work better in your home?
Or, as this project demonstrates, the conversation can extend throughout the home. We can help plan each room around its own purpose while creating a thoughtful approach to storage, cabinetry and space planning from one area to the next.