AUGUST Designer Spotlight: George Oviedo
George Oviedo is a residential interior designer based in Miami Beach, Florida. As a Miami native, George was exposed to different cultures which has expanded his way of thinking and designing. He got his Interior design degree from a private art school in Ft. Lauderdale and during his studies, George was privileged enough to join a study abroad program in Europe which was based in Paris, France.
His classes consisted of art history and World War II history. What was special was that for every art movement he would study, he would then go to the museums that housed the paintings of that movement and see the original pieces in person.
While living in Paris, George galavanted through Europe and visited different countries where he was able to experience different cultures and see the country’s art, fashion and gastronomy which expanded his knowledge and influenced his way of designing. George is also a certified aging in place specialist designer (CAPS certification.)
With this particular project, the homeowners had a leak from their AC unit upstairs that trickled down to their kitchen and laundry room on the first floor. As with any water leak, their insurance had to go in and assess the damage and came to the conclusion that some of the walls that had water damage had to be ripped out in the kitchen, walk-in pantry, laundry room and part of the hallway walls leading to the garage. They also had remove all of her kitchen cabinets in the process. They interviewed a few local companies in the area before stopping by at Allied but did not receive the attention they were looking for. A lot of broken promises from the local companies and some didn’t even get back to them with estimates.
The leak happened in end of spring and they came in around beginning of Fall 2018. The wife had a distinct style she was trying to achieve with her new kitchen renovation. She wanted to maintain a traditional style but incorporate modern updated touches to the design to accomplish a “transitional” style of kitchen. We were inspired by a few celebrity kitchens and when we started showing different door styles, she fell in love with one in particular.
This door style is very detailed and had a specific detail that she wanted to carry over in different areas of the kitchen. Since they needed to change out the kitchen, they also would need to change out their butler’s pantry and bar area since it had the same color cabinets and counter tops as the kitchen.
We added a “docking station” which is basically and outlet inside a drawer where they can charge their smart devices. We added a base cabinet that has a pull-out shelf that holds a mixer by the oven cabinet so her and her kids can bake together as a family. She also wanted an area where she can store her vegetables in open cabinets, so we added some pull-out baskets inside two base cabinets.
Also in keeping the traditional style and detail the door style has, we incorporated some decorative wood legs flanking the sink and pulled out the sink as well as the decorative legs out of the wall 3 inches so the countertop has a visual interest. We were having so much fun designing the space, that we also designed a TV console using the same door style, decorative legs that were used in the kitchen and bar area.
We also added some high-end mullion doors with mirror insets instead of glass to give a luxurious feel to the kitchen and bar area. This same mullion style on the doors were carried over to the TV console but instead of mirrors, we opted for clear glass since the tv receivers would be stored inside and needed to connect to the remote control. They have high ceilings so she thought of adding another set of wall cabinets above to create “transom wall cabinets” to take advantage of the high ceiling and make the kitchen look grander.
It was a pleasure to work with them and help them get their lives back in order with a working kitchen. They have 2 young kids, so it was very important we made this project run smooth and as quickly as possible so they can get back to normality. They were very appreciative and commended us on our professionalism and cleanliness throughout the project.
