gay adair
GAY ADAIR DESIGN
kitchens
tend to be some of interior designer Gay Adair’s favor-ite
projects, and the one she loves the most is the one in her own
Carolina Heights home.
“The light this time of year, middle summer, makes my own
kitchen my very favorite room,” the owner of Gay Adair Design
says. “This house, built in 1910, had been condemned but I was
a sucker for the way natural light played through it so I bought
it. It took four offers being rejected for me to finally own this
house. But after the very first time I walked through it, I had
designed this kitchen in my head and days later on paper and
never changed a thing throughout the remodel.”
The renovation took 11 months. Once the rotting floor joists
were replaced, and the lack of openness resolved by the addition
of windows — after having obtained approval from the preserva-tion
board to do so, given the age of the home — Adair was able
to focus on more personal touches.
From selecting Swedish handprinted wallpaper to installing
antiquated lighting fixtures that revealed a need for some rewir-ing,
Adair worked to emphasize a natural sense of beauty in the
room, a practice she has cultivated with many soulful interpreta-tions
for her clients.
The cabinets include painted vintage pieces that had to be
crafted to exacting measurements and style to match. Italian
tie-dye fabric adorns the freezer and dishwasher, which serve as
complementary offsets for a poster of Adair’s mother at the age
of 19, proudly affixed to her refrigerator.
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WBM september 2017