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Absolute Kitchens:

Unqualified Perfection

Article by Melinda Gipson

Photography by Bob Narod Photography

Originally published in Leesburg Lifestyle

When Richard Forbes first redid Carol’s kitchen in Alexandria in 1990, he wrote his cell number on the drywall. Some thirty years later it was still there when she decided she wanted to lighten things up and he began again. “At the time I had a Microtech Light [cellphone] that was the size of a brick. I had hair then too,” he quips.

It’s not an uncommon story for the Absolute Kitchen guru to make repeat performances for his clients; he’ll be doing the third kitchen for a customer who recently moved to California this fall. The reason why boils down to the fact that everything Richard does is done to perfection. “That’s what Absolute means you know – it means perfect and complete.” Perfect, because each edge is seamless and every appliance, cabinet, countertop and sink are both top of the line and perfectly aligned to what the kitchen’s owner expects to do in it.

Since “light” was the reason behind the renovation, Richard first determined the sources of natural light that could flow into the kitchen, then be captured and reflected by light finished cabinetry constructed to his exacting specs by Superior Woodcraft in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. All of the drawers – even the one under the stove – open to full extension on heavy-duty glides, making finding anything a breeze.

The sink then became a focal point to correspond with an opening into the adjoining room – with its own light sources – and all the recessed lighting in the ceiling was then aligned to enhance work areas radiating from there.

The sink is a story in itself. It’s a Shaw fireclay sink, made in England since the 19th Century, and is built like a tank, in Richard’s words. What he like about it are its classic lines, and the fact that its apron design is equally at home in a very traditional or very contemporary kitchen. “I tend to stay away from ‘trends’ which tend to have only a five to seven year life span,” he explains.

The trick to installing one properly is that one has to wait until the sink arrives before fashioning the cabinets and countertop. “They’re not consistent in size and can vary as much s 3/16 of an inch from one to another,” Richard says. Since no variance is allowed in the long, clean lines of the counter and the cabinetry, the sink comes first.

To the left side is a dishwasher, and to the right a trash bin. The countertop is a Honed charcoal gray marble, with white veins echoing the white in the floor and the cabinets. The floor is light wood, and the gray wool runner lends an almost marble-like trompe l’oeil effect in its path to the French doors opening on a walled garden.

Along the other wall stand the Bosch ovens, Sub-Zero refrigerator and 7-ft-tall wine captain, and pantry, the latter cleverly concealing duct work so that it only appears as deep as the high-end appliances. “Clearly, one or two bottles in the fridge weren’t sufficient,” Richard deadpans. But then, everything he does is much more than “sufficient;” only perfect will do.

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