Interior Design | Bend Oregon Kitchens

THE FAB 5

THE FACKLER HOME: A Wine Collector’s Haven

When Dick and Janice Fackler built a second home on 10 acres on a high ridge in Bend, they had local firm Norman Building and Design create a view of seven Cascade peaks from every room in the 5,000-square-foot home, including the kitchen.

“There’s nothing I’d do differently in the house,” Janice said, “And we’ve built about four and remodeled two or three.”

The Facklers, who own a cattle ranch just south of Joplin, Missouri, fell in love with the area after driving on Highway 20 to a house they owned on the Oregon Coast. It was during their time on the coast and in the Willamette Valley that they developed their appreciation of wine.

So when they built their Central Oregon home three years ago, they included Sub-Zero storage for about 250 bottles of wine and a bar in the kitchen. The cabinetry is of birdseye maple accented with black walnut. Mountain views from the stove are unobstructed, because the stove hood is recessed in the counter, and rises and descends with the press of a button.

The center island accommodates six bar stools—one for each of the Facklers’ grandchildren. “It’s a great size for cooking and entertaining,” she said. “Whenever we entertain, everyone congregates around the curved end of the bar. There are 14 of us when all the family is there.”

An appliance garage with a roll-top door in the wall at the end of the kitchen counter keeps the coffee maker and toaster out of sight. Large drawers allow for easy storage and access to flour and sugar. The gas stove has a flat, glass top that cleans easily. The kitchen sink looks more like a piece of furniture, because it extends about two inches from the rest of the cabinetry, Janice said.

“Going and coming like we do really makes the mountains extra special,” said Janice, who spends six months of each year in the home. “It’s like, ‘wow,’ every time you come back. When the sun rises on the mountains, the snow is absolutely pink, and at night it’s wild red. It’s good to not miss it. The Three Sisters are right in front of the work area in the kitchen.”

THE NICHOLS KITCHEN: Built for a Family Gathering

Lori and Steve Nichols of Beaverton have had a second home in Sunriver for the past decade and before that they rented homes there. Sunriver is a place where they revel in devoting time to family and friends. “It’s our favorite place in the world,” Lori said.

Last year, the Nichols built a new home in Sunriver, with a kitchen that looks out onto the 15th fairway on The Woodlands golf course. Pinecone-brown hues throughout the kitchen create a warm, welcoming ambiance. Brown cement countertops offer a rugged but warm feel.

“The kitchen is usually the gathering place in most people’s homes,” she said. “We wanted a user-friendly curved island that can hold fi ve to six people—an area where we could hang out comfortably.”

The Nichols are a busy, but tight-knit family who prefer home-cooked meals.

In designing the kitchen, comfort was the most important consideration. Lori’s husband, Steve; daughter, Stacey; and son Ryan are all more than 6 feet tall, so all of the counters and the sink are two inches higher than standard.

“We wanted something easy to maintain,” she said. “We’re very basic people. There’s no warming drawer. We don’t have two ovens.”

THE SEBULSKY KITCHEN: Keeping the Kids Close

For Jacquie Sebulsky, the perfect kitchen allows her to make great dishes while being close to her daughters, Madi, 5, and Mielle, 1. Sebulsky, a design consultant for Sebulsky Designs and Norwalk Furniture in Bend, enjoys doing just that with her family’s new home, built last fall.

“I had a vision of what I wanted this house to be,” Jacquie said. “I always keep an idea book categorized by kitchen, bath and bedroom, so whenever I see a photo of something I like, I can go back to it. We’re always planning for the next house.”

She modified a fl oor plan with the help of the Bend offi ce of Alan Mascord Design Associates and turned a second dining area off the kitchen into a kids’ play area. She also expanded the height of windows encompassing the space so they are almost 7 feet tall to capture sunsets and surrounding ponderosas.

“I can watch the kids while making dinner,” she said. “It’s functioning extremely well, and the kids love it, too. The windows look out onto our deck where this squirrel visits, and they’re mesmerized for hours.”

The Sebulsky kitchen has a clean look, with white cabinets. “A few years ago, people were doing more wood, but white keeps it fresh,” she said. “It’s good with kids because you can see where the dirt is and wipe it off.”

The dark, walnut-stained pine fl ooring forgives spills, too. The Sebulskys relied on Timberline Construction in Bend for the kitchen carpentry and materials, but Jacquie bought most of the light fixtures and doors on eBay.

THE FRIESEN KITCHEN: Dream “Efficiency” at Broken Top

Harlan and Gwen Friesen had a vacation home in Broken Top for 11 years, but after Harlan retired, the couple decided to sell their residence in Portland and build a larger, primary residence in Bend.

Gwen wanted a layout in a new kitchen, in which she could cook more efficiently

Last summer they moved into their new 3,100-square-foot home in Broken Top. They chose Norman Building and Design, which had designed their fi rst house at Broken Top, to do all the design and construction.

“This new kitchen functions better for me,” Gwen said. “Before we had an island I had to walk around to get to the ovens and then back to the sink.”

Her new kitchen has a 9-foot island, but is designed so that her food-prep area, oven and sink are all within arm’s length. “It’s perfect for what I need,” she said.

She prefers the pantry because it is not a walk-in. It’s a deep, lighted cabinet with pull-out drawers. All of the kitchen cabinet shelves pull out, too.

The 8-foot-high dish pantry, in a muted, antiqued green, stands out from the rest of the room’s alder cabinetry and looks like a separate piece of furniture. A cabinet with a glass door, is above a standing plate rack and two drawers that store even more dishes.

Above her desk, beside the pantry, is a fl ip-down computer/television screen, where Gwen watches cooking shows, gets recipes online, or listens to the radio or a CD.

Views from the kitchen look onto a flagstone patio and 5-foot-high water feature at the front of the home. Through the back of the home is an outdoor extension of the kitchen: a covered patio with barbeque, fireplace and seating area. A heating element in the patio overhang keeps the area toasty on cool evenings.

Just beyond the patio is the seventh-hole fairway, where Friesen recently saw a herd of about 40 elk. “It was just unbelievably beautiful,” she said.

THE AUSTIN KITCHEN: Old World at Pronghorn

At the Pronghorn golf community and resort north of Bend, Austin Investments of Bend has created a dreamy kitchen with views of the 10th hole of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course.

Old-world accents punctuate the 26-by-16-foot space in this contemporary Northwest-lodge-style abode. The kitchen cabinetry and oven hood are crafted from distressed knotty alder. Hand-hammered copper trim complements the perimeter of some of the kitchen cabinets. Two islands allow ample preparation space. The wet bar, made of dense Massasa teak from Zimbabwe, offers rich texture and color, balancing the stainless steel Viking appliances: a double oven with two warming drawers, a microwave, a refrigerator and dishwasher.

A thick teak door inlaid with translucent glass opens to a climate-controlled walk-in wine cellar with a capacity of several hundred bottles.

“The combination of the teak wood and thick glass and steel has a very European feel,” said developer Fred Austin.

Moss Creek Designs designed the home with limestone counters and timber rafters to affect a rustic feel. High-tech amenities include network wiring throughout the kitchen and the rest of the 5,800-squarefoot home. Speakers, controlled by touch panels, are mounted in the kitchen’s vaulted ceiling of exposed, finished logs and stucco.

The kitchen opens on to a great room with a natural rock fi replace, off of that, there is a stone veranda with built-in barbeque. SunRidge Building and Design completed the home last fall.