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For Liz Hoekzema, there’s no better feeling than walking into a house mid-construction and getting a whiff of freshly cut wood. “I just love it,” says Hoekzema, who runs the Michigan-based firm KLH Custom Homes alongside her husband, Kevin. Their projects are chock-full of personality, and a lot of that has to do with the custom millwork they incorporate. Unique details like dovetail edges, rounded corners, and oversized knobs have become a signature of their work.
They don’t know how to design any other way: Kevin did all the trimwork in their very first house 20 years ago. Now, they have a whole team dedicated to the technical side of things, but Hoekzema never runs out of new ideas. “When I see everything getting cut and glued, there’s always some extra spark that hits me. That’s where I love to play, in those final little tweaks,” she says.
Going bespoke doesn’t always translate to sticker shock. For Hoekzema, it all comes down to creativity. “You can play with different wood species, the direction you run the grain, using lacquer, integrating the hardware…there are so many ways to do it at different price points,” she says. Ahead, we asked the designer to break down her top cabinet designs.
The Vanity with Contrasting Grain
We did a vanity in a teen boy’s bathroom with these oversized circles on the face of it but shifted the grain of the white oak inside those circles. It gave it a boom box-like quality!
The Curved Island
I love anything with curves. We did a house with a massive vaulted ceiling in the main area, so we wanted to soften that by doing a semi-circular island. It had to be built twice because the first time it wasn’t done correctly. But when it all came together, it was so beautiful. You don’t see curved inner doors like that every day.
The Dowel-Covered Bar
We did a custom bar with all these little punctuation marks of half-round, dowel pieces. The house is this classic brick Colonial, so we wanted to find a way to honor the dental detailing on the exterior. We were like, ‘Wait a minute, we can bring this in through the cabinetry!’
The Edgy Vanity
As much as we love working with round and half-round elements, and shaping them in new ways, we also find it exciting to give cabinetry an angular twist once in a while. This cabinet is also an example of playing with hardware groupings to create a bigger impact.
The Overload of Knobs
This space is for two little girls but we didn’t want it to read as too cute. We started with a rich brown marble and cornflower blue. For a little sense of that whimsy, we brought in these warm wood knobs that, when applied all over the face, add a sunny disposition. The center panel is a functioning door (there’s room for cleaning supplies and trash under the sink) and lots of drawers for their brushes and all those things.
The Mudroom Island
We didn’t want this mudroom to feel basic and practical, which led us to this center island that makes it look like a boutique. We wrapped the entire thing in square hardware pieces (even on the sides where there aren’t any functioning doors).
The Slots for Mail (and More)
One of this client’s biggest asks was to have a better functioning mudroom for their young family of four. We did a bench seat that has tons of room for shoes inside with these dark brown paint strips that add a visual punctuation. It flows into this quieter wall where you’ve got slots to stow away mail and a place for your purse. There are lockers for kids’ coats and backpacks. We could have done a bunch of the same hardware and called it a day but instead we added a special moment up top with circular perforations.
The Secret Pantry
We looked at this kitchen and thought, how can we reorient all of these practical components, but also end up with a space that’s flooded with light? It made the most sense to create this interior pantry space that would be very accessible, but we brought in a skylight so that you always have light flowing through.
The Hidden HVAC
In our own home, we have a wall of mudroom cabinets that hide an HVAC run. It’s tucked within one of the lockers so at a glance all you see is beautiful hardware with this ventilation detail. You’d have no idea what’s in there! That kind of thing excites me.
The Stone Hardware
We have materials in our hands all day long, whether it’s tile, metal, or glass, so we’re endlessly inspired by the ways you can bring those onto the face of a cabinet for fresh combinations. For as long as we’re doing this, I’ll be thinking about how we can inject a new material onto something.