Transitional Style Home Remodeled in 2021
By Steve Bennett
Photography By Matthew Niemann Photography
SA Woman spoke with Jana Valdez, principal designer and kitchen and bath specialist for Haven Design and Construction.
Q: Jana, you are passionate about kitchen and bath design. Why are those two-room so important to you — and should be to homeowners?
A: Our company started out doing kitchens and baths, although our business has evolved to a lot more over the years. But kitchens and baths are important because those are the two rooms, besides maybe the bedroom, that people use the most. From a design standpoint, they are complex because you have to make things like appliances fit, and it takes a lot of thought. It’s almost like a puzzle that you have to make functional, but also beautiful at the same time.
Q: What are some of the most important factors or trends in kitchen and bath design today?
A: For kitchens, I usually start the process with an appliance appointment, where I take the client to look at appliances to see what their tastes and needs are. Do they want gas or electric? What size do they need? How are they going to use the kitchen? Do they want a built-in wine fridge or coffeemaker? Maybe they want a pizza oven. Some people love to cook, while others want a show kitchen. Do they entertain a lot? Or is it a family that the mom wants seating for all the kids around an island while she cooks? You have to design the kitchen around the client’s lifestyle.
Q: Do more people want a spa in their master bath these days?
A: People are more likely to want that the more hectic their lives become. And as the technology has advanced, people want to incorporate things like rain shower heads into their bathrooms. I think people see bathrooms more as an oasis, so we are using many more luxury materials in bathroom design now. And during COVID, our business didn’t slack off at all. People were spending more time in their houses and looking at things they wanted to change. Many of them realized that they need that haven in their home where they could pamper themselves a little.
Steve Bennett
A native Texan, Steve Bennett has written about art, architecture and books for more than 30 years, working for the San Antonio Light, Express-News and Austin American-Statesman. Currently a freelance writer and editor, Steve makes a mean dish of green enchiladas and believes there aren’t many better things in life than the drawings of Vincent Valdez and the Berlin noir detective novels of Philip Kerr.
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