Written by: Tiffany Carboni

The Fortune 500 execs that call The Reserve at Lake Keowee, SC home (or second home) are as varied as the companies they run. It makes sense that these individuals would want their houses within this exclusive waterfront community to be just as individualized.        

With that, Tim Odom, principal of Kitchen + Bath Artisans was tasked to create an unmatched kitchen for his clients that reflect both their unique personality and the house’s surrounding beauty. “The common theme in this kitchen,” explains the designer, “is the subtle details that you don’t notice until you focus. That’s my definition of good design.”

Each workstation in the kitchen reflects this sentiment, starting with one of the room’s biggest conversation pieces: the circular water station by KWC. The sink was the premise for the kitchen’s design that began two years before any purchases were made. The problem was that once it came time to order the sink, it was discontinued. “We hunted it down and finally found the very last one…in Sweden,” he laughs.

Above the Wolf range stands another prominent point of interest—the custom hood made by Abbaka in California. It was a challenge finding the right hood that was in scale with the 12-foot ceiling, but the next test was convincing the man of the house that the pricey brushed- and polished-nickel piece was a justified cost. “Once he saw what an artistic piece it is,” notes Odom, “he was fully on board.”

The cherry cabinets by Christiana Cabinetry topped with Silestone quartz from Marmi Natural Stone provide a clean, modern feel that’s softened with rounded ends to match the room’s other annular details. The upper cabinets are made up of two tiers. The lower tier, paneled with both cherry and frosted glass, lifts opens making it easier to see and access everything inside. The upper tier is made of frosted glass set inside a stainless steel frame. Though that top tier isn’t used for much storage because of its height constraints, it, like the hood, gives the room proper scale.

Since the surrounding water provides much of the room’s backdrop, Odom continued the aquatic motif at the breakfast bar thanks to its continuous slab of silver travertine cut and the pattern matched to resemble a waterfall. Italian pendants hang above casting light on the island set with four stools.       

Residents around Lake Keowee may desire the best of what this world has to offer, but that doesn’t mean they all have to live with the same beauty. This kitchen proves any design is possible—though sometimes it requires going to the ends of the world to find it.