MasterBrand Cabinets is thrilled to unveil a partnership with Jami Supsic, the former Home and Style director for HGTV Magazine and Country Living Magazine, renowned for her exceptional taste and visionary designs. Leveraging the timeless elegance and versatility of the semi-custom brand, Diamond Edge, Jami has transformed her outdated Connecticut kitchen into a stunning and functional space. The collaboration highlights how Diamond Edge’s cabinetry solutions can bring dreams to life, combining aesthetic beauty with practical functionality. With expertly crafted cabinets that reflect the architecture and history of the home, this renovation showcases the perfect blend of new trends and timeless design.
Jami kindly shared insights on how she started her passion for interior decorating, her personal design style, and her kitchen design process. Read along and see her gorgeous before-and-after photos!
Tell us a little bit about yourself
“Sure! I’m a longtime shelter magazine editor who also has practiced interior decoration for the last 15 years. My bachelor’s degree is in journalism, but I studied interior design at the Fashion Institute of Technology as an adult. For over a decade now I’ve been a Home and Style director, which means I find the houses we feature in the magazines and create the shot list and style direction for those features. I’ll often art direct on set and in recent years, in addition to direction, I’ve taken on the actual styling myself.
When I’m not working, I love to travel, hike, work in the garden, read, and spend time with my family, friends, and longtime partner. Recently, I’ve taken up Pilates (I’m terrible) and been studying photography.”
If you have a go-to design style, what is it?
“Country meets traditional meets modern? High meets low? Brand new meets with vintage. Shoot. I kind of love it all. I think that’s borne from my career – I’ve spent decades studying the work of the country’s most talented interior designers and architects. I do love color, but in decorating, I embrace more muted, natural tones. A lot of my style is defined by the architecture of a space when it comes to country vs. modern.”
What were your cabinetry goals for your new kitchen and why did you decide to renovate?
“I’ve styled or written about or art directed photo shoots of other people’s kitchens for years and years. When I bought my house in Connecticut, I LOVED that it had a wildly outdated, falling apart kitchen. I wanted a space that I could completely renovate and make my own and this kitchen gave me no choice. The cabinets probably hadn’t been updated since the 40s and the quality just wasn’t there anymore. That said, while I wanted new cabinetry for function and cleanliness purposes, the aesthetic of the kitchen was certainly chief among my concerns. I wanted to design a beautiful space – one that was timeless, but also incorporated trends, while nodding to the architecture and history of the home. From a practical standpoint, I also needed storage. Keeping clutter away helps with the beauty of a kitchen of course. I love to cook and have never had a large kitchen to store my collection of dishware, bakeware, pots, pans, cookbooks, etc. Also as a stylist, I have a vast collection of vases and entertaining accessories. Added pressure – this old house has one closet.”
What were your kitchen must-haves and which storage innovation have you found the most beneficial?
“I’ve been hearing a lot over the years about how much more practical drawer space is over lower cabinet doors. I really wanted to try deep drawers for pots and pans, and having two of those to the left of the range has been a real convenience. The pull-out shelves in the corner cabinet are vital. I can get so much in that space now and the shelf pulls out so easily for access. The trash and recycling drawer really make me feel like I’ve finally made it. I’m serious!! I love having a drawer to hide all the trash and recycling. I’ve never had a kitchen large enough for that. I love the rolling shelves in the pantry. It saves me from having to dig around dark interior cabinetry looking for that one vital ingredient I knew I had…..the shelves roll out into the light to keep everything visible. Oh, and the peg board in the dish drawers – not as deep as the ones for pots and pans, but still pretty deep – are so cool. Everyone that sees the kitchen reacts to those rather strongly.
There was no way we were going to fit an island into the footprint of the kitchen and I did not want to knock down walls or change the existing floorplan. I knew though that a place to sit in the kitchen was vital for my dream kitchen. I want to cook, make cocktails and clean with company. I didn’t want to always be tinkering around in there alone. To that end, we included a desk space into the layout. It’s used constantly by my partner, company and myself – I’m typing at the desk right now.”
What did you like about using Diamond Edge Cabinetry for the renovation? Tell us what it’s like incorporating THREE finishes in one space!
“Wood cabinets are very in right now, so I LOVED the Diamond natural oak finish, but wood cabinets also work beautifully in a historic country location. Green is a popular choice for cabinetry as well at the moment, but Diamond’s Retreat color felt fresh with its cool undertones. It was also muted enough to respect the oak and to feel country. An emerald hue here would not have worked as well. For the upper shelves and the recessed pantry cabinet (the cabinet that sits on top of the lowers) I went with Diamond’s Agreeable Gray, a third cabinetry color. I was worried that oak uppers might feel a little rustic and I think the green could have gone too heavy and been too matchy-match with the pantry wall. Agreeable Gray is so soft that visually, this big blocky cabinet does not draw all the attention. The natural wood, green, and gray tones all work together beautifully and create interest with their varying tones. I debated white over Agreeable Gray and had a moment of – oh no, what did I do – panic when it was too late to change direction, but I’m thrilled with gray. White would have been so safe and boring.”
You worked with a Kitchen Designer on your project. Tell us the benefits of working with a Designer!
“Yes. I feel like my Kitchen Designer is a saint sent from heaven to help me with this project. Her patience and knowledge were invaluable. I had a general idea of what I wanted from the floorplan, but she was able to render countless revisions and showcase them not only through traditional floorplans and elevations, but also in 3D graphics. These made all the difference when finalizing the plans. She was able to suggest dimensions and sizing for all the cabinets (HUGELY BENEFICIAL) as well as different cabinetry styles and compositions and trim pairings. All the little details were attended to. I never had to worry about anything slipping through the cracks. She also was able to suggest tons of storage and organization options.”
Would you do anything differently?
“I wish I kept the shelves about 5” longer on the left side. HA. Don’t tell my Designer. I think she rendered them longer than I had my contractor cut them;) Other than that, no. I LOVE this kitchen.”
Any surprising or previously unshared details about the renovation fans would be curious to know?
“Originally, I wanted to install tile flooring, but due to budget constraints and happily realizing the pine beneath the linoleum flooring was in decent shape, I kept the floors pine. I was worried that it would be too much wood between the lowers and the floor boards, but I absolutely love how the oak cabinets pair with the pine flooring. The tones complement one another beautifully.
The fridge/pantry wall all looks one depth, but the cabinet to the left of the refrigerator actually hides a chimney. So it’s about 15” less deep than the other cabinets. I love the now seamless look on that wall, and the shallow shelves in the cabinet are super useful for spices and extra glassware.
I also debated whether to use solid or glass on the doors of the recessed pantry cabinet. In the end I think glass really compliments the open and airy vibe above the counters.
Diamond’s cabinet finishes match Sherwin Williams paint, which allowed me to paint wood knobs to match the cabinets perfectly. I also painted the window trim and door moldings Agreeable Gray to match the recessed pantry and shelves. Oh, and the brackets for the shelves we’re painted Agreeable gray, too.
What are a few tips you’d share about starting a kitchen renovation/cabinetry project for those who don’t know where to start?
I think defining your style before starting a renovation project is crucial. Pull lots of inspiration you love (from magazines, design books, online, real life) and then start to look at common threads and identify things that excite you. Also think practically about what you need from your kitchen. Tons of storage? Lots of display? A place to work? Give yourself at least a few weeks to observe and take notes. And finally, when you’re designing, commit to one out of the box idea. Something fresh and new that pushes your comfort zone a little to make the kitchen sing – three cabinetry finishes, or a desk, or an upper recessed pantry.”
We extend our sincere gratitude to Jami for her valuable insights regarding her collaboration with Diamond Edge. MasterBrand takes pride in selecting the ideal brand for individuals seeking to renovate or construct new projects. Please use our Dealer Locator to connect with a Designer in your area to get started.
