The self-guided West Hartford Kitchen Tour, which includes eight kitchens as well as the Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction showroom, is raising funds for the nonprofit the ‘Be Thoughtful Movement’ which supports organizations that employ individuals with intellectual, developmental, and/or physical disabilities.

The message center in this kitchen helps eliminate the clutter that often piles up on countertops, and is a feature of one of the homes on the 2018 West Hartford Kitchen Tour. Courtesy photo

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford-based Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction (KBDC) has not held a homes tour for several years, but this October is bringing back the event as a fundraiser for the “Be Thoughtful Movement,” a nonprofit organization focused on creating or supporting businesses that employ individuals with intellectual, developmental, and/or physical disabilities.

The West Hartford Kitchen Tour will take place on Saturday, Oct. 20, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

KBDC owner Lorey Cavanaugh in the showroom. Courtesy photo

Eight West Hartford kitchens, showcasing the latest in design elements and state-of-the-art technologies, will be featured on the tour, along with the KBDC showroom at 13 Sedgwick Rd. in West Hartford.

“The tour will feature a rich variety of styles from traditional and old world to hip Millennial,” said Allison Harkins, marketing and administrative manager for KBCD.

Highlights, according to Harkins, will include:

• A ranch home where the original kitchen was converted into a butler’s pantry, combination powder room and laundry room, and entryway from the garage. A new kitchen was built as an addition, featuring “a dramatic tray ceiling with stunning chandelier and generous views to the picturesque backyard with a distinctly French ambiance.”
• A kitchen with a “bold Millennial flair” that offers the latest in functionality. Details include open shelving, a sandblast glass tile backsplash, quartz countertops, and a chimney-style range hood.
• A striking white kitchen with dark-stained cabinetry and a “dramatic and massive island,” which is accessible to a mudroom “plus a family command center that corrals the ever-present clutter of a busy family off the kitchen countertops.”
• A “Euro-style” kitchen with an understated and timeless appeal that perfectly fits the style of the home, and features gray-stained flat cabinet doors, white quartz counters, a glass tile backsplash, and black stainless steel appliances.
• A West Hartford Tudor that features many of the most modern and highly-desired amenities like areas dedicated to baking, coffee, and dog feeding, plus a dark-stained center island and glazed perimeter cabinetry.

Special guests who will be participating in the West Hartford Kitchen Tour include Terry Walters, bestselling cookbook author of “Eat Clean Live Well” and Avon-based iDevices demonstrating home automation using smart technology. West Hartford’s Nala’s Kitchen, a healthy meal delivery service, Jennifer Mather of Balance & Home, and Simsbury color consultant Thomas Mach of Thomas Mach Interiors, purveyor of specialty paints and wallpapers, will also participate. 

Tandem Fine Jewelry founder Diane Samuels, a West Hartford resident, will bring her one-of-a-kind designs to the 2018 West Hartford Kitchen Tour, and will donate a portion of all proceeds to the Be Thoughtful Movement. Tandem Fine Jewelry pieces are all handcrafted of precious metals, sparkling diamonds, lustrous Tahitian pearls, and semi-precious stones.

KBDC owner Lorey Cavanaugh, in a news release, noted that in the United States, 70 percent of intellectually, developmentally, or physically disabled individuals are unemployed. Once they reach age 21, state support and services decline or even disappear.

West Hartford residents Susan Johnson and Stephen Tarca, whose son, Harold Johnson, has cerebral palsy, founded the Be Thoughtful Movement to raise awareness of those statistics and to help create local employment opportunities those with disabilities. The Be Thoughtful Movement also helped their son, who loves to travel, co-found Thoughtful Travelers, LLC, an agency focused on travel planning for those with disabilities.

The Be Thoughtful Movement is also helping fund the Avon-based startup BeanZ & Co., an inclusive coffee cafe that will be run by New England Pasta Company owner and founder Kim Morrison and Simsbury resident Noelle Alix, both of whom have daughters with Down Syndrome. BeanZ & Co., which will be located at the New England Pasta Company, 300 West Main St. (Route 44) in Avon, and should open sometime this fall, will be an inclusive cafe that will employ people with intellectual and development disabilities.

Tickets for the West Hartford Kitchen Tour are $35 in advance and $40 the day of the tour. Advance tickets are available (cash or check only) at Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction’s showroom at 13 Sedgwick Rd., West Hartford; Cardon’s Hair Designs, 1226 Farmington Ave., West Hartford; and New England Pasta Company, 300 West Main St., Avon. Tickets are also available online at www.kb-dc.com.

For more information please contact, Allison Harkins at Kitchen & Bath Design + Construction at 860-953-1101, or visit www.kb-dc.com for tour updates and information. For more information about The Be Thoughtful Movement, please visit www.bethoughtfulmovement.org or The Thoughtful Travelers, https://www.thethoughtfultravelers.com.

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