Traditionally joined kitchens, made by hand with the Shaker principles of honesty, utility and simplicity.
Working with an independent local cabinetmaker is a practice that is both antiquated and progressive. Like the farm-to-table ideal, it is a mindful return to the way things used to be done.
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A contemporary old fashioned kitchen company
OUR WORK
English and Shaker style kitchens with a comfortable, functional ease. Built to work well, look beautiful and last indefinitely.
Refined proportions, quality materials and authentic craftsmanship elevate the simplicity of our cabinetry and furnishings. Meticulously finished inside and out by a maker with over twenty five years' experience creating welcoming rooms with a layered uniqueness as individual as the people for whom they are made.
BEFORE AND AFTER
After 15 years, this well loved, hardworking Blue Skies Handmade Kitchen has been completely renewed with fresh colour, some added cabinetry and new hardware.
When you invest in simple, traditionally joined wood cabinets, you have a kitchen that will last indefinitely, which is not to say that it has to look the same forever. Our hand brushed finishes can be repainted, wooden worktops refinished and hardware updated to give you the look and feel of an entirely new kitchen without the environmental impact of a renovation.
ABOUT US
As the craftsperson behind Blue Skies Custom Woodwork, Steve Culumovic has over 25 years' experience designing and making kitchens and authentic face frame cabinetry. Following a College apprenticeship in carpentry, Steve partnered with a friend in a successful custom homebuilding business but was soon attracted by the precision crafts of furniture and cabinetmaking. He opened his own woodworking shop in Ontario in 1995.
In those early days, Steve said yes to every project he was offered and educated himself along the way. Every commission required a new skillset, and he tackled the steepest part of the learning curve before YouTube existed. Today, after decades of diverse hand and machine work, he keeps a vast collection of dog-eared reference books, the shop is neatly outfitted with every imaginable woodworking tool and Steve's skills are innumerable.
His approach aligns with the philosophies of the Arts and Crafts movement in which designing and building were guarded as an undivided process, the Shakers who made necessity and usefulness a priority with beauty following, and both maintaining a strict adherence to the use of quality materials. Steve is meticulous in his workmanship and a specialist in traditional joinery methods and natural finishes. When not in his shop... actually he's happy to always be in his shop.
Featured in:
​'Upgrade Your Home With Custom Furniture' Look Local magazine, Oakville & Burlington, Winter Issue 2022
‘Meet the Maker' Look Local magazine, Oakville & Burlington, March 2020
'Going With The Grain' Hamilton Magazine's INTERIORS, Fall 2005
'Made in Burlington' Burlington Post, May 2004
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Creative work brought Steve Culumovic and Gayle Hutchings together. In 1998, Steve was hired to build a bistro area and painting storage for an art gallery, and there he met their framer Gayle. Steve and Gayle married six years later and have been collaborating on projects ever since.
Gayle has spent her life immersed in the visual and applied arts, working as a botanical artist and art framer. She uses colour theory, pleasing proportions and the best materials to achieve a timelessly appealing aesthetic in her daily work at Gayle Hutchings' Framing Studio.
Gayle drafts the hand drawn plans for Blue Skies Handmade Kitchens, helps customers choose their kitchen colours and acts as a sounding board for Steve's design ideas. Outside of her studio, Gayle is a soap maker, vegetable gardener and heirloom seed saver.