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Frida Collection: Your Design Dream by Kitchen Design Group
WRITTEN BY: Chris Stevens
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Kitchen Design Group
Within five years of graduating with a B.S. in Interior Architecture, Caren Rideau founded the Kitchen Design Group in Pacific Palisades, CA. Since then, Rideau and her team have designed and renovated hundreds of luxury homes and estates in the Los Angeles area.
Whether bringing an old house back to life while maintaining its original integrity or designing from a clean and modern slate, Rideau has become a master at creating, renewing and rejuvenating living spaces.
Beyond kitchens and bathrooms, Rideau and her team handle diverse projects, from a single room to a large-scale house including wine cellars, lighting, floor plans, custom cabinets, living rooms and even home extensions.
Rideau’s passion for design and her flair for customizing kitchens to her clients’ needs and wishes often includes incorporating wood-fired ovens (for that pizzeria-feel), baker’s corners (commercial-grade ovens and special shelving), tucked-away wine storage areas (especially for sommeliers), and greenhouse attachments for those into homegrown organic ingredients. Aesthetics are critical for that instant “wow” factor. However, spaces that are functional and artful at the same time are top priorities of her clients.
Growing up in the Southwest with Chicana culture, Rideau was inspired by Frida Kahlo’s portraits and expressive use of bold, vibrant colors.
Recently, Rideau extended her artistry with an expressive use of similar colors in the Kitchen Design Group’s debut of kitchen cabinetry dubbed The Frida Collection.
“Kahlo’s richly hued paintings and Latin American imagery are immensely inspiring, as is Frida herself,” says Rideau. “She was an incredible human being, a strong woman and an amazing artist.”
With homeowners craving more color in their homes as the impetus for bringing forth vitality and unique personality, the introduction of The Frida Collection is right on time and on target. Like Kahlo, Rideau has channeled her Mexican heritage in her choice of intense colors. “I grew up in that culture – in food and style — and I continue to live in that culture. I’ve always been attracted to brighter colors – the colors of Mexico, that’s what I gravitate to.”
In the kitchen, Rideau is renowned for including a personal twist that complements her client’s persona and home character.
Now, with the vivid palette of The Frida Collection, clients can express themselves through six custom cabinet door styles and colors such as Nopal (green), Maiz (yellow), Sol (orange), Paz (blue-grey), Casa Azul (blue) and Fresco (grey).
In addition to the Kitchen Design Group, Rideau co-owns a boutique winery and tasting room – Tierra y Vino — in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Most recently, the critically acclaimed Tierra y Vino received gold medals and 90+ points for its 2016 Rosé and 2014 Petite Sirah at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition.
In winemaking, as in residential design, Rideau knows what it takes to set a plan into motion, guide timely progress, and ensure an outcome that has clients coming back again and again. Both are a multi-stage process that culminates in a well-rounded product that is directly experienced by clients.
Every time Rideau completes a new project for her clients, she concludes with a celebratory wine tasting.
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Kitchen Design Group
15415 Sunset Blvd, Suite 106
Pacific Palisades
California, 90272
p: 310.454.6447
www.kitchendesigngroup.com
