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Schoonmaker Residence Kitchen, Bath, and Lighting
Kitchens & Pantries · Featured Project

Schoonmaker Residence

Concealed shelf lighting, full-height pantry storage, primary bath coordination, walnut flooring, and custom lighting inside a new private residence.

Accord, NY
Project Summary

Hidden lighting, usable storage, and bath details planned before the walls closed.

This was a focused interior design-build scope, not a whole-house commission. The work centered on places where standard parts would have left problems exposed: shelf lighting with no visible wiring, a narrow pantry that needed usable full-height storage, a primary shower with structure and systems hidden behind tile, and smaller finish details that had to feel native to the house.

The requirement was simple: make the useful parts work hard, keep the hardware out of sight, and avoid building anything that looked added later.

Kitchen

Make the shelf lighting part of the millwork.

The homeowner had already set the kitchen finish direction: handmade zellige tile, dark cabinets, sink, faucet, and the main material palette. The work here was to make the open maple shelves fit that wall and carry warm task lighting without exposing strips, channels, or wiring.

The shelves were treated as built assemblies rather than loose boards. Their thickness hides the LED channel and wire path, while the light washes the tile and work surface below.

Notes

Problem
Open shelves needed task lighting without visible LED channels or surface wiring.
Move
Build the shelves as thicker maple assemblies with concealed wire paths.
Result
Warm light on the tile and work surface, with the hardware hidden inside the millwork.
01Concealed LED channels inside floating maple shelves.
02Shelf lighting in context with the cabinet wall, island, and walnut floor.
Pantry

Make the full height usable.

The pantry was long, narrow, windowless, and closer to a hallway than a typical room. Its nine-foot ceiling only helped if the upper storage could be reached and if the shelves did not fall into shadow.

Floor-to-ceiling maple shelving, integrated shelf LEDs, and a rolling library ladder make the height usable. The ladder becomes part of the millwork system rather than a loose object competing with the aisle.

Notes

Problem
The room had useful height, but the upper shelves would be dark and difficult to reach.
Move
Run maple shelving to the ceiling, light the shelves from within, and build a matching rolling ladder.
Result
The narrow pantry works as high-capacity storage without depending on one ceiling fixture.
01Shelf-level lighting in the narrow pantry.
02A rolling ladder makes the upper shelves usable.
Primary Bath

Coordinate the systems before the wall closes.

The shower carried the most technical work: thermostatic valves, multiple water outlets, a floating bench, an LED niche, ceiling lighting, exhaust access, insulation, and tile all had to land cleanly.

The finished room only works because those decisions happened before the wall closed. The bench needed steel hidden in the framing, the niche needed light without sacrificing the exterior-wall assembly, and the ceiling needed lighting and access without making the fan the first thing you see.

Notes

Problem
Plumbing, structure, lighting, tile, insulation, and access all competed for the same wall and ceiling space.
Move
Set the valves, blocking, bench support, niche depth, and ceiling access before tile work began.
Result
A finished shower that reads clean, with structure, plumbing, lighting, and access resolved behind the tile.
01Floating bench, dark tile, perimeter light, and concealed support.
02Valve layout, supply routing, blocking, and access before tile.
03Window wall, bench, niche, controls, and shower floor before glass.
Supporting Details

Carry the same logic through the smaller rooms.

The supporting work included powder room finish carpentry, walnut flooring, hallway lighting, stair landing context, and custom live-edge walnut fixtures. The pieces vary, but the rule stays the same: figure out the wiring, mounting, and access before the finish goes on.

The lighting follows the same logic as the kitchen shelves. Put light where it does useful work, hide the wiring and mounting strategy, and let the wood, wall, and floor remain the visible parts.

Notes

Problem
Smaller rooms and fixtures can quickly look like separate add-ons.
Move
Use the same material logic and concealed hardware strategy across the hallway, powder room, stair landing, and lighting.
Result
The secondary details support the larger interior instead of reading as leftovers.
01Wallpaper, wainscoting, vanity, and mirror in the powder room.
02Linear hallway light held tight to the ceiling plane.
03Live-edge walnut fixtures with aluminum rails and warm LED light.
04Stair landing with walnut flooring, guardrail posts, black rods, and hanging walnut lights.
Result

A focused scope, carried consistently.

Oakridge Studio's role was focused rather than whole-house. The work centered on targeted interior details: pantry storage made reachable, kitchen shelf lighting hidden inside the millwork, a primary shower coordinated before tile, walnut flooring carried through the interior, and custom lighting built to belong in the finished rooms.

The value was in making the difficult parts disappear into the finished work.

Tell me what you're trying to picture.

Send a few photos, whatever drawings and measurements you have, and a note on what isn't working. I'll tell you straight whether it's the kind of thing I take on — and if it's not, usually who does.

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