Plant Your Roots - An Interview with Design-Build Professional Tina Adkins
Plant Your Roots
An Interview with Design-Build Professional
Tina Adkins
Tina and Brett Adkins are the owners and creative forces behind Southwind Hills Home and Design – an Oklahoma-based home construction company specializing in custom builds. The Southwind Hills philosophy centers on creating unique homes that provide visual balance and functionality catered to the specific needs of their clients. They believe each and every home should feel hand-tailored to the lifestyle of its occupants, which is why they invite you to “Plant your Roots” with Southwind Hills.
We recently partnered with Tina and Brett in building a stunning 3,351 square-foot Spanish Revival home outside of Oklahoma City. This gorgeous custom home features the all-new 57” Kraus Kore Workstation sink in the chef-inspired kitchen, as well as several artistically designed Kraus vessel sinks and high-performance faucets throughout. We sat down with Tina and discussed her approach to tackling the design of these massive projects, and how Kraus products fit into the process.
Kraus: What are the design highlights for this refinished space? As the designer, which elements were you most excited about?
Tina: With interior design, balance is key; designing a symmetrical home inspires a sense of harmony and comfort. It's extremely pleasing to even the untrained eye to witness a well balanced home, and we feel this space has been beautifully complimented by our chef-inspired kitchen. The addition of Kraus' double faucets, combined with our choice of two refrigerator columns and two light fixtures, creates not just an artistic space but a truly functional space as well. Oftentimes, designers must give up one for the other, yet including symmetrical design into our homes allows us to have the best of both worlds.
designing a symmetrical home inspires
a sense of harmony and comfort”
Kraus: Where did you find your inspiration for the design concept of this project?
Tina: In the beginning of this year, we attended the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. It was there that we fell in love with the Spanish Style designs not often found here in Oklahoma. Having built our reputation on creating unique spaces, such as our nationally recognized Southwind Hills event venue, we knew we wanted to embrace our instant obsession with all things Mediterranean charm in this home in order to offer a truly unique style within our community.
Kraus: Did you find yourself taking into consideration the extra time that homeowners are spending INSIDE the home when building this home? Did Kraus products play into that aspect of your design?
for our chef-inspired open concept kitchen”
Tina: Absolutely! Our own home is constantly buzzing with activity – ranging from our youngest son and his buddies running through the house, to dogs barking and chasing the children, to teens coming in and out like a revolving door, to extended family members visiting, and even feeding contractors who may be working late. This may not be everyone's "norm" but is for sure ours, so when we envision our completely designed homes, we understand the importance of creating spaces to accommodate not just the homeowner's family but their extended family and friends as well. The Kraus sink we chose was the perfect solution for our chef-inspired open concept kitchen. Having a lot of guests often equals having a lot of dishes as our culture tends to revolve around sharing meals together. We love creating spaces which foster this idea!
other gold fixtures such as the lighting,
and even larger appliances”
Kraus: How did your selection of Kraus product contribute to the design aesthetics of the space?
Tina: We knew the first time we saw them that we had to have the white porcelain vessel sinks offered by Kraus in the bathrooms, and brushed gold faucets throughout the house to effortlessly flow with our Spanish Style theme. The brushed gold easily matched with our other gold fixtures such as the lighting and even larger appliances.
sinks throughout the house to effortlessly
flow with our Spanish Style theme”
Kraus: How did your selection of Kraus product contribute to the functionality of finished space?
Tina: Providing features such as the 57” Workstation in the kitchen naturally inspires the homeowner to explore the wonderful art of cooking. With the extended space of the Workstation, precious countertop workspace is saved making both meal prep and clean up not only convenient and functional, but also visually appealing.
Kraus: What do you like most about your Kraus product selection?
Tina: We truly appreciate the artistic infusion into the design of the vessel sinks. Marrying functionality with art in an affordable way lends an intentional artistic approach beyond just a common modern sink.
the homeowner to explore the wonderful art of cooking”
Kraus: How do you feel that your Kraus product selection affects the overall value of the home?
Tina: Having Kraus products in every available space of our home raised the bar between us and other local builders showcased in a recent Festival of Homes. We are honored that this home won all three awards, including “Best Interior Design”. We truly believe displaying Kraus kitchen and bathroom products greatly helped us achieve such a prestigious award for this home.
way lends an intentional artistic approach
beyond just a common modern sink”
