Beach Road: Coastal Casual Kitchen

This beautiful kitchen is newly constructed in a waterfront home.

The client’s desire was to have a casual yet well appointed kitchen that was conducive for entertaining but was still somewhat open to the rest of the home. We began working with the client on the entire house during the planning phase so it was easier to incorporate all the design ideas, layout, electrical, molding details, and special features into the final blueprints. What a huge benefit it was to have the kitchen designer involved right from the beginning! We designed the plans and cabinetry, specified all appliances, materials, lighting, plumbing fixtures, counter tops, and project managed to completion.

The design strategy was built around two key concepts:

1. Having a focal point on the back wall but still allowing for natural light to enter into the space, and creating a “dividing wall” of cabinetry that could house additional appliances and serve as an entertaining bar with hutch storage on the dining side. This “wall” also kept the kitchen in the “kitchen” area, but is still great for visual and practical flow of living, dining, and kitchen activities. The hood became a central architectural feature while serving as functional ventilation, and the dividing cabinetry became an entertainment zone while also utilizing overflow baking by housing a second oven.

2. It was also important to the client to have casual bar seating and an area to relax, but still be able to converse with the chef. Thus, we designed a wall of windows and a “keeping room” with club chairs and a fireplace instead of the typical breakfast space. Opening up this area to the outside views really enhanced the entire living area and met the client needs for additional conversational seating, but in a more intimate area than the primary living room. We placed the coffee bar with a built in pot filler near the perimeter of the kitchen so that it could service the keeping room area as well as the kitchen.

The most stunning special features include the coffee center with hidden pot filler (as mentioned), the stunning cold rolled steel hood, and the carefully selected Luna Bella jelly fish pendants!

We encountered a few challenges trying to work in the enormous amount of appliances the client desired and still have room for the kitchen “stuff!” We also had to deal with the exterior wall becoming shorter due to construction issues, and this made our very cool coffee center a wee bit shorter than originally planned! However, with the way this kitchen turned out, and as happy as the owners are, you’d never know it—it perfectly serves their needs as a functional and beautiful gathering area in their new home.

If you like this coastal kitchen, you may also be interested in this post with a before and after of a coastal bath makeover!