The empty nester owners of this small suburban home wanted a fun and funky kitchen that would function well for entertaining as well as work well for family gatherings. The inspiration for the color of the island was found in her mother’s precious china. As much as the client loved the cerulean blue, we convinced her that it would work best in small doses! Thus, we chose the island to highlight with the color and toned it down with a light glaze.

The challenges of this design really focused on the multitude of appliances the client wanted in the small space as well as finding a creative way to design the island in a rather long space but that was fairly narrow. This small space is home to a 36in Subzero refrigerator, SZ icemaker, SZ beverage center, 36in Wolf range, Wolf warming drawer and GE advantium second oven!

The island shape really helps define the funky style of the kitchen. The lower level is the same 36 inch height as the countertops and the higher custom wood bar is solid walnut. The contrast in countertop materials coupled with the striking color of the island works well to tie it all together along with the rich walnut of the perimeter cabinetry. In order to get the shape “just right” we templated it with cardboard and then played around with the shapes to find the correct configuration. The island high bar back is crafted from aluminum laminate.

The 36 inch BI Subzero refrigerator was chosen so that it truly would disappear into the wall of utility cabinets. The refrig is flanked by two pullouts, one that houses “desk” items such as pens, pencils and paper and the other houses day to day food items. The other two “pantries” hide more food storage on one side and small appliances on the other.

The oval glass tile on the backsplash and the ceasarstone countertops with small flecks of blue/green blend with the island color and add a good touch of whimsical fun to the entire space.

This couple who have a love of sailing and the sea feel very much at home in their new kitchen!