COASTAL CALLING

The kitchen is called the soul of a house. For homeowers who describe themselves as organic yet glamorous, their old kitchen was anything but. The original, white cabinets were off their hinges and fitted with broken, purple knobs. The Formica countertop was unsightly and the overall lack of storage generated an immense amount of clutter.

While the footprint functioned, every other aspect of the kitchen was reworked. The designer sought to capture the homeowners’ understated elegance, but also create a space catering to the needs of a young family who loves to entertain – and their two, boisterous poodles.

Taking cues from the wife’s coastal hometown of Miami, a palette of warm, cerused oak, soft green granite and faint taupe was used. Metallic elements were woven in with brass light fixtures and hardware, adding the touch of glamour that lacked.

Cabinet fronts with a proprietary door/drawer-style feature narrow angular horizontal rails, wider semi-elliptical vertical stiles and vertically grained flat panels. Scale, symmetry and alignment, along with use of carefully-sized, wide panels and horizontal bands of trim, temper the strong verticals created by the 11-foot ceilings.

To encapsulate the openings created by two existing clerestory windows, a mantle exhaust hood extends to the ceiling, while wall cabinets below feature wide bi-fold lift doors. To give reference to the existing, circular window, the designer selected a similar-scaled, Arteriors chandelier made from natural wood branches.

A custom table, made from rare, Zircote wood, gives visual weight to the space. The vintage dining chairs, found and imported through 1stdibs, are upholstered with a metallic hair-on-hide – the earliest selection on the project.

The resulting kitchen is timeless, modern and perfectly fits the homeowners’ carefree, laidback lifestyle.