Kitchen of the Week: Breezy Coastal Style With Natural Elements
A designer helps a Maine homeowner create a light and airy kitchen with warm white oak cabinets and gorgeous water views
Beautiful water views in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, inspired a homeowner to take a chance on a neglected beachfront home that needed a full interior renovation. At the heart of the reimagined home, the owner wanted a light, airy and warm kitchen that took advantage of those water views. She hired designer Tina Rodda to help create a breezy new design with an open layout, lots of natural light, soothing white oak cabinets and a mix of other natural elements that nod to the coastal location.
An appliance garage sits to the left of the cooktop and stores the family’s espresso machine and toaster (not shown). This helps keep small appliances off the countertops. “The kitchen is such an open space and so airy. Having appliances on the countertop would take away from that,” Rodda says. A custom stainless steel tambour roll-down door hides the appliances when they’re not in use.
A 36-inch stainless steel fridge coordinates with other stainless appliances. “We chose not to do a panel front because it broke up the wood elements and also picked up the stainless tambour and the hood,” Rodda says.
Two woven rope pendant lights hang above the island, adding texture and a natural material that helps complete the beach-inspired style. “They needed to be casual and approachable,” Rodda says. “If you had metal fixtures there it would totally change the feel of the room.”
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A 36-inch stainless steel fridge coordinates with other stainless appliances. “We chose not to do a panel front because it broke up the wood elements and also picked up the stainless tambour and the hood,” Rodda says.
Two woven rope pendant lights hang above the island, adding texture and a natural material that helps complete the beach-inspired style. “They needed to be casual and approachable,” Rodda says. “If you had metal fixtures there it would totally change the feel of the room.”
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Several smooth-glide drawers offer easy access to pots and pans. Aluminum edge pulls give the cabinets low-profile hardware in a finish that coordinates with the stainless steel found throughout the space.
Cabinet hardware: Edge pulls in aluminum (various sizes), Richelieu Hardware
Cabinet hardware: Edge pulls in aluminum (various sizes), Richelieu Hardware
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A satin nickel pull-down faucet and stainless steel sink also coordinate with the other steel finishes. The dishwasher sits to the right of the sink and is paneled in white oak veneer to match the cabinets. Natural white oak plank flooring works with the cabinet material for a cohesive look.
The doors on the upper cabinets flanking the sink have textured grid glass fronts. “It was used to somewhat obscure the dishes inside, but it also added some lightness to those cabinets,” Rodda says.
The kitchen opens to a living room with windows overlooking the water. Also seen here are the three large drawers on one end of the island.
A 36-inch wall-mount stainless steel vent hood hangs over a 36-inch stainless gas cooktop with continuous grates that allow pots and pans to be easily moved around. A 30-inch wall oven sits below. “She wanted a more streamlined look, and that’s what the cooktop and oven setup gives you,” Rodda says.
LED recessed lights and undercabinet LED strips join the pendants for a layered lighting approach. “All lights here are dimmable, even the undercabinet lights, because it creates a nice evening light,” Rodda says.
A 36-inch wall-mount stainless steel vent hood hangs over a 36-inch stainless gas cooktop with continuous grates that allow pots and pans to be easily moved around. A 30-inch wall oven sits below. “She wanted a more streamlined look, and that’s what the cooktop and oven setup gives you,” Rodda says.
LED recessed lights and undercabinet LED strips join the pendants for a layered lighting approach. “All lights here are dimmable, even the undercabinet lights, because it creates a nice evening light,” Rodda says.
The Douglas fir-framed door and sidelight is the front entrance to the home. The staircase on the right leads to two upper levels that have the bedrooms, including a “crow’s nest” master bedroom on the top level.
The worn French door is original to the home. It opens to pantry storage and a microwave. “She really didn’t want to lose space for a microwave in the kitchen,” Rodda says.
The worn French door is original to the home. It opens to pantry storage and a microwave. “She really didn’t want to lose space for a microwave in the kitchen,” Rodda says.
The home overlooks a shipping channel that connects to a harbor in Portland, Maine. “What you see across is actually an island,” Rodda says. “This kitchen had to enhance the feeling of what’s outside. It’s extremely functional while being effortlessly airy and inviting.”
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A homeowner with three daughters
Location: Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Size: 155 square feet (14 square meters)
Designer: Tina Rodda of Eyder Curated Kitchens
The open kitchen has a breezy color palette that includes sandy-toned slim Shaker-style cabinets with a washed rift-cut white oak veneer. “The cabinets needed to provide a feeling of space and airiness, without being a typical painted cabinet,” Rodda says. “She didn’t want the whole space to be a blank canvas of white, or a color she would grow tired of.”
The white walls (White Dove by Benjamin Moore), solid white quartz countertops and simple 4-by-4-inch white tile backsplash give the space a feeling of a bright day at the beach.
Countertops: White Zeus, Silestone
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