Kitchen of the Week: Where Indoor and Outdoor Living Meet
A remodel of a 1923 Florida kitchen adds a large island, bold color and a connection to a new outdoor cooking and dining space
The Elwyn family had long admired this historic home in the neighborhood, and it snapped it up when it hit the market. It was a good thing the family loved the house, because it was a major fixer-upper. As part of the renovation, architect and interior designer Elizabeth Hallock helped create a kitchen that suited the family’s modern lifestyle. She used a favorite bold color, made room for collections and cookbooks and designed an outdoor kitchen that easily connected to the indoors — all while preserving the historic charm of the 1923 home.
AFTER: A bright hutch grabs attention in the kitchen and nods to the style of free-standing furniture that would have existed in the original home. “My favorite color is orange,” Emily says. “Elizabeth was inspired by a red-orange handbag I have — she suggested the color and I was thrilled. It was a bold choice but works so well in the kitchen.”
To the left of the hutch is the sand room. “You don’t need a mud room in Florida; it’s sand we battle,” Emily says. That room leads to a large butler’s pantry, a pool bath and the garage.
The kitchen also has room for displaying pieces from the couple’s extensive collection of Southern outsider art. “We are passionate collectors,” Emily says. “Even when we were broke newlyweds, we spent our money on folk art. My husband and I joke that we had to move because we had run out of wall space.” The bottle cap angel is by Missionary Mary Proctor and the shark is by RA Miller. There’s also an angel by Howard Finster and a piece by Purvis Young in the kitchen.
To the left of the hutch is the sand room. “You don’t need a mud room in Florida; it’s sand we battle,” Emily says. That room leads to a large butler’s pantry, a pool bath and the garage.
The kitchen also has room for displaying pieces from the couple’s extensive collection of Southern outsider art. “We are passionate collectors,” Emily says. “Even when we were broke newlyweds, we spent our money on folk art. My husband and I joke that we had to move because we had run out of wall space.” The bottle cap angel is by Missionary Mary Proctor and the shark is by RA Miller. There’s also an angel by Howard Finster and a piece by Purvis Young in the kitchen.
The Elwyns also collect Penzo pottery, which is hand-painted in Zimbabwe. “I wanted to be sure we had a place to both store, display and have easy access to it,” Emily says. “Elizabeth made sure I measured all my plates so that the hutch was deep enough — she thinks of everything!” Tash loves to cook and has an extensive collection of cookbooks, which the hutch also accommodates. The drawers hold smaller serving pieces, coasters and linens. The bottom half of the cabinet has room for platters, pitchers, vases and more cookbooks.
Green glass knobs complement the existing green tiles on the porches and new matching green tiles in the outdoor kitchen.
Hutch color: Warm Comfort, Benjamin Moore; green glass knobs: Restoration Hardware
Green glass knobs complement the existing green tiles on the porches and new matching green tiles in the outdoor kitchen.
Hutch color: Warm Comfort, Benjamin Moore; green glass knobs: Restoration Hardware
AFTER: The remodeled kitchen took over the laundry and powder room space and now leads straight out to the patio and outdoor kitchen. The sand room is to the right. The kitchen now has a strong connection to the sunporch, another favorite spot for meals. The dashed line going through the middle of the island is where the kitchen used to end.
The island is large and hardworking; it measures 12 feet long by almost 4 feet wide. “We live at the island,” Emily says. It contains a large sink with instant hot water, a dishwasher, recycling and trash bins, pullout drawers for plates and dishes and pots and pans, shelves for cookware and bakeware, a cabinet at the end for kids’ cups and a cabinet at the other end for dog food and treats.
Stools: Mitchell Gold; stool slipcover fabric: Sunbrella; pendant lights: Jackson Park classic single pole, Rejuvenation
Stools: Mitchell Gold; stool slipcover fabric: Sunbrella; pendant lights: Jackson Park classic single pole, Rejuvenation
“As the chief dishwasher, I wanted a sink big enough to fit large pots without getting water everywhere,” Emily says. The countertop is heart pine from sinker logs pulled up from the bottom of logging rivers. “It’s wonderfully dense and much more practical than you would think,” she says. Mountain White Danby marble counters add an elegant contrast around the perimeter of the kitchen.
The backsplash is composed of Heath Ceramics tiles in Azie Green that complement the pea-pod green cement tiles on the porches and patio.
In the back right corner you can see the wet bar that connects the kitchen to the family room.
Wall color: Early Mist, Benjamin Moore; cabinet and trim color: White Dove, Benjamin Moore; cabinet hardware: Bistro Pull, Restoration Hardware; sink: Kubus undermount double-bowl, Franke; faucet: Perrin and Rowe for Rohl; wood counter: Godwin Company (Micanopy, Florida)
The backsplash is composed of Heath Ceramics tiles in Azie Green that complement the pea-pod green cement tiles on the porches and patio.
In the back right corner you can see the wet bar that connects the kitchen to the family room.
Wall color: Early Mist, Benjamin Moore; cabinet and trim color: White Dove, Benjamin Moore; cabinet hardware: Bistro Pull, Restoration Hardware; sink: Kubus undermount double-bowl, Franke; faucet: Perrin and Rowe for Rohl; wood counter: Godwin Company (Micanopy, Florida)
The same tile continues to the wet bar. Leaded glass cabinet doors add a period touch. The bar serves the kitchen and family room on either side.
The kitchen steps directly out to a covered patio; one step down from there is what the owners refer to as “the summer kitchen.” “We wanted to be able to step right out from the kitchen to the patio and summer kitchen, and for it to feel like it was part of the house and mimic the main kitchen,” Emily says. They matched the green concrete tiles found on the home’s porches at Cement Tile Shop.
More dashes of Emily’s favorite orange punch up the patio. A beer garden table gives the family a place to gather and enjoy one another’s company.
The stairs lead to a second-story porch that runs the length of the back of the house and has views out to Northshore Park and Tampa Bay. It also leads to a one-bedroom, 400-square-foot garage apartment where the family lived during construction.
Table: Beer Garden Furniture; rockers: Grandin Road; garden stools: One Kings Lane; rug: Target
The stairs lead to a second-story porch that runs the length of the back of the house and has views out to Northshore Park and Tampa Bay. It also leads to a one-bedroom, 400-square-foot garage apartment where the family lived during construction.
Table: Beer Garden Furniture; rockers: Grandin Road; garden stools: One Kings Lane; rug: Target
“We love to cook and entertain, so a summer kitchen was a must,” Emily says. “We wanted it to be right outside the main kitchen so we could easily move between the two.”
They also wanted enough room to grill and socialize without feeling cramped. They can make everything from hot dogs to barbecue to pizzas out here — the summer kitchen is outfitted with a grill, Rec-Tec 680 electric smoker and a pizza oven.
There’s also a beverage refrigerator, sink and hidden trash and recycling bins. The sink is large enough to wash off those messy grilling tools outdoors — “and occasionally the dog,” Emily says. The cabinets are plastic Starboard material routed to mimic the cabinets in the house.
Sink: Alcott, Kohler; sconce: Barn Electric
They also wanted enough room to grill and socialize without feeling cramped. They can make everything from hot dogs to barbecue to pizzas out here — the summer kitchen is outfitted with a grill, Rec-Tec 680 electric smoker and a pizza oven.
There’s also a beverage refrigerator, sink and hidden trash and recycling bins. The sink is large enough to wash off those messy grilling tools outdoors — “and occasionally the dog,” Emily says. The cabinets are plastic Starboard material routed to mimic the cabinets in the house.
Sink: Alcott, Kohler; sconce: Barn Electric
The green cement tiles continue up the wall and serve as a backsplash for the grill.
The far side of the outdoor kitchen has furniture that’s familiar to those from St. Pete’s — it was made locally to resemble the historic green benches seen around town. The countertop is Fantasy Brown leathered quartzite, which complements the marble in the kitchen but can stand up to the elements.
“Tash worked in a pizza parlor in high school and college and always wanted to have his own wood-burning oven,” Emily says. The couple collaborated on the custom design, which includes a dome oven atop a stand covered in green tile.
Benches: GreenBenches & More; dome oven: Dome Ovens
“Tash worked in a pizza parlor in high school and college and always wanted to have his own wood-burning oven,” Emily says. The couple collaborated on the custom design, which includes a dome oven atop a stand covered in green tile.
Benches: GreenBenches & More; dome oven: Dome Ovens
This show shows the view from the bar back toward the kitchen.
The kitchen was part of an extensive whole-house remodel that prioritized preservation and restoration. Here’s a photo of the front of the house.
Historic preservation was important to the family, since it loved the home’s great bones and wanted to maintain its historic integrity and charm. St. Petersburg has a special ad valorem tax-abatement program that encourages historic preservation, freezing property taxes to the pre-renovation value for 10 years. The Elwyns say they had a great experience working with the city during the process. “It’s a great incentive that keeps St. Pete special,” Emily says.
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Historic preservation was important to the family, since it loved the home’s great bones and wanted to maintain its historic integrity and charm. St. Petersburg has a special ad valorem tax-abatement program that encourages historic preservation, freezing property taxes to the pre-renovation value for 10 years. The Elwyns say they had a great experience working with the city during the process. “It’s a great incentive that keeps St. Pete special,” Emily says.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Emily and Tash Elwyn, their two teenagers, a dog and a bird
Location: Historic Old Northeast neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Florida
Size: Indoor kitchen: 315 square feet (29 square meters); outdoor kitchen: 330 square feet (31 square meters)
That’s interesting: The former owner who made the house more grand in the 1930s was movie producer Fred Blair. The owners found his original script for Hired Wife in the attic.
Designer: Elizabeth Hallock
BEFORE: The house was originally built in a bungalow style in 1923, but the owners suspect that as former owner Fred Blair’s wealth grew, he remodeled it into a Greek revival style in the 1930s.
Though the house had great bones and appealing quirks, it needed substantial updates and improvements, particularly in the kitchen. It had undergone renovations over the years that didn’t honor the historic charm.
“The kitchen was a mess. It had a dropped ceiling and was very dark, and there was no clear access to the outside,” homeowner Emily Elwyn says. Because the family lives outdoors most of the year, it wanted an easy flow between inside and out.
“We wanted the house and the kitchen to look evolved rather than have a discordant modern update,” Emily says. Working with architect Elizabeth Hallock, she and husband Tash matched historic features and kept or replicated some of the home’s quirks, like the door hardware and skeleton keys, push-button light switches, windows and era-appropriate pendant lights.