Kitchen Tour: An Airy Coastal Look With Clever Island Seating
A redesigned floor plan avoided the need for an extension and created a bright, well-functioning family kitchen
Frustrated with the confines of their 96 sq ft kitchen, these homeowners considered building an expensive extension to gain the storage, style and workspace they wanted. However, designer Lana Nguyen of Design by the Jonathans helped them avoid that costly move by reimagining their layout and expanding the kitchen into the space taken up by a cloakroom they didn’t need.
That increased the footprint by 34 sq ft, allowing for a larger U-shaped layout with increased worktop and storage space. It also created room for a clever island featuring a built-in bench that pairs with a table and chairs to form a casual dining spot.
Lana replaced the basic 1990s wood cabinets, granite worktops and beige tile flooring with a combination of powder blue and light wood cabinets, light wood flooring and beachy details that create a breezy, inviting coastal style.
That increased the footprint by 34 sq ft, allowing for a larger U-shaped layout with increased worktop and storage space. It also created room for a clever island featuring a built-in bench that pairs with a table and chairs to form a casual dining spot.
Lana replaced the basic 1990s wood cabinets, granite worktops and beige tile flooring with a combination of powder blue and light wood cabinets, light wood flooring and beachy details that create a breezy, inviting coastal style.
Lana stripped the kitchen to the studs and knocked down the wall between it and the cloakroom, which she absorbed into the new footprint.
The expanded space now has more breathing room and an island with a built-in bench on one side that faces a table and chairs. “The fact we were able to have the dining room incorporated into the kitchen allowed more space for the living room,” Lana says. “They really wanted to create a cosy dining experience.”
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The expanded space now has more breathing room and an island with a built-in bench on one side that faces a table and chairs. “The fact we were able to have the dining room incorporated into the kitchen allowed more space for the living room,” Lana says. “They really wanted to create a cosy dining experience.”
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Style-wise, the former kitchen reflected the late 1990s, when the home was built, with honey-toned cabinets, brown granite worktops, beige floor tiles and beige walls.
Lana created a fresh coastal look with a mix of powder blue base units, crisp white wall units and white oak cabinets on the fridge-freezer wall and island base. “We worked with the cabinetry company to find a driftwood-look finish for the white oak,” she says. “This fits the coastal style of the room.”
New red oak flooring in a light matt finish, hand-braided sedge pendant lights and striped cushions add to the look.
An ash-veneer dining table and distressed light blue indoor-outdoor metal chairs complement the colour and material scheme. “The [family] really love the bench, especially their young son,” Lana says. “This becomes not just a dining area; it’s a play area and somewhere the son can stay near [his mum] when she’s cooking.”
Cabinets, EHL Kitchens. Base cabinets painted in Yarmouth Blue; wall cabinets painted in Moonlight White; walls painted in Alabaster, all Benjamin Moore. Distressed green-blue metal chairs, Flash Furniture.
New red oak flooring in a light matt finish, hand-braided sedge pendant lights and striped cushions add to the look.
An ash-veneer dining table and distressed light blue indoor-outdoor metal chairs complement the colour and material scheme. “The [family] really love the bench, especially their young son,” Lana says. “This becomes not just a dining area; it’s a play area and somewhere the son can stay near [his mum] when she’s cooking.”
Cabinets, EHL Kitchens. Base cabinets painted in Yarmouth Blue; wall cabinets painted in Moonlight White; walls painted in Alabaster, all Benjamin Moore. Distressed green-blue metal chairs, Flash Furniture.
In the former kitchen, upper cabinets crowded the sink area. Oddly, the tap was set off to the side of the sink. “And it was not aligned with the window,” Lana says.
The homeowners wanted to keep the window and the sliding glass door on the left, which leads to the garden.
The homeowners wanted to keep the window and the sliding glass door on the left, which leads to the garden.
Lana centred the new stainless steel sink and matt black tap below the window. Open white oak shelves keep the area light and airy. An integrated dishwasher now sits to the left. The worktops are white engineered quartz.
The marble mosaic splashback adds another bit of blue and a subtle pattern that coordinates with the coastal aesthetic. “I think the splashback tiles played a crucial part in bringing everything together,” Lana says. “This pattern was extremely helpful to the entire design.”
Matt black one-handle high arc pull-down tap, Moen. Welton sconce in brushed nickel, Kira Home. Cumberland cupboard handles in Ash Gray, Top Knobs.
The marble mosaic splashback adds another bit of blue and a subtle pattern that coordinates with the coastal aesthetic. “I think the splashback tiles played a crucial part in bringing everything together,” Lana says. “This pattern was extremely helpful to the entire design.”
Matt black one-handle high arc pull-down tap, Moen. Welton sconce in brushed nickel, Kira Home. Cumberland cupboard handles in Ash Gray, Top Knobs.
Here’s a closer look at the Blue Celeste and Thassos marble mosaic splashback tiles. The shelf is white oak.
Mykonos Delos in Blue Celeste and Thassos splashback tiles, Mir Mosaic.
Mykonos Delos in Blue Celeste and Thassos splashback tiles, Mir Mosaic.
A new 76cm gas range with air fry, five burners and convection oven sits beneath a bespoke cooker hood with wood trim.
A spice pullout sits to the right of the range. The three drawers to the left hold utensils and food storage containers. A rubbish and recycling pullout is to the left of those drawers.
The cabinet next to the rubbish pullout is a blind corner cabinet for the family’s rice cooker and extra pots and pans. “We included a cabinet in the island for storing their everyday pots and pans,” Lana says.
Professional gas range, Frigidaire.
A spice pullout sits to the right of the range. The three drawers to the left hold utensils and food storage containers. A rubbish and recycling pullout is to the left of those drawers.
The cabinet next to the rubbish pullout is a blind corner cabinet for the family’s rice cooker and extra pots and pans. “We included a cabinet in the island for storing their everyday pots and pans,” Lana says.
Professional gas range, Frigidaire.
The recessed upper cabinets flanking the range cooker feature reeded glass doors. “This creates symmetry and makes the space feel lighter,” Lana says. “If it’s all solid cabinets, it can feel heavy.”
The reeded glass adds lightness while obscuring the view of the items inside, reducing visual clutter.
The reeded glass adds lightness while obscuring the view of the items inside, reducing visual clutter.
The new fridge-freezer is surrounded by white oak cabinets, including a tall pantry cabinet with pullout shelves on the right. “Having the refrigerator flush with that wall looks much more clean and less messy,” Lana says. “At the same time, you have usable workspace near the refrigerator, making it easier to use.”
The island contains a 60cm stainless-steel microwave oven drawer.
Microwave oven drawer in stainless-steel, SharpFridge-freezer, Frigidaire.
The island contains a 60cm stainless-steel microwave oven drawer.
Microwave oven drawer in stainless-steel, SharpFridge-freezer, Frigidaire.
This floor plan of the former kitchen shows the tight U-shaped layout squeezed in next to the cloakroom.
Taking over the cloakroom space allowed Lana to expand the kitchen to include a central island with built-in bench seating. “The layout we created solved lots of problems for the family,” she says. “It was a game-changer to reimagine their kitchen.”
Tell us…
What do you like best about this kitchen transformation? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like best about this kitchen transformation? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A young couple with a son and a dog
Location Connecticut, USA
Kitchen dimensions 130 sq ft (12 sq m)
Designer Lana Nguyen of Design by the Jonathans
Photos by Robert Norman Photography
The former 96 sq ft kitchen can be seen here on the left. A wall separated it from the unused cloakroom. “They have a bathroom on a lower floor and another bathroom on a higher level, so they didn’t need it,” Lana says.
The tight U-shaped kitchen layout presented a perplexing experience. “It was too small for an island, but the distance between the sink and refrigerator was too wide,” Lana says.