Steamboat Kitchen

A very lovely snowbird recently purchased a darling coastal cottage. The cottage already possessed some classic, nautical flair, but the new homeowner felt that the kitchen was feeling a bit tired, and simply too dark.

The objective: to lighten and brighten up the space, while maintaining and enhancing the charm.

The challenge: the appliances and LVP flooring had been installed relatively recently, and it was requested that we utilize the appliances, and do not alter the footprint of the cabinets at all, so as to preserve the existing flooring. So, the lower cabinets had to fit exactly the same, but there was a bit of play on the uppers-- and since there is no window above the sink, we opted for a special backsplash.

The homeowner has a penchant for lobster artwork, and so we decided to include some hand-painted, Portuguese style tiles, with a seafood inspired theme, as a feature for the backsplash. As it turned out, it was cost prohibitive to purchase and ship tiles like these from overseas. So, I had an idea... to find a 'paint your own pottery' studio, and make them myself! While time consuming, painting the tiles has been an absolute joy. And, I can't wait to see the finished product installed.

As for the cabinets, we opted to go with a classic beadboard center panel, in a duo-tone consisting of white uppers and navy lowers. For the countertop, a natural quartzite called "white rhino", a gorgeous pure white stone. And for the hardware, polished nickel Emtek cup pulls and glass knobs for a classic yet polished feel. And, even though the sink was fairly new--a stainless undermount didn't quite fit the vibe-- so chose a classic white enameled cast iron apron front sink. For a pop of color, three red sconces will illuminate the sink area. And, the addition of under cabinet lighting, will make the countertop sparkle like freshly fallen snow. Lastly, a coat of Sherwin Williams "windy blue" was painted on all of the beadboard trim, including doors and around the windows, will be paired with a lovely striped wallpaper, which looks like watercolor, and coordinates with the trim perfectly.

So far, the kitchen is about halfway there-- with cabinets in, and trim painted. We are awaiting the installation of the countertop before proceeding with the tile and other finish work.

Just a few more weeks and we will have our finished product, and I can't wait to unveil it to my client, the snowbird :)