The clients wanted to create English lakehouse elegance with maximized lake views. Their home has soaring ceilings, large rooms, and ornate moldings: the kitchen...did not. It was small, dark, and closed off from the rest of the home as well as the views from the lake.

Our team creatively reworked the layout by orienting the stove to the center island to maximize the lake view. The curved island echoes the curve in the connected living room and is repeated again in the dining nook. We opened the space between the living room and kitchen with a 21 foot, 2700-pound (!) steel beam, wrapped in reclaimed wood to create a hidden support system and echoed the rustic beam on the adjoining living room's fireplace mantel.

An old closet now serves as a pantry and a custom brass ventilation grate on the doors serves both function and style. We simplified the windows in the curved banquette with continuous molding to eliminate drywall stops between each window and devised a smart ceiling pitch in the banquette to achieve the best lighting layout.

The kitchen remodel is now in keeping with the ornate character found in the rest of the home--and bonus-there's now open views to the lake from every angle!