Kitchen of the Week
Kitchen Design
Kitchen of the Week: Airy Coastal Look With Clever Island Seating
A designer expands a kitchen by 34 square feet and creates a soothing style with powdery blue and light wood cabinets
Frustrated with their confined 96-square-foot kitchen, these homeowners considered building an expensive addition to gain the storage, style and workspace they wanted. But designer Lana Nguyen helped them avoid that costly move by reimagining their layout and expanding the kitchen into the space taken up by a powder room they didn’t need. That increased the footprint by 34 square feet, allowing for a roomier U-shaped layout with increased countertop 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.
Nguyen replaced the basic 1990s wood cabinets, granite countertops 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.
Nguyen replaced the basic 1990s wood cabinets, granite countertops 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.
After: Nguyen stripped the kitchen to the studs and knocked down the wall between it and the powder room, 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,” Nguyen says. “They really wanted to create a cozy 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,” Nguyen says. “They really wanted to create a cozy dining experience.”
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Before: Style-wise, the former kitchen felt stuck in the late 1990s, when the home was built. Standard honey-toned cabinets, basic brown granite countertops and beige tile flooring and beige walls left a lot to be desired.
After: Nguyen created a fresh coastal look with a mix of powder blue cabinets (Yarmouth Blue, Benjamin Moore), crisp white upper cabinets (Moonlight White, Benjamin Moore) and white oak cabinets on the refrigerator wall and island base. “We worked with the cabinetry company to find a driftwood-look finish for the white oak,” Nguyen says. “This fits the coastal style of the room.”
New red oak flooring in a light matte finish, hand-braided sedge pendant lights and striped pillows and seat cushions add to the look.
An ash veneer dining table and distressed light blue indoor-outdoor metal chairs complement the color and material scheme. “They really love the bench, especially their young son,” Nguyen says. “This becomes not just a dining area; it’s a play area and somewhere the son can stay near Mom when she’s cooking.”
Chairs: Distressed green-blue metal indoor-outdoor stackable, Flash Furniture; cabinets: EHL Kitchens; wall paint: Alabaster, Benjamin Moore
10 Kitchen Island Features Pros Always Recommend
New red oak flooring in a light matte finish, hand-braided sedge pendant lights and striped pillows and seat cushions add to the look.
An ash veneer dining table and distressed light blue indoor-outdoor metal chairs complement the color and material scheme. “They really love the bench, especially their young son,” Nguyen says. “This becomes not just a dining area; it’s a play area and somewhere the son can stay near Mom when she’s cooking.”
Chairs: Distressed green-blue metal indoor-outdoor stackable, Flash Furniture; cabinets: EHL Kitchens; wall paint: Alabaster, Benjamin Moore
10 Kitchen Island Features Pros Always Recommend
Before: In the former kitchen, upper cabinets crowded the sink area. Oddly, the faucet was set off to the side of the sink. “And it was not aligned with the window,” Nguyen says.
The homeowners wanted to keep the window and the sliding glass door on the left, which leads to the backyard.
The homeowners wanted to keep the window and the sliding glass door on the left, which leads to the backyard.
After: Nguyen centered the new stainless steel sink and matte black faucet below the window. Open white oak shelves keep the area light and airy. A paneled dishwasher now sits to the left. The countertops are white engineered quartz.
The Blue Celeste and Thassos marble mosaic backsplash adds another bit of blue and a subtle pattern that coordinates with the coastal aesthetic. “I think the backsplash tile played a crucial part in bringing everything together,” Nguyen says. “This pattern was extremely helpful to the entire design.”
Faucet: Sleek matte black one-handle high arc pull-down, Moen; sconce: Welton in brushed nickel, Kira Home; cabinet hardware: Cumberland in Ash Gray, Top Knobs
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The Blue Celeste and Thassos marble mosaic backsplash adds another bit of blue and a subtle pattern that coordinates with the coastal aesthetic. “I think the backsplash tile played a crucial part in bringing everything together,” Nguyen says. “This pattern was extremely helpful to the entire design.”
Faucet: Sleek matte black one-handle high arc pull-down, Moen; sconce: Welton in brushed nickel, Kira Home; cabinet hardware: Cumberland in Ash Gray, Top Knobs
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Here’s a closer look at the Blue Celeste and Thassos marble mosaic backsplash tile. The shelf is white oak.
Backsplash tile: Mykonos Delos in Blue Celeste and Thassos, Mir Mosaic
Backsplash tile: Mykonos Delos in Blue Celeste and Thassos, Mir Mosaic
A new 30-inch front-control gas range with air fry, five burners and convection oven sits below a 30-inch custom hood with wood trim.
A spice pullout sits to the right of the range. The three drawers to the left of the range hold utensils and food storage containers. A paneled 18-inch trash and recycling pullout is to the left of those drawers.
The cabinet next to the trash and recycling 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,” Nguyen says.
Stove: Professional 30-inch front-control gas range with air fry, Frigidaire; range hood insert: Monsoon Connect, Zephyr
A spice pullout sits to the right of the range. The three drawers to the left of the range hold utensils and food storage containers. A paneled 18-inch trash and recycling pullout is to the left of those drawers.
The cabinet next to the trash and recycling 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,” Nguyen says.
Stove: Professional 30-inch front-control gas range with air fry, Frigidaire; range hood insert: Monsoon Connect, Zephyr
The recessed upper cabinets flanking the range include reeded glass doors. “This creates symmetry and makes the space feel lighter,” Nguyen says. “If it’s all solid cabinets, it feels 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 French door counter-depth stainless steel refrigerator 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,” Nguyen says. “At the same time, you have usable workspace near the refrigerator, making it easier to use.”
The island contains a 24-inch stainless steel microwave oven drawer.
Microwave oven drawer in stainless steel: Sharp; refrigerator: professional 22.6-cubic-foot French door counter-depth, Frigidaire
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
The island contains a 24-inch stainless steel microwave oven drawer.
Microwave oven drawer in stainless steel: Sharp; refrigerator: professional 22.6-cubic-foot French door counter-depth, Frigidaire
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Before: This floor plan of the former kitchen (left) shows the tight U-shaped layout. The powder room is on the right.
After: Taking over the powder room space allowed Nguyen to expand the kitchen to include a central island with built-in bench seating. “The layout we created solved lots of problems for them,” she says. “It was a game changer to reimagine their kitchen and living room.”
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A young couple with a son and a dog
Location: Milford, Connecticut
Size: 130 square feet (12 square meters)
Designer: Lana Nguyen of Design by the Jonathans
Before: The former 96-square-foot kitchen is seen here on the left. A wall separated it from the unneeded powder room. “They have another bathroom on a lower floor and another bathroom on a higher level so they didn’t need it,” Nguyen 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,” Nguyen says.