Nantucket, Massachuesetts

This kitchen is in a new home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In Nantucket, it’s required that cedar siding is used on the outside of the houses, so this helped us to “set the tone” for their kitchen. The client wanted a quiet yet sophisticated kitchen. Because there is only one wall with windows, we decided that white cabinets would help to keep it light and fresh. To warm it up, however, we decided to use a hot rolled steel island, and a walnut sliding door cabinet at under the cooktop. The hardware also helped because it’s oil rubbed bronze –a traditional finish yet applied onto modern pulls. The pass thru to the family room was originally slated to be a “hole in the wall”. While designing the kitchen, we all realized that it would be much more graceful to let the opening go all the way to the cathedral ceiling. This helped to integrate the two rooms. I felt, however, that there should be some delineation from one room to the other, so, I suggested putting the white oak wood top there. This way, when viewed from the family room, it would feel more like a piece of furniture rather than a cold granite countertop. The cabinet that sits on the granite behind this top has two openings. One for the upper wall cabinet storage and the other is an appliance garage. Both of these cabinets have sliding bi-fold hinges on them to allow for easy access when reaching from the kitchen side. Also, this allows both doors to stay open throughout the cooking process without getting in the way. The hot rolled steel island was constructed out of plywood and was then clad in steel. We had the water mark pattern (made from steam condensation as the metal is cooling) all line up so that on one side of the island, it looks like a wave breaking on the shore. We also snuck in black plug molding between the top of the cabinet doors and the countertop which makes it almost invisible. The prep/entertainment sink is wide and narrow, set back 14” from the counter edge so that the cook can stand there and cut veggies or use the sink from the other two sides. It can also be filled with ice for beer or shrimp cocktail when entertaining. The hood took a lot of thought. It went through many iterations, all which felt were competing with the quiet grace of this space. When we got the idea to make it the same finish as the wall, only set back slightly, BINGO, that was the right choice. It’s enhanced with a hot rolled steel apron. The tile on the backsplash is truly made in Morrocco and the floating shelves enhance thegraceful, spa-like feeling of this kitchen. We put all of the tall cabinets on the wall opposite the hood. We decided to let them stay at the 84” height and put a hot rolled steel top shelf on it. We liked that square opening which added to the geometrical shapes that are found in every view of this kitchen. It also helped to keep this wall from becoming overbearing. All in all, this kitchen is a standout for all of the kitchens that we’ve completed this year and we hope that you feel the same!

Designed by #JGKB.