Bungalow Kitchen Finds a New Life After Hurricane Sandy
A storm surge destroyed a couple`s previous home, but that didn`t stop them from embracing the sea with a new nautical-style kitchen.
The sun always emerges after a storm. In this case, so did plans for a
new home. After Hurricane Sandy wreaked its havoc, these homeowners
hired Brooklyn architecture and design firm Chango & Co. to rebuild
their condemned house from the ground up.
Starting from scratch
allowed the couple - who have since expanded their family to include two
children and a dog - to meld their favorite elements of a traditional
nautical home with the lightness and simplicity of a beach bungalow, as
evident in the new kitchen.
[Our goal with the kitchen was to
provide a worry-free zone that was open to the rest of the home," says
Susana Simonpietri, creative director at Chango. Black soapstone
countertops provide contrast and easy-to-clean work surfaces. [Soapstone
is just about the easiest material to maintain," Simonpietri says.
The
designers left the wide-plank white oak floor in its natural color and
finished it with three coats of polyurethane in a satin finish. The same
flooring runs throughout the home, including in the bathrooms. Simple
seagrass runners add symmetry in the kitchen and coordinate with the
rugs used in front of the bedrooms and entryway.
The walls and cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore`s Decorator`s White. Dabs of primary blue in the rugs, stools and dishes further push the coastal theme, as do the pendant lights and custom rope and metal towel holder.
What better spot for enjoying family meals than this light,
bright, beachy dining room? The chairs echo the style of the counter
stools but in a lighter shade of blue. A tufted window cushion provides
roomy seating.
Two chandeliers crafted of glass globe clusters bring to mind
frothy ocean bubbles. In addition to the fun factor, the fixtures
allowed the designers to incorporate even more blue - in the form of the
leather cord - in the room.
The sconces, nautical in inspiration, illuminate the cozy space as if one were dining aboard a ship.
The L-shaped window cushion meets a storage cabinet, which links the dining room to the living room and houses TV equipment.