Modern Seaside Kitchen

This Modern Seaside Kitchen was designed and built this year by Lunada Consulting & Design. Grab a glass of wine as we take a tour of this gorgeous gourmet kitchen!

The first thing you notice when walking into this gourmet seaside kitchen is the extraordinary teak wood island and the gorgeous hickory hardwood floors! The objective of this modern seaside kitchen was to open up the space for entertaining. The design challenge was to also find a way to provide ample storage around three large windows. The design solution was to create floor to ceiling wall cabinets on two walls; one opposite of the three windows and the other dividing the kitchen and family room.  

As your attention is drawn back to the high style design of this gourmet kitchen you will see the spectacular feature of the mix of natural teak with modern white laminate cabinetry. This creates a modern feel of texture and color that really adds character! The stainless steel tambour garage cabinets provide easy access to coffee pots and toasters for the morning dash to the office. Then with a swift close of the tambour the kitchen is back to its pristine condition. The full surround of the built in refrigerator again provides a mix of materials and storage. The walk in pantry can be completely hidden away with the pull out doors. The side cabinets then transform into a work of art of teak cabinetry and a lighted art niche.

 

The island is the focal point with book matched teak panels down lit with LED strip lights. The water fall “Caesarstone” countertop embraces the island which contains the commercial grade Wolf 48” Duel Fuel Range and custom Modern-Aire Ventilating hood. The perimeter laminated cabinets provide a dual dishwasher for handling the cleanup of entertaining quickly and efficiently. These cabinets become works of art with hand forged stainless hardware.

 

The prime location in this kitchen is at the walnut butcher block bar. The end-grain walnut block is over 5” thick and is supported by a modern cutout base which is also down lit with LED strips. As you are relaxing at the counter your drink will sparkle under the hand blown glass pendants as you enjoy the view of the Pacific Ocean through the expansive window.

Revitalized Retro Kitchen

Here it is! The Revitalized Retro Kitchen project LCD has just completed. Join us as we take a tour inside this retro green kitchen!

Walking into this kitchen is like walking back in time to a favorite Aunt’s kitchen who always had the best cookies baking! The objective of this revitalized retro kitchen remodel was to create an open concept kitchen that the whole family could enjoy. The challenge was to design our client’s dream kitchen out of their three existing rooms. The design solution was to remove two dividing walls, which separated the three rooms, to provide the space for their dream open concept kitchen.

 

 

 

This revitalized retro kitchen wouldn’t be complete without it’s center piece, an original 1940’s O’Keefe and Merritt gas stove; recycled and reused it has timeless appeal. The combination of flat and raised pantry cabinets are painted white with a pop of mint green color at the backs of each glass cabinet. The cabinet hardware is a contrasting oil rubbed bronze finish. The counters which flank the O’Keefe and Merritt are classic soapstone set as a direct slab with a honed finish.

The clean edges of the subway tile mimic the original subway tiles in the Undergrounds, of London. The contrasting gray emphasizes the brick pattern.  The dual column Thermador refrigerator/freezer is a full 5 feet in width to provide the family with ample food storage. Combining form and function the cabinetry surrounding the refrigerator/freezer also acts to camouflage a magnet photo collection. A metal sheet was painted to look like the surrounding cabinets, but creates a magnetic surface for photos and practice schedules!

Jumping across the reclaimed white oak flooring takes us to the island. But let’s pause a moment to admire the extraordinary floors. The reclaimed lumber is from a Sugar Mill in Savannah Georgia. These beautiful floors are over 150 years old.

Last, but not least, we move on over and pull up a stool to the island counter! Here’s where the milk and cookies are served as you take a seat on the custom powder coated steel bar stools that provide a breath of spring air in a washed yellow. The countertop contains a custom marine edge to catch any spills and fireclay farm sink is surrounded by the full array of conveniences in a bright sparkle of chrome. Another feature of this cherry island is the soft muted light provided by the oil rubbed bronze pendants. This wraps up the kitchen tour – feel free to sneak an extra cookie on your way out!

 

NKBA Design Competition

Hello everyone! It has been a little while since we posted, but needless to say you will be excited about the upcoming posts!

We love this time of year, not only for the beautiful California summer weather, but for the NKBA Design Competition that is held each year.

The National Kitchen and Bath Association hosts a design competition exclusive to NKBA members. Each designer submits a completed project with, photos, a design statement, and elevations and a floor plan. This year we submitted two completed kitchen projects. The Revitalized Retro Kitchen is a combination of reclaimed and reused materials and the Modern Seaside Kitchen combines gourmet with entertaining. In the next couple days you'll be able to tour both!

Let's take a peek back to last year's 2014 NKBA Design Competition entry, the New Mountain Style Home Kitchen, which you can also find here.

We entered this open space kitchen in both the before and after category and the medium size kitchen category (150-350 sq. ft.). Take a look.

 

 

 

Before photo of the New Mountain Style Home Kitchen.

 

 

  Before photo of the appliances, cabinetry, island,

and hardwood floors.

 

 

After photo of the gorgeous kitchen that was designed to be spacious

and to have great traffic flow for entertaining guests.

 

 

All new stainless steel appliances were installed.

 

 

A free standing island with granite countertop and

built in stove.

 

 

Raised butcher block countertop. Perfect for serving

appetizers to family & guests.

 

 

New hard wood floors to go with the

New Mountain Style color palette.

 

 

The stacked stone pillar and wall add texture and a rustic feel to the space.

 

 

Built in outlets were installed for easy laptop use around the island.

 

 

Counter seating includes interaction with the cook, plus ample

storage space.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the New Mountain Style Kitchen photos. Visit us tomorrow for the Revitalized Retro Kitchen.

For the complete Mountain Style Home tour visit our Houzz profile here.

Meet Cheri, Our Prop Stylist!

We’re so excited to introduce you to our prop stylist, Cheri Carbajal. Not only is she super talented, but so much fun to work with! Her attention to detail paired with her creativeness is such a great combo. She can really bring a room to life!

Check out our interview with her below.

o   Introduce yourself :)

• Hi!! My name is Cheri Carbajal and I am 27 yrs old. I am a Visual Associate Manager for Pottery Barn. I studied interior design at CSULB and graduated in 2012 however began working in the industry in 2009. I started out freelancing for a family, designing different rooms in their Bel Air home. They loved the work I did so they brought me on to help finish rooms at their vacation home in Dana Point, CA. During this time I was also a design specialist for Pottery Barn and would help design customers’ homes.
• My future plans are to continue what I love doing and that is designing! I would love to have my own interior design/styling business one day or to own my own shop, selling unique one of a kind furnishings while also offering design insight.

 

o   How did you get involved in prop styling?

• I always would gravitate towards objects with different colors, textures, and shapes. I think it started while working for Pottery Barn helping with a display or booking an appointment to stage a home!

o   What has been your favorite styling project so far?

• There are a many that I can say I loved, however if I had to choose one it would be styling a living room for a family who just moved into a new house in Palos Verdes, CA. The woman was a newly divorcee and she had three girls. I had free reign, a not so high budget, and specific direction to not make it girly! Every time I would go into their home it would be a blast! Her daughters would be hanging around looking at everything I was unpacking and styling. Her youngest, I think she was 8, spent the most time with me and you could clearly see she was a designer in the making! I felt like I wasn’t even working but just hanging out with the girls! Needless to say the living room came out great and the family loved it! They just bought a new home and I am going out to style it in the coming weeks!

o   How do you define your design style?

• My design style is very classic, timeless, and eclectic. I love mixing different styles and materials together. I feel that way it looks more designed and not straight out of a magazine. And one can live with it for a long time!

o   When looking for pieces for your own home, where do you draw inspiration?

• It sounds crazy but I ask myself where I see myself in 5 yrs? Can I take these pieces with me when I move and not start completely over but just add on to what I have? I don’t want to just buy pieces to buy them, to then be thrown out or given away. I want to know that I will have pieces in my home for a long time! 

o   Who are your favorite interior designers? What do you like most about their design approach?   

• My favorite designers are Emily Henderson and Jeffery Alan Marks.
• I love how Emily Henderson mixes so many different styles together but it all works so well! She pairs really quirky items with on trend furnishings! And the girl seems to always score at the flea market!
• Jeffery Alan Marks has a very comfortable and colorful design style. I love how his style doesn't seem "designed" but like the space has been like that forever. 

o   Lastly, what are 3-5 easy tips you could give us on styling our dream bedroom? And tell us a little about your bedroom design.   

1. Start with a consistent color palette and don’t be afraid to layer different textures and patterns.
2. Forgo matchy-matchy pieces by using rustic with clean lined pieces and old with new.
3. Make the headboard your focal point!
4. I always like to add a touch of freshness to a room with botanicals. Either fresh cut flowers or branches just add that extra touch!

• In our bedroom I chose a very neutral palette to work off of and really went for it with texture! It is still a work in progress with one full wall of bookshelves that need to be styled and those burnt orange velvet chairs. We really scored with those guys and I plan on re-vamping them ASAP! We also plan on changing the headboard, as this one was an impulsive buy but I feel that It needs to be much higher and in a different fabric!

 

 

 

 

 

See Cheri's prop styling for LCD here: New Mountain Style Home

Reclaimed & Recycled

Have you ever used reclaimed wood in your home?

Using this recycled material has become more and more popular over the years and that’s no surprise! Reclaimed wood is an amazing material to use in your home. Not only is every piece of wood unique from the wear and tear over the years, but it’s also environmentally friendly. Reclaimed wood means one or more less trees that are cut down every year. Great right?

More of the reason why we were happy to use this reclaimed wood as hardwood floor in our client’s kitchen. It was installed yesterday and it looks amazing!

This reclaimed wood was taken from an old sugar mill in Atlanta, Georgia and not only does it add character, but it makes it special knowing where it came from. Now our clients have a little piece of Georgia in their home.

 

 

Pup Friendly

Have you ever heard a dog lover say their pup is just like a little human? With their unique personalities, little habits, and nature? The only difference is they have four legs and are covered in fur. And we would totally agree! So why not give them a space of their own in your home?   

A built-in dog bowl would do the trick. Just like this built in stainless steel doggie bowl cubby we incorporated into a client's modern kitchen design. The cubby was designed to be durable, clean, and modern which goes perfectly with the beautiful white laminated cabinets and Eurostone countertop.  

This eating cubby was especially designed for Zephyr, and we think he’ll love it!

Here are some photos of his personalized dining space.

 

The home interior is still under construction, but when it's finished look out for more pictures of Zephyr's dining space and his parent's home interior!

Floral to Flannel

Is there a certain piece of furniture you just can’t get rid of, but it doesn’t quite fit with your updated home décor?

We suggest giving your piece of furniture a makeover by reupholstering it (If you can of course). It will be the same coveted piece of furniture you love just with a facelift!

Here we took a client’s floral & oak dining room chairs and gave them an easy update. 

We reupholstered them with flannel fabric from Bassett Furniture and added nail heads to give them a rustic feel.

Perfect for their Mammoth cabin!

Just imagine sipping hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows by the fireplace in these soft flannel cabin ready chairs! 

 

   

Reclaimed Sinks & Antiques

Have you ever used or thought of using reclaimed sinks?

You might be thinking ew, a used sink?  Why would I use that ol’ rusty thing when I can buy a new and shiny one from Pirch or Pottery Barn?

If you are envisioning the possibilities and potential a reclaimed sink can have, then we love you!

Recently one of our clients requested that we use all reclaimed sinks in each of their five bathrooms (yes, I said 5. They have a beautiful 3 story vacation home we get to design. We're so excited!). We thought what a great idea!

This led us to seeking out the best antique/vintage shops close by. We haven't visited all of them yet, but we did stop by one this past week. It's called Olde Good Things and it is located in downtown LA. Have you heard of it? They also have a NY location as well!

Here are some items we found. Hope you get as excited as we did!

 

A mix of reclaimed sinks. Oh the possibilities!

 

Legs for a dining room table.

 

Oversized chain & glass coffee table.

 



 

Reclaimed wood crates.



Intriguing light fixtures.

 

Signs we adored.