Solana Beach Kitchen

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with my first clients here in San Diego: a wonderful couple who own a loft in Solana Beach.  In the kitchen, the challenge was to marry the very different aesthetics of husband and wife; he wanted modern and minimalistic, she wanted rustic and comfortable . Here is the before:

Rather then scrapping the original cabinets, we decided to work up a custom finish that would give the feel of new cabinets while maintaining the original craftsmanship.  With my fabulous decorative painter, Bella Decorative Arts,  we chose a custom, multi-layer process of paint and glaze that creates depth and history.

The next step was picking out new hardware that would  complement the rustic look while adding a modern highlight.  (Tip: Always combine pulls and knobs; it keeps your kitchen from looking like a model home.)  Along the same lines, we added modern, industrial lighting to give the room  a clean weight, and a large pendant over the sink to draw the eye outside.

This kitchen is all about bringing the outside in.  A custom glazed, wide plank table echos the wooded views from the kitchen.

Opposite of the cabinets, we carved out an area for a bar.   My clients wanted to  be able to entertain with ease.  To achieve a clean, functional bar area we chose mounted wall shelves above a metal table with a travertine top. And our accessories don't only look good but are useful too!

A big thank you to Coral Von Zumwalt for photographing this project for Woman's Day Magazine.