A Beach Kitchen for Grandkids & Entertaining

The most popular time to tackle home renovations is immediately after you buy a new house. In fact many home buyers make their home buying decisions based on getting a new kitchen, bathroom or deck, and not the actual house they buy. When these Plum Island homeowners bought their new beach house …

The first priority was to create a beach kitchen they could enjoy as a couple, with their grandkids and for entertaining with small, intimate parties.

How Did You Pick the Beach Kitchen Location?

The old kitchen was too small, and it wasn't next to the dining room. The homeowners wanted a spacious, open concept beach kitchen combined with a dining area and family room. During demo though, we did save the unique sea themed tiles.

We looked at the floor plan to see which part of the house would allow us to create the visual space needed, with the least structural impact.

Some walls are load bearing, meaning they're supporting the roof and can't be removed easily. Interior walls that aren't load bearing are much easier to get rid of, although you've still got to reroute electrical wiring, plumbing pipes and/or heating features hidden in those walls.

What Changes Were Made to The Floor Plan?

Renovations on Plum Island, Massachusetts are fairly challenging. You need to satisfy all Newburyport zoning, building and board of health rules. You also have to adhere to the guidelines for Plum Island conservation, which look at cost versus the benefit of placing existing buildings on pilings. The intent is when projects are large enough, the building must be placed on pilings so we needed a creative solution that could avoid this added cost.

The new location for the open concept beach kitchen was good but we really needed more space to include all the appliances the homeowners wanted, along with lots of seating. Our final solution gave us more floor space without expanding the footprint of the house. We pushed out one kitchen wall two and a half feet, by supporting the floors from the existing structure.

Why Didn't You Include an Outdoor Kitchen?

While it's true that outdoor kitchens coupled with outdoor living space that can be covered or enclosed during inclement weather, is more popular today … it's not really popular on Plum Island. There are simply too many restrictions on what changes you can make. The site plan you have to submit for any type of renovation requires you to include, starting with the existing grades and conditions of “… all structures, driveways, walkways, sheds and all vegetation, preferably with a legend identifying the plant species”.

The focus is on preserving the island which means allowing the sand to migrate naturally. That's why the conservation rules address fencing (80% open for first two feet above grade), lattice and other enclosures around pilings (must be at least three feet above grade), driveways, walkways, stairway landings, patio and parking areas. Given the legal hurdles, and the fact that there are frequent sand storms, outdoor kitchens simply don't make sense.

What Were the Homeowner's Favorite Beach Kitchen Features?

These Plum Island homeowners love their open concept kitchen and spending time there with their grandchildren. Even though they're indoors, they're able to enjoy the beach environment around them and a few features contribute to this feeling.

• Tile backsplash in beach colors, shimmers to create a feeling of the waves at the beach. If you're an avid fisherman, you can also look at them as a school of fish surrounding you.
• Wall of large windows over the cantilevered floors provides wonderful natural sunlight, and a fantastic view of Plum Islands beachy environment.

• Multiple, raised seating at the lovely island means you can enjoy the views from anywhere in the kitchen or dining space. You know you're at the beach when you're cooking, visiting with a friend or entertaining a small group of friends and family.

What Other Renovations Did This Beach House Get?

It's common for homeowners, once they get used to our team working in their home, to ask us to complete other projects on their wish list. On Plum Island, they also renovated a bathroom, added a laundry room (part of the bathroom) and replaced the windows and siding. The homeowners love their beach house, and knowing the renovations completed will keep they dry and cozy regardless of the weather outside.

Here are more tips to help you with your kitchen remodel …

• Kitchen Remodels Take How Long?
• Kitchen Islands Offer Function & Flexibility
• Kitchen Design Trends in 2019
• Budget Kitchen Renovations For Under $5,000

Sandi left a comment below asking … “Can you tell me where you found this tile in kitchen What is it called. Do you know where I can find it. Thank you in advance”

Sandi is right to fall in love with this tile, much as I did years ago. It's become very popular since I've seen the design in different colors in home shows and model homes. The challenge isn't the store as that depends on where you live (house shown here in Massachusetts while I now live in Florida).

I knew my favorite building materials supplier, ProSource of Orlando, carried this tile so I wrote to my rep Audra asking … “One of my readers asked where she could buy this tile. I know you carry this tile although the color on display is different. Can you please find out the manufacturer & style so my reader can locate where she lives. Thanks”

Audra responded within an hour, giving me a link to Fusion Glass, part of Bella Casa's tile collection. Thanks Audra … and thank you ProSource of Orlando! There are ProSource locations across the US, so check to see if you have one of these great stores near you.