Connecting To The Coast
Homes: By David L. Coddon Photography by Preview First
Connecting to the Coast
If you’re lucky enough to live on the coast, you want to show off the beach — inside and out. That’s what Rebecca Flynn’s Solana Beach client desired for her kitchen — among other things (more on those other things in a bit). Flynn, of Borelli Design + Cabinetry, found a simple answer: pebbles. Since the kitchen’s existing travertine floor could not be replaced, Flynn came up with the idea of creating a “pebble effect” as a water flow beneath the cabinetry and again as a decorative backsplash behind the sink. You can almost hear the waves breaking.
Other upgrades to the kitchen included eucalyptus cabinets, pendant lighting over a custom-stained espresso island and a buffet piece to showcase the client’s china. A new floor plan increased space for both storage and entertaining.
This had been a kitchen without comfortable flow, Flynn says. It originally incorporated a computer work space that she says didn’t function well. Besides adding two pantries, she reconfigured that work area into one that “doesn’t scream OFFICE.” The new drawers beneath the computer can be used for either cooking or office items. The layout in general is now both pleasing and efficient.
What her client wanted most of all, Flynn recalls, “was a very open and very light place to gather with her family.” The island beckons to guests and the client’s grandkids alike, the LED lighting exudes warmth and calm, and those pebbles remind anyone who enters this kitchen that the surf and sand aren’t far away.
