Room Of The Week
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Kitchen of the Week: Big Family Gatherings at a USA Lake House
See how a designer renovated a holiday house with a new kitchen to entertain large groups on a family lakeside property
Located on a peninsula on Minnesota’s Upper Gull Lake in the USA, this home is part of a large family property – a living legacy that the homeowners have been working hard to establish for their four grown children and future generations. Designer Laura Tays of Tays & Co Design Studios worked with them on the entire property, first creating a beautiful country-style home for the parents, then renovating this existing house to accommodate their four children and grandchildren.
By reconfiguring the bedrooms, Tays created enough space in the home to sleep 16. And while the family isn’t that big yet, the rest of the house needed to be able to accommodate large groups. Tays created a kitchen and adjacent dining area that can hold a large group comfortably, provide views of the lake and make barbecuing easy. She also gave them a welcoming lakeside style that mixes modern and rustic – here’s how.
By reconfiguring the bedrooms, Tays created enough space in the home to sleep 16. And while the family isn’t that big yet, the rest of the house needed to be able to accommodate large groups. Tays created a kitchen and adjacent dining area that can hold a large group comfortably, provide views of the lake and make barbecuing easy. She also gave them a welcoming lakeside style that mixes modern and rustic – here’s how.
The new mudroom sits between the lower level and the main level. This is an upside-down house, with the shared living spaces on the main floor and all the bedrooms on the lower level. The main level is one big open space, with views of the lake on three sides.
A local Minnesota company, Alpine Cabinetry, crafted all the cabinets in the renovated house. These built-ins are a skip-sawn white oak with a custom stain. Tays repeated this cabinetry style in the kitchen, creating a cohesive feel throughout the home.
Thinking of renovating? Find a local building designer on Houzz, browse images of their projects and read reviews from previous clients
A local Minnesota company, Alpine Cabinetry, crafted all the cabinets in the renovated house. These built-ins are a skip-sawn white oak with a custom stain. Tays repeated this cabinetry style in the kitchen, creating a cohesive feel throughout the home.
Thinking of renovating? Find a local building designer on Houzz, browse images of their projects and read reviews from previous clients
Tays was tasked with designing the space for a large number of people staying here at once. The dining area is adjacent to the kitchen and seats 12.
The house was dated but had fantastic bones, including the vaulted ceiling. The designer installed beams to add warmth and rhythm overhead. She also replaced the travertine tile floors with engineered hardwood. The oak planks are 19 centimetres wide and are very durable.
The house was dated but had fantastic bones, including the vaulted ceiling. The designer installed beams to add warmth and rhythm overhead. She also replaced the travertine tile floors with engineered hardwood. The oak planks are 19 centimetres wide and are very durable.
A large kitchen island sits in the centre of the kitchen. Tays positioned the integrated fridge and freezer at the edge of the room. She put both appliance pulls on the left side to make it easier to unload groceries from the island. “If I’d set them up like a French-door fridge, then the open door would have gotten in the way of the flow,” she says. Because the freezer is narrower than the refrigerator, this arrangement also addresses the asymmetry in a pleasing way.
The walls and island are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Sea Pearl. “I like to keep the same tones throughout a house,” says Tays. This calm colour places the emphasis on elements such as the windows, beams and light fixtures.
With such high ceilings, the designer used a combination of recessed lights over the walkways in the room, along with task lighting. “The armed sconces light the [benchtops] and shelves. They have an iron-like look and beautiful gold leaf inside,” says Tays. “And the pendants are plaster in a white that blends into the wall colour, but the texture stands out. I just love texture.”
The walls and island are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Sea Pearl. “I like to keep the same tones throughout a house,” says Tays. This calm colour places the emphasis on elements such as the windows, beams and light fixtures.
With such high ceilings, the designer used a combination of recessed lights over the walkways in the room, along with task lighting. “The armed sconces light the [benchtops] and shelves. They have an iron-like look and beautiful gold leaf inside,” says Tays. “And the pendants are plaster in a white that blends into the wall colour, but the texture stands out. I just love texture.”
Tays replaced all the windows and doors from USA-based company Marvin’s Ultimate line for a clean, contemporary look. The doors on the left lead to the deck, giving easy access to the barbecue.
The stove had always been in the corner of the kitchen, but it had a bulky range hood and no windows above it. “My clients wanted to keep their existing stove, but they had no interest in a hood,” says Tays. “I knew I could fit a pop-up vent behind it, but they said they grill almost everything outside and didn’t want it.”
An impactful change to the corner was the addition of two new large windows. “Across the driveway, we transformed an old garage they never used into a ‘family pub’. I wanted to create connections between the different buildings on the property, and these windows provide a view of the pub,” says Tays.
An impactful change to the corner was the addition of two new large windows. “Across the driveway, we transformed an old garage they never used into a ‘family pub’. I wanted to create connections between the different buildings on the property, and these windows provide a view of the pub,” says Tays.
For the benchtops, Tays chose a neutral, almost-all-white quartz for the perimeter. “I love natural materials, but it just made sense to have something so durable on those countertops,” she says. It also saved on the budget, so she could splurge on charcoal granite for the centrepiece, featured on the kitchen island’s benchtop.
“This beautiful granite looks a lot like soapstone, but it’s lower-maintenance and more durable,” says Tays. “Using the very neutral quartz on the perimeter counters allowed this beautiful accent stone to be the focus.”
“This beautiful granite looks a lot like soapstone, but it’s lower-maintenance and more durable,” says Tays. “Using the very neutral quartz on the perimeter counters allowed this beautiful accent stone to be the focus.”
The island contains the kitchen sink, an integrated dishwasher and additional storage. The tap has an integrated pull-down spray feature.
“I especially love the egg-shaped pulls we used on the cabinet doors here,” says Tays. The hardware in the kitchen has an antique-brass finish.
“I especially love the egg-shaped pulls we used on the cabinet doors here,” says Tays. The hardware in the kitchen has an antique-brass finish.
“My clients are quite into wellness, so their cooking prep involves chopping a lot of vegetables,” says Tays. “I thought it would be really cool for them to be able to chop right on the island.” The maple-wood butcher’s block bench is custom-designed, crafted to sit flush with the granite benchtop. The drawers provide storage space for knives and the shelves house the family’s cookbooks.
Tays also removed the kitchen’s upper cabinets to open up the space. “Open shelves work really well here because it makes it easy for guests to figure out where the glasses, mugs and plates are,” she says. She extended the splashback up to the shelves. The tiles have a variety of grey tones and a lovely glazed finish.
In addition to using many local materials, the designer shopped in the region for decorative accessories. Along with a few vintage shops, she had two favourite stores in nearby Nisswa – Lark Nisswa and Found: A Curated Life.
In addition to using many local materials, the designer shopped in the region for decorative accessories. Along with a few vintage shops, she had two favourite stores in nearby Nisswa – Lark Nisswa and Found: A Curated Life.
“Because they are only here for weekends and longer [holidays], they didn’t need a lot of pantry storage,” says Tays. The tall cabinets on the left and right here provide most of the food storage in the kitchen. The skip-sawn oak joinery and finish matches the mudroom built-ins, while the hardware is oil-rubbed bronze.
Browse more beautiful kitchens with light timber cabinetry
Browse more beautiful kitchens with light timber cabinetry
The wall of cabinetry also holds a secret: the door in the centre is the entrance to a powder room. “Ideally, you wouldn’t want a bathroom directly off the kitchen, but this is where it was, and not having to move the plumbing saved on the budget,” says Tays. “The secret door makes it feel more private.”
The dining area is open to a large family room, with a new fireplace serving as a focal point. Tays placed a bar in a convenient spot to serve both spaces.
The bar’s cabinetry, benchtop, splashback, shelves and lighting match those in the kitchen. The designer outfitted the shelves with wine-glass racks and added a beverage fridge and bar sink.
The mix of modern and rustic encourages a casual lakeside lifestyle. And the durable finishes Tays chose will stand up to all the wet feet, pets and young tots that will enjoy this holiday retreat for generations to come.
Your turn
What do you love about this open-plan kitchen design? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Ready to see another great entertaining space? Cross over to the dark side with this dramatic Room of the Week: Drama and Jewel Tones in a UK Bar & Media Room
The mix of modern and rustic encourages a casual lakeside lifestyle. And the durable finishes Tays chose will stand up to all the wet feet, pets and young tots that will enjoy this holiday retreat for generations to come.
Your turn
What do you love about this open-plan kitchen design? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images for inspiration, and join the conversation.
More
Ready to see another great entertaining space? Cross over to the dark side with this dramatic Room of the Week: Drama and Jewel Tones in a UK Bar & Media Room
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: This is an extended family’s holiday home
Location: Gull chain of lakes in the Brainerd area of Minnesota, USA
Room purpose and size: This kitchen measures about 31 square metres
Designer-builder: Laura and Joshua Tays of Tays & Co Design Studios
When the client purchased this holiday home, their kids were in tertiary education. As the years passed, their children married and had children of their own. This prompted a redesign that could accommodate a growing family, who now uses the holiday home for lakeside weekends and longer getaways. The homeowners also planned to let friends use the house, so it needed to cater to big groups.
The only expansion Tays made to the footprint was adding a mudroom that serves as the main entry, seen to the left of the photo (above). The glass door off the deck leads directly into the kitchen. The siblings tend to cook almost everything on the barbecue, so easy access was a must.