Oceanfront Retreat: Kitchen and Breakfast Area Design

As inspired by Piet Mondrian’s concept and the De Stijl art movement, our oceanfront retreat kitchen and breakfast area design is based on the simplest form; the grid! This is the fundamental element for all of the spaces and design features in this Fort Lauderdale residential project. Striving to find the perfect balance of energy and design, we further play with our grid, deciding how we translate it into masses and materials.Our goal is to create an ideal balance between femininity and masculinity, and of course to keep the design features very sleek and clean. This might seem too conceptual, but let us break it down.

Let us analyze the long cabinetry wall for instance. Can you see the basic grid? Look closely, and you can observe which lines we chose to accentuate strongly with the custom built black metal features. The thin black shelving unit separating the main kitchen cabinetry and drink station area is the strongest vertical line. While the metal floating shelving unit above the drink station creates two strong horizontal lines.

These bold planes are complemented by softer lines created by different material transitions. The tall wood coffee tower transitions into the grey backsplash of the drink station, creating a softer vertical line here. The countertop of the drink station does the same with the wood cabinetry below, adding a soft horizontal plane. Also note the repetition of the tall wood cabinetry, creating a serie of subtle vertical lines, also playing with that original grid.

Now let us turn to the breakfast wall. Which lines are accentuated, which ones are softer? Yes, you see it now; the black metal elements mark the bold lines, and the grey built out wall creates the main soft vertical line on this wall.

On both walls, we used LED indirect lighting to accentuate design details. These ambient lights are consistent with our overall lighting scheme for the house. The highlighted elements also play with the basic grid. Suddenly, with the highlight, they become bolder masses or lines.

Now, do you remember that balance between feminine and masculine forces we were striving to find? When looking at the modern minimalist kitchen and breakfast area, we believe we achieved it. We showed you how the grid has strong, yet thin lines being intercepted by softer, also thin, lines. In addition, notice the thicker, heavier masses cut off by the thin metal elements. These are all opposing forces; masculine and feminine respectively. Lastly, focus on the materials in the design. The bold black metal pops clashes with the soft oak wood tone of the cabinetry and accent breakfast wood wall. This creates again the perfect relationship, adding to the overall play of bold yet soft design details.

What do you think? Have we achieved the perfect balance? Do you see the grid appearing below our kitchen design? Are you not loving this modern wooden kitchen and breakfast area in our oceanfront retreat, mixed in with the strong metal pops? We are starting to see it coming together on site, and we feel more in love with this modern minimalist design now than ever before!

Progress Photos

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