modern cottage

The small town of Chilmark, Martha’s Vineyard – a region that is heavily wooded with endless little dirt roads which lead to cottages deep in the woods or close to the beach. It’s the quintessential New England island experience, a place surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes, conducive to true relaxation yet with access to civilization as desired. It’s a place that is about peace and beauty.

The cottage is the perfect location for an expression of Scandinavian inspired interiors. Scandinavian design is known for its great respect for, and use of, natural materials and simple lines. The magical mix of old and new such as Martha’s Vineyard island

Vintage discoveries blended with Scandinavian design, are uniquely in sync with one another. Scandinavian design is , at once: comfortable, chic, emotional yet relaxed – sometimes with a little bit of humor.

Textiles add warmth, textures are both flawless and rough. Color moves throughout the design as decorative elements change. The decorative layer of the kitchen is designed TO change to follow our changing moods or seasons.

One element of the kitchen that was extremely important to me to include was a social area that was large enough, focused on comfort to communicate (very clearly): "Come over here and sit, dine, work, relax, nap, prep, talk, think....be", thus, serving multiple activities with maximum flexibility. To that end, the built in banquette was made 24" deep, with a 5 1/2" thick bottom cushion on a flexible fabric webbed framework below the cushion. It's comfort defined. I also imagined the table on casters to move it as needed toward the cooking area for additional prep space. The cook at the sink has the ability to easily interact with those at the table - by design. The enormous mural defines the dining area so it can be experienced as a separate space.

The kitchen designed with an eye toward function includes the availability of water in both the sink and cooking areas. The placement of the sink and cooking areas easily allow multiple people to cook together yet separately with surprisingly ample room for each in a kitchen of this size and, each, with easy access to the refrigerator.

My goal was simple - that aesthetic, social and functional design elements would blend together for a kitchen that is a joy to work and live in.