Space Saving Upgrades and More for Stories Beach Kitchen

For years the homeowner’s of this Stories Beach kitchen had been told that there was no way to increase the size of their teeny tiny kitchen without expanding into the garden and yet when we came to have a look at it only took a few minutes to realize that their underutilized laundry closet was a hidden gem when it came to expanding the usable kitchen space.


2 Stories Beach Kitchen by evelyn m interiors
No fancy plans are needed to convey the few tweaks required to increase the usability of this Stories Beach kitchen, a quick sketch was all that was needed to show that by relocating the fridge into the laundry closet, the portable dishwasher would have room under the now longer countertop and a custom sized, longer island would add valuable storage – as would the new pantry area in the laundry/fridge zone.
3 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
The island is not attached to the floor. It is heavy enough to stay put but the felt pads under its feet allow it to be moved closer the laundry zone or closer to the cooking zone.
4 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
A Barris Butcher Block top on the island is sanded smooth to become a multifunctional work station.
5 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
The Barris Butcher Block is made with solid fir and Purple Heart wood. The purple heart wood is repeated on the back two vertical corners as well as the wood buttoms used in the construction of the island’s shell.
6 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
The Barris Butcher Block island top was made over length and then cut to size. The cut off section was then turned into a countertop butcherblock for cooking purposes.
7 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
Aside from being beautiful, Purple Heart is an extremely dense, water resistant wood. When first cut, the wood is brown but the longer it is exposed to oxygen the purpler the wood becomes. After clear coating the change in colour is virtually stopped.
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The island is only 18” deep but with its 7 drawers and one door it provides plenty of storage. Since the owners have two dogs, we suggest leaving one door in the island to store over height bags of dog food.
9 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
While the island provides plenty of storage it is the full height cupboards that is the crème de la crème in this kitchen.
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When the doors are closed on the full height cupboards you would never no that the washer/dryer zone was still there.
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by stacking the washer/dryer the homeowners where able to expansively increase the function ability of the original closet.
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Aside from relocating the fridge and thereby freeing up undercounter space for a dishwasher, the full height cupboards also provided lots of pantry storage with easy access via pull out drawers.
13 Stories Beach Kitchen by Evelyn M interiors
The reason no one had thought of incorporating the laundry cupboard before was because of its high traffic location. Next to the laundry closet is a guest bathroom and next to that is the main entrance but with 42” between the island the full height cupboards there is plenty of room for the kitchen and the traffic pattern.
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Although the fluted glass panels in the new cupboard doors do not increase storage, they do help keep the kitchen feeling light, bright and airy.
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The wood used in the doors is all local and purchased at a saw mill just 10 minutes from the homeowners location. The wood was purchased over dimension and then planed to size in our own shop.
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Although this Stories Beach kitchen is still small, it rivals the functionality of kitchens twice its size.