Orange County Register   

Remodel of the month

Beach kitchen highlights light, air                                                                                                              BY CINDY MCNATT

2010-05-20 07:54:24

Light and breezy is what you would expect in a coastal kitchen where Marilyn Murray picked just the right finishes for her Huntington Beach home.

Before, the kitchen was right out of dark ages with dim walnut cabinets and white ceramic tile. The kitchen was closed in on three sides and not much fun to cook in.

Marilyn and husband Dave not only blasted out the walls, but raised the ceiling, added skylights, re-oriented the workstations, all with the help of Cab-I-net at cab-i-net.com in Huntington Beach.

"I had them on speed dial," she said. "They found a way to do everything I wanted. Even fixed my leaky roof!"

Murray really mixed it up too, with white alderwood cabinets along the walls, black painted cabinets in the wine station, and an island of made of cherry. The countertops are a mix of Caesarstone and granite. There are quite a few tile styles on the backsplash, but it all blends in her lighthearted sandy style.

"It is so much fun to be in this kitchen now," she said. "I love the induction cooktop, it responds immediately to turning the temperatures up or down. I never had a pantry before and now I've got two. And the wine station works perfect for parties."

Murray had been scouting kitchen styles for years, so she had a good idea of what she wanted. But what works better than she anticipated is her idea to incorporate "universal" design.

Universal design means her kitchen is wheelchair accessible with wide aisles and low light switches. The Murrays don't use wheelchairs now, but Marilyn said universal design "just feels good." She highly recommends it for everyone. In fact, the Murrays love the kitchen so much there is more cooking going on now than ever before. "We cook so much now, I've gained five pounds," she joked.