Tropical Contemporary Family Kitchen

“We were fortunate to spend a lot of time with this particular family, who are very warm and generous people,” says interior designer Christine Pokorney. “They gather for breakfast with the doors to the outside open, and often eat lunch buffet style as people come and go from their outdoor activities. At larger events, guests mingle comfortably in the kitchen, living room and adjacent outdoor spaces.” The homeowners wanted a highly functional kitchen with good work flow for multiple cooks, but also great natural light and views, and a strong physical connection to the outdoors which is such a huge part of their lives in Florida. So perhaps the greatest challenge to the design team was maintaining that inside-to-out connection with effortless flow. Key to their success was the creation of a custom ten-foot wide sliding/pocketing door that connects the kitchen to an adjacent outdoor breakfast area, where herbs are grown for cooking. To provide the function the family required, specific zones were developed to ease work flow and use: a main cooking area behind the island connected to an adjacent butler’s pantry; a baking center; a breakfast area in one corner; and a wet bar in the other corner close to adjacent entertaining spaces.