Cooling Down: The homeowners keep their kitchen from heating up with their new induction cooktop, which heats cookware and nothing else.

BEFORE

Omoto’s strategy for opening up the space involved tearing down the wall that separated the existing kitchen from the lanai, essentially doubling the kitchen’s square footage. Although it meant losing their outdoor space, it wasn’t too difficult to part with the barely used lanai. “It was too hot in the afternoons due to the sun exposure,” the homeowner says. “People weren’t enticed to go out, so they ended up stuck in the kitchen and hot because of the sun.”

Losing the lanai didn’t mean losing the view of the marina from the kitchen. The homeowners and their contractor came up with a design that incorporated large windows to take advantage of the views. “When you walk in the front door, you’re looking right at the water,” the homeowner says. The previously unused space now garners regular traffic. “We have probably used it more in the past four months than we have in the past six years.”

What about the hot afternoon sun? Double-paned, UV glass cuts down on heat entering the home. The added windows also increase ventilation and airflow and allow an abundance of natural light to stream in.

With the space doubled, the homeowners can now entertain without feeling cramped. “My wife had a high-school reunion here. There were 35 people, and it’s a fairly small house, but it accommodated them well,” the homeowner says. “We couldn’t have done that in the old kitchen. That would have been crazy.”

The kitchen went from cramped and uninviting to beckoning for a visit. “It matches my wife’s personality and mine. We like things to have clean lines and look sophisticated but at the same time be warm and inviting,” the homeowner says. “When we go downstairs in the morning, we feel great.”   

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