Orlando, FL — Too many cooks in the kitchen can be a hazardous scenario. But with a summer kitchen, a main kitchen and additional snack and food prep areas in the recreation room, media area, carriage house and laundry room, the builders and designers of the recent New Southern Home were able to avoid this situation entirely.

The home includes 22 rooms and over 12,200 square feet of air conditioned space, with additional covered outdoor spaces adding another 6,000 square feet to the overall living area. The James M. Krantz Construction Corporation built the lakefront home, and the main kitchen was designed by Connie Edwards, CKD, CBD and director of design for Timberlake Cabinetry.

Original Style

While Mediterranean styles are common throughout Florida architecture, the builders of the New Southern Home wanted to create something entirely different. The home’s shingle – or Hampton – style goes well with its waterfront location, producing an overall casual feeling for the entire space.

The designers employed an open design plan for the kitchen, creating an atmosphere where cooking and entertaining can take place simultaneously.

The simple design lines and painted surfaces of the cabinetry play up the casual waterfront feel of the home. The design team used a Maple Cream glaze on the cabinetry to maintain a brighter space.

Providing a look that mimics a hearth installation, the cabinets are stacked to the counter and afford space on either side of the range.

One short wall and one long wall are part of the room’s design, limiting the amount of cabinetry. As a result, storage space in the 20'x18' kitchen needed to be designed creatively. Base pot and pan pull-outs and roll-out trays maximize the interior storage.

To supplement the existing cabinetry and create additional storage space, the design team built cabinets into the dual islands.
A large walk-in pantry, also referred to as the hidden pantry, is located off the kitchen. Tying the design together, the Cream finish of the cabinetry presented a shade for the walls here. The designers fit the entry door to match the cabinet doors and the crown molding matched the cabinetry, as well.

In addition to storage, the pantry acts as a safe-room, complete with thumbprint technology.

Powering Up

With seating available for guests on the outside island, the placement of outlets on the islands challenged the designer. Located behind the outer island, a wall supporting a raised snack bar easily became the place for the added outlets.