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Alessandra's Social and Eclectic Kitchen

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Name:

Alessandra

Location:

Portland, Maine

Division:

Own

Square Feet:

118

How many people live in home:

Three: Myself, my boyfriend Ben and a Vizsla (dog) named Hinckley McNugget.

What makes your small kitchen so cool?


Our kitchen is very efficient and eclectic. All the surfaces are prepping surfaces - reclaimed bowling alley island and black walnut butcher block counters. We wanted a cook's kitchen that would double as a social center for the house. We put most of our budget toward opening the layout (including exposing the original 1818 barn board ceiling) and did the finishes on a tight budget by finding cool reclaimed materials.

One challenge you overcame in your small kitchen, or a good resource you've found.


We only have one cabinet in our kitchen. For storage we designed floating shelves out of slabs of black walnut and found a super industrial base to hold up the bowling alley. We access high 'over flow' storage with a old apple orchard ladder we found at a barn.

Favorite Meal to Cook in Kitchen


Anything Italian. I love to cook. Portland is an amazing foodie town with lots of inspiration. We ALWAYS cook fresh and local (note, no microwave). The Saturday farmer's market in our local park is a cooks dream come true!

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Comments (19)

Nice work!

posted by TheDealer on July 21, 2011 at 1:17pm
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I'm with e53, I was stoked on your kitchen until I saw the totes adorb before picture. :(

posted by Put A Bird On It on July 19, 2011 at 7:42pm
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Very cute kittchen. I like the countertops.

posted by lissilu on July 19, 2011 at 10:27am
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I'm guessing the last picture is the "before"? I like the kitchen now (especially the island with built-in sink), but my retro-loving self really likes the old kitchen too.

posted by e53 on July 19, 2011 at 1:26pm
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I can't think of a more fitting kitchen for a house in Portland ! Very cute

posted by kitchenhip on July 19, 2011 at 4:06pm
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Wicked awesome. That kitchen is a strike!

posted by BrianBrianBrianBrianBrian on July 19, 2011 at 9:53pm
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Very unique kitchen, looking toward the windows is that a mahogany roof top deck over looking the historic district in down town Portland ? Looks by far the most entertaining kitchen I've seen, the bowling island is set perfect for a game of pong. Being new it apperes antique, I love it, that's the stuff you can't get from a manufacturer. Good job.

posted by Justin fundaro on July 19, 2011 at 10:11pm
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Note from the owners: We too loved the old kitchen. Original 70s galley. It just wasn't practical for our lifestyle. 6'2" drywall ceilings covering the amazing beams. Tons of dead space and very closed off from rest of the unit. The renovation not only made for a social kitchen and better work space but also added TONS more light and enabled us to access roof space to make a deck. We even tried (to no avail) to save to old cabs. Our homage to the old kitchen... we painted our one cabinet the same color as what was there.

posted by ali207 on July 19, 2011 at 10:24pm
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Love it.

posted by malone001 on July 20, 2011 at 7:52am
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Love the pinball machine :)!

posted by MoiraF on July 20, 2011 at 7:54am
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Amazing kitchen!

posted by Kate Gable on July 20, 2011 at 11:33am
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Love it. ALL of it - the bowling alley counter-top, the shelves around the stove and running along the ceiling...I could move into your house and not mourn my "barbie dream kitchen" - and that's saying something!

posted by Beth G on July 20, 2011 at 11:54am
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Very nice!

posted by Gadget1988 on July 20, 2011 at 9:36pm
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Cute and practical. Love the bowling ally floor used for the island. How did you score that??? Very creative and I can see a lot of hard work involved.

posted by Deborah Vallely on July 21, 2011 at 10:43am
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Nice!!

posted by pa on July 21, 2011 at 10:56am
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Nicely done!

posted by MaryAnnM on July 21, 2011 at 1:44pm
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sooooo are you guys into bowling or something??? :) love your pad

posted by sspeed07 on July 26, 2011 at 12:17am
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Wow. I'll be pinning some of these pictures to my kitchen renovation board. I love how you've worked with the "bones" of the house, adding some modern elements, but allowing the age of the house to give it warmth and patina. A hard task to pull off. Well done!

posted by k2yhe on July 24, 2011 at 2:55pm
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I didn't realize Hinckley's last name was McNugget. Is he adopted?

Sweet kitchen, perfect for entertaining large friends. I'll be voting again when your kitchen is named a finalist.

posted by oggydggy on July 26, 2011 at 11:13am
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