Kitchen Glow Up: Sebago Lake House Renovation

This house with its many extra walls was almost the death of me. See this cute little breakfast spot? There were 6 walls. Why? No idea. That was the answer to most of my questions. We were tasked with renovating over 4,000 square feet of a house on beautiful Sebago Lake. This requires not only good design that is authentic to the clients’ dreams and visions, but also excellent budget and resource management. We don’t spend just for the sake of newness. That just isn’t a sustainable practice—and sustainability is a core value of our company.

We pulled up the vinyl floors and laid highly textured white oak wide planks. We kept the baseboard heaters even though I hated working with them, updated the boiler to be more efficient, and floated a bench over them. We then clad the bench cushions with Perennials Fabrics which won’t fade in the sun. Not pictured: the lake view from this happy spot.

These kitchen cabinets were very well made of solid wood, so the decision was easy—they should be kept but painted. Additionally, the appliances which were old and not reliable were updated by the clients.
I think the design choice that had the biggest impact is most definitely the countertops. To open up the space, I dropped the height down from bar to counter.
We pried off the beadboard, replaced it with shiplap and installed my favorite Silestone by Cosentino secret weapon: desert grey. This gorgeous countertop is pale greige with white veining. It doesn’t show dirt the way white quartz does, and it keeps the space from feeling sterile in person. I love this countertop so much that I own it in my own home.

Next, I needed to create some interest in a space that had little to no room for a backsplash, so I used a tumbled glass (matte finish) for that little nook. I treated the pantry area like it was furniture—combining paint and stain, adding cup pulls and honey bronze (reads antique brass) cabinet hardware. The space now feels updated but with a classic twist.

You can see more of that pantry cabinet detail above. It no longer felt cut off from the rest of the first floor. I’m actually quite proud of how these turned out!
The lighting made as much sense as the extra walls, so we moved a lot of it around. My favorite light in the kitchen is not the cute pendants—it is the dancing light that reflects off of Sebago Lake. Sometimes on job sites, I like to pause and take a moment to enjoy how the light and the water interact.

This beautiful moment is why people move here from across the country and why they summer here in Maine. This experience drives a lot of the color requests I receive from clients. I work on a lot of homes in Maine, some of which are lake houses. My most requested color palette is blue, which we consider a neutral here in New England. Although I secretly love beige and terracotta, I find many ways to honor the “blue and white” requests while making sure the finished home is both warm and inviting in person.

You can see the rest of this project here.