'Coastal Grandmother' Style Goes Contemporary in This Kitchen Design Plan by Gina Gutierrez
Gina Gutierrez
For the 2022 REAL SIMPLE Home, we're taking over a house in Florida's Rosemary Beach community, a relaxed beach community in Northwest Florida. Designer Gina Gutierrez, based in Sebastopol, Calif., is making over the kitchen to give it a low-key beach house look. A color palette that references nautical style (without going overboard) mixes with modern materials to create a kitchen everyone will want to hang out in. Here's how to get the look in your own home.
About the Designer
Gina began designing in 2012, after 15 years as a trainer and gym business partner. Her style is traditional with a twist: She mixes sleek contemporary decor with vintage pieces and gravitates toward bright colors.
The Goal: A Relaxing Kitchen and Dining Area
The challenge, Gina says, is to embrace the home's beach vibes—it's a few minutes' walk from the stove to the sand—without creating a coastal cliché. So she's going with subtle references and a calm palette of mint and navy, evoking the ocean.
Gina's Plan:
Take a Seat
No Nancy Meyers-inspired kitchen set would be complete without some elegant stools tucked next to the spacious island. A wooden seat warms up the white metal base of these counter-height stools.
Island Life
A Carrara marble top above, tempered glass cabinets below, this kitchen island combines style with storage.
Blue Wave
Valspar's Pitch Cobalt, a deep, moody blue reminiscent of a stormy sea, will serve as an accent color in the kitchen.
Splashy Tile
Gina would like the kitchen's white subway tile replaced with handmade clay pieces. "The tile reminds me of a crane. It nods to the beach but isn't too on the nose," says Gutierrez.
Multitasking Sink
A customizable workstation sink will simplify meal prep—chop veggies on the board, then swoosh stems, peels, and pits into the sink.
Light House
Gina plans to add nautical-inspired brass fixtures over the island and swing-arm sconces by the stove.
