Coral Gables Renovation

PROJECT:

Renovation of a Florida home, reimagining the kitchen, bar, and powder room as a cohesive and functional layout for a young social family.

BRIEF:

The clients, a socially active couple with three high-school-aged children and a dog, wanted to update a dark, dated kitchen and adjoining powder room to better support frequent, informal entertaining. Originally, the scope was limited to the kitchen alone; however early in the process Assure identified the potential of the surrounding spaces—the bar, family room, and adjacent powder room—and encouraged the clients to view them as one interconnected social zone rather than a series of separate rooms.

The kitchen measured approximately 960 square feet, with an additional 102-square-foot powder room that could also function as a cabana bath for outdoor use. A key challenge lay in helping the owners visualize how the fragmented layout—previously divided into four disconnected areas—could be transformed into a single, cohesive environment.

Complicating matters further were two disparate ceiling heights: the main kitchen featured a flat drywall ceiling, while the adjacent bar and family room had a gabled tongue-and-groove wood ceiling. These variations contributed to a choppy, disjointed feeling that undermined the scale and potential of what could be one large stylish room.

A nearby powder room, regularly used by guests, also felt cramped and outdated. Given its importance and function, it needed to be beautifully reimagined as part of the home’s public-facing social spaces rather than treated as an afterthought.

DESIGN:

Assure began, as always, with space planning—establishing clarity, creating better proportion, and logical flow before any material decisions were made. Once the proposed layout was presented, the clients immediately understood the value of treating the kitchen, bar, and family room as a single L-shaped space. That shift in thinking became the project’s defining move.

The original kitchen remained in its existing location but had previously felt enclosed, largely due to a peninsula that visually separated it from the rest of the room. The bar positioned in front of a large rear window further fragmented the space. By removing these visual and physical barriers, Assure was able to create a unified volume that allowed the differing ceiling heights to coexist without competing.

Throughout, the studio responded to the architecture of the ranch-style house and the palette already established elsewhere in the home, introducing added warmth, texture, and refinement without disrupting continuity.

Kitchen and Bar

A terrazzo floor was specified throughout the kitchen, bar, and family room, providing a durable and visually grounding base with enough character to unify such a large footprint. Its subtle variation helps weave the different zones together, allowing the eye to travel easily across the space.

The cabinetry is bespoke, designed in a slim shaker profile and painted a light bespoke taupe hue to complement the terrazzo. French-style steel-and-glass cabinet doors introduce transparency and rhythm, while interiors lined in stained ash veneer add warmth and a sense of craft.

Countertops and backsplashes are formed from durable Italian porcelain slabs, chosen both for their performance and to meet the clients’ environmental priorities.

Although the bar was a central part of the brief, it was intentionally designed not to dominate. Instead, it reads as a natural extension of the kitchen—visually aligned in materials and detailing—so the entire space feels cohesive rather than segmented. The steel-framed glass doors continue here, reinforcing continuity.

In daily use, the kitchen now performs far better than before. Storage has increased significantly, and the working triangle between sink, refrigeration, and range is far more efficient. Relocating the cooktop from the island eliminated the visual obstruction of a bulky hood—one of the elements that previously made the space feel disjointed. Among the clients’ favorite details are the porcelain-encased hood, the slab shelving in the coffee and bar areas, and the steel-and-glass cabinetry.

Powder Room / Cabana Bath

To improve flow and usability throughout the house, the powder room was reconfigured to also function as a full cabana bath serving the outdoor areas. The room was divided into three distinct zones—vanity, toilet, and shower—but visually opened up using glass partitions to create a sense of spaciousness and light.

Materials were selected to create a calm, spa-like atmosphere while remaining robust enough for frequent use. Porcelain tiles that subtly mimic limestone provide the desired softness without the porosity issues of natural stone. Walls are clad in a Japanese ribbed tile in a warm taupe-gray tone, paired with a durable vinyl linen wallcovering suitable for wet environments, adding texture without compromising performance.

A custom walnut veneer vanity introduces warmth, topped with a bespoke concrete overmount sink chosen specifically for its sculptural presence. Faucets with wood handles add tactility and reinforce the room’s quiet, Zen-like mood. What was once a cramped, overlooked space now feels serene and integral to the home’s social life.

This renovation highlights Assure’s strength in rethinking flow and spatial relationships. The result is a kitchen and adjoining social zone that feels elegant, functional, and enduring—neither trend-driven nor overly formal.