When you live minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, have his-and-her boats and run your own oyster farm, doing a beachy kitchen comes naturally. Katie and Eric Hooper had been raring to make it happen in their Falmouth, Massachusetts, cottage. “The original was pretty awful, with dingy beige cabinets and gray laminate countertops, but we wanted to save enough money to do it right,” says Katie. In the meantime, she toured historic beach homes in the neighborhood, picking up ideas for staying true to their house’s 1950s roots. “One day the stove display panel basically melted while I was cooking,” she says, “and we realized it was time.” The Hoopers covered the walls and ceiling with shiplap-style planks painted White Dove by Benjamin Moore, put in white oak butcher-block countertops, then layered in blue and white (Katie’s favorite combo from childhood) and homey touches. Bring on the oyster stew!

The Details

Stove

Given the kitchen’s petite size — 168 square feet — “I knew a blue range would be a great focal point,” says Katie. After eyeing pricey French kinds, she found a reasonable look-alike by Big Chill. “Making baby food feels fancy!”

Backsplash

The blues in the 11-inch-square mosaic marble tiles from TileBar play off the stove color. Instead of a wall of backsplash, Katie concentrated on emphasizing her prized appliance, and saved some cash, too.

Cabinets

These were built by a company Katie found that makes vanities with feet. The lowers look like furniture, a really cozy effect. Knobs and bin pulls from House of Antique Hardware match the stove’s brass. Katie uses a vintage blue milking stool to reach the tippy-top shelves.

Floors

White oak hardwood replaced gray tiles, enhancing the space’s lightness and warmth. An interlocking herringbone pattern means it’s harder for the wood to expand (and possibly warp and gap) in summer’s humidity.