Desert Casita
The Main House Kitchen
Mountain Center, CA
“My goal with this design was to emphasize the family’s deep connection to nature.”
A MODERN WABI-SABI DESIGN
This California retreat home has been a proud moment for INBA. It was INBA’s first California interior design project and one of my favorite kitchen designs to date. The secluded location and serene desert views of this mountain home instantly add a one-of-a-kind experience of solitude. I hope it inspires some retreat-like vibes for your own home.
Design Conversation: My client had a dream to build a family retreat for the whole family to share and wanted me to design two kitchens, a pantry, and bar for their main house and guest house.
The Main House Kitchen: I went a little moody and artsy with the main house kitchen because it’s the fun entertaining common area for family gathering. The kitchen stone adds some artsy personality against the minimalism of the custom walnut finish of the cabinetry. The stone is a colorful natural quartzite stone with hints of blue, green and orange veining.
Design Elements: The integrated minimalist appliances, no hardware cabinetry, and earthy layered decor styling is aligned with my design approach of functional simplicity and love of kitchens that don’t look like kitchens. The natural materials, such as the wood cabinetry, curved shelving and island corners, and integrated LED lighting bring a warm welcoming organic feel to this home. I chose a minimalist kitchen layout that include clean lines and no upper cabinetry so as to not distract from the desert views. The asymmetrical yet balanced shelving throughout creates an effortless unrefined feeling meant to encourage laid back ‘only bring what you need’ living. The natural honed matte finished stone surfaces reflect the wabi-sabi philosophy of authenticity and uniqueness while bringing ‘untouched’ nature inside.
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese mindfulness practice of accepting change and embracing the beauty in the imperfect. Wabi-sabi design includes asymmetry, organic textures, imperfect forms, simple architecture, and modest design elements.
The modern organic wabi-sabi design truly lends itself to the INBA philosophy of simple slow living and those ‘hotel zen vibes’ we try to create for our clients.
Bar
Pantry
I also included a pantry closet off from the kitchen inspired by the zen vibes of the guest house kitchen so the two houses feel connected. The pantry has adjustable shelves for flexible organization solutions.
Design Challenges: With every successful project comes challenges and this was no exception. Being a Chicago based design studio and having a client in California required me to procure a whole new team of trades and adopt Palm Springs’ Airbnbs as my part time home in 2024.
The secluded location and steep narrow roads on the way up to this desert mountain home meant it would be difficult to access for contractors and delivery companies. I had many trades back out once they realized the location. California’s necessary fire codes and safety protocols had us without power during renovation so we had to hook up generators to prevent delayed work.
Thankfully, I ended up making friends with the delivery companies to ensure all deliveries were made while I worked from Chicago, I had a good team of California and Chicago contractors who stayed close to our deadline (only 2 weeks delayed), and we completed 2 kitchen renovations within 6 months and on budget which is pretty amazing considering it was in a different state.
“Thinking of our clients in their new home with their family gatherings and having the space to recharge makes all the hard work worthwhile.
- Jacqueline”
GUEST HOUSE KITCHEN REVEAL COMING NEXT!
I would love to hear more about your dreams and home design goals! If you’re ready to start your INBA design journey, visit our design services page here or email j@inbahome.com.