Laura Bindloss isn’t intimidated by home renovations. As the founder of Nylon Consulting and Designer Home Tours, she’s overseen so many projects personally and professionally that she can’t quite put a number on the total. “There seems to always be one happening in the background in some capacity,” she says. So when she saw the midcentury kitchen in her Bellport, Long Island, home for the very first time, Bindloss knew she was in for a serious overhaul. “It was almost like a time capsule,” she says. “It was probably updated only once in the decades since it had been built.”
Bindloss and her husband, Simon, bought the property as an escape from New York City, a place where their two kids could spend weekends and vacations in a quiet neighborhood near the beach. The kitchen was tucked away in a corner of the home, within view of the pool and privy to its own entrance. Bindloss accepted that the tired cabinetry and butter yellow appliances had to go—although she originally hoped they could be salvaged—and was relieved that the existing breakfast counter could stay. To help with the challenge of essentially starting from scratch, Bindloss expanded her horizons by partnering with AI-driven design firm Isla Porter.
Before
“Even though I work in the industry, I’m not an interior designer,” she says. “It was nice to have the professional guidance, like, ‘Actually, this color would look better,’ alongside tech that streamlined the many inefficiencies that come with constructing a kitchen.” Here’s how she introduced a fresh tool into her know-how, while still ensuring a timeless feel.
Reimagine the Idea of Coastal
As Bindloss was considering the style of her kitchen, she wanted it to be connected to the coast without getting (sand) trapped by cliches. “Sometimes beachy homes can feel washed out, because there isn’t enough color,” she says. “I wanted it to feel casual, but still warm.” She used Isla Porter’s app to fill out a questionnaire about her lifestyle, to which she made clear that a white kitchen was out of the question.
“I think of blue as a neutral,” Bindloss says. She was guided to Isla Porter’s custom shade called “The Mood,” a steady blue with gray undertones, by the firm’s designers. The color coordinated well with the beadboard finish on the cabinet doors, which Bindloss chose as a nautical yet elevated component.
Make Everyday Life Easy
Bindloss wanted to strike a balance between practicality and comfort, knowing her children would be running through the space fresh out of the pool. After the AI technology scanned the room and provided potential solutions, she opted to leave the existing breakfast counter by the door to keep water puddles to a minimum whenever swimmers plopped down for a snack. An appliance garage is hidden on the opposite side of the kitchen (her coffee-loving husband’s request), and there’s an induction range from Monogram Appliances with a built-in air fryer.
“I didn’t want to have a kitchen where people didn’t feel comfortable going in there and getting what they needed, or making it so they couldn’t find anything,” she says. “We entertain a lot, and we wanted to keep everything plugged in but tucked away.”
Another update Bindloss doesn’t regret? Installing heat beneath the white marble floor tiles from Home Depot. “It’s such a low level of investment for such a high level of luxury,” she says. “No one likes a freezing floor first thing in the morning.”
Go Bold With the Details
Given that Bindloss wasn’t afraid to use color, the team at Isla Porter suggested a custom orange hue dubbed “Fierce” inside the cabinetry to contrast the cool blue doors. It could’ve been the boldest detail of the kitchen, but Bindloss didn’t want to stop there—she sought out a marble slab with deep red veining that would hold its own, too. “When choosing countertops, I think it’s better to go bold,” she shares. “The conventional wisdom might be to do that with your cabinetry, but I think the opposite is true. You can always repaint your cabinets.”
Looking over her initial mood board, Bindloss wondered if an orange, red, and blue space was going to be chaotic. But once the Artistic Tile stone was in, it felt totally classic. “It works because the stone has a matte finish, and actually will look better with a patina,” she shares. It’s a kitchen that looks like it knows the rules, but still calls its own shots.
