A Place of Peace on Nantucket

By Chris Mordi, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Down a lane of crushed white shells you'll find a five-house compound dressed in weathered-grey cedar and trimmed in white. Behind the main house is the outdoor kitchen that will likely have you wishing your indoor kitchen was so well equipped. Its horseshoe shape serves the main house and the adjacent pool house. Photos courtesy of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

From Boston, it's a 20-minute puddle jump by plane to Nantucket, also known as the ''faraway land.'' And the ''place of peace,'' as its native inhabitants, the Wampanoags, called it. In the 1800's it was one of the country's prime whaling ports.

The island has since shed its hardscrabble and wild past. It is now a get away with elegant homes, manicured lawns and outdoor kitchens that are nearly as sophisticated as their indoor cousins.

 


The outdoor sink line was tied into the home's septic system while the drain in the kitchen's floor was linked to the infiltrator. Nantucket is a location where special construction considerations need to be kept in mind, ''the horseshoe design of this kitchen offers a very sturdy layout,'' Damian said. ''Even though it is sturdy, through good compaction, it won't move through settling or frost heaves.

Since the Giallo stone is relatively dense and non-absorbent it has the ability to resist stains which is always a major plus in an outdoor kitchen where the counter is just as likely to see a secret barbeque sauce splashed on it as it is a grape popsicle. The thoughtful use of texture also has safety benefits.

Drive out of the town of Nantucket, past landmark buildings and the harbor, down streets cobbled with stones, and out into the country side and you will find one the most elegant, functional and inviting outdoor kitchens. Designed by Kris Horiuchi of Horiuchi-Solein in Falmouth, Mass., the kitchen is built and located to serve the unique entertaining needs of the family. The open end, facing the pool, spa and screened dining area, gives everyone easy access to its refrigerator, freezer, ice maker, hybrid fire grill and cook tops.

But before all the entertaining could take place, the outdoor kitchen had to be built. And ''That Far Off Place'' never makes anything easy. High water tables, silty/clay soils, poor drainage, exposures to hurricanes and wicked bad Nor' Easters as well heaving from freeze/thaw cycles all called for special attention during the hardscaping of the kitchen.

After pouring 3 to 6 inches of sand, came six inches of dense grade processed stone, which was followed by 2 to 3 inches of standard stone dust. On top of which the Giallo stone floor stones were dry-laid in credit card joint style. To keep water from accumulating in the outdoor kitchen, Damian team set a drain in concrete with the line running to an infiltrator that has the ability to process 4,000-5,000 gallons of water, using schedule 40 4-inch piping. Downspouts from the home's gutters were also tied into the infiltrator.

Nathan Damian and Mark Lombardi, owners of Nantucket Heritage Landscapes, LLC (NHL), based on the island since 1983, handled all of the hardscaping duties.

Damian said the foundation of the outdoor kitchen consists of a four foot wide by two foot thick concrete footing with reinforced number five rebar that began two feet below ground. ''We have silty clay soil here,'' Damian said. ''It had to be removed in order to create a stable base that would accommodate the kitchen wall footings.''

After the wall footings were placed, Damian's team then began laying in a permeable sand base. ''It's important to get the water out in a location like Nantucket. The drier things are here the more stable they are,'' said Damian. His team poured in 3 to 6 inches of sand, compacted it and added more, compacted it again, repeating the process until they reached the prescribed level.

Constructed of four inch concrete block and built to accommodate the dimensions of each piece of outdoor kitchen equipment, Damian said it also had to take into account six inches of stone veneer that made up the decorative exterior. Run up against the block foundation were a one inch electrical conduit for the outlets and standard gas tubing for the appliances. The utility lines were connected with those of the main house.

''They've done a nice job of mixing textures in the kitchen,'' said Russ Faulk, vice president of product development at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. ''The use of polished, honed, and rough -hewn granite gives the kitchen good visual interest.''

The choice of Giallo stone for the countertops ties the counter and floor together. Polishing it, said Faulk, provides a level, easy-to-clean surface that makes food prep easy and displaying cooked foods more appealing. ''In addition,'' Faulk said, ''the floor is rough-hewn which makes it resistant to slips that may happen as a result of cooking or people, wet from the pool, coming to the kitchen to get drinks or snacks.''