Kitchen Showcase: A New London Chef’s Kiss

August 21, 2025

Michael Colbert, Jeffery Stowell, Photographer,

When a family from Boston decided to relocate to New London, they knew the kitchen would be central to their life on Lake Sunapee. Partnering with Crown Point Cabinetry’s Nina Archambault, who has since retired, they began designing their kitchen with a somewhat unusual springboard: the pizza oven.

“The homeowners love to cook and entertain,” says Katherine Norwood of Crown Point. “Cooking was a central part of the design.”

Initially, the family wanted to orient the kitchen around two separate islands. Archambault conceptualized the large L-shaped island to optimize the space and improve flow, a goal that becomes all the more important when imagining a kitchen that sees such heavy and ardent use. This central piece invites greater fluidity, suggesting discrete work-stations with sinks installed in both the island and the perimeter cabinetry.

“The goal was to create those spaces and enhance function and flow,” says Norwood.

An old coat closet became a pantry with rich walnut interiors and matching finishes, transforming once-forgotten storage space into a stunner in its own regard. Plus, hidden shelving is as essential as ever for this epicurean family, and they even built a coffee station inside for a peaceful place to start their mornings.

The kitchen enters a conversation with the surrounding environs. With scenic Lake Sunapee just beyond their property, they took out a wall between the kitchen and adjoining sitting area to borrow more natural light. The stone pizza oven dialogues with the Granite State’s terrain, and the family worked with a local ironsmith to create door handles and accent features throughout the home. They reimagined the house’s vision to align it to their tastes, replacing previous design elements with square inset cabinetry without any mid-rails.

“They wanted their cabinetry to feel like furniture, part of the home,” says Norwood. “You can’t cook, gather and entertain without a kitchen. Having a kitchen tailored to your styles and preferences is really important for bringing people together.”

With the well-constructed workstations in this open space, the family has hosted fundraisers and cooking classes. As for the pizza oven, the homeowners fire up more than 12-inch pies. Slotting a Tuscan Grill inside, they’ll cook meats, vegetables and slow-cook roasts overnight. They even make the occasional wood-fired bagel or focaccia, proving that where form is smart, countless functional possibilities will follow.