Kitchen Tour: A Summer Kitchen in a Transformed Lobster Shack

Photography courtesy of Blake Civiello and Lili Liu, except where noted

Today we’re taking a tour of the summer cook space of Lili Liu, a designer, and Blake Civiello, an architect (and Maine native). The couple were living in Los Angeles in 2018 when Blake found a listing for a 100-year-old property in Harpswell, ME. What’s now the summer kitchen was previously a commercial lobster and clam business called Ben’s Lobsters, then an art gallery. Since  relocating cross-country, the couple have turned it into a simple but no less magical space for long, languid summer dinners.

The cluster of buildings as seen from the dock.

Photograph by Tide to Pine, courtesy of Blake Civiello and Lili Liu.

Brea, the couple’s three-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever (“favorite food: blueberries”) waits outside the summer kitchen, or Galley.

Come Maine’s warm season, in May, the couple closes up the kitchen in their home across the patio and exclusively uses the Galley.

“We had to add power, seasonal water and sewer lines, as well as a small propane heating system to combat the shoulder season chill.”

The long central dining table is paired with caned chairs and the most standout element of all: a view over the water.

Photograph by Tide to Pine, courtesy of Blake Civiello and Lili Liu.

“We combined the utilitarian toolbox drawers with a family-sized Italian range as well as wooden countertops,” says Blake.

Alongside the utilitarian fittings, there are glimpses of summer’s beauty.

Photograph by Tide to Pine, courtesy of Blake Civiello and Lili Liu.

“The kitchen really extends out into the surrounds,” says Blake.

Photograph by Tide to Pine, courtesy of Blake Civiello and Lili Liu.

Lili at the stove, pre-dinner party, making a Cantonese lobster noodle dish.

Photograph by Tide to Pine, courtesy of Blake Civiello and Lili Liu.

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