A luxury home with a kitchen that wows

Oceanfront mansion offers an unusual take on what has become a family’s social hub

Talk to any real estate agent about which room in a house is the most important to prospective buyers, and they’re likely to give you the same answer: the kitchen. That’s even more important today, due to the pandemic, because the kitchen has evolved from a place where we just take our meals to a home base for school and work and the social hub of a home.

So, if you’re in search of a luxury home with a kitchen that wows, how about an 8,448-square-foot oceanfront home in Delray Beach that has one of the most unusual kitchens you’re likely to encounter: It’s pink.

Located on a 0.45-acre lot at 733 N. Ocean Blvd. and built in 1992, the two-story gated home, which is listed for $16.5 million, has eight bedrooms, seven baths and a host of luxury appointments, from 30-foot ceilings to top-of-the-line Miele and

Sub-Zero appliances in the kitchen to floor-to-ceiling glass doors overlooking a lush tropical garden.

Outside, you’ll find a 60-foot-long pool, a fire pit and 120 linear feet of direct ocean frontage.

But you can’t ignore that kitchen. “There’s a neutral palette throughout the house, so the interior decorator thought that pink would be a fun color,” said Natalie Poletto, a real-estate agent with One Sotheby’s International Realty in Boca Raton. The cabinets, which are a shaker style, were handpainted.

According to public records, the current owners, Laurie Cunnington and Thomas W. Cunnington, purchased the property in September 2012 for $7 million. Poletto said they renovated it in 2013 and are now selling to downsize to a condominium.

According to Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the median sales price of a luxury single-family home in Delray Beach jumped 48.5 percent between the second quarter of 2020 and the second quarter of 2021, while single-family inventory fell to the lowest point on record for the second straight quarter.

“Compared to the amount of the demand, there’s a relative lack of inventory,” Poletto said. “There are a handful of oceanfront homes available right now, and that’s pretty much it.”

DREW BIRCH, EYES IN THE SKIES/ONE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY Located on a 0.45-acre lot at 733 N. Ocean Blvd. and built in 1992, the two-story gated home has eight bedrooms, seven baths and a host of luxury appointments, from 30-foot ceilings to top-ofthe-line Miele and Sub-Zero appliances in the kitchen to floor-to-ceiling glass doors overlooking a lush tropical garden.

A look at South Florida’s high-end real estate