This kitchen: Yes or No?

"I wanted a place where the dogs can get up on the furniture, where I can make a mess in the kitchen," she said. "My biggest thrill is making omelets for my friends. In New York I don't even know where my kitchen is." - Joan Rivers

HERE.

Remember that kitchen? The owner speaks:

Did you read THIS post? Here is follow up from Mark, the owner. (Mark, thanks for leaving our comment on that post.)


Wow, thanks for all of the discussion about our house. I'd like to help some of you understand how we use this kitchen. I cook everyday in this kitchen. I am a foodie and am in the process of getting an Italian cookbook/memoir published. All of the recipes in the book were tested in this kitchen. When we have parties in the house, whether it is for a couple of friends or for a party of 200, I prepare all of the food. Trust me, this kitchen gets used a lot. True there is no "prep" area next to the stove, but the griddle surface on the stovetop is used as a prep surface and the marble elliptical slab behind it it a huge work surface. Some people step to their left or right to access their prep surface, mine is just directly me--just as close.
The sink is very functional, and unless you are taking a shower in it, the frames do not get wet. They have been there for 10 years and are still in perfect shape.

If you are interested in seeing the Sub-Zero fridge and the Bosch dishwasher, I invite you to check out my blog: www.mark-leslie.net and scroll down to the Oct 22, 2009 entry untitled "To refrigerate or not to refrigerate. There is a photo of that angle of the kitchen. The Sub-Zero is on the wall opposite the sink. Thanks to everyone for the comments both positive and otherwise. We love this kitchen. Oh, by the way, the kitchen is not huge, it is only 12' x 14' and is manageable and comfortable. HERE is a direct link to my blog entry with the fridge picture.

-Mark

This kitchen.

Let's discuss this kitchen from this month's House Beautiful. That kitchen is a grower. I liked it when I first saw it, but now I am just having dirty fantasies about it. Why isn't Lady Blogger Land afire with talk of this kitchen? It's pretty special. Everything looks very furniture-y. It's fussy, but a smart kind of fussy.

See more of the Richard Norris and Mark Leslie house HERE.

Formica to the rescue.

Ok, I asked and someone answered. (Read previous post).

Here we have Formica saving the day:

Before.





And after.


Sarah emailed me these photos and wrote:


So, here is our adventure with laminate. Please note: this project is NOT complete. Still need to paint the door and much more. We are renovating an old home. We plan to stay here for a few years....but don't want to invest in something we will not use for a lifetime. Sort of like a flip, but we are going to live here for a few years. Perfect for our starting salaries (and starting family!) We spent 10k for this entire project (my husband is handy).

The Formica Monologues.

So, I posted about Formica counters and a bunch of you had thoughtful comments on the topic ranging from "Ew, gross" (I am paraphrasing) to "Good grief. We need to get over ourselves. Not everyone can afford Carrara marble. It was an affordable solution at that time, just as paperstone is today."

True. But that kitchen was ugly. I suppose it's less about Formica itself, and how you use it in the kitchen.

So, let me ask this:

Do you have Formica that is working for you? Send a photo and I will post. (I remember, actually, a Domino photo that showed a happy pink & brown kitchen with Formica counters and, well, I was impressed how cheerful and successful the room was. It certainly put my then-Formica counters to shame. But what didn't, really? Nothing. Nothing, is the answer. They were horrifying.)

And then let me ask this:

For the money, what counter material presents the best value for the look, in your opinion? And what IS paperstone? What would be your counter of choice on a budget, and then if money were no object.

Go.

Moody kitchen.

Richard emailed me yesterday to tell me about this kitchen that he fell in love with:


He says: "It's by a Milanese design firm called Dimore. They're a gay couple, Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci, who own it together, and it's the kitchen of their residence. I looked online and found some pics, but none do it justice.

It's just this incredibly dramatic space. One rarely refers to a kitchen as moody, but this one is. The mix of antique and modern, girly and masculine, sleek and shabby, is absolutely masterful."

I agree. It doesn't even look like a kitchen, which makes it more interesting. Thoughts?

Go big red?

Would you?

HERE.

Look in the corner.

Hidden mini kitchen. Adorable.

Wow.

Yowza.

More photos on Paul Anater's blog HERE.

Jackie's kitchen.

Love.

I love a good fancy-bordering-on-vulgar chandelier. Yum.



I am in NY. I am very tired. I am hoping after a long day of meetings tomorrow I can scoot down to ABC Carpet & Home and find a few things for the kitchen. Maybe a light. Maybe a little rug for the kitchen. We'll see.

The lighting links have been very helpful, so thanks to everyone who left suggestions 2 posts ago. I think Hello Gorgeous is the winner, though... you're right. I am so undecided at this point that I should do nothing and just wait until I find exactly the thing I want. My kitchen has been a wreck for 4 years. What's another few months, right?

Love.

Hex again.

I know we debated the merits of hex tile HERE and HERE and the conclusion was that it seemed a little too "bathroomy." But I still love it, especially seeing it HERE.

Painted floor.

Me likey. A few of you recommended this to me as an option for my kitchen. Good call, ladies.

Found it HERE.

I wouldn't cook in here.

It's way too nice to mess up.

Image sent to me by Jessica. Kitchen by Dee Dee Taylor Hannah and Sarah Richardson.

Kitchen counter.

We have an awkward space at the end of our kitchen. We were thinking of this sort of arrangement with stools, but now I think we just need to build a bench with storage underneath and then add in built-in shelves next to it for added storage.

Decisions, decisions.

Kitchen lights: Yes or No.

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Glammed-up kitchen.

I remember this photo from Met Home a while back. I remember specifically that this was the issues I decided Met Home might be worth buying again.

Found the photo HERE. What a useful blog for all things kitchen-related.

Hey - can anyone answer this? Our kitchen contractor says that our marble slab will need to be cut and then fitted together. He says the seam will be barely visible. I don't believe this is necessary. I need some info from those of you who have installed marble counters.

Rough sketch.

There is nothing too exciting here. Mainly I am posting so that I can reference these sketches easily from work or home during our project.

If you've been following along my kitchen project (I am now tagging the series of posts with the ingenious title, "kitchen renovation"), you'll know that this is a big deal for us because we currently have the shittiest kitchen in all of middle class USA. Come late Jan or early February, I will be able to show you the before and after, and you will seriously wonder why you take any decor advice from a chick who managed to live with a shithole kitchen for 4 years.

I'll have more to post soon about our adventures browsing for a big slab of marble.

Also - I have a problem with our stove. Currently, it's *not* centered as it is in the photo above. It's against the small wall there... the challenge is that the kitchen designer guy drew it this way to center it, which is more appealing, but in a kitchen with so little space, we're considering keeping it to the side and allowing for a little more counter/cabinet space to the right. Currently we don't have a cabinet there. We have a butcher block cart thingy and my Kitchen Aid stand mixer is on the bottom. On the butcher block top, we keep a jar full of utensils, etc., and I am concerned about losing that space. If you have thoughts, I'd love to hear it.

What should I know about kitchen cabinets?

Yesterday when we went shopping for them, I learned things I never knew. I never paid attention to the details of cabinets. Framed or frameless? I had never given it much thought. But I do know all the photos in the binder I brought with me were framed. And inset.

More than a few times I thought to myself, "Fuck. I don't know. I wonder what Joni would do?"

Guess what was no help? The Domino book. Then again, I should remember it's a book about decorating, not remodeling. Nevertheless, I wish it had more detail on this sort of thing.

So, as always, I turn to all of you, the real (and real-life) experts.

What should I know about cabinets?
What do you splurge on?
Where can you cut corners (if ever)?
If we strip away all the snob appeal of getting totally custom cabinets, what is the difference between what you will order in a kitchen showroom or even Lowe's or Ikea?
What are you glad you did?
What mistakes did you make?
What advice do you have for me?