[Photo credit: I Want That! Kitchens/HGTV]
Is the luxe kitchen is losing its luster? You know, the 'modern' kitchens revealed ad nauseum on our favorite design shows where the old solid wood cabinetry "just had to go" or walls had to knocked down to improve flow. Of course, we all enjoy the resultant eye-candy. But sometimes I can't help but wonder, "is it all worth it?" Like the episode of Moving Up where the homeowners spent over $150,000 on a new kitchen! Hello, what ever happened to reduce, reuse, recycle?
[Photo credit: ReadyMade Magazine]
I was therefore thrilled to see in Ready Made magazine (via Apartment Therapy) the kitchen of Angela Medlin. Designed almost entirely with salvaged materials, her hearth is the antidote every granite-topped, travertine-tiled, stainless-steel-applianced kitchen in America! While I know this look is not mainstream, I think Medlin's awesome work demonstrates that you can create a warm and inviting kitchen with elbow-grease and a little ingenuity.
In our home, the simple act of moving the fridge about three feet away from the window and mounting two shelves (the top one not exactly straight ;-) has made a big impact. Originally stained cherry-red, we painted the shelves to match the wall color and now use them to house appliances and supplies. An IKEA magazine rack was added to organize larger cookbooks and voila - a useful prep niche!
What is your idea of a dream kitchen? If money were no object would you choose homey and functional or is bling your thing? Let me know what you think! :-)
As always, have a great weekend!
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5 comments:
I especially like the magazine rack for the larger cookbooks. Right now all my cookbooks are very sad, shut away & crammed together in a hard to reach kitchen cupboard. Basically, I have to tiptoe to get at my books every time I need to check measurements and ingredients.
But your entire kitchen looks yummy. Cozy over cachet any day!
Thanks for the feedback guys! Don't get me wrong, I love a shiny new kitchen as much as the next person. But it's the formulaic look that has me sounding a little ranty :-) Would love to see more reuse/repurposing of existing kitchens or completely new kitchens featuring fresh design ideas.
Hey I am REALLY enjoying your blog! found it through Desire to Inspire! Mind if I link it?
Kitchens...we did a bit of a re-do ourselves with the help of a friend...and the help of another friend in the granite biz. e used old corbels off of a Key West House to hold up shelves...a great industrial faucet from ikea...and painted the aluminum hood cherry red. Different...not everyone's taste (to say the least) but we like it. (you can find it buried in my blog in different places)
I'd have a lovely white cottage style kitchen. My husband is a high end cabinetmaker, so I'll probably end up with cherry ;) I'll be happy if the luxe ones stay around for decades...I like to eat :D
Linda, I'm happy to hear you are enjoying my little musings :-) And of course, please feel free to link the story. Will definitely be checking out that industrial faucet and cherry red hood - I'm intrigued. Susan, I love the sound of the white cottage kitchen but with a handy hubby I know you'll make those cherry cabinets 'your own' :-)
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