White Kitchens

                                        contemporary kitchen design by other metros home staging suzanne pignato

The kitchen is the psychological center of a home. So it's no wonder that shelter magazines and blogs show before-and-after photos and offer updates on the hottest products. Trends come and go, but a good work triangle stays on the mind...and in the kitchen.

I've been lucky enough to enjoy two white kitchens. Back in the late 80s, my kitchen was u-shaped. It had white cabinets (some had glass doors), white Formica counters, and a great work triangle. Our renovated kitchen in the ex-funeral home had an L-shape--white cabinets (open shelves and some cabinets had glass doors) and black granite. The backsplash had jade green subway tiles. The dark granite counters kept me busy. They were a daily challenge to maintain.

Both kitchens had wooden floors and windows over the sink (just like Mom's).

So when we were choosing items for Bald Hill Farm, we went with maple-esque cabinets, wild, speckled granite, and a (relatively) neutral tile backsplash--very easy to maintain. We had less counter space and less cabinetry, but the pantry had storage.

So here is my kitchen-to-be. It has a good work triangle--I love the u-shape and the bay window.

I love to dream, and so far I'm just in the dreaming stage. I'll have to get estimates before I

can do anything. Estimates have a way of shaving the corners off dreams, if not scooping out their insides.

But a girl can still play house and dream, right? One thing is certain: we're painting the cabinets white.
I'm 90% sure that white subway tiles will go on the backsplash.

 In my dream, the pot rack will come down, and beams (color of the floor, prolly faux beams if I can find them), will go on the ceiling. Maybe a pendant light or simple chandelier because cooks need all the light they can get.

An antique table would look fabulous (instead of the island), but this island has tons of storage. I like that. So the island is most likely staying, but we might make it a bit longer and add seating (though I wouldn't want to lose the bookcase--always something when you remodel, right?).

I haven't decided what to do about the counters. They aren't granite, and I do love putting hot pans and sticky spoons on granite. So marble won't work here. Even if it's sealed, I am too dangerous.
I'm also out of touch with kitchen trends, I don't know what's in and out, but I've reached a place where I don't give a doodly squat. I just have to do what works for our family.

Black granite would look good here, but until I change my ways, or Bandwidth changes his, we might have messy counters.

 Must have a convection oven (love!). Stainless.

I might paint the walls white, too, as I'm going for that clean,

pristine look.

New pulls and knobs.

I found a few inspiration photos online, but I don't know how to contact the photographers, so I went to Houzz and found tons of photos.

Here's a kitchen with creamy white cabinets, walls, and beams. Love the marble, but...we'd kill it.

traditional kitchen design by san francisco architect Gast Architects

Here's another all-white kitchen--but with absolute black granite.

traditional kitchen design by bridgeport architect Austin Patterson Disston Architects

In this photo, the island is a bit longer. Love the seating--and the pendant lights.

traditional kitchen design by chicago architect COOK ARCHITECTURAL Design Studio

This is the look that makes me smile. Dogs on the floor, something bubbling on the stove.

It's homey and heart-warming, a farmhouse style kitchen.

eclectic kitchen design

I love the mixed materials in this kitchen (surely a type of marble-like granite exists).

traditional kitchen design by san francisco architect Boor Bridges Architecture

A farm sink would be large enough to hold a frozen turkey--at the same
time, the sink would be eye candy.

traditional kitchen design by san francisco interior designer Amoroso Design

What a view!

traditional kitchen design by other metros design-build Witt Construction

eclectic kitchen design by new york architect Ken Levenson Architect P.C.

Yesterday's post concerned the porch (it's just off the kitchen).
More to ponder: an arched "bump out" with windows rather than glassing in the whole porch.

eclectic kitchen design by new york architect Ken Levenson Architect P.C.

I love, love, love this kitchen by designer Michael Smith. This photo was on Decor Pad and in his books.
He used white paint for the front of the Viking range. The Ann-Morris pot rack makes me want to have a pot rack for sure.
I love the pale gray-green subway tiles, but I am too chicken. White is safe. White is beautiful. But white needs texture.
I forgot everything I knew about texture. And kitchens.

My head has been glued to a desk for the past few years. When it comes to design, I'm dangerous.
Do you have a favorite kitchen? Any ideas? Would you go for the all white look or take a risk and try to find gray-green subway tiles and a pot rack? What about a marble-esque granite on the counters? Or gorgeous but hard-to-keep-clean black?

New-Old Porch Ideas and a Book Giveaway

rocker photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Soon I'll need to decide what to do about the back porch on the new-old house.  Long ago, it was screened-in, but now it's open. Dr. G is in favor of adding windows and making the area a sun room. Me, I don't know.  The kitchen/breakfast area faces the porch, and I can totally see what he means by bumping out the window and making a glassed-in breakfast room. But that would make the rest of the porch look strange; funny how that one little imaginary bump sets off an imaginary design maelstrom.

Always does, right? :-)

The breakfast room and glimpse of the porch.

Here's another view:

My table and the rooster bench might bump out a bit, even with the "leaves" down.

I could try to sell the rooster table (sobbing) and use a narrower table:

A view of the back porch. It has 3 French doors and the triple kitchen window. I could, of course, get an estimate to bump out each end of the porch (breakfast room, bedroom), and leave the porch open (and unscreened) in the center. But I'm not sure if the HVAC stuff can be extended into these hypothetical spaces.
Bandwidth votes to leave the porch alone and do something with the kitchen island for seating (remove island and add an old table; I love that idea, too).

A bay window in the breakfast room might work (if the porch isn't too narrow), or we could (don't tell Dr. G) extend the porch on the far side.


I added a few inspiration photos from Houzz at 6:50 pm.

traditional porch design by atlanta general contractor Dresser Homes

I like the L-shape of this porch (love the doors, too, and the pale blue ceiling).

traditional porch design by charleston interior designer Alix J. Bragg

There's much to be said for an open porch. I love the shutters, beadboard ceiling, and wooden floor.

traditional porch design by charleston architect Frederick + Frederick Architects

Then again, a glassed-in room can lift the soul on a wintry day.

eclectic porch design by interior designer Karen Gallagher Interiors

traditional porch design by new york architect James Crisp

A fresh, clever idea--don't extend the roofline, extend the steps ... and the living area.
Love the herringbone pattern.

traditional porch design by charleston architect Christopher A Rose AIA, ASID

Another photo that strengthens the vote to leave the porch alone.:-)

traditional exterior design by nashville architect Norris Architecture


Shutters on the upstairs windows would add charm, as in the photo (Atlanta home) on the right.

Do you have any ideas?

When Dreams Come True: A New-Old Farm

For a long, long time, I kept a picture of my "dream driveway." It wasn't Bomanite or stone, just a cracked blacktop road, trees on both sides, hemmed in by an unpainted fence.

The road led to a brick Tidewater-style house, a place with a colonial herb garden.

Above Photos: Courtesy of Shutterstock

Of course, these were two separate photos--from two different homes. I didn't think I'd ever find a blacktop driveway that led to a brick house--a house with dormers and lots of trees.
Then one day I wandered up a hill and found a similar driveway.

 It led to a brick house, and the house had a Colonial herb garden.

Let's go down this winding path...

 The property is situated on quiet road, lots of trees, a pond, a creek, and plenty of room for our farm animals. The house is well built and lovingly tended. I fell in love with the gardens and the setting.
The house is smaller, too, and since Dr. G and I were hoping to downsize, we decided this farm would be perfect.

If you've read about the house I loved and lost, then you'll be relieved to know that the new-old house has lavender and roses.

We'll be moving from Bald Hill farm in 2012 after we do a little fencing, interior remodeling,

and decorating. I will be posting pictures of our progress in the coming months, and I hope you'll come along for this new old farm adventure.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

I can't wait!

Foodie Friday: Vote for Your Favorite Thanksgiving Dessert

What's your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?

Pumpkin pie?

Apple Pie?

Cookies?

Carrot cake?

Pecan pie?

Coconut Layer Cake?

Pudding?

Which one gets your vote?

Do you have a favorite that wasn't pictured? 

All photos courtesy of Shutterstock.com.

Contest Updates:
Kitchen Witch--Please email your address so I can send Teeny's vintage lemon coin purse.
The winner of the Kindle is Pat Howe.
And the winner of The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde is Kitty from Kitty's Kozy Kitchen.
Please email your address, ladies--and congratulations!

Foodie Friday is a day early this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. If you'd like to add your recipe, click on the blue Inlinkz icon and follow the directions. For more information, look on the sidebar for the Foodie Friday primer. Also, there's a new Foodie Friday button.

Happy Thanksgiving!



House Lust: Gone Baby Gone

When design obsessed people get together, house lust is a popular topic. Until I myself fell in love with a property, I'd always listened with interest but never contributed to the conversation. Sure, I’d liked a few houses. I’d had several platonic relationships, and one had bordered on hatred; but I'd never known brick-and-mortar lust.


Then, in the middle of a drought-plagued summer, I fell smack in love with a farm. It wasn't particularly cozy or old. The French country house sat on sixty thickly wooded acres, and to reach it you had to drive up a long, curved gravel road. From the street, the house was hidden, except for a pointy edge of the roof jutting up from the trees.

The owners had moved out of state and, for reasons I never learned, they’d left clothes in their closets, jam in the refrigerator, and Arabian horses in the pasture. That scared my mother to pieces. But I didn’t care. I just knew I’d found my dream house.

Inside, sunlight spilled through three arched French doors onto gleaming wood floors. The kitchen had a fireplace, a good work triangle, and ample storage. Under the staircase was a huge china closet. But what I loved best was the little garden in the side yard—rows of lavender, bordered with red knockout roses.

My sweetheart hated everything about the house. But I was in love. Like most smitten fools, I defended the object of my affection. I pointed out its virtues—privacy yet sweeping views; tall ceilings, plantation shutters, and walk-in closets. My honey also hated the décor. “It needs work.”
“Nothing a little paint can’t fix,” I said cheerily.
“But it’s too far from town,” he said. “And the roads are narrow and twisty. Plus, it’s isolated. Spooky. And why did the owners leave food in the refrigerator? What happened? Was someone, like, after them?”

I put my quest on hold while I went off to Scotland. I printed pictures of the house and carried them with me. I’d go into a pub and drag out my beloved, imaging my family sitting around the dining room table, saying grace and then carving a turkey. At night I mentally re-designed every inch of that house. I saw myself pulling down the wallpaper border in the oddly colored bedroom, a sort of gray-purple. Then I began arranging furniture. I always fell asleep before I got to the kitchen.

It took all summer to wear down my honey. In mid-September of that year, we made an offer. After much volleying back and forth, it was accepted. But every single day, my honey called to point out the house's flaws. The conversation always began with, “And another thing about that house…."

Realtors will tell you that buyer’s regret is a common malady, but I didn’t have a chance to feel ambivalent because the whole deal fell through. I sobbed until my eyes were piggy slits. But that house was gone, baby, gone. My sweetheart was curiously reticent, but he patted my arm and tried to comfort me. “The right house will come along—wait and see.”


Well, it didn’t come along. And I looked hard. At some point I stopped crying and tried to be philosophical. My friends said it just wasn’t meant to be. Well, why not? I wondered. Why wasn’t that house meant to be? My self-pitying snit was accompanied by a long list of “if onlys.” I will just tell you, “if only” has to be one of the worst phrases in the English language. But I can’t stop saying it. If only I hadn’t__________”

**Spits**

Months later, my sweetheart and I mutually agreed to "like" another house. We lost that one, too. So we decided to build. I wasn’t in love but I knew we’d be compatible. I planted roses and lavender.

But that star-crossed house stayed in my mind. It was my unrequited house, the one that got away. Even now, I think about that garden and wonder if the lavender and roses are blooming. I can almost hear the gravel crunch under my shoes as I walk up the road.

In my mind I am still decorating that house, still peeling off the wallpaper and rearranging furniture on the sun porch. Sometimes I pick paint colors--warm neutrals—and other times I select hot blooded colors or pure white. In my mind’s eye, I drive down that lane (where a neighbor’s sign, Honey For Sale, flutters in the wind).

A couple from Wyoming bought that house. They love it. They’ll never sell. But if they do, and if I’m able, I will do the boogie-woogie all the way there.


Check back tomorrow, 11-22-11, for the winner of the Kindle. Another lucky blogger will win a copy of The First Love Cookie Club by New York Times bestselling author, Lori Wilde.
Foodie Friday will be posted early this week (Wednesday, 11-23-11).