BY KIM COOK
Associated Press
As the holidays approach, there\u2019s one room in the home where the tantalizing aromas of good food and the chatter of good folk converge: the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than mere culinary spaces, kitchens tend to embody the heart of a home. There\u2019s the messiness and mayhem of communal meal making. Perhaps some pre-bedtime snacks. It\u2019s a place where many holiday memories are made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet if you\u2019ve scanned the pages of d\u00e9cor magazines and websites in recent years, you\u2019ll have noted that the prime aspirational kitchen leans toward a serious and sleek vibe \u2014 pro-level equipment; a super-functional layout; lots of neutral colors and clean lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve officially reached peak kitchen design. We know exactly how to make a beautiful, luxurious cooking space,\u201d Sophie Donelson writes in her new book, \u201cUncommon Kitchens\u201d (Abrams, 2023).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany of us find ourselves reminiscing about a family kitchen from growing up; not a perfect one, not a new or luxurious one, but one in which conversations happened, food was made, life unfolded,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALL THE FEELS
Whether our ideal kitchen is kitted out like Martha Stewart\u2019s or hasn\u2019t much more than a humble cooktop, toaster oven and m\u00e9lange of mugs, it\u2019s a space with many functions and moods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be mindful of lighting and, above all, how you use your kitchen, Donelson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLighting that feels good in the morning while you\u2019re making coffee or preparing lunches for the day is different than how you might want to feel while you\u2019re making a late-night mug of ice cream or on a relaxed Sunday evening preparing dinner with a loved one,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have a variety \u2014 an overhead light; warm-toned, under-the-counter LED task strips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I always make the case for adding a petite table lamp at the counter,\u201d Donelson says. \u201cMine\u2019s vintage, sits next to the toaster, doesn\u2019t take much room. But it\u2019s charming and cheerful, and it\u2019s the first thing I click on in the morning, the last to be turned off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researching her book, Donelson learned that many renovators were opting to add or restore windows when possible in place of tile backsplashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ROOM TO LET LOOSE
\u201cMany, many people mentioned dancing in the kitchen by themselves or with their family. It\u2019s fun, and a great way to exercise!\u201d Donelson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shift tables or even islands around if you can, so there\u2019s room for a twirl. And add a great wireless sound system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And maybe you don\u2019t need a full-service island with a stool lineup; a table of any size with chairs can be a more convivial arrangement and still be a decent workspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COLOR
Minneapolis-based designer Lucy Penfield has put frosting-pink paint on the door of a baking area. Added snappy orange kitchen barstools. And in a family cabin, there\u2019s now a fun, sunshine yellow Smeg retro fridge for beer storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Color \u201ccreates a mood for the space, and can invite conversation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cortney Bishop, who runs a design studio in Charleston, South Carolina, also uses playful hues. A beach cottage got seafoam-blue Big Chill appliances, and a countertop is embedded with chunks that look like sea glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another kitchen, she used deep, dark color to frame windows and ground cabinetry, then added cheery notes of citrus and tomato via stools, artwork, canisters, even range knobs. The result: a space that\u2019s packed with style and personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Cialone of the firm Tom Stringer Design Partners amped up the energy in a Palm Springs, California, villa by putting Benjamin Moore\u2019s Kiwi paint color in the kitchen. \u201cThe home\u2019s mainly a weekend house, so the clients were willing to go bold on cabinetry.\u201d The vivid green is picked up elsewhere via artwork, accessories and textiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his own kitchen, Cialone says, \u201cI like bright, crisp countertops that reflect natural light and contrast with food. If I was adding color, it\u2019d be orange, because it evokes sunshine and citrus \u2013 two of my favorite things!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HAVE THINGS WHERE YOU WANT THEM
Cialone loves to cook but says an organized galley kitchen\u2019s fine with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learned I don\u2019t need a lot of counter space to prepare even elaborate meals, if the area\u2019s well laid out,\u201d he says. \u201cFitted drawer inserts make me very happy \u2014 they provide a dedicated space for items I use often.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Got kids? Set up pantries with low bins for easy snack stowing. Proud of your cookbook collection? Featuring it in plain sight makes access easy, and creates a homey d\u00e9cor moment as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Entertain often? Set up task stations \u2013 maybe a separate coffee-making zone; a mise en place counter, where you can lay out all of a dish\u2019s ingredients before cooking; a dedicated baking prep area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Build or adapt your kitchen to suit how YOU will use it, designers say, rather than worrying about conventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
STORYTELLING
After a trip to Marrakesh that \u201cchanged my life,\u201d Penfield says, she cooks a lot of Moroccan dishes. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than fresh cut dill or basil,\u201d she says, \u201cbut my favorite is the aroma from mint added into a Moroccan dish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her kitchen now features tagines, North African earthenware pots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An art lover, Penfield has modern prints and sculptural pieces on display, including a vibrantly colored piece by Belgian painter Luc Lebon: \u201cHe\u2019s known for his cheerful, optimistic works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wrapped the kitchen in earthy green terracotta tiles reminiscent of ones she saw on her trip. \u201cIt was a bold move, but it just felt right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MAKE IT A ROOM
Everyone benefits from remembering that the kitchen is also a room, Donelson says, and can be decorated with the same things we add to other spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArt, plants, a little throw rug. Something that brings you joy in another room will also do so in the kitchen,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter all, the kitchen is the real \u2018living room\u2019 in the house, so treat it that way!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New York-based writer Kim Cook covers design and decor topics regularly for The Associated Press. Follow her on Instagram at @kimcookhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BY KIM COOKAssociated Press As the holidays approach, there\u2019s one room in the home where the tantalizing aromas of good food and the chatter of good folk converge: the kitchen. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[396,1282,2097,341,423,1283,2096],"class_list":["post-3826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-decor","category-seasonal","tag-benjamin-moore","tag-john-cialone","tag-lucy-penfield","tag-martha-stewart","tag-sophie-donelson","tag-tom-stringer-design-partners","tag-uncommon-kitchens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3826"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3835,"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3826\/revisions\/3835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kimcookhome.com\/kchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}