Kitchen Clarity Adventures in Kitchen and Bath Design

From the pages of June’s Elle Decor, the kitchen in Meg Ryan’s Martha’s Vinyard  retreat. I’m so happy to see the rugged, oak kitchen table, and the dark cabinets anchoring all that white, windowy, airyness.

No fussy finishes here - photo William Waldron

I’m not going to mention how that chair doesn’t actually fit under the table – a not-infrequent problem when a table has drawers or a deep apron. I’m sure the stylist must have hidden the real chairs somewhere, and no doubt Ms. Ryan and all her fabulous friends are so skinny they don’t need much knee-space anyway. Perhaps so incredibly skinny that negative knee-space even works for them.

You’ll notice there is no white marble, and not a subway tile in sight – that whole white on white thing is so over, and would have made this space like the interior of a refrigerator. AND the range is  under the window, without causing the end of the world or any other disaster.  If you’re going to cook at your island retreat, then you should be able to do it with a view.

I’ve wondered if the frequently repeated story (here, for instance) of Meg covering her marble counters with sliced tomatoes -  so that she’d never have to worry about etching – is apocryphal.  I’ve never heard how happy or not she was with the result, and I’ve never understood why she had polished marble in the first place if she really wanted honed.  But if it is true – kudos to Meg, it was definitely a gutsy solution. I think I’d have used distilled vinegar, or maybe a nice Pinot Grigio, myself. Too runny? Maybe yogurt would do it. I can’t be sure, but I think she’s gone with easy care, un-etchable, quartz this time around.

Related Posts:

• Virtue from necessity – range under the kitchen window
• So serene – kitchens to linger in
• AD Home Design Show highlights – part 2
• Kitchen islands – when a table works better
• A century old – classic kitchen