Did you get a chance to check out kmldesign yet? I just can’t resist sharing some great images styled by Katrine Martensen-Larsen and photographed by Stuart McIntyre. These vintage accessories bring so much charm and life to a contemporary stainless-steel and white kitchen:
Old meets new
Study in contrast
There’s even a quirky silver tufted chaise tucked away at one end of the kitchen, as well as a generous table, with what looks like an antique bench and vintage chairs…
There really is a sliver chaise back there
and of course a lovely red 50s style refrigerator at the other. But I wonder how long it takes visitors to notice “minor” details like these, when they first have to get past the full size half a car on the wall?
The elephant in the room?
Maybe the mini is not for everybody – not many of us have that amount of wall to play with, even if we do happen to have half a vintage vehicle lying around. But what enormous fun it must have been to put this kitchen together! Oh dear, I can feel an antiquing attack coming on …
It's all about the accessories
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I am so loving the contrasting textures and colors in this loft-style kitchen – and there’s a generous and comfortable kitchen table too (via):
Photo Stuart McIntyre
I’ve been getting a little tired of the whole subway tile thing lately, but I really like the way these little ones work with brick here – the same pattern, but a completely different texture. And isn’t that wall mounted faucet a treat? Of course, the complete absence of wall cabinets, the concrete floors, and the floor to ceiling windows don’t hurt, either.
Photo Stuart McIntyre via kmldesign.dk
I do wonder about this style of range hood though – they always have a slightly inside out look to me , with the way they show off the working parts for all to see. I haven’t tracked down the exact model in the photos, but here’s something similar from Fagor
Fagor America - Black Crystal
and another from Faber – this photo makes it look as if it has just this second been cleaned up. I’m guessing this style of hood (is there a name for it?) must need quite a lot of that:
Faber Matrix
Like I said, they seem a little inside out to me – the business end is right in your face when you are cooking. Every time I see one, this is pretty much the image that pops into my head:
via Cancan Brasserie
Has anyone tried cooking with one? I’d love to know how well it works, and if it’s any harder to keep clean than a regular canopy style hood. And if you have time, be sure to check out all the beautiful images at Katrine Martensen-Larsen’s lovely site kmldesign.
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There’s something about imperfection that evokes real life. I love this photo for the warm brass accents against the white paint, the little glimpse of the chandelier, and the higgledy-piggledy arrangement of the books inside the cupboard. But more interesting for me are the way the left door of the cupboard sags slightly more than the one on the right, and the scratched-off paint on the room door. There’s a story here, of life lived in the home – is there an impatient dog, eager to get in or out but unable to reach the handle? Do the favorite glasses live in the left hand side of the cupboard, causing that door to be opened and closed many more times than the one on the right? Is it sacrilege, for me as a kitchen and bath designer, to say that I like to think of the family here being too busy living life to worry about scratched paint and sagging hinges? (via byygfabriken.com)
Life lived to the full
This simple, vintage kitchen tells a different kind of story – the traditional kitchen accessories artfully arranged on the shelves and in the window are the story the owner or the stylist has chosen to tell – but the imperfections and odd bump-outs in the wall below the window tell a tale of the history of the space – how something has been moved, or modern conveniences added, in a room whose walls were not designed to accommodate them. Perhaps the evidence could be smoothed away, and the wall made new and perfect – but the owners here have other priorities, and the building is allowed to tell its story: (via)
There's a story here
In this little kitchen the lovely texture of the mortared blocks in the wall are a great contrast to the shiny utensils and the clean lines of the kitchen, and make the building’s construction part of the room’s narrative: (Marie Claire Maison via Kitchenisms)
Marie Claire Maison via Kitchenisms
In this contemporary loft-style kitchen imperfection is allowed in through the rustic wood furnishings, and in those torn fabric curtains covering the openings. I suspect I’d have been frantically hemming and smoothing those if it were my space, but I do enjoy the contrast and texture the imperfection brings to it: (RUM via Emma’s Design Blog)
Who needs hems?
Now I can guarantee that the kitchen below has no imperfections at all, for the simple reason that it is a computer generated rendering. Absolutely uncontaminated by real life, this space will keep its preternatural perfection for ever and ever: (via)
Absolutely perfect - and not real. By Andrew Greig)
I do wonder where exactly the dividing line between damage and patina is drawn. Layers of paint peeling off an ancient wood beam are one thing,
Ancient and modern, Marie Claire Maison
but laminate peeling off particle board will probably never have quite the same cachet, no matter how many centuries you keep it.
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When I tripped over this kitchen in my web perambulations last week, I really thought I was looking at a country villa in Sweden or Denmark. I was surprised to find that this is actually a home near Kansas City, MO, restored and remodeled by owners Annie Roest and Bill Boyd (via).
Sundborn cones to Kansas City?
I’m just loving those Starglass pendants from Luceplan over the island – with its stainless steel refrigeration and professional range, this kitchen seamlessly blends the hand made country look with contemporary function.
Country villa with a twist
There’s definitely more than a passing resemblance to the work of Swedish painter Carl Larsson:
Piano Perfect
Carl Larsson - Skalorna
The pedigree is hard to miss:
A painting everywhere you look
Carl Larsson - Mellan Jul Och Nyar
Definitely a case of life imitating art – and it looks like a good life to me!
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Yesterday I mused on the use of balance-arm style lamps in the kitchen:
House Beautiful
The dominant reaction to the trend was a resounding “hmmm”. So I wonder how you feel about this alternative – industrial style pendant lights over the counters? (Click photos for links).
These are industrial and retro - they balance the austerity of this simple kitchen by Plain English so nicely:
A Plain English kitchen in Scotland
This Danish kitchen takes the utilitarian look to extremes. I’ve always been a sucker for a distressed wall with bare plaster showing through – it’s definitely “a look”, though probably not one we’re going to see in many family kitchens in the US:
Stripped down and industrial - Danish style by Det Mondaene Skur
They really seem to like those white tiles, don’t they – even in a more comfortable (though rather dark) looking kitchen:
And again in black by Det Mondaene Skur
The balance-arm lamps have the advantage of being adjustable – with these hanging pendants you just have to work where the light falls. And it must be very easy to find yourself working in your own shadow. At least with the industrial style, the pool of light is quite large. That would not be the case with these little black pendants – I wonder how well-lit the room is without the photographer’s flash? (via My Scandinavian Retreat – a great blog for real life Scandinavian style)
Light and shadows in black and white
In this kitchen, two little pendants bring light directly to the counters either side of the range:
Lighting a dark corner - designer Kristen Buckingham
These little birds perched below the pendants are so sweet - but I wonder what sort of shadows they cast?
Contemporary Kitchen in a London Georgian via Light Locations
Well, “handsome is as handsome does”, as my grandmother used to say. The little pendant lights are fun to look at, but without more layers of light to even things out, some of these kitchens look as if they would be a nightmare to work in. A lighting plan that is beautiful, functional, and compliant with local codes is just one more of the many things a professional kitchen designer can help you with. We like you to have your pretty lights, and see them too.
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Monday of the last full week in January has been calculated (albeit dubiously and by suspect sources) to be the most depressing day of the year. While Mondays have a lot to answer for, it seems really unfair to blue to associate it so firmly with depression. Today, I’m helping blue fight black. I challenge you to find anything depressing about these traditional blue kitchens from around the world (click photos for links):
Villa kitchen in Apulia, Italy
English Arts and Crafts in Norfolk via Fresh Locations
A wall of blue and white in France
More of the same, on a smaller scale
Shades of blue
Blue Kitchen in Denmark by Det Mondaene Skur
A closer look
Danish Kitchen by Det Mondaene Skur
I really don’t know why we refer to depression as the blues – the browns or the maroons would be much more appropriate, don’t you think?
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Who knew? I’m not the only one with a polar bear fixation. His camouflage works perfectly in this cool, white kitchen (photo Bobo Olsson):
Photo Bobo Olsson via Desire to Inspire
Photographer Bobo Olsson seems to enjoy wildlife – here’s a literal “elephant in the room”:
Elephant and Zebra Chair, by Bobo Olsson
And then there’s this bold powder room, with what, a stork?
Surprise visitor?
It really made me smile to see Tin Tin in this Stockholm family kitchen, (Skona Hem via Emma’s Design Blogg), he adds a welcome touch of color. I don’t know if the faithful Snowy is hiding in there somewhere, or not:
But where's Snowy?
Happy Friday all – I hope you find time to nurture your playful side today.
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What about this bathroom?
White and gray and glorious
A tilesetter's revenge?