A Short Break............for serious Kitchen Lust

While digging in some photo files today I ran across this magnificent, breathtaking, gorgeous, fabulous kitchen that has me seriously thinking it is time to build a new home. And that it was time to take a short break from my Summer Camp Gift Wrap challenge. My husband and I talk about houses while we do our little power walk at night (yes, cycle in morning, walk at night........I will tell you why I am getting so oddly determined in a week's time) as we take peeks at the neighborhood homes. We still wonder if we should have built our downsized version of the Charlotte Moss home seen in her book Winter House, indulged in that one-room living we find so cosy. But we didn't, our Jack Arnold home was only 5 years old and when it comes right down to it, we love our home. We recently had this discussion again while looking at the Ralph Lauren home display on the 3rd floor of the Chicago store a month ago. This cosy idea keeps rearing it's head. One spectacular room for living, dining, cooking and a bedroom off to the rear or side. But when I see this kitchen............. seriously, wouldn't this Susan Arnold (designer wife of Jack Arnold) kitchen make you want to build a whole new house?




Photo from Jack Arnold 

Kitchen Lust

design by European designers Baden and Baden

No wrapping today, lots of grocery shopping, cooking and baking for the weekend ahead. Our son is packing up and heading home for a few months to study for a big exam so our kitchen will be busier than usual again. I love my kitchen and all that it represents, I hope you love yours as well, but if not, here's some design ideas to file away.......
This neutral-based kitchen reminds me of Flamant, a upscale lifestyle store located in the Saint-Germain area of Paris. Talking about spending hours in a store....I wanted to live there! More about the Belgian-based home retailer located in Paris and other European cities coming in an upcoming post. I hate picking favorites, but if forced to.......and in another life, this high-ceiling working kitchen would be the one.

design by Elaine Griffin via House Beautiful

This distressed celery green finish is so European, especially since they used it on both the cabinetry and panelled walls. . .....a brilliant stroke of design. This colour looks fabulous with the copper hood and warm wood floor tone. I bet this room is delicious when the sunlight filters in during the day.

image from Canadian House & Home (no designer source given)

According to last weekend's Globe & Mail style section, red is back in kitchen design. Count me in, I could slice and saute quite happily in this kitchen with tomato red cabinets. Red in a kitchen stimulates the appetite, so chose accordingly. This room would sizzle at night.

design by Gwyn Duggan via Canadian House & Home

Along with this crisp and soothing palette, I love the cozy seating arrangement around a generously-sized wood table. A Scandinavian colour palette and comfy white cotton wing chairs.......so serene.

design by Michele Allman via House Beautiful

More distressed furniture-style cabinetry in a lovely washed turquoise. The burgundy toile fabric and lantern give the room a complementry boost and fits the ambiance so well. Cleverly-disguised, the refrigerator poses as an armoire seen on the left. I always prefer two windows instead of one big one, seems cozier and gives the stone hood it rightful prominence.

Top photo from Baden and Baden/2nd and bottom photo from House Beautiful/3rd and 4th photo from Canadian House & Home