Back to the Present

Just in case you may be tiring of the trip through my past again, here are some images of kitchens I love today.  I am an avid reader of blogs, and these kitchens have appeared on some of my favorites.  The kitchens are very different but also contain common elements.

So many things I love about this kitchen: the black La Cornue stove, the awesome set of knives to the left of it, the utensils in crocks to the right of it, the Staub pot on the rear burner, favorite spices near at hand on the back of the stove, favorite cookbooks on a nearby shelf.  Best of all, wonderful still life paintings atop the hood vent.  I could live in this kitchen.

Now a simpler looking kitchen that seems very Belgian and may have been saved from Belgian Pearls, one of my most favorite blogs.  While the stove cannot be seen, I love the cabinets, countertops and clean look, yet still leaving you with a feeling that cooking will soon occur.

Again, I like the clean look of this kitchen and included it because it has the same tolix chairs that I have in my kitchen.  In my opinion, the room appears a bit large, and the cook appears to be dashing about.  And all those dishes on the racks look wonderful, but I fear they need washing before use.

Still, there is something that made me save this image.  Could be the presence of veggies on the table.

This kitchen is the creation of Axel Pairon.  He and his mother are two Belgian designers about whom I can never read enough.  Love the openness, the beams, the weathered posts and table.  Now, I am a real lover of beiges and browns, but the tangerine color of these chairs looks great here.

Again, a very Belgian-looking kitchen with lots of vegetables visible under the island.  The desk on the left is something I wish I could fit in my own kitchen, but no such luck.  My kitchen table must double as my desk.  Great wooden bowl, one of my passions, rests in the foreground.

I cannot remember where I saw this kitchen, but I know I saved it because of the black island.  My kitchen cabinets, built by my husband, are stained a mellow pine color.  I often think of painting them black, but paint would be forever.  What if I hate it in my kitchen - difficult to go back to stain after paint.  My designer daughter-in-law thinks it would look great, but I'm too scared to try it so keep looking at other kitchens whose owners are braver than I.

A kitchen by Steven Gambrel that has cabinets the color of mine which makes me second guess myself on the black thing.  How much do you love that fireplace right next to the kitchen table!  So cozy.  I'm into cozy.

This kitchen is from the movie It's Complicated.  Never could figure out why Meryl Streep wanted a new kitchen when this one looks great and when so many wonderful meals happened around that table.  Notice again the touch of orange.  At the risk of offending a reader, I would get rid of the fabric under the counter on the left.  I hate (sorry to be so opinionated) fabric instead of doors.  It alway looks messy, and I know it is going to suffer when cooks' hands reach inside.  Bad kitchen idea.

Ok, as you can see this kitchen is from Segreto Finishes.  It is my new most favorite.  I love so many things about it.  Again, a black La Cornue stove, oils and vinegar nearby, that great window over the sink, the mellow color of the cabinets, island and ceiling, and those industrial-restoration-hardware- looking stools.  The lighting, the glass-doored refrigerator, the shelving with the copper pots - all great.
Haven't figured out why the ladder is next to the refrigerator, but there must be a good reason and I love it.  Have saved this image as my screen saver just so it can be savored and studied every time I open the computer.  Love, love it, but next time it's back to the past to see another Wyeth-esque home.