Light cabinetry kitchens

A few random images of kitchens with light colored cabinetry in the middle of the week with the intention of inspiring the good in you.  Enjoy!

images via Tumblr, Pinterest, New England Home,

Kitchens in the living room

If your kitchen happens to exist in a corner of your living room then give it a small dose of its own chocolate, I mean of the living room medicine.  Yes, that's right! camouflage the kitchen and make it look like part of the living area.  Hide the pots and pans inside the cabinets, add a beautiful back splash or a mirror, continue the wallpaper on to the little kitchen walls, and accessorize it with non-kitchen items.  Enjoy the inspirations!

Michael Formica home

Richard Norris and Mark Leslie kitchen

Olivier Gagnere

Luis Bustamante

Marta de la Rica

Interior Designer Marta de Rica seems to favor mixing iron vintage chairs, distressed wood with polished cabinetry.  She also seems to prefer concrete finishes over tiles or marble for bathrooms and kitchens.  These choices of hers translate into homes that have a modern sensibility yet feel homey and livable.  Enjoy! 

Beautiful vignette.  I adore the sconces.

Antiqued mirror and french chandelier in a bathroom.  The bathtub looks like a personal pool.

Distressed wooden door gives interest to a very delicate room.  Adore the black reading sconces.

Another view of the bedroom where Marta displays a chair without upholstery. 

A modern kitchen with traditional patterned floor. 

Symmetry frames the door with A pair of Sputnik sconces over a pair of draped sconces designed by Frederique Mechiche. 

A powder room wallpapered in a Grisaille wallpaper depicting old buildings. 

Marta uses a library card index file cabinet for her jewelry and accessories. 

For the home: Black Kitchens

Of all the black kitchens I'm posting today this one, above is probably my favorite.  It has a sort of personality that makes it very unique and real.  If not for those reasons, then for the up-to ceiling upper cabinets with all-good benefits.  I also love the touches of global-chic accessories on the counter top.  The thought of a black kitchen would give anyone a disbelieving smirk face along with a swiveling shaking head but as you see it is very elegant.  Most people are much more used to seeing bright white kitchens than anything else and the first thought that comes to their minds when considering black cabinets is a dark dysfunctional kitchen.  It's all in the natural incoming light, use of material and contrast.  Keeping most of the kitchen surface -walls, counter tops, ceilings and floors- in light colors would make for the right balance and contrast in the room.   The finish on those outer layers also make a big difference; mirror and glass when used as doors, back splash or even walls bring in a lot of light into the space.  Of course last but not least, there is also the option of installing artificial lighting that can go any where.  Enjoy! 

Lindsey and Kristen Buckingham house

Miles Redd added mirror to everything but floor and walls here.  But the high lacquered walls provide an almost mirror effect.  The floor is pretty beautiful.

Love the shiny white cabinets and the white grout on the floors in this kitchen by Tommy Smythe

Kelly Wearstler kept it all black, form back splash to floor and ceiling but, smartly she added mirror to the back of the inside upper cabinets which doors are made of glass so as a result there is still light reflection and brightness.

The ambiance in this kitchen is very romantic I think. 

This kitchen photographed by John Granen makes of the range a focal point.  The white trim on the black cabinets makes it a really nice detail.

Small Modern Kitchens

Carolina Castiglioni home with a cluster chandelier via T Magazine. 

Not many people appreciate modern and clean lines in Interior Design.  But I think it's worth a second look to try to understand that when dealing with tiny and narrow spaces like these ones "less is more" and I'm not one that uses that term very often because mathematically doesn't make much sense, ha!.  On the other hand, though these kitchens featured here are all small and with clean line cabinetry, they all have something in common that stop them from being boring.  This unique element is the finishing on the cabinets, fixtures and accessories.  These smart designers kept things interesting with finishing such as lacquer, stainless steel, gorgeous marble as back splash, and a lot of brass or gold accents.  Me like it like that!  Enjoy!

Jean-Louis Denoit kitchen

Athena Calderone home in Brooklyn via Harper's Bazaar

A Monochromatic Cabin in Megève

While many rich and famous take the first month of the year vacationing to warmer weather destination, others like myself go back to work and duty.   Unnaturally though I would rather be somewhere else where there is a lot of snow and mountains- at least for a very short time.  A Cabin like this one in Megève to come back to after a long day of skiing (with an aching body from all the falls) is of course part of that wish.  The basic black and white of this cottage is very soothing and fitting for the million dollar view of the Swiss Alps, however I would rather have seen a bit more shades of brown throughout.  The cowhide chairs for instance are the queen of this house, what do you think? The kitchen with its monochromatic palette is a big focal point of the cabin and the tulip chairs with rabbit pillows are also a great warm detail.  Enjoy!

In this room there is a lot of mixed textures.  The curtains are made of mohair, the table is white lacquered with a metal base and the pillows of the tulip chairs are upholstered in rabbit skin.  :(

A much better view of the dining room.  Love the flowers.

Even though the kitchen is a bit on the cold side, I like it.

That hanging bubble chair calls for cot coco and a fake fur blanket

 Good and enough storage for a vacation home.

Photos by Belen Imaz via Elle Espana. 

My Kitchen: Before and After

While thinking about what to post today, my own kitchen came to my mind.  Since we're soon moving to another country (Sao Paulo) I feel it would be great to show how I renovated our kitchen. The picture above shows how our kitchen was before.  Very unattractive!  We teared down everything, from the cabinets to the walls, got rid of that double tray ceiling and redid the floor.  My vision was to create something charming instead of modern because this house was built around the 80's when there was absolutely no reference whatsoever to any period architecture.  So I decided it would look like something between old and au courant.

I wanted the Ikea cabinets to go all the way up to the ceiling so I had the extra open boxes custom made and installed mirror in the back.  I also added crown moldings to make them look more custom.  These cabinets don't really need handles but I decided to install them anyway for the same purpose.  I was happy when I found this kind of porcelain mosaic for a great price at a place called The tile shop.  If you didn't, know the smaller the pieces the more expensive the mosaic, that's why  the places that offer more affordable tiles usually only have mosaic of one inch.  This one is little less than 3/4" which makes it look more like the real thing. 

 

The custom banquet, upholstered more than three years ago in a Quadrille fabric.

photos by Robert Levi

Kitchen of the week: Top Brass Kitchen

This kitchen is small in size but big in style and originality.  I love the combination of materials and color, the stove and the use of brass throughout.  I also love how the walnut contrast with the white.  Lovely indeed.  Enjoy! 

All images via Dwell.