My Dream Kitchen

I have never talked about the place where I spend most of the time (bedroom excluded), the place where all the posts of this blog are born and take shape. I’m talking about the kitchen. The reason why I haven’t covered the topic is that I’ve never been a house owner. Only in London I rented three different apartments over the last 4 years. My first accommodation in the British capital was a small apartment in Kings Cross where I began not only to cook for myself but also to share the kitchen with strangers flatmates and write this blog. Then came the Notting Hill apartment, with its extra small rooms and a kitchen placed in a small corner of the house that used to be a balcony. Finally, I moved together with my boyfriend into a small but modern studio where I could enjoy a medium sized and brand new kitchen. 90 % of my food pictures were shot in this studio not far from the Tower Bridge.

Despite my four years in London have seen some improvement in terms of accommodation, I have never been able to fully choose the decor of my house. In Italy I have only lived with my parents, according to the typically Italian family living arrangement. Since I am now a grown up and approaching a stage in my life that’s supposed to be marked by a greater level of independence, I find myself thinking about my dream house, the one that could be a more definitive residence. In short, I’m looking around, or rather, since I’m only visiting online magazines, I’m already beginning to fantasize. Now the “problem” for me is a choice between a more traditional or modern style. I’m still very undecided! Here I am showing you my recent kitchens in comparison with what I would like to own.

The Traditional Kitchen

In my Italian place (technically my mum’s house) the traditional style rules. We recently bought a new kitchen opting for a classic style and dark wood cabinets. This one below is not really my kitchen but a very similar one.

A bit too gloomy, don’t you think? I liked the mosaic tiles and the sense of opulence that the dark wood adds, however I soon realised that the whole area looks significantly darker now. Even smaller. It is well known that white cabinets and kitchen units contribute to making a small space seem larger. I would probably pick a different kitchen now, something similar to this IKEA model I saw this week in the largest store of the popular Swedish furniture retailer (I’m in Denmark, by the way).

I always dreamt of having a kitchen with island bench and a large countertop in the middle of the cooking area. What I love the most of the kitchen shown below is the contrast between the light color of the main body and the warm wood tone of the worktop and shelves. This to me is a very good example of a traditional kitchen with a modern twist on the classic feel. What do you think of it?

The Modern Kitchen

Ready for a sneak peek into my little house in London? Below is the kitchen I’ve been blogging from in the last two years.

Even though I haven’t picked this kitchen myself I identify quite strongly with its design. It’s a design aesthetic where key points are simplicity and lightness. Since the addition of ornamentation and detail to fill in perceived gaps is not my strong point I was happy to keep my kitchen/living area plain and uncluttered.

However, there are quite a few reasons why I can’t consider this kitchen my ideal one. Have you noticed the mirror backsplash? Not sure why anyone would like to have a mirror as a backsplash. It does not multiply the space visually (as it is supposed to) but rather makes you crazy, if you are not good at cleaning mirrors like me. Also, I was never a fan of the glossy finish of the cabinets and the push-pull opening system (sometimes defective) of some drawers.

An example of modern kitchen that better meets my taste and would represent an improvement over all my previous kitchens is shown in the photo below.

The subway tile backsplash is now really in vogue and I personally think it really pops beneath the modern cabinet adding a traditional touch to this otherwise very modern kitchen. What about a tall block of cupboards alongside the normal sink run, like in this Wren kitchen below? The marble countertop brings my mind back to the iconic pizzerias of Napoli where seasoned pizzaioli ply their craft. I love it (I would finally get rid of the fake marble panels that I sometimes use for my food photography).

So many decision to take and great styles to choose from. Whatever kitchen I will get, I am pretty sure it will be characterised by these elements:

1. It will be white, a color that is bright and never falls out of style.
2. It will convey some sort of minimalism, in keeping with my personality. Minimalism in this case means no excess ornaments without functional purpose, which also means I will not hang pots and pans on the walls, especially in the case of a small kitchen. As a decoration, I will use tin boxes to store kitchen utensils or jars containing colorful pasta.
3. It will be functional, full of space-saving features and appliances that use less energy and water.

What do you think of these kitchen ideas? Are you happy with your kitchen or do you also dream of a different one? Any tips and kitchen styles to suggest?