Rustic, elegant kitchens

 

Living in Argentina, from Taschen

   

 from House & Garden, 2004 

 

The kitchen of set designer, Eugénie Collet. Photo by S. Anton in Brussels Style from Taschen

via Topsy Turvy

photo: Seaside Style, from Taschen

Though completely varied in their location and space, these kitchens all seem warm and charming- and despite some being quite elegant, I can imagine actually cooking in them. I'm always falling under the spell of rustic or old-world kitchens! (photos, from top: Taschen, Elle Decor, Living Etc; last photo from Marie Claire)

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Les cuisines noires et blanches

A few of my favorite black & white kitchens. I wouldn't have thought to use so much black, for example, on cabinets, but I think it works so well. Some of them look so elegant, while others look industrial. It's actually versatile depending on how you use it. (photos: top two from Marie Claire Maison; from the old House & Garden magazine; Skona Hem; from John Jacob Zwiegelaar via Porchlight Interiors; via Desire to Inspire)

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Dining room chairs

I've been looking for dining room chairs for the longest time. My table is a very old weathered "farmhouse-type" table of light-colored wood. Currently I have mismatched chairs of darker wood but the look isn't working at all- probably because I don't like the chairs individually.
I love some of the classic Thonet bentwood chairs I've seen recently (those in the 2nd photo of this group are my favorite), however they are so expensive. (photos from domino and the Provence home of this blogger's grandmother)



I've just aquired a set of 4 chairs that look like Tolix chairs- kind of like these above, but with a steel finish, and I'm thinking of painting them. (this photo from coco+kelly)

living etc.

from viva terra

photo from diana vinoly interiors

living etc.

The colorful Eames chairs seem a great match for almost any dining table, but it is a look that has been done to death, I'm afraid! I'm still tempted to use black and white ones. (photos from the home of AB Chao via apartmenttherapy.com; the home of Heather Frazier on apartmenttherapy.com)




These white Bertoia chairs look lovely with this white weathered wood table, especially in such a sunny room! (photo from Jed Johnson)

I like the mismatched look here, but to make it work, I think either everything else in the room needs to be sparse and serene (like this one) or the room should be really spacious. (living etc.)

I also think that the dining chairs matter very little if the kitchen / dining space is this great. (photos: nadia tolstoy's home on apt therapy; domino magazine)

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Kitchen love

I never tire of looking at kitchens: Floor to ceiling cabinets (or "cupboards", as I was corrected in saying); open shelving; windows; huge rough-hewn chopping blocks; gleaming tile or bright colorful wallpaper; wooden countertops or marble surfaces- I love it all. To me, kitchens inspire creativity in the way we cook and eat, as well as provide a backdrop for the place where your family and friends spend a lot of time, since that's where crowds tend to gather.

I happen to have lucked out in our new London flat- the kitchen is roomy (by my standards) and has loads of cabinets and a fantastic stove range. But the best feature is the windowed french doors looking out onto surrounding neighbor's gardens! My next task is to find the right chairs for my little wooden dining table so we can have a real dinner party. (images from Domino, House Beautiful, Bolig Liv and Country Home)

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Katie Brown's laid back style

I loved peeking inside Katie Brown's home (featured in April 08 Country Living). I especially am crazy about her kitchen! So open- and the massive center counter would be so handy. I think the challenge with open, spacious kitchens or even just open cabinets is to keep them looking neat and tidy enough to always be on display. Lovely!

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Oliko Swedish vintage

Oliko, is like an online Swedish flea market full of interesting vintage treasures. If the 50's and 60's decor is your thing, you have to take a look. It's worth it for the pictures of retro rooms alone. I'm a child of the '70's so this makes me remember things about our kitchen during my childhood. The site has a lot of glass dishware, painted ceramics, kitchen plastic containers and other fun things like an old map.

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