Design | Wellness | Cabinetry
Here’s a little eye candy from Toyo Kitchens & Living. The INO Leone was developed for families that Live in their Kitchen. The INO Leone Kitchen features a unique T-shaped island that brings simplicity and artistry to Kitchen Design.
Another feature I like is that the large Toe area makes the island ADA friendly.
As I was strolling the world wide web this past week I found some great items I thought I’d share starting with this incredible white kitchen in a Barn-style home in Sag Harbour from Emma and her great Blog White and Wander.
I love the commercial-style faucet and industrial stainless steel surfaces paired with the clean white shelving filled with glasses and clay pitchers. Check out her other posts filled with lost of interior goodness.
The Laurel Hedges has a fun post that tells of the little known secret that a powerful exhaust fan in a couple’s bathroom lowers the chance of divorce. Millie blogs to get away from the men in her life ( she has 5 sons!) and her posts are refreshing and filled with wonderful little gems.
Small kitchens are hard to design because they still have to have all the appliances found in larger kitchens and at least a little storage. I think Chris Welsh did a fabulous job on this alcove kitchen featured on Alicia B. Designs with her tips on how to maximise small kitchen space.
If you have missed the magazine Domino then you will love the new online magazine, Lonny. Eddie Ross introduced me to the new publication on his blog. His beautiful farmhouse has a fabulous spread in the 200 or so page publication. I love what he and his partner did with their butler’s pantry. Everything is beautifully organized and very accessible.
As Miele kitchens re-brands itself and takes on the name of the German town in which the company is based – Warendorf – it is making this change with a new kitchen destined to make a significant impact.
They’ve chosen one of the biggest names in design – Philippe Starck – to develop the first kitchen under the new brand.
Starck has created a kitchen design that represents something of a departure, both emotionally and functionally, from the traditional wall-to-wall arrangement of the fitted kitchen.
He calls the concept “democratic design” because its wide range of individual elements and the ability to combine them in different ways gives it potentially wide appeal to a range of consumers, lifestyles and spaces.
Starck’s first kitchen design concept, Starck by Warendorf, is complemented by functional tables that can be integrated into every Philippe Starck kitchen but may also be used as a standalone concept. It is a modular system made up of kitchen elements and individual pieces that leave all interior design options open.
A key element of the Starck by Warendorf concept is the way it combines living functions with the functions of eating and food preparation.
Starck does this with a number of specific design references. His bookshelf-style elements are intended to combine culture and food in the domestic kitchen. The bar-style counters are a response to the changed dynamic governing meal times.
Starck has banished visible appliances from these kitchen designs. Refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, ovens etc are all concealed behind handleless unit fronts. The accompanying exhaust hoods disappear into the ceiling when not in use.
There are many things about this picture that I like and there are some I dislike. I like the open feel and the contemporary hood.
I like the deep chocolate color on the walls although I think I might like it more as an accent color on the right wall with a different color on the back wall.
I like the tall pantry cabinets for their ample storage and sleek, hardware-free fronts.
I don’t like the low wall cabinets. As you can see by the picture only a few books will fit under them. I also dislike the white end panels on the base cabinets. I’d rather see the wall cabinets either hung higher or sitting all the countertop. I’d remove the white end panels and run the countertop over the sides to the floor. If the wall cabinets are to sit on the countertop prefer the countertop not to match the cabinets so closely. I think a white marble would look better.
The sole beam across the ceiling also bothers me. I don’t mind the white on white but I think the ceiling would be more interesting if faux beams were added to create a nice visual rhythm.
This kitchen would also probably be very dark at night. Additional lighting should be added at the sink and at least one prep area.
What do you think on the T-shape kitchen? I think it might make more sense if there were a table and chairs located on the right side to create an eat-in kitchen. They might have been removed for the photograph to show off the cabinetry. The corner of the sofa may have been moved into the frame to keep the space from looking too empty.