Visions of White

With the kitchen renovation now on the radar, I've started to go through my old magazines, others blogs, and online forums for inspiration. And inspired I am. Defining the look hasn't been too difficult. I'm not attracted to traditional or country kitchens, heavy on the details, the corbeils, the filagree, the washed wood. Nor do I fancy Euro-style minimalism, all flat panel doors, stainless steel, and lacking upper cabinets (where do these people store all their kitchen stuff??). My favoured "look" instead stems from one source... the movie Something's Gotta Give.

Have you seen that film? It's a hoot, and Diane Keaton's kitchen in her Hamptons house is simply to die for. This isn't the kitchen, but it is one similar in style:

Who wouldn't want to bake in a kitchen like that? Can't you just picture it -- hazy afternoon summer sun streaming through the window, the sound of the neighbourhood kids running through the sprinklers outside, you - sitting on a stool at the island, enjoying a cup of tea while you read the weekend paper, Michael Buble playing softly in the background, waiting for the banana chocolate chip muffins to finish baking in the oven, the smell filling the air.... heaven!

This style can be described as Transitional, a mix of the traditional and contemporary. I love the plain white shaker cabinets and the modern polished stone countertops. The opaque glass of the schoolhouse lights contrasted against the shiny faucet and stainless steel appliances. The creamy subway tile backsplash, the black drawer pulls and hinges, the beadboard, the pale blue walls... I could go on and on. But most of all I love the white -- the whiteness of the white. Nothing says clean and fresh and bright in a kitchen like "white".

L to R: Martha Stewart home for kbhomes.com; Flickr image from Nancy Hugo CKD; Flickr image from Nancy Hugo CKD; Martha Stewart home for kbhomes.com