Kitchen Design 101

People who design houses obviously do not cook. At least that is the impression I have after spending the day walking though model homes in our area. (No, we're not moving, but it is fun to look at all the upscale houses - especially the ones with good decorators.) While most of the homes had something about them that we liked, we only actually found one that wowed us. One of the biggest problems we encountered was the layout of the kitchen.

It seems to me that in a world where airwaves are bombarded by house and kitchen design/decorating shows everyone would know by now that refrigerators do not go all the way across the room from sinks and cook tops. Yet, at least half of the models we looked at were laid out this way. Go figure! One house - which was particularly gorgeous in all other respects - had a huge kitchen with lovely black granite counter tops flecked with some silvery-white substance that sparkled in the light. The floor to (10-foot high) ceiling dark cherry cabinetry capped with six-inch crown molding gave warmth and ample storage while the huge under-mount sink made imagined clean-up a breeze. Double wall ovens and a separate cook top beckoned me to put on an apron and serve up delicious morsels to guests seated along bar stools - until I noticed that one of those chairs sat right in front of the refrigerator. That's right - it was on the other side of the island along the opposite wall from the sink, stove, and ovens - with a bar stool blocking fully opening the door. Now whose dumb idea was that? Some architect who has never stepped foot into a kitchen except to eat probably decided it looked good over there when there was plenty of space to place it on the other wall swapping out cabinets for the fridge. Duh.

While this was the worst design faux paus we encountered because the fridge was actually blocked by a seat, many of the kitchens we saw placed the refrigerator on the wall away from the sink and cook top. I kept wondering if the designers had never seen Candice Olson gut and redo a kitchen creating a triangular work space among the three appliances. I just can't fathom that.

On the bright side, we found one house that had nearly 3,000 square feet on a single level with a beautiful little bricked in courtyard at the front and a long covered porch running across the entire back of the house. This place had expansive white marble tile floors with room areas broken up by patterns of small hexagonal tiles inlaid around the marble. The master suite was to die for with a seating area, a huge walk in shower, a granite vanity with a make up area, and his and hers walk in closets. The feeling upon entry to the whole house was spacious and homey with a couple of seating areas, a den (which would make a perfect music room for a baby grand piano), a large table area off the kitchen as well as a formal dining room connected to the fabulous kitchen by a butler's pantry. There were several more bedrooms on the side of the house opposite the master and a split three car garage for storage. The whole house danced with sunlight from all the gorgeous energy-efficient windows. (As a matter of fact, this builder has some sort of "green" house rating because they use so much insulation, earth friendly materials, and energy saving products.) The kitchen of this home was to die for with high-end built in appliances, a long prep island and eating bar, tons of cabinetry (again with the fancy crown molding), and a layout conducive to actually cooking. The open floor plan of this house just begged for entertaining. Ah yes, we could picture ourselves living there. Alas, our house is nice too, so we won't be pulling up stakes any time soon, but it is fun to dream.

As an update to yesterday's blog, we tried the figs with sea salt and balsamic vinegar along with the two artisan salamis. The Chianti salami was good, but nothing special. There was no real flavor difference between it and regular salami that I could detect. The pepper coated variety was excellent. The black pepper flavor was a little strong for Jeff's taste, but I enjoyed its bite - especially paired with a mellow morsel of smoked Gouda. Finally, the figs were wonderful. We had a couple that were over-ripe on the verge of turning which we ended up not eating, but the rest were red and beautiful inside with a rim of white leading out to the dark brownish-purple skin. The dab of sea of salt only served to enhance the sweetness, while the cinnamon pear balsamic vinegar added an interesting twist to the soft, subtle figs. Just now I'm about to head outside to pluck a few more from the tree.