The January (navy) blues

Happy 2015! So far, the year is off to a cold start here in Ontario. But at least we’re gaining a minute of sunlight every day, so that’s one positive :-)

January is typically when the blues set in. But the blues aren’t necessarily a bad thing – especially when they’re lovely navy blues! Lately I’ve been thinking about how I would design my coastal kitchen in my oceanfront house of the future. A girl can dream, right? :-) And part of the dream is to have a navy blue kitchen island. Still haven’t figured out the rest of the kitchen, but I guess that’s as good a starting point as any!

A navy island with a light stone countertop, white kitchen cabinetry, and dark flooring seems to be the popular choice.

Image via Kelly Deck 

 Image via Decorpad 

  Image via Decorpad

A navy island with a light floor and soft grey cabinetry is lovely too.

Image via Tom Howley 

Not quite navy blue, this blue-grey island has a dark wood countertop, which is a nice change from the light stone countertops.

Image via Today’s Homeowner (at KBIS)

And this countertop is a combination of darker wood and lighter stone.

 

Traditional Kitchen by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms Schrader & Companies

 

 

Navy blue paired with brass or gold has a nautical feel.

 

 
Image via Sarah Richardson

 

Image via Joy Street Design 

 

 

This is a bit different – copper pendants over a navy island.

 

Contemporary Kitchen by Toronto Interior Designers & Decorators Sealy Design Inc.

Do you prefer a kitchen island that matches the kitchen cabinetry, or an island that stands out?

AyA Kitchens & Baths BlogPodium Bound 2013 Contest: My ultimate party kitchen

Once again, AyA Kitchens & Baths is running a contest to send one lucky blogger from anywhere in Canada to Toronto to attend BlogPodium in September. The theme for this year’s contest is to design your ultimate party kitchen. Well, that’s easy enough – my ultimate party kitchen is MY kitchen! It started off looking like this – very 1980s!

And now it looks like this!

This is how we did it:

1. Installed pendant lights above the peninsula (Home Depot)
2. Granite composite sink in Havana (Kindred)
3. Brown mother-of-pearl backsplash tiles (Glazzio Tiles)
4. Benjamin Moore HC-173 Edgecomb Grey (cabinets)
5. Benjamin Moore OC-1320 Cloud White(trim and light box)
6. Sherwin Williams SW7039 Virtual Taupe (walls)
7. Brown Cabernet granite countertops
8. Talo faucet and soap dispenser (generously provided by Brizo)
9. Peninsula inspiration  (AyA Kitchens & Baths)

So what makes it the ultimate party kitchen? Good food…

Cupcakes by Sweets By Karen

Good times…

Musician Rémi Boudreau

And most importantly, good friends :-)

Artist Matt LeBlanc and my dog Squirt :-)

And a party isn’t a party without Triple-Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies! I only make them for parties – otherwise, I’d eat them all myself, and that would be a very bad thing!

Triple-Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 2 cups oats
• 2 cups (or more) combination of chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and Skor bits

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with Pam.
3. Combine butter, brown sugar, and white sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or in your mixer.
4. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
5. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter & sugar mixture and stir until just combined.
6. Add oats and stir until combined.
7. Add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and Skor bits and stir until combined. (If you’re using a mixer, you’ll probably have to stir the chips in by hand, because the cookie dough is pretty thick.)
8. Use a dessert spoon to drop cookie dough onto cookie sheets. Leave about 2” between each cookie (cookie dough will spread).
9. Put one sheet onto middle rack in oven and bake for about 5 minutes.
10. After 5 minutes, turn the sheet 180 degrees and place on upper rack. Put second sheet of cookies onto middle rack and bake both sheets for about 5 minutes (about 10 minutes total cooking time for each sheet). Cookies on top rack are ready when the edges are just barely brown and the center looks slightly unbaked.
11. Remove top sheet from oven, turn other sheet 180 degrees and place on upper rack. Continue this rotation until all cookies are baked.
12. Let cookies cool on sheet for a few minutes, then carefully remove cookies with spatula and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes about 50 cookies, unless you’re a cookie dough fiend like me and eat a few cookie’s worth of dough before all the cookies are baked :-)

So there it is, my ultimate party kitchen and ultimate party food. Fingers crossed I’ll be heading to BlogPodium in September! Thank you AyA Kitchens & Baths for the opportunity :-)

A colourful fairy land kitchen

Last Friday, I met up with Heather {Hi Heather!} from the blog Setting for Four at Starbucks/Chapters. While I tried to look cool and inconspicuous waiting for Heather, I nonchalantly flipped through a few magazines {which are conveniently located right next to Starbucks}. When I came across this kitchen, all my pretend coolness slipped away, because I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped open and  my eyes popped out of my head…

Being the last person on earth without an iPhone and nothing to write on in my purse, I tried to remember something about the kitchen so I could Google it when I got home. Not a chance of remembering the designer’s name –  Elina Katsioula-Beall – but I did remember DeWitt Designer Kitchens and something about it being a fairy kitchen. That was enough to find out more about this awesome colourful kitchen that won the 2012 National Kitchen & Bath Association award for Green Design.

The home owners were inspired by the work of Mexican architect Luis Barragán, who is renowned for using colour to augment space and light in his designs. They wanted to create a fantasy fairy-like garden for their two daughters – the green cabinets and bright pink countertops are meant to evoke fuchsia flower beds. And the eco-friendly flooring fits nicely with the nature theme.

A little bit of pretty turquoise around the corner – not really diggin’ the creepy figure on the counter, though!

Also designed by Elina Katsioula-Beall, this colourful bathroom won the 2012 National Kitchen and Bath Association award for small bathrooms:

 

It should come as no surprise that both these room can be found in this colourful house in Santa Monica, California:

Images via Custom Home Online, KBB Online, Fort Bend Lifestyles & Homes, Decor Girl

I’d love to know what you think – are the colours in and on this house too much or too cool?

On another note… thanks for all your sweet comments about Malcolm :-) He’s doing well in his new home and it looks like he and his new doggie brother are going to be best buds :-) I may have a little something{s} furry to share with you on Monday… ;-)

Happy weekend!

For more information on this kitchen, see Trends.
Kitchen photographs by Suki Medencevic

Beautiful in blue: Chef Michael Smith’s kitchen

I clicked over to Food Network Canada yesterday morning and Chef Michael’s Kitchen was on. Michael Smith is an honours graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York City and is Prince Edward Island’s official food ambassador. But I had no idea what he was cooking – it was his unique and colourful kitchen that grabbed my attention.

All the cabinetry was designed and built by GCW Custom Kitchens & Cabinetry Inc. in Ontario. Michael selected the beautiful marine blue to pay homage to the waters surrounding PEI.

The open storage is both pretty and practical. Dishes and ingredients are easy to spot and access, and the labels and cookware add pops of colour around the room.

The stainless steel clean-up area is a touch of industrial in the rustic kitchen.

The wrought iron pot hanger above the sink is a wonderful work of art. It represents the pastoral beauty of PEI, and was forged by local artist William Dowling.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is this work area with a two-burner induction cooktop. And how about that knife block?! The frame of the cabinet is walnut and the drawer fronts are reclaimed barn board. It’s my favourite feature in the kitchen – I love the rustic look and the warmth of the wood.

The pantry is open and clad with wood from crates of Michael’s favourite wines. Such a whimsical and creative idea.

Probably not a kitchen for someone who doesn’t like open shelving, but perfect for a cook who likes to have everything close at hand.

I highly recommend checking out the video tour of Michaels’ kitchen. He shows and describes all of the amazing details that went into his kitchen – you could incorporate lots of them into your own kitchen :-) Click here or click the image below to watch the video.

In a design world where white kitchens are the norm, Michael Smith’s colourful rustic kitchen is a nice change of pace. What do you think – would you have a colourful kitchen in your home?

Happy weekend!

 

Thanks to everyone who selected This or That in Wednesday’s post about shower benches. Your feedback was great, and has given me a lot to think about! I’ll let you know which way I decide to go in next week’s instalment of This or That :-)

Images via Food Network Canada, Chef Michael Smith, and GCW Custom Kitchens & Cabinetry Inc.

Upperless kitchens

OK, so upperless isn’t really a word – but it should be :-) When we did our kitchen makeover last year, we had to take down the upper cabinets so that we could cut out the old backsplash. I loved how open the kitchen felt without the upper cabinets, and I suggested to hubby that we not put them back up. That plan didn’t fly, so back up they went. But if I was designing a new kitchen from scratch, I would definitely skip the upper cabinets. Here are some examples of why I love this look.

I’d much rather have a wall of windows that a wall of cabinets. Look at how bright and airy these kitchens are…

Image via Country Living

Photograph by Erik Kvalsvik, image via Southern Accents

  Design by Susan Marinello, photograph by John Granen, image via Traditional Home

Design by and image via  Katie Denham

Image via Lonny

This kitchen just wouldn’t have the same open and light feeling if it had upper cabinets. And where would that massive vase of greenery go? ;-)

Image via Simply Elegant Home Designs

A kitchen without upper cabinets has the look and feel of a more loungey space.

Source unknown

Image via Driftwood Interiors

Of course, if you don’t have upper cabinets, you need to bring in other ways to store dishes and other kitchen items. The cabinet and island in this kitchen both provide ample amounts of storage.

The Gift Home in Ottawa has no uppers, but a wall of cabinetry provides lots of storage and display space.

Another storage idea is open shelves. Have I mentioned that I have a serious design crush on black steel framed windows and doors?

    Design by Jill Brinson, photograph by Rob Brinson, image via House Beautiful

 
Design by Renae Abbott

 
Above two designs by and images via Walda Pairon

Photograph by Erik Kvalsvik, image via Southern Accents

Design by Urban Grace Interiors, image via Driftwood Interiors

An interesting twist on open kitchen shelving.

Image via Decorpad

This is quite possibly my very favourite kitchen of all time. Vienna Way Residence was designed by the architectural firm Marmol Radziner and Associates, and Mr. Radziner lives here with his family. The entire home is spectacular, but this kitchen is just beyond stunning. (You can read more about Vienna Way in this post over at DesignTies).

 

How do you feel about upper cabinets in a kitchen – ditch them or can’t  live without them?

Don’t forget to check out today’s Extreme Makeover donor profile on the Ottawa International Airport Authority over at Maureen at MODECOR Muses.

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.