I first met Charley and Jessica while shooting their home for an Apartment Therapy house tour. Their entire house has a perfectly lived-in, chic vibe — family-friendly yet unbelievably cool and handmade vibe. The kitchen? It's no different. And what would you expect? This couple makes chocolate for a living!
Melody is an architect and an avid home cook, so when she and her husband set out to build a new home in the hills of Portland, Oregon, they put a lot of energy into the cooking and dining spaces. The resulting kitchen is open, airy and perfect for hanging out with guests who can relax at the counter or the stunning reclaimed wood table at the adjoining dining room. Here's an extended peek into that rare, beautiful thing: A kitchen designed precisely for a home cook's taste and desires.
Three years ago Hakarl and his partner Jili decided to conceive and raise a child with a lesbian couple. The child actually turned out to be a set of twins, and the two couples decided to form a family of their own making. Both couples bought apartments in the same building in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn, and the two girls now spend time in each of the homes. This burgeoning family, according to Hakarl, necessitated a few kitchen tweaks. First on the list: an oversized table that could easily fit eight people.
My friends Rachel and Alex live around the corner from me in the funky, historic urban neighborhood of Clintonville near downtown Columbus, Ohio. Our homes share some similarities: The worn-down beauty of an old kit house, a small yet bountiful yard, a modest kitchen.
And yet the similarities stop there: Rachel and Alex renovated their kitchen on a budget, using some seriously creative ingenuity, and they have created a true urban homestead, one that feeds and nourishes them, their daughter Lil, and a small menagerie of friendly creatures. We throw around the terms DIY, "homesteading" and "urban gardening" so frequently — come see what this really looks like, for a real American family in the city.
Scott renovated his kitchen entirely on his own, figuring it out as he went along. You'd never guess it from spending time in this delightfully bright space, a classic with a modern twist. He's certainly made the most of this funky layout with the use of strategically placed pantries and a keen sense of organization. Scott is also one of the most inventive cake makers I've ever met. This man's got a gift and no friend's birthday is complete without one of his outrageous confections.
Name: Daniel Lowe
Location: Hollywood- Los Angeles, CA
Kitchen size: 9 feet X 17 feet (but it's a loft, so feels like half the loft is the kitchen or living / social space)
Last month at Apartment Therapy we got an awesome tour of Daniel Lowe's incredible converted loft. Today take a peek at his custom designed kitchen. Lending its style to a more traditional approach, it truly warms up this ultra modern space and open floor plan.
You know how sometimes you go into a domestic diva's (or fella's) kitchen and get totally insecure about your own cooking skills and suddenly find yourself really shy? Kate Payne and her kitchen are the complete opposite of that. In fact, when you walk into her cheery and friendly kitchen in her East Austin home, you come away with a feeling of wanting to tackle all kinds of cool kitchen and cooking projects.
Three guys living in an artist loft, and one of them likes to cook — that's pretty good odds, don't you think? Matt is the resident chef at these hard-to-believe-it's-not-a-TV-show-set living quarters. Take a peek at this bachelor pad loft kitchen, inhabited and enjoyed by three artists.
Newlyweds Ryan and Tim moved into a beautiful home on Guerrero St. in San Francisco, and with Ryan's love of cooking and talents as a chef, the first order of business was to remodel the kitchen into a more functional space, drenched in natural light. Planning a wedding and remaking a kitchen were quite tall tasks to tackle simultaneously but they pulled both events off in spades!
I met Dakota Witzenburg a few years ago at a friend's store. He is a wonderful cabinet and furniture maker (co-owner of todosomething, based in Los Angeles) with an incredible eye for design! And I just found out that he loves to bake, especially his grandmother's secret pie recipes. He has my dream kitchen, a kitchen which he built himself. It's a beautiful blend of modern and traditional — with unexpected green cabinets!
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elizabeth Apron fro...
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
