OK, 50 is a liiiittle bit of an overstatement, considering many of the "ideas" are product placements from the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year that was on display in Rockefeller Center. However, it was a replica of Ina Garten's actual East Hampton kitchen, and she does have some good ideas we could steal.
One of them—adding a lamp to our kitchen decor—is something we've talked about before. And others were practical enough for even the smallest, most humble kitchen.
A few we liked:
• Put your own hand-written recipes in a book, protected by plastic sleeves, so you can wipe off spills.
• Always have lemons and limes on hand to brighten a dish. (They also look great as decoration, stacked up in bowls.)
• If you have more than one hefty cutting board and no place to store them, put them in a big basket on the floor, next to the countertop.
• Instead of buying a tablecloth, use a piece of fabric, folded to fit the table. Use ironing tape to hem the ends under.
And despite the showcasing of expensive Viking ranges and Ina's call to have two dishwashers, the Barefoot Contessa still seems very down to Earth. She raves about her plain, white dishes and simple glassware from Crate & Barrel, and she claims all of her small appliances that sit on the countertop are either stainless steel or white, to keep the room looking clean and neutral.
• See the full slideshow at House Beautiful.
Related: What Every Kitchen Needs, According to Ina Garten
(Images: Julian Wass/House Beautiful)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I would love to keep my cooling racks, cutting boards and other large accouterments in a basket on the floor, but a particularly hairy feline creature in my home produces dust bunnies that collect in the kitchen.
does anyone have another suggestion? cabinet space is at a premium. right now, cutting boards are stored on a cart, cooling racks are stored behind the cart (and covered in hair) and most large utensils are on top of the cupboards.
view Amandica's profile
I thought the idea about having a tumbler of regular spoons on the counter was brilliant.
view moema's profile
Oh, I like the idea of the recipe book. I have a fancy one but the categories are weird (a whole category for sauces but only one for deserts - should have sections!) and it gets so messy.
Maybe I'll get a scrapbooking book and use that.
Amandica, there;s been posts before here about using dowels or tension rods to make upright storage for boards etc. Like a plate rack, but in a cupboard. Could you do something like that? Or maybe get a pegboard and hand other things on that, then your boards can go where they were.
view Kaviare's profile
I love Ina... I already do most of these things, except the cutting boards in a basket
space is at a premium in my kitchen. I lay them flat on top of the refrigerator... my trays are all standing vertically in a narrow kitchen cabinet.
view modern on long island's profile
I have a slim space between my microwave and cabinets, so I just stack my cutting boards there.
view stellato's profile