San Francisco potter Diana Fayt has everything I want and love in a kitchen. First and most importantly, she clearly really uses it! No trophy appliances here — just a wall of well-used pots and pans, and a lovely collection of handmade cups and plates and bowls. It's simple without being too sleek, with touches of whimsy and surprise like the Caribbean blue ceiling and window box poppies. There's a lot of texture, too: the worn surface of a cutting board, a softly wrinkled old tablecloth, the old sink's satin-smooth curves. Her collection of pottery is mostly white, so form and texture really stand out with the color providing cohesion.
The feeling is relaxed, inviting and playful. I can imagine an whittling away an afternoon here, sitting at the kitchen table with tea and something freshly baked from the oven. Sunlight, blue sky ceiling, a bowl full of oranges. Perfect.
Diana's kitchen will be featured in a Japanese book about San Francisco kitchens that will be out this spring. Keep an eye on her website for more details, as well as listings of her upcoming shows.
• Visit Diana Fayt's Etsy shop to view her work.
More Flickr photos:
• kitchen
• let's eat
Related: Kitchen Tour: In the Kitchen with Zachary and Family
(Images: Diana Fayt. Used with permission.)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I love the open shelving but here in quake country I'm not willing to sacrifice my dishes for every quake. I'm on bedrock so it's not uncommon to come home and find the stacked dishes inside the cupboard at beautiful but strange angles from the latest tremble. Any ideas for open shelving while still protecting the dishes? Non-skid mats help a bit but what about for the pharmacy style jars with glass lids (holding flour, sugar, etc). Would appreciate any ideas...
view Rucy's profile
Rucy, try adding crown molding to the front of your shelves. It helps keep things from sliding off. As long as the jars aren't really dancing around, the lids should stay on and you should be fine.
Gorgeous kitchen! I love the idea of painting the ceiling and nothing else.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
How lovely. It's so deliciously lived-in, and so not over-designed.
view tequilastrapple's profile
I usually don't believe in a ceiling being any color except for white. But I like this ceiling. I like it because it is the only thing painted a color. And it is a light shade.
The photographer was also very creative with the different angles and things in the kitchen.
view rhianna's profile
Rucy, as an alternative to crown molding on shelf edges, you could use galley rail. It is designed to keep the dishes from falling off of shelves in boats, and looks a bit like miniature porch railing.
view Nancy_Claire's profile
Wow, thanks for the great ideas!
view Rucy's profile