apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love that light fixture, and I'm sure the pass through really helps open up the kitchen dramatically. Well done!

love the cabinets!

Wow, love your kitchen!!!

It's a nice kitchen and all, but aside from the cool tile and funky light fixture it looks like any other apartment kitchen w/Ikea cabinets.

I guess I've just seen a lot more innovation so far for the 'smallest coolest' contests, and this kitchen just looks like a facelift, and not a real guts and brains overhaul. I'd still be thrilled if I rented a small place w/this kitchen!

yeah, i love those cabinets. i want them!

I'm not normally a fan of pass-throughs, but this one is handled quite elegantly -- love the tile, and the granite extending to the right beyond the scope of the opening.

Buzzybee - I believe it was mentioned that Ikea cabinets were not used. But I do see your point. There seems to be something missing from this kitchen to identify it as "your" kitchen. I still love it though - gorgeous!

It's a gorgeous kitchen - except for the cabinets.

Why use a Shaker design in a modern kitchen?

While the wood color is nice and goes well with the other colors in there, the design of the doors doesn't fit the modern theme.

Where is that knife block from?


The kitchen is great, I love the pendant light.

While I like the kitchen very much, especially the addition of the pass-through with the recessed lighting, I agree with boomer regarding the door style. This would just be my own personal preference, don't get me wrong your kitchen is beautiful.

I just see a trend now in new construction where this type of cabinetry is considered "modern." I believe these cabinets are modern in the sense that they are pretty sleek with straight lines and minimal door pulls but so far most of the kitchens in this contest are very similar in that they are following the current trend of large wooden cabinets with lots of upper cabinets. I know first hand that really modern thinking when it comes to kitchen cabinets means a lot of money. I would love to see options in between Ikea and the expensive Henrybuilt or Poggenpohl.

I need to know about the light fixture. Where did you get it? We are redoing our kitchen (looks about the same size as yours) with a pass through although ours will be larger. I really like this!

I don't mind the Shaker style cabinets here. I don't know why to fit a "modern theme", one has to use only those designs developed and patented by an Eames, a Saarinen, or a Panton? Or why a room (to paraphrase Jonathan Adler on the ill-fated Top Design) needs to be theme-y at all. I think style is the ability to mix and match and select different things from different places, rather than pick it all out from the Room and Board catalogue.

apologies on the IKEA cabinet comment! I think Lizz better phrased what I meant - it needs something to make it say it's yours!

Great kitchen!

How much do you love your Bosch stove?

Very well done! I think the choice to not go with all ultra-modern pieces (ie. the cabinets) was a good idea.
It prevents this kitchen from being an example of mod overkill that you so often see here, while keeping decorating options open for you and whoever might live there next.

Love the tiles and the light. The rest is perfectly nice, but nothing stellar.

Hi Everyone,
Thank you for the kind words!
Let's see...
Ana: The knife block was a gift from a friend a few years ago. I've seen them in the past at Macy's.

Matilda: The light fixture is vintage Lightolier. I guess you could try ebay for similar ones. I've seen them on 1stdibs in the past - John Salibello currently has a smaller version. I would recommend having any vintage fixture re-wired for safety.

buzybee: I can assure you it wasn't just a facelift - everything in the kitchen was torn out, the walls were completely re-plastered (not drywalled - I still find plaster dust here and there! ;), the plumbing was re-done, the electrical was re-wired and the whole space was re-designed so that everything would fit properly. Nothing remains of the old kitchen. The old stove used to hit the windowsill when we opened the oven door. The old refrigerator blocked the doorway and stood out way beyond the cabinets. The old cabinets hung so low they wasted a ton of space between their tops and the ceiling. It may look conventional - it's not our ultimate dream kitchen, it's our ultimate dream kitchen for this apartment.


These photos were taken right after the re-model (notice the X-Mas tree in the cut out ;) so it's probably looks a little more "lived in" now... with a tea kettle on the stove, a dish rack next to the sink, and the window sill has some vintage glassware. We try to keep everything in the cabinets and off of the counters - not because we don't have personality but because we didn't want a cluttered kitchen.

I really have to disagree about the Shaker panelled door comments - the Shakers were so advanced and minimal! And they were doing it over 200 years ago. No the cabinet style wasn't designed in the last 10 years - when we chose them for our modern kitchen we chose them because they had good, clean lines which we indentify with modern.

Also just to clarify, when I stated I didn't want IKEA cabinets it wasn't because I don't like their designs. I like a lot of their designs and their cabinets certainly fell into our price range. I just didn't care for the quality - they seemed as though they wouldn't last 5 years. We plan to sell our co-op in the next year and I didn't want to leave a kitchen that the next owners would have to tear out.

When my fiance and I look at our kitchen we see what it was before and know what it is now, so we see it with different eyes. I thought about a picture in picture when I submitted the photos to show the before and after but I didn't think that was allowed for the contest.

Again thanks to everyone that took the time to vote and leave comments for us! :)

H & F

this kitchen is amazing -- i love the deep ocean colored marble of your countertops!! is it more blueish or geenish? i also like the fact that the tiny wall tiles coordinate so well but are so much lighter that the deeper color doesn't overpower anything or make it look closed-in. your photos give a good feel for the space and it looks very well put together even though it does not seem very spacious. the pass through really opens the space up a lot and, even though it's not a big kitchen, it looks as though it wouldn't feel cramped to cook in. it's clean without looking empty and it's streamlined without looking plain. very good job!!

I have no problem with Shaker cabinets being used in a modern kitchen, both have clean lines and its nice to mix things up a little.

I need to re-do my kitchen, which is much larger than yours, and would love to find a reliable contractor who knows well priced cabinet sources - and does he work in Manhattan? I don't want Ikea and can really think of better things to spend money on than my kitchen.

It is funny to read comments complaining about the cabinets and praising the pass-through. If you look at high end design magazines, you'll see that pass-throughs are extinct and kitches that look like high end furniture, with no walls, is the current style. You can be sure that will soon look dated.

So congratulations on a great kitchen and on having the courage to pick things that please you from different eras. That's good taste, not following fashion.

Hi Again,
Thanks again for the nice words, AT community! It's hard to invite strangers into your house and ask them to critique it. :)
Bunnies: I believe the name of the granite on the countertops is called Peacock Green. It has a nice depth to it - with shimmery layers of blue and green. The walls tiles are also a mix of blue and green and greys. The walls color is actually a very pale blue that looks white, grey or blue at different times of the day. The floor tile which we couldn't show in these shots it my favorite part of the kitchen - a dark grey Italian tile. The tiles have a brushed (combed?) yet smooth texture that feels so great on bare feet and they're really easy to clean. I wish we had used them in our bathroom renovation a few years ago!

Tuareg: Our contractor does do work in Manhattan and is insured for co-op and condo buildings. We found his prices to be very reasonable, he's reliable and his work is very good. If you need any plastering he's definitely the person to contact... our kitchen walls are so smooth that they make the other rooms look like they need re-plastering! I'm going to try to post a link to his website.

Olga: I left you out on my last comment - we love the new stove! The continuous grate on top gives us more prep space and we love how the top of the stove doesn't get hot when the oven is on. It also heats up really quickly (we're hoping it uses less energy) and cools down faster than any other oven I've used in the past. So far it's been user friendly although I haven't set the clock since the clocks changed - I think I'll have to read the manual one of these days! ;)


Heather

That tile design rocks and the ceiling light is super-cool. I love everything in this room. I think the Shaker-style cabinets look timeless and can work well in a modern setting.

very nice...what time is dinner?

Heather: Love what you've done. We apparently have similar taste in that, not only do I have the same Bosch range (which I love) but also, I'm taking delivery of my LG refrigerator on Wednesday!

So, I have to ask, how do you like your Bosch over-the-range microwave? It's the next item on my appliance wish list and I'm curious as to how well the built-in ventilation works.

P.S. If I recall correctly, you change the clock by pressing the "timer" button, turn the selection knob until it reads clock, hit "timer" again, then turn the knob to change the hour...hit "timer" again to set & exit.

My kitchen is twice the size of yours but if I could cut my kitchen in half and make it look like yours I would. Great job!

The kitchen looks amazing! The light fixture is so cool, it tops it off with a very cool retro feeling.

Hi Heather the kitchen looks great, I have the pictures on my website every one loves them. You have excellent taste it was our pleasure working with you. We had great communication & everything went smooth. We hope to work with you in the future. To anyone thats intrested I am the contractor that built Heathers kitchen here is the link to my website

http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=35573925

Picture perfect love everything. I will contact your contractor.

I love the recessed lighting in the passthrough!! I want to put similar lighting in a kitchen I am working on but I am not sure how it will fit into the wall and I am a little worried about heat dissipation, do you have any advice or details on how you achieved this?? also where did you put the light switch for the passthrough lights... I am debating putting the switch in the passthrough as well. Thanks!!