Real Kitchen Tours

Who cooks and eats here: Teja Ream & Neil Collier, daughter Elsa, baby Owen and two dogs Where: Los Angeles, CA Rent or Own? Own Teja used to store her fabulous collection of heels in her oven, and she rarely cooked if at all. Now she’s a busy working mother of two, serving as creative director at a major record label, while husband Neil is a full-time software engineer —and together they manage quite a lot of home cooking.

Who cooks and eats here: Joanna Goddard of Cup of Jo, Alex Williams, and their two kids, Anton and Toby Where: Brooklyn, New York Rent or Own? Rent We at The Kitchn have been long-time fans of Joanna Goddard and her lovely, always-on-point lifestyle blog, A Cup of Jo, for so many years! We are delighted to share a peek into the kitchen she shares with her two small children and her writer husband, Alex Williams. (Alex does most of the cooking and all of the dishes! Can I marry him?

Vacation Rental: Funky New York-Style Loft Apartment in Washington, D.C. Sleeps: 2 Price: $125 per night; 3 night minimum Why We Wanna Cook Here: The entire apartment is basically just one professional kitchen! Yes, we realize there’s something a little weird about calling out a Washington, D.C. apartment that’s touted for it’s New York-y-ness.

Vacation Rental: Clum House in Catskill, New York Sleeps: Up to 5 guests Price: $275 per night; 2 night minimum Why We Wanna Cook Here: Glossy magazine style — and shiplap! Believe it or not, these photos don’t even do this house justice. It looks like a house you’d see in a magazine. And the kitchen doesn’t disappoint. It’s got brand-new Viking appliances, gorgeous butcher block countertops, and everything you’ll need to make a fancy weekend dinner.

Vacation Rental: Modern Farmhouse in the Woods in Saugerties, New York Sleeps: Up to 6 guests Price: Starting at $299 per night Why We Wanna Cook Here: Can you say dinner party? When we travel we believe in staying in real homes as much as we can; to really taste a place means cooking local food in a local’s kitchen. And if you’re traveling to the Catskills (check out our Bite-Sized Guide to the Catskills) here’s a vacation rental to love.

Vacation Rental: Modern Zen Studio Cottage in Temescal, Oakland, California Sleeps: Up to 2 guests Price: From $95 per night Why We Wanna Cook Here: Cozy morning vibes. Okay, so you can’t really cook much in this tiny kitchen, but it has a mini fridge and a microwave, which means you can make bacon and eggs. And it’s a five-minute walk from shops, cafes, and restaurants in the Temescal neighborhood, making takeout a totally feasible option.

Vacation Rental: Waterfront Villa in Miami Beach, Miami, Florida Sleeps: Up to 8 people Price: $3,000 per night Why We Wanna Cook Here: Who doesn’t love dinner with a view? This Miami villa is all about the views. Luckily, its floor-to-ceiling windows mean you can enjoy the those insanely picturesque vistas, even when you’re inside. Plus, the interiors aren’t too shabby, either. Okay, who are we kidding, they’re totally dreamy!

Three years ago when Gregory told me that Alysia’s apartment was for rent and we should check it out, I was skeptical. We weren’t actively looking to move and as we toured the apartment, I thought I was simply humoring him — until I stepped into the kitchen. Sunlight poured through the open windows, from which I caught a view of the sparkling Silver Lake reservoir. The kitchen was surrounded by trees and songbirds flitted through the branches. “Yes,” I said.

Follow this designer's kitchen brightening tips.

This Old House is not usually the first resource we turn to for small-space tips and ideas. We usually associate it with big rambling houses and expensive renovations. But this may be a mistake; many of the older homes they feature have small kitchens, and there are some treasures in their archives for those of us in older, smaller spaces. Here are five small(er) kitchens from their archives. Not every kitchen is tiny, but they are all modestly-sized and very inspiring.

We love the look of rich, gleaming wood in the kitchen. When it’s done well, as it is in this renovated Arts and Crafts kitchen, it feels so warm and inviting. There are a few other things about this kitchen, too, that caught us. The owner, architect John Clagett, made some unusual design choices that really seem to work.This article at PointClickHome is really worth a read.

This shade of blue is always what comes to mind when we think of April. Maybe it’s the April showers (which we’re having in New York today) or the fact that spring is here but it’s still cool outside. And yet it is a really lovely color for a kitchen—soothing but still upbeat, bold without being in-your-face. It’s gentle. Take a look at the full space, below.The homeowners turned a galley kitchen into this open room by incorporating a storage and laundry area.

Small kitchens that work well sometimes take some design ingenuity. These kitchens under stairs are no exception:Fitting a kitchen in under the stairs introduces a whole new layer of complexity when laying out its functions. What goes under the lowest part of the stair? What needs the coveted space with the most generous headroom?Fitting it all in as if an intricate puzzle makes it oh so fun to study the examples above. We particularly admire the first image.

My favorite apartment kitchen ever (I didn’t actually live there — I just looked at it while apartment hunting years ago) had an entry door that brought you straight into the kitchen. If I had lived there, I might have come to find drawbacks with it, but I loved how it brought you straight into the more enclosed kitchen instead of into the living room.In that same manner, I love it when a house has an exterior door into the kitchen.

Who knew that gray could be so soothing?

I spent last week in Boulder, Colorado, where I got a chance to meet up with a blog friend — Elana Amsterdam, who writes cookbooks on Paleo and grain-free cooking, and who blogs at Elana’s Pantry (remember her strawberry gluten-free cupcakes? So yummy!). So I thought it would be especially appropriate to bring you a peek into Elana’s real-life pantry. What does a Paleo pantry look like? What does she stock and use regularly?

Now that The Kitchn Cure has officially started, I’m thinking a lot about better ways to organize my kitchen. One thing I know I can improve upon is how I store my cookware. So where better to look for inspiration than our kitchen tour archives? Here are 15 real-kitchen ideas for how to store your pots and pans: 1 Victor & Rajiv’s Colorful, Collected Kitchen (And Garden!

Who: Bethia Woolf & Andy Dehus of Columbus Food Adventures Where: Columbus, Ohio See the full kitchen: Bethia & Andy’s Renovated Victorian Kitchen Yesterday I showed you my friend Bethia’s kitchen renovation. I loved a lot of the smart details they worked into the space: sliding shelves for small electrics, a hidden pull-out towel rack. But I loved none of those things more than what I’m about to show you: the coffee command center. Ta-da!

A few weeks ago, I got to go to France to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Staub factory. (I swear this is not a humblebrag!) I was there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the cocotte and the launch of the new Staub cookbook. I love seeing how stuff gets made — especially stuff that I actually use on an almost-daily basis. And I’m hoping you guys do, too, because I took a bunch of pictures and detailed notes to share the process with you.

Back in the early spring of 2016 I tore down a little house my family had purchased 18 years earlier and, taking it on as finally my own and with money that I inherited when my father passed away, I rebuilt it from the ground up (actually below the ground, up) with the help of three wonderfully skilled people, John Berg (architect), Peter Germano (contractor) and Rebecca Robertson (interior designer). The project took nearly two years, allowing me to move in by Christmas 2018.

Forgoing conventional living arrangements in favor of life on the road in an RV requires a hefty dose of romanticism, and it takes a special sort of someone to really do it right. In this particular case, the special someone(s) are Elyse DeLisle and Amanda Goelz, a creative couple who just last year decided to scrap plans to close on a condo in Florida and instead travel the country in a renovated 1986 Fleetwood Avion that they found on Craigslist.

Whoa. Apartment Therapy just posted a house tour that has what may be our favorite kitchen ever. Take a look!This 1920s home in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, is one in a fourplex of apartments. The apartments had been badly abused in the process of 90 years of modernization since they were built. The owner of this unit stripped away the bad but left the good.We are just absolutely smitten by the kitchen in particular.

Oddly enough, the most eclectic part of this house isn't even the pink kitchen!

This colorful Los Angeles home is what dreams are made of.

Vacation Rental: Sunny Bywater Apartment with Wrap-Around Balcony in New Orleans, Louisiana Sleeps: Up to 3 guests Price: Starting at $80 per night Why We Wanna Cook Here: It’s about a million times more charming than our current kitchen. It’s also in the Bywater (where the cool kids live). This second-floor apartment is 1,300 square feet, has giant floor-to-ceiling windows with lots of light, and a wrap-around balcony with outdoor seating. If you love cats, this place is for you.

Who: Alice Erb, co-owner of the wonderfully eclectic shop Tail of the Yak Where: Oakland, California Just over the Oakland border, in Berkeley, is Tail of the Yak — or the Yak, for short. It’s a magical, eclectic, jewel-box of a shop, beloved by locals as well as by international visitors who make pilgrimages to stock up on the store’s one-of-a-kind pieces. Alice Erb, along with artist Lauren McIntosh, is the co-owner and has been since the mid-1970s.

Vacation Rental: Beautiful Family Home in Rockridge, Oakland, California Sleeps: Up to 12 guests Price: From $275 per night; five-night minimum Why We Wanna Cook Here: We’re suckers for a breakfast bar. And this one is eight feet! This spacious house was recently redone, but still has plenty of rustic charm. Just look at that breakfast bar (did we mention it’s eight feet?), the farmhouse sink, the painted window trim, and that Wolf oven!

When I first came across this kitchen, I couldn’t stop scrolling through the photos. I was immediately captivated by the kitchen’s openness and how polished yet still welcoming it seems. The kitchen was recently expanded by combining the existing kitchen and a rarely used screened-in porch. The more I looked at the finished kitchen from Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, the more smart ideas I found. Here are the five lessons you can learn from this remodeled space.

Who cooks and eats here: Rebecca Odes and Craig Kanarick, and kids Where: Manhattan Rent or Own? Owned for five years See the kitchen tour: Rebecca and Craig’s Family Kitchen in Manhattan This week we’re visiting Rebecca and Craig, two independent entrepreneurs who live in New York City with their children. They built their dream kitchen — full of smart, interesting details.

Who cooks and eats here: Rebecca Odes and Craig Kanarick, and kids Where: Manhattan Rent or Own? Owned for five years Here at The Kitchn we have visited all types of kitchens, from small and cozy to big and dreamy. I love seeing how people make the most of limited spaces, but I also really enjoy seeing cooks’ dream kitchens — their finally, at-last, this-is-what-we-always-wanted home.

Who cooks and eats here: Chef Cameron Stauch; his wife, Ayesha; children, Lyla (11) and Kiran (6); and his family’s cook, Hong Where: Hanoi, Vietnam Rent or Own? Rent through the Canadian Embassy Canadian Chef Cameron Stauch has cooked for Queen Elizabeth, Will and Kate, and the Emperor and Empress of Japan. As the husband of a Canadian diplomat, he’s lived and cooked in Delhi, Hong Kong, and Hanoi, and he’s currently working on a cookbook of vegetarian Vietnamese recipes.

Who cooks and eats here: Samantha, Todd, and Elin Mae Wennerstrom Where: Santa Barbara, California Rent or Own? Own Samantha, Todd, and baby Elin share a newly remodeled, bright and airy kitchen in Santa Barbara, California. Samantha’s relaxed and timeless fashion sensibility seems to be perfectly echoed in this space — where the couple recently installed open shelving, marble countertops, and new appliances.

Who cooks and eats here: Leela Cyd & David Kilpatrick Where: Santa Barbara, California See their kitchen: Leela & David’s Quirky Cottage Kitchen This kitchen was challenging in its lack of pantry and the fact that there are very few walls, and the existing walls are met with doors to other rooms (bathroom and tiny office), so a large shelving unit wasn’t practical.

Who cooks and eats here: Leela Cyd & David Kilpatrick Where: Santa Barbara, California Rent or Own: Rent We’ve lived in this little downtown cottage for about two years, and although the kitchen has its quirks (no dishwasher, very little built-in pantry storage), we’ve made it work with several DIY fixes. I’ve tested an entire cookbook in this space, experimented with new and old recipes, and have daily breakfast dance parties here.

Meet Ben — a filmmaker and Man About Town in Austin, Texas. Ben lives in a tiny studio that’s just 250 square feet in size. You may be wondering: Is there a kitchen? Wonder no more — there is, and it looks well-loved and well-stocked. Oh, and it fits in a corner. Here’s how it looks. There it is! A teeny tiny kitchenette, but one with a real stove, color-coordinated Le Creuset pots, and spices and serving dishes aplenty.

Who: Ed Cotton, Executive Chef at Sotto 13 in New York, Top Chef Season 7 runner-up, and former sous chef for Cat Cora on Iron Chef America Where: Long Island City, Queens, New York Read the series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four If there’s one thing every chef will tell you is an essential part of cooking — both in a restaurant and at home — it’s the necessity of working clean. This phrase pops up everywhere.

Who: Ed Cotton, Executive Chef at Sotto 13 in New York, Top Chef Season 7 runner-up, and former sous chef for Cat Cora on Iron Chef America Where: Long Island City, Queens, New York Read the series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three We’ve seen his kitchen, the inside of his oven, and learned a bit more about his slide-in range. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t ask Chef Ed Cotton about the most important tool in the kitchen: knives! So, tell us Ed: what’s your favorite knife?

Who cooks and eats here: Ed Cotton, Executive Chef at Sotto 13 in New York, Top Chef Season 7 runner-up, and former sous chef for Cat Cora on Iron Chef America Where: Long Island City, Queens, New York Ed Cotton, the Executive Chef at Sotto 13 in New York, has worked alongside Daniel Boulud at db Bistro Moderne, Laurent Tourondel at BLT Market in the Ritz Carlton, and Cat Cora on Iron Chef America. You may know him as the runner-up on Top Chef season 7.

Call it a residential hazard, but I will never get tired of seeing the insides (specifically, the kitchens) of other homes in Brooklyn. There’s something amazing about getting the chance to peek behind the scenes of the brownstones, lofts, and high rises that make up this borough. You find lovely surprises — like this well-designed kitchen that has a lot to recommend it to our attention. And this kitchen, while small by many standards, seems expansive by New York standards.

Who: Charlie Marshall of The Marshal Where: Manhattan, New York See his kitchen: Chef Charlie Marshall’s Tiny, Well-Ordered New York City Kitchen A major feature in Charlie Marshall’s small kitchen is his kitchen cart, placed against the far wall. What’s notable about this cart is its solid wire construction, butcher block top, and the three pull-out drawers on the top shelf.

Who cooks and eats here: Chef Charlie Marshall of The Marshal Where: Manhattan, New York Chef Charlie’s mantra — do more with less — is nowhere more evident than in his tiny New York City kitchen. Space constraints are a reality for most New Yorkers, and it’s no different for Charlie. He has very little countertop space, and no dishwasher — quite a different setup than at his Hell’s Kitchen restaurant, The Marshal.

Who: Bethia Woolf & Andy Dehus of Columbus Food Adventures Where: Columbus, Ohio Bethia Woolf and Andy Dehus are some of the most curious and adventurous food-lovers that I know. This is fitting, as they own a company called Columbus Food Adventures, which runs food tours here in Columbus. (You can read more about how they started their business here.) But they don’t just eat out at restaurants; they are avid and accomplished home cooks, too.

Who cooks and eats here: Eva Katz, her husband Philip, and their two sons Where: Jamaica Plain in Boston, Massachusetts Rent or Own? Own If there’s one thing Eva Katz knows, it’s how to make your kitchen work for you. As a recipe developer, writer, and longtime editor at Cook’s Country magazine, Eva is a consummate cook, and a busy one. Her home kitchen serves as the headquarters for both her personal blog, My Front Burner, and her freelance work for Cook’s Country.

Tim and Hannah live in a tiny (196-square-foot) cabin they built themselves in Tahoe, California. The cabin is situated in a forest; is made of mostly recycled, salvaged, or low-impact materials; and is completely off the grid. How do they cook if there’s no electricity? What about a refrigerator? Or running water? They figured it all out, and designed a functional cooking space full of untraditional yet smart solutions.

Who cooks and eats here: Jade and Toby Keller, son Cy, and dog Dot Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand See Jade’s Kitchen: Jade’s Thai Kitchen in Chiang Mai As we read yesterday, when Jade and Toby moved to Thailand over four years ago, they thought they might stay for one or two years. Since then they’ve come to feel so at home in their new country, they have no plans to go anywhere.

Who cooks and eats here: Jade and Toby Keller, son Cy, and dog Dot Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand Rent or Own?

How many smart storage and organization solutions can you fit on one kitchen wall? Quite a few, it turns out! Despite not occupying a lot of square footage, the owners of this Chicago kitchen have made the most of every available bit of horizontal and vertical space. Here are seven details worth noting. Floating shelves: Four floating shelves right above the stove hold spices, dishes, and a few decorative accessories.

No timers, no alarms, no digital display, and a wooden handle that’s as simple and streamlined as the rest of it — this is the Zen Oven from Polish appliance company Amica, and if you’re a minimalist, I’m guessing you just fell in love. Available only in black or white, the Zen oven (spotted over on Remodelista) is deceptively simple.