Comments on: Unfancy kitchens.

By: Theresa

Theresa — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:52:08 +0000

I love this post.

By: Anna at D16

Anna at D16 — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:57:55 +0000

I think you missed the point of my post completely, Christina.

By: christina

christina — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:07:44 +0000

Do you think that maybe your comment deriding people for their faux-luxury kitchen is really just a backhanded compliment to your own, superior tastes and originality?

To be honest, i think the popularily of the cherry/stainless/granite kitchen has more to do with wanting to be like everyone else than it does about showing ones status. People are like sheep: they follow trends, and the type of kitchen that is so reviled to you is just trendy right now.

I don’t see any formica in your kitchen. Or white appliances. If form over function was as important to you as your making out, then you most likely would have chosen these options. Actually, you probably would have kept your old kitchen. But you didn’t, because you are just as trend-concious as the rest of us. You just happen to follow different trends than the granite people.

By: stacey

stacey — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:27:01 +0000

i’m so glad to stumble across your blog… it’s fantastic and such inspiration!
i’m always so so pleased to find another fellow UDDEN kitchen as well… and with a touch of red too..yay!

By: Aele

Aele — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:57:43 +0000

I totally agree with what you. My husband is obsessed with HGTV and whenever you watch those shows where they appraise the house, people complain when there’s no granite countertops, stainless steel or the cabinets are not the type of wood that they want. Or what’s worse is when the seller’s’ home is not appraised for what they want it to be worth. It’s really sad. Great post!

By: erin

erin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:03:51 +0000

i completely agree with you! just watch a couple hours of hgtv and you’re bombarded with that triumvirate you speak of- especially on the real-estate and kitchen design shows.

i personally think its so boring- its become the go-to combination for kitchen design. not to say that cherry cabinets aren’t beautiful, and granite is nice as well, and i LOVE stainless. but when all 3 are put together it just looks like any other cookie-cutter townhome kitchen- in my opinion anyway. not too mention the outrageous cost of those materials- thats money i could spend on the rest of my home or for family activities!

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:33:37 +0000

Love your kitchen! I’ve been looking for inspiration for my own and nothing has seemed quite right until I saw your pics! Thanks for the inspiration!

By: Elissa

Elissa — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:43:55 +0000

I love these images. I’m editing a new shelter magazine right now, and if I see yet ANOTHER operating room/kitchen, I’ll scream. I loathe the Ubatuba granite runways that every home owner seems to think they must install for a home to be sale-able. My partner and I recently took possession of my paternal grandmother’s walnut kitchen armoire. She removed the hideous finial, we’ll likely paint the thing white, and it’s now doing service as a spice cabinet, with each shelf dedicated to an ethnic cookery (we have an Asian shelf, an Indian shelf, a French shelf, etc). Works wonders, and everyone who sees it, loves it. Kudos to you all for breaking the kitchen design “rules.”

By: jenny

jenny — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:30:13 +0000

i love love love your kitchen!

By: Magda

Magda — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:26:29 +0000

Okay, I am totally subscribing right now… You had me at the pic of you and your mum, and this post sealed the deal.

By: alis

alis — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:16:47 +0000

I just hopped onto your blog from another blog(though I can’t remember which one because of the hundred tabs on my browser). ANyway I agree with you completely and the kitchens you posted are absolutely beautiful! My favorite material for counters is butcher’s style raw wood.
Also, for anyone considering granite, you want to make sure your granite isn’t emitting radiation! I think even the possibility of a risk is a turn-off when there are so many healthy natural materials out there.

By: Gloria

Gloria — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:34:14 +0000

I am new to your blog Anna. The kitchen pictures are just what I needed. My husband and I purchased our first home and are trying to make it beautiful again (1940s, small farm house, near the city and with a gorgeous lot). It was so important for me to remodel and still give character to these spaces. I really don’t want to loose the charm of the home and yet everything feels just super expensive right now.
I am inspired by the pictures you have posted of less expensive, comfortable, beautiful kitchens. It is too late for us on the appliances (we already purchased the stainless steel fancy stuff, we are big cookers and the home came with no appliances), but I am thinking now of some other creative options for storage and what not.
We are installing concrete countertops and putting in a cork floor. I should post the pics on my own blog. Enough rambling, beautiful work…keep it up :)

By: Megan

Megan — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:44:48 +0000

Hey Anna,
I was just wondering who made the print/artwork that’s on your kitchen wall? I love it! And, btw, I covet your house…it’s fantastic!
–Megan

By: Bess

Bess — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:23:30 +0000

Hi! I’m new to your blog, and it looks like a goodie! Your kitchen looks great, and your budget is inspiring ;) well done. i love seeing rooms with personality and warmth, can’t wait to keep reading.

By: jenny

jenny — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:27:44 +0000

PS, I don’t think you dish out judgement, Ms Door Sixteen. I find your blog to be a nice, happy place to visit. It’s important to have discernment. Not everything can be nice, good, right or appropriate for everyone. Sheesh. Otherwise we’d all be the cookie cutters one commenter abhors.

Viva taste, choice, preference, and blogging what we like.

By: jenny

jenny — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:25:33 +0000

I second (or rather, 50th) that! I love the basic, relaxed, functional, sometimes whimsical, style of your pics. This is precisely the anti-look I want for my kitchen, which is even less “finished” than yours! I didn’t even get Ikea standalones, I got the faktum (or whatever the basic unit is called in the US), put the basic black legs on them and pushed them against the wall. Then I have a bench along another wall made of the a-line trestle legs with shelves, and a benchtop from the “as is” section. I’d like it to be prettier, and your pics give me something to work towards.

Happy birthday to your Mummy. (I call my parents mama and papa bear, and mama and papasan, so you stick to your guns!)

By: amanda

amanda — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:11:31 +0000

I just found your blog today via emmas design blog. I love it! Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I completely agree with your “triumvirate of horror” comment. At some point someone told someone else that those things meant luxury. I’m not saying they aren’t pretty, but people are throwing granite and stainless steel and cherry all over their kitchens and calling it “high end.” For crying out loud, it’s a kitchen! It’s meant to work hard preparing meals, spilling drinks, getting spaghetti stains, and a little bit of love.

By: erin@designcrisis

erin@designcrisis — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:27:10 +0000

You go, Anna!

I have found that whenever you prefer one thing over another — as a matter of personal taste — some people will find that to be judgemental.

But isn’t that what personal style is all about? We can’t (and shouldn’t) all like the same thing.

Which, I will add, is exactly MY problem with “the triumvirate.”

By: Anna at D16

Anna at D16 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:26:42 +0000

Sunny: What do you see as being the “sweeping generalizations” in what I wrote? I’m baffled! This was a post about finding happiness and satisfaction in what you have and what you can afford–and how good design, functionality, beauty, and style are not directly related to cost. How is that pessimistic and judgmental? Frankly, I think your comment strikes the only sour note on the page.

By: whitney

whitney — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:08:30 +0000

I love simple, bright kitchens with splashes of color thrown in here and there. It’s important too to me to have some space that are open and clean, as well as cluttered spice shelves (or other cluttered areas).

Anyway, I hear you on the kitchen as fave room.