I fell in love with an English kitchen I saw in an issue of British House and Garden in 1993, and I've never been able to let it go. It's the same kitchen (more or less) that you see in British mags today. It's basically timeless. And yes, I dreamed about it for 12 years, and finally, when I was fortunate enough to do the kitchen of my dreams. That's what I did. I didn't hire Mark Wilkinson, but I channeled him like there was no tomorrow.

Oh, and it's perfectly, fabulously, functional. It can be done. You can have both.

Ivette

I kind of fell into my kitchen design. A friend who had quit high tech and had gone into the remodeling/cabinet making business encouraged me to redo my kitchen. I started looking at kitchen cabinets in my spare time but it wasn't until I came upon Quakermaid Koln red birch cabinets at Expo that I decided to remodel the kitchen and that was what I wanted. My friend was able to custom make them for me for a lot less than the Quakermaid ones. Next came appliance shopping - I knew I wanted a high end range and all SS kitchen. The hardest choice was the countertop and backsplash - I knew I wanted granite but didn't know which one. I ended up going to a party at a friend's cousins house and the minute I walked into their kitchen I knew what I wanted - blue pearl granite countertops with matching blue pearl tile backsplash.

So although I didn't start out with a coherent plan, style, design, I'm really pleased with what I ended up with and still get compliments on my choices.

You're going to sorry you asked ... I practically wrote a book. :-)

My mother loved everything Japanese and she passed that love on to me. I've studied the written and spoken language. Have strong personal connections with in Japan. Love the food (yes, even the raw stuff) and appreciate their simple and natural designs. As such, my "style" is pretty much hardwired in me.

We have been talking about a kitchen remodel for eight years and finally began the design process in October after our two kids moved.

I looked at all the beautiful granite out there with movement and color and detail until much of it (especially the brown tones) started to look alike. And then I saw Impala Black. That was it. No having to think about it. No doubts whatsoever. That was my granite. Simple and to the point yet a little mysterious because up close you will find that it's not really black but a nice blend of grays.

I wanted the cabinets simple but not a slab and I wanted it a medium cherry with a chocolate glaze. That's what I got ... after a lot of explaining to the contractor who had them custom built.

The backsplash was supposed to be a shimmery, rough silver-gray tumbled 4" slate. It was beautiful and I carried the sample board with me everywhere for the last three months, just so pleased to have found it. Then, two weeks ago we walked into our KD's showroom to discuss a niche I'm designing and she showed me a large display board using my silver-gray slate. I didn't even recognize it because what it coming out of the quarry now is dark green-blue ... OH NO! Change of plans.

Back to finding a suitable backsplash, one that looks natural yet makes a statement. Didn't take long to find one that was perfect (it is being installed as I type this). It's called Fire & Ice and is a 2" irregular length quartz with random square glass tiles. So, so pretty.

Bought Bosch appliances because of their low profile, clean European design. Went with a cook top (GE Monogram) because cook tops don't break the line of the granite. No regrets. It all looks terrific.

With that said ... our kitchen and dining areas have an Asian influence. Not Japanese, Chinese or Korean, etc. per say, no bamboo, dragons, cranes or obvious Asian symbols, just simple, clean (but not contemporary) lines and look. And very, very warm and inviting.

Certainly not like any other kitchen I have ever seen, except in my mind's eye and there is was as clear as day. The elements spoke to me, (though I wish the silver-gray slate would have spoken to me about its cousins in the quarry LOL). I knew exactly what I wanted and just waited until I finally found it.

Jodi-

well, when I was in my 20's I just KNEW that my grownup house would be sleek and sophisticated and totally modern. None of this shaker style stuff that my mother had going on.....

and what I have now is a house that's pretty much exactly like my mom's. We laugh because when we're out shopping we now gravitate towards the exact same things and we have to fight over who is getting it for their house. She still leads to a slightly more authentic shaker and mine is a newer take on it but still - for instance, we both have the same dining table only mine is black and stained and hers is all stained. But it's the same thing.

I've won the kitchen battle since I"m reno-ing first, but I guarantee hers will be similar to mine and if she had done hers first it would be the opposite.

I have no idea when I made this change. Sometime after my first baby came along and I decided cozy gave me more sanity than sleek.

My style was developed by gradually replacing years of getting sucked into current trends (because I genuinely liked them in the throes of the fad, and then sending them to the landfill when they lost their trend-generated appeal) by backward glances to determine how present options stacked up against years of enduring preferences.

Buffettgirl, I also did a 180 from young modern to stuffy old traditional (boy, was I surprised!) when our first baby was born and we moved from rural Nevada to Los Angeles.

So interesting to read the responses. The kitchens sound as diverse as the people who frequent the forum. I think that's a big part of why this is such a lively and informative site.

Even though my style is traditional/cottage, I am really interested in learning more about what draws people to other decorating styles. Learning from real people instead of designers trying to impress (or sell their wares) in a magazine brings greater insight.

I haven't been exposed to much Japanese/Asian style and confess that my mind goes first to those cliche elements that Jodi mentioned. I'll be thinking in different terms, now.
Weissman's kitchen sounds striking and chic, and I would love to see a pic of pirula's!

Buffetgirl & rosie's history mirrors what's going on with our family now. My DD, whose wedding is in June, is registering for items that are traditional. In her late teens, college years & early 20's, I would have had her pegged as someone who leaned far more to cutting-edge design.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses!

"I wanted the cabinets simple but not a slab and I wanted it a medium cherry with a chocolate glaze"

Jodie,
I would LOVE to see these cabinets? Have any pictures up of them?

- Tammy

My taste evolved to simpler. Simpler lines, not as much clutter, still warm and inviting but serene. After moving countless times and packing up our stuff countless times, I had the fortunate opportunity to live in a furnished vacation condo for 4 months with my family. Surrounded by just the basics, living among someone else's furnishings was oddly liberating for me.

My style happened the first time I went to the Guggenheim museum in NYC and saw "modern" things. I loved it went we went to Modernage furniture in 1968 and my parents bought a glass and chrome table with burgandy furry chairs and a black and rosewood buffet and hutch. Everything still looks good accept the furry chair! All are classic modern. I just can't get mom to recover those chairs!

I've had have a problem that I wouldn't buy things for my house unless I absolutely loved them and they were "my style". I knew that we weren't rich, and that if I got it I'd have to live with it for a long time. Because of that, I have had empty walls and got my own first dining room set after 16 years of marriage. When I got it I vowed to finally finish my house, but by then everything else was ready to be made over. We just put in new engineered wood floors with porcelain gray tiles in the walkways, kitchen, and bathroom. We painted and I "settled" for plantation shutters in my main living area and kitchen. I knew that they would add value to my house and got them because of the ease of taking care of them. I wanted "funkier" things, but realized that they did not fit our area.

I'm now trying to decide what to do with our kitchen. We have white European cabinets that are in excellent shape. I was so proud that I went and picked out a luna nero (absolute black) granite counter in one day. It would look terrific. I then came here and now I'm in my old world of limbo after reading all of the problems with quality and cleaning. I wanted stainless steel appliances and I got them, only to find out what great care they needed, I don't want another thing to tell the kids to keep their hands off of.

My "style" is really NYC contemporary loft, but it's now changed to "you better decorate something completely before you die" style!

I grew up in old, classic, but very dark homes. I still love brick and even concrete - I'd live in FLW's Robie House in a minute - but I want lots of light in them! So I fell in love with contemporary - love the truly modern but it's just not livable for me, I have way too many books and "things".

So the kitchen is very clean and contemporary - flat panel doors, no insets or trim. Lots of big picture windows (which created a problem in themselves) and a whopping 575 watts of light at night (yes, I'm legally blind without glasses!). Easy to clean - gotta have time to read all those books, y'know.

amck:

Here's a link to some of my kitchen pics. Thanks for asking!

Ivette

Here is a link that might be useful:

This is a very interesting question, I agree. Do most of you have just ONE style? Maybe I'm weird, but I love so many different styles - I joke with my friends that I need 5 houses (and LOTS of $$!!!)!! One would be the epitome of modern, with clean lines, concrete and punches of color with modern art. The furniture would be very "Design Within Reach." Another would be a total cape cod with weathered shingles and soapstone. The third would be more mediterranean with moorish influences. The fourth would be very French country (but NOT goopy - I do not like frouffy, but I do love really rich, fabulous fabrics. Not sure about the fifth. Maybe a mixture of all of them!! My current kitchen is very casual, appropriate for life at the beach. The closest to the Cape Cod probably. I love them all!

Nope, multiple personalities here, too. None of us a real leader type, but we do have fun shopping together.

Kristen - I'm having the same issues as you - I refuse to buy cheap furniture and so it was that only last fall I bought our first real dining room set. Our previous was a freebie hand me down. But it took me 15 years to decide what I really really wanted. We have the same issue in our bedroom. our bedroom has existed in it's current space since 2003 when our addition was put in - and it's still not decorated/ I've been married since 1991 and we've never owned bedroom furniture - they're all pieces we got free. I wonder if that says something?? I keep saying its because I just can't stand to buy furniture for the sake of buying it. But maybe it means more?

Socal - I know that in my head my dream kitchen exists in two forms. The one I'm doing here in my house and my beach house dream kitchen. I have this whole beach house decorating style in my head but just think it would feel odd to have it in my non-beach house. Someday maybe I'll get my beach house and be able to implement everything. LOL. Luckily my fantasy style doesn't really jockey for position too much. hahaah...

Tammy, there is really nothing special about our cabinets, it's just that the custom shop my contractor uses didn't have anything in the cookie cutter department that met my specs. I basically wanted no raised panel in the center, no flourishes or ornaments, just one groove to catch the glaze. Kind of looks like a prairie style with mitered corners.

With that said, I decided that some of my smaller height drawers should be slab just for aesthetics. I designed a slab drawer with a groove (again to capture the glaze) around the perimeter of the drawer front. OMG, I love the look so much I'm tempted to order more for the other drawers.

Because of my simple tastes it was a tall order when trying to choose crown molding and the trim that hides the under cab lighting. I told the contractor going in that I definitely *did not like* the one and only bottom trim the cabinet maker offered. Too curvy. Too busy. So, he ordered a flat board stained to my specs. On install morning the fancy stuff went up and I ordered it down that evening. The plain flat board looks terrific.

Anyhow ... I will post before and after photos of my kitchen probably next week sometime as the backsplash needs to be finished and I want to capture the "look" properly.

During this whole process I've discovered things can be quite complex when you want to achieve something simple. :-)

Jodi-

I grew up the mountains of Virginia and Kentucky. Some of the most remote parts of Appalachia. We lived in a trailer. It was very modest but it had so many more "amenities" than our neighbors. Indoor plumbing for instance. Many of my schoolmates lived really in what can only be described as shanties. What I remember about the trailer is that it seemed so temporary, so mobile. I wanted a house with a firm foundation that didn't shake when someone walked through it. That is when I begin to love antiques. Anything heavy and permanent, things that had been around forever. NOt necessarily ornate just crafted from the real stuff - not the fake paper thin paneling that lined our trailer. So as I got out on my own I shopped at antique stores, flea markets, auctions etc. All my furniture has a story to tell. When we moved back home from Cleveland Ohio I wanted a "permanent" house. One older than me and that would continue to outlive me. Our house definitely has stories to tell. It was the parsonage of a local church.
That is why I wanted a classic, timeless look in my kitchen. I wanted materials and designs that have stood the test of time. Sounds corny but I want this kitchen to be around for a long long time. I hope I will accomplish some of that.
But as Socal and others here, I love so many different looks. I can find something to love about most designs. So it is often hard to narrow down what I really want to live with.
This was a thought provoking question. Thanks for posting.

I'm a frequent reader, but rarely post. This is a wonderful question.

During our 35th yr of marriage, we moved into a very large Arts and Crafts bungalow that had been in my husband's family for 3 generations. I'd always loved the house. When we moved in, I instantly realized this was the style I could live with forever. I had never felt more at home in a house before. Although we changed the kitchen quite a bit, it still reflects that craftsman style, and I couldn't be happier. After nearly 7 years in this kitchen, I would change very little if I had to do it over again.

Interesting question. I think my style has a split personality, the first one is what I like and admire the second is what I want to live with on a day to day basis. I like the sleek lines of modern/contemporary and the depth and intricacy of "retro-glam" and Asian inspired design excites me. What I'm happy to live with is a comfy transitional base with clean simple lines and accents of Scandinavian, African-American and Asian art and accessories.

I definitely think my taste has been influenced by culture and where I live. I'm a native New Yorker, I grew up in the boros and have always gone to school and worked in NYC. Eventhough I now live in the Hudson Valley I still commute to NYC every day for work. In many ways I feel I have the best of both worlds....the offerings of the big crazy, exciting city and the more earthy valley.

When we were finally able to afford the kitchen renovation I wanted a style that would fit with the rest of the house and not be too trendy. We ended up with shaker cabinets and beadboard on the walls. This house was built in 1925 so those elements aren't too out of character...or so I think. I want to feel comfortable and relaxed in the kitchen and I want family and friends to feel the same way.

Needless to say, I'm fun to shop with.

Beautiful kitchen Ivette.

I thought my mom's faucet-fascinated cat was unique, but I see you have one too!

What an intersting, and hard!, question. My main style comes from my mother, both influenced by her own taste and also from her teaching--I'm a second generation fiber artist. I don't have any problem designing in other styles for other people, but my own, inherited style is clean contemporary classic comfortable. Hollywood Regency with less gilt. (Well, except my table settings which are a bit overrun with gilt :) )

But I have this strange Rococo streak running through me that bursts out in unexpected ways. I was thinking aubergine ultrasuede camelback chairs for the dining room. When it came down to it? Well, they're camelback. But this wild polychrome tropical bird and frond brocade with a beige lattice background. This on a really intricate not-quite-antique vignette style Persian rug. And it really does look fab. :)

My style is continually developing. At age 53, I would be happiest in either a colonial, federal, early 19th century farm style, Victorian Gothic, Queen Anne, Arts & Crafts, H.H. Richardson, McKim Mead & White, Frank Lloyd Wright, Greek Revival, Tudor revival, Art Deco, Art Moderne, Mid Century Modern, Cliff May, or even a 70s Brady Bunch style home. Ooops, left out Chicago & California Bungalows :)

The only styles I don't care for are French country & Mediterranean, but probably could get into them if I had a French country or Mediterranean home to decorate.

I think it comes from what I grew up with. My Mom grew up very poor. She liked nice things but she needed a hard working kitchen with 3 kids and the homsteading lifestyle we enjoyed. I learned to appreciate that hardworking kitchen and even though my current kitchen is dead ugly I hate even more that it doesn't work and I can't efficiently do the things I want to do.

I tend to gravitate a bit more towards old sort of rustic stuff than my mom did. She says it's because she only grew up with old stuff and shies away from it a bit more.

That said, she loves the inspiration photos I'm using fro my new kitchen even if she wouldn't exactly choose the same thing.

Ivette - Thank you for sending the link to your kitchen. It really is a lovely one-of-a-kind space. Well worth letting perc in your mind for 12 years from the time you were inspired until you could create it. I especially love your faucets, tiles and wood. Thanks for sharing!

fun question! when i was a kid, my mom had lots of colonial/shaker style decorating and primitive farm and kitchen implements for decorating. sounds tacky as i describe it but it was tasteful. i just didn't like it i wanted a victorian house with empire style velvet fainting couch like my grandparents. well..i did eventually get a fainting couch...not that one, my mom sold it...but my own from an antique store. it's naugahyde not velvet...waiting to reupholster... funny thing is that i am not into victorian anymore!

now we have a lot of furniture from the 1920s in our 1920s house. i am much more practical than i used to be, i like the furniture because it is the right (small) size for the house. in redoing our kitchen we have taken a sort of unusual approach...we have done it ourselves and so have tried to buy everything off the shelf...cabinets were selected from the cherry ones at the outlet that day...they are raised panel traditional. the backsplash is subway tile from lowes, floor is oak strip from HD, sink and counters from ikea, floor tile, paint,lights and white appliances from HD. etc. i think it is turning out pretty well but it has been a challenge disciplining ourselves with "nothing special order". one exception? a pendant light fixture from schoolhouse electric. we may change some things later when we win the lottery...

having pets/kids has prevented us from exploring the following styles...white painted furniture, slab doors, metal pieces. i love modern styles but we just can't keep them looking sleek, the way they deserve to look!! we will not be using french country either...the style though pretty clashes with the feel and size of a small bungalow. cheers kren

Ivette - beautiful kitche. I love the counters!

This is a great question. I think I wanted timeless. Something that I could look at in 20 yrs and still pretty much like eveything about it. I also wanted something totally different that what I had lived with for the past 12 yrs. I also thought I wanted something totally different that what I had grown up with. No GREEN. My mother had custom cabinets stained green with green/marble type laminate (very popular in the early 70's). BUT, guess what? I went with Verde Butterfly granite that has a lot of green in it. Why? Because it was SOOOO pretty with my cabinets. AND it had enough color in it to use a lot of accents other than green. I do love antiques and more primative/rustic deco, but DH and I have really tried to be more simply and timeless. I think my style is more classic traditional, with a few french country/primative things thrown in for fun!

Christy

This is the first OWNED home I've ever lived in - I've spent my entire life in rentals - so I guess I've gained my remodeling "style" at a distance and a wishlist over the years.

I guess my main inspiration comes from the period of a building - I tend to reflect any architectural details in my decor and choices, thus my Victorian flat had lots of velvet furniture, heavy woods and Liberty-type prints, and this 1928 house has more Craftsman-inspired details I suppose, without being strictly speaking "vintage". But the Shaker-style cabinets are just right, the newly installed banister that my GC just put in is not "Mission Style", but not modern either - we're both "reflecting" a period rather than recreating it.

I've spent about half my life in England, and there's no doubt that what I like grows from that - in a perfect world (ie bigger budget!) I'd probably have gone for a British "country kitchen", either in wood or a painted scullery look. A country kitchen in the UK is totally unrelated to what that term means in the US and is, I suppose a variant of the American kitchen/family room - perhaps better called a farmhouse kitchen? - with a laarrrrrggeee period (or period-inspired) kitchen space with a farm-style table and chairs, and maybe a sofa (slipcovered and no doubt inhabited by the dogs!) and TV at one end. A real space to LIVE in.

However, that was impractical in our small space, but even so - what we've wound up with is an inviting place to hang out and definitely has a vaguely "period" feel to it even though it's not vintage. With a bigger budget I probably would have had more period details - taller cabinets, soapstone counter perhaps, a more period-inspired faucet, wide-plank floorboards.... But as it is, I'm thrilled with how it's coming out.

My fashion sense incorporates old and new too, so I guess it is something I do generally - also, I tend to combine high end designer classics with cheap "trend" pieces as a nod to fashion. Not sure if I've done that in the kitchen simply because we didn't have the budget for "high end" anything, but in theory that's how it's worked, and going second-hand on counter and cabinets meant we got MUCH higher quality that fit within our budget (if we hadn't done this, we'd have wound up with THE most basic Merillat oak line, and probably Ikea butcherblock, or pre-fab laminate if the butcherblock broke the bank). Budget and availability dictated classic white appliances, but I've added stainless steel accents (fashion) in small appliances and my lovely stainless trash can (thanks to Aunttomichael!)

In any case, interesting question. If I had to define my style briefly, I guess it would be "classic, with period-inspiration".

Long before it was avail unless one could afford antiques we loved the simplicity of shaker. We ended up waiting and having Bedrm and din rm furniture built because it wasn't avail. We are now going into an 1870 Schoolhouse, timeberframe that was modernized we are redoing everything to bring it back in time. Our kit will be very old fashion. No shaker doors, the doors we had built throughout are batton/board with bent nails, hand forged hardware. So I am having the kit cabs built with board/batton (no bent nails) painted barn red, wide pine face nailed floors. Everything is as plain as we can make it.

Thanks everyone! We really love it.

All my cats have loved drinking from the faucet. Too cute.

Ivette

Divamum (and others): I've spent most of my life in England too - what does an English kitchen mean to Americans?

eandhl - I cannot wait to see pictures of your home. If you have already posted some and I've missed them, please let me know. That kitchen sounds beautiful.

mls99 - HA! That's an interesting question, isn't it?! When I think of "English kitchen" in general it most definitely isn't glamorous until you get to Smallbone or a lovingly restored stripped pine re-do.(at least not the ones I had!!) In general "English kitchen" makes me think, "Hot water limited to morning and evening, waist-high-no-freezer fridge and 'what's a dishwasher?'" would probably describe it the best lol

Of course, British kitchens do in general assume an eye-level grill (one thing I really DO miss) and electric kettles were the norm way before they appeared on the scene stateside, along with under-the-counter front-load washing machines :)

Ah me. I'm getting all nostalgic.

Well that's what I think of too, and now I'll have to hunt to see what it means to a statesider! I can live without the gas grill at hair-singe level, but I do miss the grill racks - I pop a cooling tray into my grill pan to get the same effect here. And I don't remember ever having a hood: I just opened the window. The fridge thing makes me laugh: my mum's fridge always has everything stacked on top of each other. But I was always the dishwasher...

In my younger days...Ha ha, now that I'm the ripe ol age of 51... I was like Socalthreems (not sure what that name means, but I always think it's somebody real sociable! :>)Wanted a huge mansion, so I could have a room in each style- I loved so many! Or as my husband says, cuz he thinks I'm OCD (Oh, if he only knew- I'm just a normal girl who likes things neat), I need two houses, One to live in, and one for show!

But, I've decided in the last few years not to add/buy anything unless it's of good quality. I don't NEED any more things- so if we are going to get new furniture, new cabinets, new flooring, whatever, it has to be of heirloom quality, ie something our kids would be happy to inherit. Then, since we live in a relatively modest/small home, I think the style should be consistent throughout the house, so even though I love all kinds, I have decided to stick to classic, clean lines, natural materials, preferably craftsman made (Not made in China- hah- my kit cab and granite are from China!), so without being slaveish to it, my style has morphed into a craftsman type, mission type style. We even live in a heritage town that has that sort of building code written into the business part!

And, I think to become adept at developing a style takes experience, research, education, the more exposure the better. Cuz, really, if you're not aware of what's out there, how do you know what you want?

I'm purely American, but have been abroad so I don't know if this counts, but Divamum hit all the particulars I think of about "English kitchen", especially the washing machine :) Those, and some really, um, interesting colors. Alternatives include more or less Divamum's farmhouse kitchen (with the chair under the dog in some kind of chintz), really inconvenient estate kitchens that no one actually cooks in but rather use the electric kettle, MW and portable hob in the wing where all the heat is, and old fashioned cottage kitchens with a table, a dresser and a fireplace (and chilblains).

I think I was born with an Arts & Crafts/Craftsman/Mission sensibility.

From the time I was very small, there were certain pieces of furniture around our home that I liked, others I didn't. I didn't realize the ones I liked were all of a certain style, I just knew I liked them. Wasn't 'til my late teens and I first shopped for furniture that I began to notice that most of the things I liked were labled 'Mission'.

There are also elements of Japanese design with a similar reverence for craftsmanship and material that I also love, and I'm increasingly fond of those art deco pieces that relate to the whole A&C/C/M movement.

I understand the appeal of mid-century and other design schools, but A & C means home, to me.

Oruboris, I too have recognized the simularities between Mission and Japanese design. I've always liked the looks of Mission style cabinets and furniture in general but when I designed my Asian influenced kitchen (in my head), I wanted the cabs to be a little more formal, so they are mitered instead. I had my doubts during the design (on paper) period but am very, very pleased with the results.

Jodi-

mls99, I think you'll find in the US it means a beautiful, custom, Smallbone-type "scullery" period (or period-inspired) kitchen, the kind that one would likely only find in the most lavishly "done up" high-end homes and London flats! That said, a look at B&Q online these days (I snooped around just for fun) suggests that the American-type fitted kitchen now dominates in Britain too so perhaps as houses are being redone over the years the kitchens are more functional. I remember when we left we actually had a wonderful Hotpoint fridge/freezer of a size and shape that would actually suit in my small home here - it was smaller than the average AMerican sarcophogus but well designed and held loads. I loved that the bottom freezer was nearly the size of the fridge and fitted with several internal drawers (great for organizigin! That said, although it was a single unit it looked like a pair of stacked separates as was still often found in homes.

Interestingly, from my reading it seems like "high end" London is now going for the minimalist look again - in fact I remember reading in the Guradian Gaurdian Guardian (sorry, British in-joke) a while back that somebody took a GORGEOUS traditional intact Pimlico 4 story house and spent a FORTUNE gutting it, and replacing all the early 19th century charm (including the fireplaces, moldings, floors - everything) with Scandinavian modern/urban loft style. Personally I consider that sacrilege, but I guess times change..... It's not QUITE as bad as the millionnaire who had a period house in Bath and somehow got planning permission to gut it and replace the glorious Regency with Andy Warhol modern.....

omg divamum, you've driven me to tears.

Well, I just know that the kitchen I channeled came from a very British magazine and was in a house in England. But yes, it's pretty well strictly American too. Can it be both?? Please? Pretty please???

No more talk about gut jobs in Bath, I beg you.

sniff,
Ivette

yeah, I know pirula - made me feel positively ILL to imagine that kind of carnage on a beautiful old building.

Your kitchen is gorgeous, not at all by the way! To me it seems like a wonderful interpretation of the look of an English stately home kitchen, brought upstairs, modernised, and put on show instead of hidden away down in the servants' quarters - it's beautiful! Congratulations!