traffic pattern

"We love to entertain"

Fun thread.

Anita

"interesting"

"Over done"

"Afraid of color." !

"Shaker doors" - they are plain, flat panelled cabinets. I suspect this utilitarian design was one of the first types of furniture joinery, predating the Shakers by a serious number of years. If I'm wrong, I know someone will correct me!

monochromatic

"form over function"

Tuscan (will I get tarred and feathered for that one?)

"Country French" (meanwhile, if the KD fans of "Country French" ever actually went to the rural areas of France, and saw the actual country french kitchens with their battle-scarred counters, total lack of cabinetry, pitted marble blocks for pastry that has etching that may be 100 years old, etc., they might run for the hills).

Hey yoyoma, "form over funtion" is my shopping chant! I use it to talk myself out of bad (or expensive) choices! ie: "I really love that counter height table, BUT my mom is 3'6" tall and couldn't climb that high. It also came in handy when my DH wanted to replace the dining room table with a pool table. I looked at him sternly, reminded him of all the family dinners we host and used the phrase "Form over function! It worked. LOL :)

open and airy. What the heck is airy?

Anita

"prep sink"!

"landing space" and I'm guilty of saying it!

and what's the deal with granite speaking to you? Yes, once again... I've said that as well!

More of a home design cliche for me is 'open concept'. I know this is the way to go these days and I can understand wanting to be able to keep an eye on your small children in the family room while you are in the kitchen, but when they become teenagers, do you STILL want to be able to see them.....??? If you don't have a finished basement or someplace separate for them, you might want to rethink 'open concept'..!! JMHO

"A touch of whimsy" - um, who the heck is touching who & furthermore, who is this whimsy anyhow???

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

"Flow"

I am not certain I want anything flowing in my kitchen, besides the faucet.... ;^)

Thanks everyone for the laughs. That kitchen design show that offers those "rich cherry cabinets" on every episode is making me nuts!! She describes them like they are edible!!

Love the postings so far!

brutuses, is that show 'Spice up my kitchen'? I hate that show so much that I love watching it :) Everything is rich cherry cabinets...

Along with "open and airy" DH and I are always repeating "LIGHT and airy" to each other-- just heard it again tonight, on HGTV. We also fall over larfing at the improbable combinations of design descriptions: along the lines of "Modern Victorian" and "Classically New" and "Simply Ornate."

great thread.

"stainless appliances"--as some kind of be-all-end-all. as if, as long as they're silver, they're all exactly the same.

"cherry wood"--so as to make sure we don't think you're making kitchen cabinets out of actual cherries?

and these aren't related to kitchens, but is it some kind of rule that EVERY bedroom design on HGTV must have one of those floor-to-ceiling padded headboards? and must we always have that damn ottoman that "can also serve as a coffee table" by putting a tray on it?

and enough with the chocolate brown and teal!

"Designer" or "name" appliances. All appliances have a designer or a name, and I hate how people think a Wolf range and Miele dishwasher can make up for a badly laid out kitchen.

"good for resale." Yarf. If you're going to live your life dictated by the hypothetical needs of total strangers with average taste, you might as well move into a Denny's...

As a selling statement, "gourmet kitchen" is a term that means cheap stainless & fixtures, cheaper cabinets, & GRANITE. If the salepeople actually saw a gourmet kitchen, they'd probably faint.

Cliches are so annoying, I don't watch HGTV anymore unless I am desperate for a distraction when I am ironing. The worst is 'lets go see the master', but when they reach the room there is no one demanding they bow down.

Good thread!

One that is over used here is
"if it makes your heart sing..."
LOL

Function over form is one I use a lot, so, GUILTY!

And you already mentioned this one but it's the one I hate the most:

Clean Lines.
I have dirty lines, and I like em!!

phar, yes, it's SUYK!! I saw an episode last night. Total price for the kitchen was a wopping $59,000. The refrigerator was $10,000!!

i hate how the process is so over-simplified on that show. it's either "option A" or "option B". no other decisions necessary. stooo-pid!

Uh-oh So I'm a big walking cliche.

My kitchen will be

light and airy
monochromatic
have an open floor plan
with a touch of Tuscan
lots of clean lines
stainless appliances

but I don't have cherry cabinets or a "name brand" refridgerator

"whimsical" or "whimsy"

I've always heard it called "Form FOLLOWS Function"

"Too Matchy-Matchy"

I'm still RONFL about "Simply Ornate"......

"gourmet" kitchen.

What does that mean anyway? Can't enjoy good food without expensive cabinets?

"touch of whimsey" makes me nuts. And it is "Form follows function" I say it often enough, but I guess i still need to learn how to type... since I typed the incorrect phrase in my last post

"Make it pop" what is that?

"Make it pop" must be a registered statement of HGTV and DIY network. Also, describing unedible objects in the kitchen as "yummy" ie, "yummy mocha maple cabinets". Egad

I hate "major wow factor"

"Do you love your [insert kitchen object here]?"

Really, it's okay to be merely pleased with one's kitchen possessions, I think.

"(insert function) Center"

I know it's a term of art, but I have a small kitchen. I don't have a 'baking center' - I have an area where I tend to mix stuff up, and roll it out. I don't have a breakfast center, I have the place where the coffee machine lives - I have areas, not centers. I mean, towns have centers. Chocolate has centers. My kitchen is small: one activity like baking can end up taking over the whole room.

"Step Saver" kitchen (really small!)

"Faux cabinets" I've seen this used to describe glazed cabinets in real estate listings

Curb appeal

Sorry. Wrong forum.

Who is Whimsy you ask?

"fits the style of my house" - ummm. Usually refers to obtaining permission to declare that whatever is popular and the poster wants is "authenic" to put in the kitchen of a period house. Normally, whatever it is isn't found in that period or style of house.

Not a judgement! Takes one to know one.

Okay, I want to play.

"Old World"

"Timeless"

"Maintenance-free"

"Cook's kitchen"

"Top-of-the-line" - what line?

"All of the bells and whistles"

"Hard-Working Kitchen"
As opposed to those lay-about, slacker kitchens?

bmorepanic, our 12 y.o. cat is named after Lord Peter Wimsey! He came to our door in a cold November rain, we brought him in the house and he stayed. He sat proudly with his back straight acting like aristocracy. We love Sayers; read all of her books and enjoyed the British films.

Distressed

(which is what they do to cabinets in shipping...but you pay a 30% up charge for it if you want it done before shipping)

Using the word "yummy" to describe non-food items is a pet peeve of mine as well. "That paint color is so yummy!" Ugh

Also things that "speak to me." If my furniture or appliances started to "speak to me" I would check myself into the nearest mental health facility.

Cottagey. First of all, there's no such word. Second of all, I am never sure what it means. Are we talking Hansel-and-Gretl-ish? Who has actually lived in a cottage anyway? And once a kitchen has modern appliances, how can it be at all cottage-like, no matter what the decor? And often, I see the word in a description of a kitchen that is nevertheless plunked into a contemporary home, or even worse in a kitchen in a high-rise. So I am puzzled by cottagey.

"That's a SEXY backsplash."

Since when did home design become sexy????

Kompy, your comment about home design being sexy reminded me of a story my friend told me last week. Her husband is an asphalt contractor. He had a meeting recently with a financial planner guy. At least five times in the meeting, FP guy said to my friend's hubby "we'll get to the sexy stuff later" meaning the cool stock investments or whatever. Her husband was as puzzled as hell - he has all of his meetings out on the pavement with guys in jeans and ballcaps, and here is this guy in a suit talking about sexy investments. He said to his wife "in my business, you'd get beat up for talking like that!".

Anita

I'm going to guess he calls it "sexy stuff" because the thought of all of those commissions gets him hot and bothered!

Nicole