A Kitchen In Brussels

last year

last modified: last year

My “French daughter” who now lives in Brussels bought an apartment and has now redone her kitchen. I wanted to show photos, because it is a compact, modern, European kitchen and very different from the kitchens we mostly see in this forum.

This round passthrough connects kitchen and living room. To the right there are windows and a narrow balcony and a view of Brussels, from several stories up.

Or, you can just walk through the normal passage.

The kitchen is minimalist, meant for a single person or a couple, who aren’t Iron Chefs.

There is no vent hood. I guess the cooktop has a little downdraft vent?

Most of the kitchens of people I know in France and Belgium ( she’s French but lives in Belgium) don’t have vent hoods. They open the windows. They also don’t do much high heat frying and so on - that’s not so much part of French cuisine. In fact, no-one has ever made me a home cooked meal in France using that cooking method.

I think the apartment’s entry is on the other side of that glass case.

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John Liu
Original Author

last year

last modified: last year

Confirmed the cooktop is indeed induction. Counter is ”inox” i.e. stainless steel. She says she got “the smallest oven I could find”; giant mutant turkeys must not be a thing there.

Here is the view from her kitchen. I don’t know Brussels, was there decades ago but only saw the touristy bits.

I guess you can open the window and pass food and drink to people sunning themselves on the balcony

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Comments (21)

wdccruise
last year
It's interesting that one can set a wood cabinet right on the countertop a few inches from a cooktop. I wonder why she didn't move the sink to the right so she'd have more counter space next to the cooktop.
John Liu
Original Author
last year
It looks like a radiant heat cooktop, if so they don’t heat up the surroundings much. On the sink position, it’s a very small counter and my guess is that no matter where the sink is, you’re prepping on a board set on the sink.

I don’t know any more about the kitchen than what we see in the pics, though, and was mostly interested in the style.
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wdccruise
last year
John Liu: "It looks like a radiant heat cooktop"

No, it's induction.
palimpsest
last year
It's very handsome. I am assuming the refrigerator is the cabinet to the left of the oven.
pennfire
last year
Lovely kitchen.
dan1888
last year
last modified: last year
I'm thinking she did not design this kitchen with our help. Maybe next time. There are many functional alternatives in this space. A 600mm/24" induction range allows more counter and even more with the added space from the deletion of the wall oven. Task led lighting seems lacking and would be a good addition to the current setup.
Kendrah
last year
I'm wowed by the mix of materials. The wood is gorgeous. I love the silvery backsplash. Painted I supposed. And the ceramic locust is both beautiful and scares me. She has an incredible eye for mixing shapes and materials.

Regarding sink position, it is possible that the drain location is not easily moveable in this apartment building kitchen. Regarding vent hood, I live in a NYC apartment and we don't have one either. No exhaust allowed. Recirculating fans don't so much.

Glad you shared this.
wdccruise
last year
It certainly is attractive and creative. It would be interesting to see the rest of the apartment.
J Sk
last year
Believe me, in those little kitchens people cook more meals ( from scratch) on daily basis than here in those pretty and big kitchens ;-)
rebasheba
last year
It's spectacular. Restrained but fun. I, too, like the bug.
sushipup2
last year
Love love love it.
chicagoans
last year
Thank you for sharing this - love it! A view of Brussels would be amazing. (I noticed the cicada on the wall too, having lived through their invasions multiple times in my life. I still shiver when I think of walking into the house not knowing I had one on my back until it crawled onto my neck! I'm glad hers doesn't have the red eyes!)
chinacatpeekin
last year
It’s really beautifully done! Thanks for sharing it here.
chinacatpeekin
last year
John, I’m sure you’re familiar with Les Cigales (cicadas) a frequently seen Provençal symbol; cicadas make music, and love the sun! Is your French daughter from Provence?
John Liu
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Yes, she’s from Marseille! Where my (actual) daughter keeps a little apartment and will spend June. I had planned to go to France this summer myself, but that’s been delayed :-(

My French daughter will be visiting Portland this winter, and I’ll get more intel on how her kitchen is working.

Her mom’s kitchen in the Marseille house is cool too. Small galley kitchen, cool materials and textures, just off the spiral staircase. They are a family with good design eye.

I think the fridge is indeed paneled in.
chinacatpeekin
last year
I’ll be in the land of Les Cigales in less than a month!
John Liu
Original Author
last year
Oooo I am envious. It won’t be too hot yet!
porkchop_z5b_MI
last year
Very chic.
plllog
last year
Cool! What I love, designwise, is that the wall provides some feeling of separation, whille the big, interesting opening prevents the claustrophoblia that one can get in a narrow space. The wall also keeps dropped oranges, and sink-slippery whatever from rolling too far. ;)
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Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
last year
Reminds me of my friends’ kitchen in NYC. Amazing what you can do in small spaces