Isn't She Lovely?

Sarah Jessica Parker made an appearance at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Yankee stadium. Though dressed down in an ombré tee and dark denim, I think she looks amazing! Love her!

Image via Popsugar

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Saturday marked one year since the day I first started my blog. It began as the product of a summer of boredom and I feel like it has evolved into so much more. Through this blog, I have had the opportunity to learn so much, explore new interests, and meet some incredible people. It has become my favorite hobby, a creative outlet for me. It is a way to make my voice heard, even if it is about kitchens or reality television. Thank you for your friendship, support, and for being a constant source of inspiration.

Image via David Jiménez - What can I say? I'm currently obsessed. I only wish my work space was as chic as his!

This Week's Quote

"The best rooms have something to say about the people who live in them." - David Hicks

I just have to say that I absolutely love this room. It has the perfect balance of femininity and masculinity for me.

Image via David Jiménez

Dream Kitchens

Of all the rooms in a house, I tend to be drawn to kitchens the most. A beautiful kitchen sings to me. I love to daydream about the type of kitchen I hope to have in my dream home someday.

Overall, I tend to like what could be described as a modern vintage look. A new kitchen with classic features which make it seem like it could easily fit in another place and time. I want a kitchen that is elegant and modern all at once. For me, this means somewhat plain cabinetry (I'm mostly drawn to white), honed surfaces like carrara marble, subway tile, and beautiful wide-planked, dark wood floors.

You're probably wondering why I haven't made these types of changes to my own kitchen. I liked my kitchen when we bought our house in March of 2006. It had pretty 42" maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances, neutral tile, and salmon colored laminate counters. What was that, you ask? Yes, you read that correctly! Salmon colored laminate. The very bane of my existence. The very reason I haven't invited certain people (Kym, I might be referring to you) over for dinner after they so graciously fed us a beautiful meal in their stunning home. These damn counters are like a horrible blemish on the face of my home.

We tried to get the builder to upgrade them to granite, but they wouldn't. The house was already built when we found it, and they wouldn't take out the counters they had already installed. Alas, I was only 24 and Fabian was 25 when we bought the house. We didn't know any better. If I knew then what I know now, I would have played hard ball and I wouldn't have had to live with those nasty counters. Upgrading our counters is number one on my home improvement to-do list, though I won't give the kitchen a complete over-haul since we don't plan to be in this house forever. He'll kill me for writing this, but my husband is a bit, umm, frugal. I don't think he cares about the counters, so changing them isn't a priority to him which is why we still have them. Mark my words: Those ugly counters will be gone by the end of 2008!

My kitchen, ugly counters and all

Let's get back to a nicer topic, shall we? Beautiful, dream kitchens. As I was saying before our detour through ugly-ville, I like a kitchen with modern conveniences and classic design elements. Something that looks like it belongs in a massive penthouse apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side, in a building with a notorious co-op board, or better yet, a kitchen suited for a mansion in The Hamptons.

Kitchen #1

This is the kitchen from the 2008 San Francisco Decorators Showcase House. It was designed by Shelley Gordon who described the kitchen as "a reflection of the past and the present." According to Shelley, "the detailing of the cabinets honors the age of the house, but the larger open plan responds to the way we live today". The cabinetry is a creamy color and the countertops and subway tile back splash are both honed carrara marble.

The massive 16,000 square foot home does not have a proper breakfast room (only a formal dining room, grand salon, and outdoor dining terrace) so the owner has to make due with a small table in the kitchen.


The kitchen is truly massive and unfortunately, I think it's impossible to get a sense for how big it really is through photographs alone. I'll take you through a mental tour of the space. If you were taking the picture above, you could take a right at the table and there would be a good fifteen feet of cabinets lining both sides of the room and a door leading to a terrace.If you return to the original place where you started (near the range) and turn around, you'll end up in the next picture.

You can't see it here, but if I recall correctly, there is a large island between this picture and the previous one. You are now looking at the butler's pantry. To the right, you have the kitchen powder room. Stunning, isn't it?

Kitchen #2

This kitchen is from one of my favorite houses ever. It's The Wheat House in Houston, which was featured on Cote de Texas. The kitchen has honed marble counters, a functional island, lovely hardware, antique light fixtures, white subway tile, and beautiful greenish-taupe cabinetry. Joni, please correct me if I'm wrong. Is that what the color looks like in person?


The cabinets do not have doors. This concept seems to be increasing in popularity. I know that Ryan Brown uses it in most of his gorgeous kitchens. So long as one is organized, it shouldn't be an issue. You can see the subway tile and cabinet color a little better here.


Close-up of the beautiful farm sink and faucet


Kitchen #3

Continuing with the Houston theme, this kitchen is from an old real estate listing in the Afton Oaks neighborhood. I really like the color of the cabinetry, tall ceilings, the big drawers in the island, and the abundance of storage space.


Kitchen #4

This kitchen is also from an old real estate listing in Houston. Although it is somewhat small, I like the cabinetry, tiny subway tile back splash, and schoolhouse pendant.


Kitchen #5

Decidedly more modern than the others, I love the contrast of dark wood lower cabinets and white upper cabinets which plays on the flood of light that washes into the room. Again, you have several of my favorite elements: subway tile, and industrial range, farmhouse sink, and dark wood floors. This is also from an expired Houston real estate listing.

The last few kitchens I am featuring are from Christopher Peacock's collection. Peacock's kitchens have become somewhat of a status symbol as they can easily cost well into the six figure range. The New York Times featured an article on Mr.Peacock and his gorgeous, high-end kitchens. In it, he lists 10 items that people think they want, but seldom actually use and 10 items which are very good to have in one's kitchen.

"SELDOM USED:

Pot-filling faucet, Pantry dishwasher or refrigerator, Kitchen desk, Trash compactor, Large microwave, Rangetop grill, Two-tier island countertops, Large island, Appliance garage


GOOD TO HAVE:

Refrigerator and freezer drawers, Two dishwashers,Warming drawers, Small microwave, Bookshelves, Tray storage, Roll-out drawers, Message center, Marble countertops, Wood countertops"

My favorite Christopher Peacock Kitchens

Kitchen #6

This kitchen looks cozy and classic. I love the ledge on the hood.

Kitchen #7

I love the simple cabinetry, though the mouldings make the kitchen look more ornate. The marble back splash and wooden island make the kitchen interesting.


Kitchen #8

This is quite possibly my favorite Peacock kitchen. It has white cabinetry, gorgeous hardware, carrara counters, a large island in a different color for contrast, and hardwood floors.


This is another view of the same kitchen. Notice the carrara backsplash and amazing cook's station. I love the industrial range and stainless steel backsplash.


Kitchen #9

Refined and elegant, I love the cabinets on either side of the range. The lighting is beautiful.




Kitchen #10


This kitchen is more modern than the other Peacock kitchens I included in my list. It also has the pretty taupe / grey cabinetry we've seen in some of the other kitchens in this post. I love the industrial pendants hanging over the island. The chalkboard feature adds a bit of charm and functionality.

Well, there you have it. I didn't count the number of kitchens I was going to write about, but I ended up with ten. So, I guess these are my Top 10 Favorite Kitchens (in no particular order). Someday, one of these babies will go from dream to reality. In the meantime, please, do tell. What is your dream kitchen like?

Images via This is Glamorous, Shelley Gordon, Cote de Texas, Houston Association of Realtors, and Peacock Cabinetry.

Harmonious Living in Houston

The August issue of House Beautiful features the largest spread it has ever done on a home and it happens to belong to Andy Singer, the founder of Visual Comfort Lighting and his wife, Gayle. Those of you who a regular readers of La Dolce Vita know that my husband has the pleasure of working for Visual Comfort. The funny thing is, Andy's house is being published in a few magazines and he is notoriously modest and doesn't like being the center of attention.

The house, which was completed within the last year is situated in one of Houston's most beautiful areas. The interior was designed by J.Randall Powers, whose own home was featured in Elle Decor last year. J.Randall drew inspiration from the city of Rome and modeled the home after a neoclassical villa. His aim was to create a space which was beautiful, edited, and most importantly, comfortable. He and the Singers felt it was extremely important for their home to feel comfortable and livable, a refuge from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives. The house is dressed in a soothing and serene palette and feels homey, but very grow-up all at once.

Visitors are greeted by a beautiful set of custom doors, a massive Visual Comfort Zodiac pendant, creamy marble floors, and Italian antiques.

The large living room is part of a two-page spread. Powers makes its massive size work by creating two smaller sitting areas. The floor is covered in grass matting in this room, while two wooden Italian busts stand guard over the space.

A second shot of the living room (notice the beautiful door knobs)

The family style kitchen melds together old and new. The Visual Comfort Country Industrial Pendants are modeled after a vintage style, while the room is filled with antique copper cookware and vintage ironware.

The sunny breakfast room feature exposed brick walls, a beamed ceiling, an antique walnut table accompanied by a banquette and upholstered chairs.

A vignette of several other rooms in the house

The guest bedroom features several engravings of Roman architectural fragments and a bed upholstered in paisley fabric. The Pimlico bedside lamps are also by Visual Comfort.

The limestone floors, alabaster urns, and carrara marble counter tops in the master bath are meant to reference the materials used in ancient Rome. A vintage starburst mirror hangs in front of a circular window.

The master bedroom also features engravings of Roman ruins, a theme which persists throughout the house. Both the bedding and the bed itself are dressed in fine stripes. J.Randall opted for a leather settee at the foot of the bed because he felt an upholstered bench would "look too staged".

The interview with J.Randall Powers

All Visual Comfort products are available through their sister company, Circa Lighting.

Images from the August 2008 issue of House Beautiful

Show and Tell: San Francisco Decorator Showcase

Back in May, I wrote about our trip to San Francisco for Fabian's birthday. You may recall that one of the highlights of the trip, was visiting San Francsico Decorator Showcase house. There were some rooms that I wasn't able to photograph, but luckily, California Home and Design Magazine also has a feature on the showcase house including the gorgeous living room (one of several in the massive house) by Geoffrey DeSousa of DeSousa Hughes. The room with it's midnight colored walls and rust accents was one of my favorites in the house.

The article also features designer Melanie Coddington who designed the sitting room off of Her Master bedroom and Sean Weatherhill, who designed the modern 2,000 square foot rooftop terrace.

Image via California Home and Design Magazine

Congratulations, Brown Design!

Brown Design is featured in the July issue of California Home and Design Magazine. Their Nottingham house, a Spanish villa originally built in the 1920's, which was taken down to the studs and brought back to life in classic Brown Design style graces the magazine cover. You probably recognize it from the first season of Flipping Out or from the images of the talavera tile which made their way around the blogosphere (that sounds so nerdy!) earlier this year.

Congratulations to Ryan and his team on the well-deserved recognition for their impeccable work!

Head over to the Brown Design blog to download and read the article from California Home and Design Magazine.

Image via Brown Design Blog