Glimpses of Two Favorite Kitchens

Kitchens can be really different from each other, and when you have one that you love and that works well, it can be a marvelous thing. These are two of the recent kitchens that I have loved being in; each one was in a place where I lived for about four years. Presently, I have a nice, normal kitchen in the home that my husband already owned; more can be shared about this kitchen another time.

The first kitchen of which I want to share a glimpse, is the kitchen that my mom and I designed from scratch. It has a square profile, with a partially-open entrance from both dining room and living room at the first corner you come to; the sink at a corner window at the opposite corner; a large walk-in pantry will built-in shelves and full-size freezer at the corner to the left; and extensive counter space on three sides. There’s an island with two large pullout drawers and two short seats.

What I most like about this kitchen is that it has plenty of counter space and storage, but is relatively compact. It is easy and closely-contained for one person to move around in, yet has adequate surfaces for five or six people to be working in at once. I’ve cooked in other kitchens that were so enormous, one had to constantly be wasting steps between the stove and sink or fridge—things were too far spread for convenience and efficiency, especially if only one person is cooking.

The other thing I still love about this kitchen at my mother’s house, is the style. She and I tried to give a slightly European-country style with the distressed ivory cabinets, the antique brass knobs, the distressed black cabinetry on the island, the solid walnut floors, the granite-looking countertop, the terracotta-color wall, and the black-and-ivory French toile curtains.

{For this kitchen, see photograph below as well as the featured image for this post.}

And then, the below space is the kitchen wall in the lovely studio apartment where I lived for four years before getting married. It does not have an oven or a dishwasher or much storage space, other than the wooden rolling pantry drawers that my stepfather handily built. I mainly used a toaster oven, electric hot-plate with two burners, a chef’s knife and cutting board, mixing bowls, sauté pans, and Dutch oven on the hot-plate. It was very streamlined and basic, which was wonderful because I could focus on delicious ingredients and artistic serving styles, without many kitchen implements to take space and time and expense. {It did take a while to wash the piles of dishes from hosting up to eight friends at a time, however.}

This kitchen was immensely fun and workable for me. I loved having the first private space of my own, to set up in the way I wanted. The slate counters and oak cabinets looked quite classic to me, though slate counters take some attention to keep clean. Some people might think that after having been at culinary school just prior to living there, I would have wanted a large kitchen, but I figured that someday I would probably have a “normal” kitchen again, and meanwhile I was completely happy with this petite and simple studio kitchen.

I did not use the microwave, so I stored glass containers in it. The fridge is to the right side of the counter, and my freezer is in the garage below. Above the fridge is a toaster oven that works quite well for cooking anything in a 9×9″ baking dish or sheet pan. On the counter is the electric two-burner plate that I use as my stove-top. There is a large sink and drying rack for dishes. The garbage can is under the curtain, and larger pots and jars are stored on the shelf to the right.

The space, as small as it was, was constantly changing as I figured a layout that worked the best, and as I brought in garden foods or festive arrangements for each season.

On the counter I had two wire baskets with various oils, spices, garlic cloves, salt & pepper, a utensil jar, a steel for honing knives, my trivet from the Netherlands, my French-style butter crock, and my spoon rest from Texas. I had to find the balance between not wanting to take up the very limited counter space, but also having things accessible since they were used for nearly every meal.

My favorite thing about this small kitchen was that the size forced me to be careful and creative about keeping the tools that I really use, and keeping a de-cluttered space. I had to be resourceful when serving guests, as in those cases I ended up using most every bowl and sauté pan and serving plate and utensil that I owned. When serving guests, I had to plan meals so as not to need the toaster oven for too many things, and ended up using my Dutch oven on the hot plate, most times.

Many European homes have very small kitchens—as have much of the civilized world. I think it is a helpful exercise to be happy, inventive, and content with a small space—and personally, I always love doing something that seems more European to me. Studio kitchens are really quite adequate if someone thinks through how to make it work for herself or himself—and there are many ways it could be done. I could have used other cooking implements such as Aeromatic ovens, roaster ovens, the microwave oven, or an Instant Pot {if it had been invented}, but a toaster oven takes up a small amount of space, is the most similar to a traditional oven, and works beautifully.

Once in a while I used my antique dining table to prepare food on, and a few kitchen linens were in a multi-use buffet on the side of the room. Other than that, the counter space in the picture comprised the entire kitchen area. Sometimes it felt like camp-cooking, since there is not the appearance of the large, cubical appliances found in most kitchens. But it is good to realize that one does not need much to make a good meal except quality food, a knife and cutting board, and an implement for cooking with heat.

I have very fond memories of my quaint studio kitchen. I remember the meals made, the friends hosted, fresh flowers on the table, the view of the garden, and cooking with the girls I nannied. Another great thing about a small kitchen is that a single beautiful thing, such as a colorful dish towel or a marble cake stand, enlivens and decorates the whole space all at once! I loved and sometimes miss the simplicity and ease of such a space, for the duration that I was able to enjoy it.