Kitchens that Make Me Happy (None of Which are Mine)

Thanks for all your comments, advice, and encouragement on yesterday's pink dinette post. It feels good to have one tiny thing accomplished, but I'm also totally overwhelmed when I consider the millions of things I've yet to tackle. For that reason, I'm putting off my shabby kitchen post until next week. I just don't think I can handle picking out cabinet paint colors when I have two rooms to paint this weekend, wallpaper to order, furniture to consider, piles of unfinished laundry, and a sugar laden school function to attend this afternoon.

Oh, and we did buy a new car yesterday -- which was a wholly exhausting experience. I would consider painting it with gold chevron pinstripes and adding teal all weather mats, but the decorating budget is circling the drain after that purchase.

Forget all that. Let's look at some amazing, totally unattainable  kitchens that I want to lick.

Need I remind you of the unattainable part?

Next week we will discuss what can be done in the next six weeks with my shabby brown kitchen before I'm too fat and pregnant to move, and must depend on crappy reality tv for survival.

I'm just too tired and poor to even ponder that bizness right now.

Sorry to be Debbie Downer.

Happy Friday!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

[images via pinterest]

Pink Dinette + Sciolari Chandelier = Girlytown

Well, I'm not really sure why I decided to paint the dinette and kitchen peachy pink. But I done did.

There she blows -- Benjamin Moore Terra Bella. Many thanks to Sanders, who thinks that Karly and I are crazy for suddenly wanting to paint everything pink and peach and coral. He still went way above and beyond to help me pick a lovely shade.

I have to say that lucite and brass was not where I thought I would take this house, but Mr Sciolari was in the right place at the right time for the right price. Plus he reminds me of Superman's Fortress of Solitude, and that's a good thing.

I still have a lot of work to do, but I think we've already improved the situation we moved into:

Have you ever seen so much brown in your life?!

Although the (TEMPORARY) table and chairs are clawing my eyes out, I'd still say it's far less offensive than it was.

Now, all I need is a new table and chairs and window treatments and maybe a rug and some art... I'm liking indigo as an accent color, which I'm largely drawing from the front room scenario:

Dark Harbor and Terra Bella are so happy together.

Anyway, this calls for some mockups. I'm so predictable.

#1 has a dreamy Thom Filicia rug that costs way too much, integrates the navy chesterfield I already own, supposes that I will buy a new tulip dining table (and I am -- really). Then I threw in schoolhouse chairs and country club art to give it some old skool flava.

#2 is a little more modern regency, with an affordable kilim rug and some very affordable cafe chairs. I took Chester out just to see how that would open up the space. Still buying the table. Awesome leopard painting will be available at Minty soon.

What elements do you prefer?

I really don't know what to do about window treatments in any case... I was crushing on Naomi's curtain idea, but now that the color is so fussy I'm thinking that simple and tailored is the way to go.

Tune in tomorrow to discuss ways in which my new paint and chandelier are making the shabby brown kitchen look even browner and shabbier.

Something must be done to rectify the situation.

Hint: paint will be involved.

Until then please help me buy cheap amazing things to finish out my dinette space.

Thank you.

Legendary

Hi kids! The sun is FINALLY out after a Noah's Ark deluge, and it looks like I should be able to snap a few pics of the newly painted dinette this afternoon. Be ready for a superpost tomorrow, filled with mockups and waffling and too many choices. You know -- the usual.

Meanwhile, I'd like to point out that some people know exactly what they're doing. Some people know how to make a plan and stick with it. Some people is my friend Christian May of Maison 21, who created a crazy amazing window for the Legends of La Cienaga Design Quarter event -- an event so paltry it includes nobodies like Kathryn Ireland, Muriel Brandolini, Nate Berkus, Waldo Fernandez, etc. Let's check out his window deluxe:

Like I told Christian yesterday, that screen is trying to have sex with me. You know the monkey wants to watch.

One of the best things about blogging is meeting a host of talented, amazing people -- Christian falls into that category.

He knows what he's doing.

He hoarded that vintage fabric and then had the chairs custom upholstered at Gina Berschneider, purveyors of fine things such as this:

Also check out the hubba hubba Black Crow Studios custom printed wallcovering on that custom fabricated screen!

Black Crow can do no wrong:

Watercolor hot flashes!

Finally I would be remiss if I didn't mention the infamous monkey:

Custom painted by Christian, and then dissed by angry Noguchi loving Apartment Therapy readers everywhere.

Perfect for the show window.

I aspire to be more like Christian -- to know what I am doing.

But first we will have to work through the pink kitchen, which is messing with my emotions.

Tomorrow.