No home’s kitchen should be without an island feature
Q:We really love our old house ( circa 1891), but we’re realizing, more than a century later, maybe it’s not the right place for three children, two dogs and lots of friends. We added a great room three years ago, and are planning a kitchen makeover.
My question is about the old butler’s pantry — charming, but we’d rather have room for a work island. Will taking the pantry out decrease the resale value of the house? Also, should the new island match the cabinets ( dark cherry)? The floor is oak in a lighter finish. We are confused by so many woods.
Houses are for living now, not for reselling whenever. And the more a house can be adapted to changing needs through the years, the better everyone lives, and the more you will cherish your old home while you are its caretaker.
In short, if you don’t have a butler, you don’t need a pantry for one. A center island works much better in
A:many ways. Not only does it give the cook( s) more elbow room, an island organizes the space in the kitchen and the family, friends and kibitzers who gather around it.
Designer Jeannie Fulton ( www. ulrichinc. com) didn’t hesitate to rip out the “casually used” butler’s pantry in the 1898 traditional home we show here. Staying in touch
“By removing the wall between these two rooms ( kitchen and pantry), the cooking/ eating area was expanded so the cooks could always be in touch with the family room and the eating area,” she said. In one well- placed stroke, she created “a kitchen that really works for today’s energetic and busy lifestyle.”
“It is comfortable, warm and inviting, in addition to having a great work flow and open space for socializing,” she said.
Much of the new room’s appeal comes from the designer’s use of various woods — in different finishes, please note — on the wall and floor cabinets ( painted), and the island ( custom- crafted of cherry with a black glaze). Both are fromWood- Mode Cabinetry ( wood- mode. com).
Neither matches the color of the hardwood flooring, so you can see that variety is the spice of kitchens, as well as of life.
Fall just fell and already you’re longing for next summer?
Me, too — mainly because I just spent four days covering the Casual Furnishings Show at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. I was dazzled by an unexpected irony: “casual” furniture is mostly about the great outdoors, about living and relaxing in the bosom of Mother Nature. Yet — here’s the dichotomy — livin’ easy with nature in the summertime doesn’t always come naturally; some of the most interesting new outdoor furniture of the 21st century owes a big debt to manmade technology.
Q: A:Take fire pits, for instance. A new obsession gaining momentum, fire pits come built into cocktail, dining and free- standing tables, fed by hidden propane tanks ( like your barbecue) and ready to extend outdoor living well into the early winter months. One hot lead, pun intended: Agio- usa. com.
Never mind that Telescope Casual Furniture has been around in New York State since 1903. It too has gone high tech, the better and easier to offer outdoor living. Have a look at its “Terra Stone” tables — a mix of fiberglass, cement and small particles of stone that looks like the real thing and lasts like, forever, they promise.
At Telescope ( TelescopeCasual. com) the future comes in three patterns.
Rose B. Gilbert is coauthor of “Manhattan Style” and six other books on interior design.