COAST TO COAST KITCHENS
brawn.” She describes burgers of the Stone Ages as “bronto,” and of mesh on a cabinet in her new kitchen in her Southport home, she quips, “mesh can be used to grate potatoes in a pinch.”
“The Perfect Kitchen” doesn’t tell how to negotiate with a contractor or how to measure drawers. Rather Sallick’s aim is to inspire you so that your new kitchen will look and feel as sophisticated and polished as your living room.
Today, all your dreams can come true, promises Sallick, who with her husband Robert founded the posh Waterworks brand of luxurious baths and kitchens. Sallick points out that the kitchen is so central to today’s way of living that it is crucial to get all elements right. A kitchen is unquestionable the most complicated room to design. Its requirements, multiple uses, and aesthetics take time and research.
“Get help,” Sallick states emphatically.
You may need an architect, or a designer or a kitchen consultant—or all three. They will help you avoid mistakes, she points out. They’ll solve situations where stairways are too twisty, hallways and doorways are too narrow, ceilings are too high or too low.
On the other hand, don’t be hesitant to stick to your dream kitchen. She quotes several professionals who give their take on just that point. Interior designer Brian McCarthy says that “when people design cabinets, they typically opt for three shelves, but five is better—you won’t have big, heavy stacks of china to move.” Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill has a slot on his countertop that lets him sweep the leavings directly into the trash. Cookbook author Julia Turshen “skipped the real front door because the way into our home is through our kitchen.” Interior designer Ellie Cullman feels that “although one stovetop and two good ovens will always suffice, you can never have too many sinks.”
Or no island.
Islands have become ubiquitous, says Sallick. She talks about one with “springing legs,” another with under-counter shelves for cookbooks. An exquisite Biedermeier-style table is used in lieu of a standard island. There are images with leather-back chairs or upholstered ones pulled up to the island and islands with chromeyellow stools or fire-engine red ones that are shocking yet surprisingly appealing.
Inevitably, the question will arise, what kind of countertop is best for your kitchen. Sallick says the world of countertops is your oyster in that regard. In one chapter, “New York Times” food writer Melissa Clark nixes the taboo on marble countertops. “Everyone said don’t do marble, it stains and it pits. But I thought about all those churches in Italy with marble steps and all those café tables in Paris, and you know what? I think they look fantastic—they’ve got personality.”
“You want your countertops to be pleasing to the eye, feel satisfying to the touch, standup to what you expect of them, and — critically, crucially — get better, in all respects, with age,” advises Sallick.
“The details are in your hands,” stresses Sallick. “Whether it’s stone or metal or lacquer or paint,” she writes, “you want the material to patinate and acquire character rather than wear out or look cheap; if the surface is wood, you want to cherish the finger marks and knife scars, the physical record of satisfying use.” They proclaim that your kitchen is used, not just admired from afar. Sure, a bar area, a pantry, and a mudroom may be nice but don’t go overboard on appliances. Think of them as you would broiling a steak: “don’t overdo it, and don’t underdo it.”
As long as the design and the elements work for the cook, as long as they elicit comfort and pleasure, anything goes. Like copper sinks or quirky decorative objects, earthenware pitchers, brass watering cans, red pendant lights, vintage ladles, toaster ovens on counters or wicker baskets on walls. One photograph shows a long high counter with tall swivel chairs that harken to the old pharmacy that once anchored a corner of Greenwich Avenue and Lewis Street in Greenwich. Sallick likes the feel of downtown vibe, of woven leather on chairs, of plate steel and polished concrete,
In the end, says Barbara Sallick, “combining the memories you take and the ones you make equals the
perfect kitchen.”