What's Old Is Not New Again...

I think it's fair to say I love vintage, vintage-inspired, and all that goes with it.

Take kitchen appliances:

I have stainless steel appliances and I am sooo over them. I bought mine before they came out with the no smudging properties, and I haven't been as good as I should be to keep them shined up. I still like how sleek and chic stainless looks, but this is where my heart lies:

(source: Country Living.com)

Now, I wouldn't go this vintage with the whole look of my kitchen. I like more of a modern country look. But, that pink fridge and vintage stove...so pretty. I am a bit doubtful of the function of the stove, though, but it makes for a pretty and nostalgic accessory, doesn't it? I think this next stove is entirely more useful, and just as pretty:

(source: Country Living.com)

I had a stove very much like this one in a former home:

(source: Coastal Living.com)

We never used it, but you can bet I was proud of it!

This is the baby I think of when I need to go to a "happy place":

(source: Big Chill)

Perhaps it will be in my next house.
Problem is they are over the $5000 mark, which just presses against my common sense button. I don't understand why manufacturers aren't coming out with a more affordable alternative. If they could do the harvest gold thing in the seventies, why won't they make a few retro models at a good price point and in my favourite shade of robin's egg blue? Is that too much to ask? Or is it that we are a fully-converted stainless steel society?

Are vintage appliances dead on arrival?\
Gasp!!

Would you go vintage, or is this more your cup of tea?

(source: Windsor Smith)

The appliances of my dreams...

I shouldn't want what is not necessary. We all feel this to an extent, so why can we not suppress these decorating urges? Luckily, in my case, the sheer cost of these beautiful kitchen appliances stops me in my tracks! That's not to say if money was no object they wouldn't be mine...
These appliances are from Elmira Stove Works, a Canadian company (gasp!!) and can be viewed online at www.elmirastoveworks.ca . I love the gorgeous colours and would be torn between the butter yellow and robin's egg blue. However, if I was a single gal the pink would be standing in my kitchen with a huge chandelier hanging over my island! The other items on my wishlist would be a farmhouse sink, a tin ceiling, and a fireplace with a gorgeous cream chaise in front of it. Obviously the kitchen would have to be the size of my whole house of the moment! Hmmm... perhaps the chaise would have to be for the "single me" as my kids and cats would ruin it with sticky fingers and dirty paws. I'll dream on and hopefully I'll get to decorate such a kitchen for a client someday. That would be more practical!!

The quest for the perfect kitchen...

I have had many kitchens of my own as a result of my gypsy nature (which luckily my husband also shares). We have built five homes and renovated two. We get "itchy feet" every spring and haul out the house plan books ,poring over each and every one to find the perfect plan. This never actually happens, as we are yet to find a plan that we don't tweak to death. The killer for many of the plans is a lack of a mudroom (which I'll address in a later entry) and a less than perfect kitchen layout.
What is it about kitchens and our need to have this room fulfill all of our culinary and emotional needs? One of my favorite things to do when I go on an evening stroll is to see into people's front windows and glimpse a family sitting down to a meal together. It looks so perfectly cozy and brings me back to my girlhood desire to have my family sit together that way. I come from a family of six children with a mum who served up our dinners in no particular order, short-order cook style. We plunked ourselves down on the nearest available chair, gulped our meal down (to avoid vulturous brothers) and off we'd go. I know, for me, that is why my kitchens are always planned to invite one to stay seated and enjoy the view, and hopefully the food!
I believe kitchens should be functional, attractive, organized (or at least open to organization), and welcoming. Although my sister would challenge me on this assertion, I don't believe they should look perfect. Today I did a kitchen design consultation with a client, and knowing her wants and needs, I had done my homework in order to be able to present her with what I instinctively knew would work for her tastes. I had browsed through some decorating mags to have pics to show her and I could not believe how many looked exactly the same! White cabinetry, large island, vintage faucet, pefect tiles, the perfunctory granite or carrera marble countertops, apron sink, etc. Now don't get me wrong- all of these features are beautiful, current, and coveted by many (including me). But, they were so identical, that they looked like the same designer/decorator had done them all! What has happened to color, eclectism, personal taste in artwork (even if it is your kids' creations)? Does everything have to match perfectly and be what is expected? My sister is a great example of decorating with a knowledge of what is current, tempered with a thumbing of her nose to what is common. She instinctively decorates with what she loves and makes it work. I am more about the big picture. I have the vision in my head and am more planned in my approach. She decorates as she goes and meets with the same degree of success. Two entirely different looks, equally pleasing, but I can't help but wonder if her kitchens are more "homey."
...(sigh) Oh well, I do love my kitchen of the moment, which I have no intention of leaving for many (okay, 4-5) years. I selected a blue-gray colour for the cabinetry, I have my beloved "candy shop counter" island, apothecary drawers, school house lighting, open shelving, crystal knobs and library pulls. It is as close to perfect as I can afford at the moment....but why, oh why, do I still dream about apron sinks and vintage appliances?... I guess I'm just as bad as all the other predictable people!!!