The picture above is a very good approximate of the kitchen in my (future) house. My kitchen is bigger, with a built in oven, stove and space for the fridge. But the configuration is similar, except the island counter is covered with glass instead of being open spaced.
I really like the idea of painting the kitchen in one bold block colour, as if it was a lego cube. We have already decided to keep the kitchen simple and clean as it is, with dashes of colour and interest in all the kitchen accessories. I can't wait!
We are still very undecided though on how the dining area would be - should it be romantic and cosy, airy and big (ideal for dinner parties), grand and elegant, quirky and colourful? ZM only wants it to be clean and filled with good food. For me, I'm inclining towards a big dining table with lot of natural light. I've realised in Holland that I enjoy flowers and arranging them, and I think I would need a clean, simple dining room to give that space for accessorising. That may mean a more subdued wallpaper or colour or wall decoration (if any) - and yet a part of me also thinks that we are only going to be two young crazy adults once (without kids) and perhaps we should just be as bold as we can be for this one time.
Style 1 would be what I consider to be the typical/classical modern table template. It's a very effective style - pick a sturdy frame (usually a wooden rectangular dining table) and different chairs with different textures and designs. It's versatile because you could easily change and add chairs and it's very clean. It leaves you open to adding design highlights in the other areas.
Style 2, which I also enjoy, leans towards the other side of the scale - this style is heavier, with an older victorian elegance. I think this style has more character, because it demands that eye for colour and texture. But, it always has the problem I think of never really feeling like home, and more like a boutique hotel (which may be the desired aim), or in the wrong hands, a musuem. This style also requires more balance or it can feel stuffy and too rigid, or even too serious with the gothic influences. I really enjoy restaurants designed in this style, but I don't think I'm perfectionist enough to live it.
Style 3 is like a cosy nook and booster seating area, kind of like those retro sixties dining booths. We love dining booths! I can imagine myself snuggling on one to read, using my computer there, and how cosy a dining booth feels in a restaurant. Because of the kitchen and dining area configuration, it won't be circular (alas) and would be more rectangular in structure. Also the island counter and glass display is quite low, so the booths will have to be similarly low. Another thing to consider would be the material of the booth - I love cotton or linen, but that's just a recipe for disaster when you are eating food. Leather would be a better choice, but that also limits the colour options and this would also depend on finding a good person to install this!
P.S. I clearly am partial to the white and victorian style.
The last four are my favourites. The key here (except maybe the first one) is that they are assymetrical in height for the chairs. I love the pairing of a sofa-like chair/bench with proper chairs, and I think this would be the most likely choices for the dining area. I would term this as beautiful kismetic chaos and would depend on what beautiful chair and dining pieces we meet!
And so, the world of chairs and dining tables await.
Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking.
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