In My Kitchen-The Linen Obsession

Most people collect something. It's often something useful, that's part of our daily lives. I have collections. Bundt pans. So many that I can't fit them into a cabinet. They have to live in plastic tubs in my storage room. Wine glasses. I have a wineglass from every winery I have visited, and they collect dust, err, I mean sit nicely in a china cabinet all their own. Kitchen knives. Now there is a useful collection. I do use them- all the time. Every day, in fact. 

Kitchen linens. Especially kitchen towels. By and large my biggest collection and most used. Some are old, some are new. Some are pristine, some are stained and tattered. All are loved. 

My best friends know me so well that when they travel and look for souvenirs to bring me, it's often a kitchen towel and something food or wine related. When I visit cute little shops in different towns I always am on the lookout for kitchen towels. I have found some of the cutest and most unique towels in those little shops. Sometimes they are embroidered, sometimes stamped or printed with something cute and kitcheny. 

Sometimes I find beautiful antique kitchen linens in antique shops. Long ago some woman spent hours creating beautiful needlework on that towel, maybe a crocheted edge. When I was little my mom taught me to embroider and she often made cute little tea towels with vines and flowers and French knots sprinkled all over. 

Don't leave me unattended in a kitchen store for very long. I don't shop at the mall very often- maybe once a year, if that, but when I do a stop in Williams Sonoma is a must for me. They have some of the best kitchen towels I have ever had. I love stopping in there at odd times during the year and digging through the clearance pile, looking for last season's "in" colors. I don't care what color they are!! 

When I am doing my regular shopping I still am vulnerable to my obsession. The nearby town has a small department store where I stop in for necessities like laundry supplies, pet supplies, things like that. Darnit, they always have an endcap with the current season's cute new kitchen towels. Sometimes it's the closest holiday, sometimes it's just a cute theme, like fall leaves or teapots.

They end up in my cart every time.......

Dreaming About Kitchens

Many of us have one. A dream. The perfect house. Perfect hair. Perfect gardens and flowers. Perfect lawns. The perfect house, your dream home, and if you're really lucky......your dream kitchen. 

My dream kitchen. That's something to think about, really. What would I want in my dream kitchen? If money were no object and I could have anything I wanted......... space. Most definitely space. Bright light. Windows. Plants, fresh herbs maybe, or just beautiful plants. Perhaps a flowering plant or even a lemon tree, sitting next to a huge window, a wall of glass, overlooking a deck suitable for entertaining and enjoying a nice meal or morning coffee in the shade and soft breeze. Skylights overhead to let even more glorious sunshine in.

This GORGEOUS kitchen from countryliving.com is
so perfect- the color, the window, no island but I can deal
without one! LOVE the color and airy openness.

Overhead is a very under-utilized space. My dream kitchen would have overhead storage in the form of a very cook hanging pot rack. I used to have a teeny tiny one. I would have a BIG one this time, with my Calphalon and AllClad displayed proudly. I'd have loads of cabinet space too, so countertop clutter would not exist. I would have a large container for my favorite utensils to huddle together. Magnetic strips would keep my knives safe and eliminate that bulky knife block I hate so much. A big bowl or two for fresh fruit and vegetables, or maybe breads, would have a prime spot on the counter. Maybe on the island- of course I'd have an island, and it would be perfect for sitting at with a couple of stools.

I'd need a big, deep sink and a cool faucet. One of those neat pull-out types or a restaurant-style spring sprayer whatever that thing is called. You know what I mean- it hangs over the sink and sprays water wherever you want. Very contemporary looking. Just my style. A deep ceramic farmhouse sink would be awesome for washing a big load of fresh produce from the farmers market. 

Let's go back to that kitchen island for a minute. Have you ever seen the islands that include the cooktop? That's exactly what I'd have.  But not just any cooktop. Nope. This chef-wanna-be would go all out and splurge on a Viking. I'd love to have the island built around a flawless stainless steel six burner Viking range. Above that, a stainless steel vent hood. The awesome thing about this Viking range in the photo is unlike other ranges there is no "back" where all the knobs and so on would be- it tucks perfectly into an island space, and would make me oh so happy! The oven would be tucked under just like any other range, but I would also need a cool second oven built into the wall. A cook can never have too much oven space, right? 

Another trend I see a lot and really love is using pennies as a surface "tile." I've seen entire kitchen floors covered in pennies, grouted and sealed, but the counter top penny surface is one I really love. Of course I'd love to have a granite kitchen counter, but I still love the look of the pennies, and maybe could incorporate both into the same kitchen. If I wasn't able to do a true counter top, maybe I might do a resurface on a kitchen table- cover than with pennies!

Now let's talk about refrigerators. Oh man, I hate my current fridge. Big. Ugly. Inconvenient. I miss the side-by-side my last kitchen had, and I really miss the fridge over freezer I had years before that! The fridge-over-freezer is making a comeback in a big way, as evidenced by my recent visit to a large appliance store. Another style of fridge that delights me to no end is the semi-hybrid French doors with the freezer on the bottom fridge. Wow!! Even better, some of them have a freezer drawer at the top of the freezer compartment! Ice and water in the door (man how I miss THAT) and easy access to everything in the fridge section, this style of fridge is absolutely on my wish list. 

I also noticed that stainless steel seems to be the new trend. No more black or white painted appliances, I spied one small forlorn white fridge hidden way back in a section I assume was the scratch and dent area. Everything else was stainless and I'm ok with that!

Let's get the conversation going here- what is YOUR dream kitchen like? What are your must-haves and wish-I-hads? Share your dreams and upgrades with us!!