450 ft. of Ikea

I confess that the past four weekends have not been spent fruitfully working on home improvements, but going on joy trips to Ikea. Most of my needs were addressed in the first round, but how could I resist all the subsequent ventures? I definitely didn’t need anything when we last went, a spontaneous trip after a Newark airport drop off. But, I discovered that I liked their small kitchen set up for a small apartment. A kitchen nook with an island, it manages to squeeze in a full size refrigerator into less than 50 square feet. The island offers up a good amount of counter space, along with a 24″ cooktop and oven and a set of drawers. The sink was a little claustrophobic and small for me, but it still manages to maximize the counter by installing a rail system for a dish drying rack. I didn’t notice until later that the rack is actually nailed into a piece of MDF that hugs the refrigerator, reminding me of my future panel for the un-broom closet, not bothersome at all. A nice layout, but where is all the food and cookware and dishes supposed to be stored? In the floor to ceiling wardrobe cabinets that one barely notices upon entering. Can I move in during renovation?

Bye Bye Blueprint

Traveling brings about the obligatory raid at the newstand. I had to get the Rolling Stone with Britney Spears - consumed before getting in the air, the new Dwell for its homes under 1000 sq. ft, and the final issue of Blueprint, the hipper, quirkier version of Martha Stewart Living. It’s always sad to see the demise of a magazne, Blueprint makes me sadder still since it had good solutions for the budget home enthusiast, a possibly un-lucrative demographic, as witnessed by the ill-fated Budget Living. This month’s kitchen makeover story transforms a drab 30’s 10′ x 10′ kitchen into a vibrant retro space. The ideas are really good and simple - colorfully painted cabinets with punches of contrasting utensils, a milky white corian counter and sink, and sleek, streamline fixtures - dramatic differences that come at a small price. I even like that they kept the twee stove in the corner, made cuter flanked by so much color and shine. An appealing layout with clear and intimate details makes for nice eye candy. Going to show that fresh ideas don’t require a lot of money, but to keep a magazine running does.

Bachelor Pad Kitchen

A kitcheonette after my own heart, Cedric’s kitchen in Apartment Therapy smartly addresses many of the same concerns as The Littlest Kitchen. Judging by the size of his kitchen strip - which only fits an undercounter fridge, sink, and rangetop - it’s about the same size. I love the poured concrete countertop, an ingenious use of material. Equally inventive is the framed glass backsplash, a simple visual device which cleans up easily. I do question the Fisher & Paykel dishwasher instead of an oven, and the fact that it doesn’t align with range (I’m sure an internal hookup issue or external cabinet door issue). I understand the rationale to be a solution to clutter, but what about a European-style dish drying cabinet over the sink, or the Ikea rail system? Necessity would dictate an oven for me, but we all have our priorities.

Dream On

I can’t deny the swoon factor in “Tiny Dream Kitchens” featured in this month’s Domino. The tiny kitchens in this article are all in one units that incorporate many features like sink, stove, storage, and refridgeration. I’ve never been a believer in things that perform multiple tasks, often because they don’t do any of them well, but these units send my heart aflutter. I’m especially infatuated with the Alpes washing/cooking block. I fantasize about it as my peninsula - the smoth stainless countertop housing a custom sink and cooktop with mix and match oven and recycling drawers - all practical and inobtrusive, but the price brings me down to earth at $25,000. The Boffi Mini Kitchen is a Japanese puzzle box of drawers and compartments tucked into one smoothly designed glorified airplane beverage cart. I love it and hate it at the same time, hating it more at the $30,000 price tag. Finally, the Acme kitchenette is no slouch, and quite reasonable in price, but I wouldn’t want this efficiency as my main kitchen. I’ll consider it for the in-law wing of the house - I can dream can’t I?

Glass House

I went to Philip Johnson’s Glass House back in September, and I have to say, I was underwhelmed by the kitchen. Granted, it hadn’t been used in a few years, and it’s supposed to be invisible, it’s nowhere near as stunning as the rest of the house and grounds. Painted a battleship gray, it tonally blends in with the landscape, as not to stick out, as it would if it were white, black or metal. Everything is counterheight as not to obstruct views in or out of the house. The stove is only 20 inches and the fridge is an undercounter, apartment-size appliances for a well-sized house. To distinguish the kitchen from the living area, interior cabinets within the kitchen are grey (as seen from the outside), exterior surfaces are wood (as seen from the inside). Nowhere is this more pronounced than with the nifty flip up counter that goes over the oven and sink. Flipped up in utilitarian gray, one could use the sink and oven; flipped down in attractive wood, creates an island for entertaining by hiding said appliances. Minimal is one thing, but on its own without the beauty that surrounds it, this kitchen could conceivably be found in any employee breakroom.

Inner City Living

I couldn’t help notice in my favorite new show on DVD, Flight of the Conchords, that these down and out musicians living on the Lower East Side, have a larger kitchen than mine! Their dingy cold water flat has enough room for a table (ostensibly an eat in kitchen!), and an enviable vintage one piece enamel sink. If they weren’t eating out of the garbage due to their impoverishness(episode 2), they could have a nice kitchen. Upper and lower cabinets could be maximized to form an L, which also creates more counterspace instead of the lame tables that flank the 20″ stove. They could even go up a size in the stove and with the “apartment size” fridge. An island could define the kitchen more and function as the eating area. Alas, it’s only a rental. And make believe.

Little London kitchen

Happy New Year! The purpose of The Littlest Kitchen isn’t just to go on ad nauseum about my renovation. I’d also like to talk about food, design, and inspiration, through the filter of this small space. I’ll look at other people’s kitchens, test recipes, critique kitchen gadgets, share tips, be inspired by the world beyond, and bring it back to The Littlest Kitchen.

To start the New Year, I’ll begin with a little kitchen porn. My friend’s London kitchen is a smartly designed modern intervention in a prewar flat. Clad in stainless steel on one side, and white seamless cabinets on the other, it provides a streamline visual to an otherwise cluttered space. The back of the kitchen is a translucent wall that brings light from the window in the bedroom behind it. Shiny surfaces give the illusion of a bigger space and much workspace. Hidden behind the white doors lie, from back to front, a washer and dryer, oven, separate cooktop, and refridgerator. On the steel side, resides pull-out drawers for storage, and a dishwasher. The upper shelf creates another elongated line along the galley kitchen, and a nice area to see glasses and such. A rail under the shelf creates a discreet system of hanging racks, holding an extra shelf for comestibles and a dish drying rack for small jobs. Although I love the stainless steel for its sleekness and practicality, it’s an OCD bugaboo, making the likes of myself to spend hours on banishing every water drop and fingerprint. Aside from my own idiosyncracy, I aspire to a kitchen like this, in half the space.