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This is one of my favorite spaces here at the farm. It's called the summer kitchen.
So in the 18th and 19th centuries, in this country, summer kitchens were popular -- particularly
in the South, because it got so hot in the summer. If you've seen my PBS show Garden
to Table, you know this kitchen gets a lot of work. Now, I wanna talk more about the
style of the kitchen, but let's just talk about how it functions. You see, I've got
this cold, wet, heat, triangle going here which makes it really easy. Then there's over
here on this side: I've got plenty of counter space across the back and along this side,
up to where the microwave and the oven is, and the warming oven. And here, I have a generous
island with a cook stove and plenty of space to put ingredients or the finished product
or even have some friends sit down. So I really feel like this kitchen functions both for
a television set -- it also serves as a place for us to prepare food for big groups of people.
And it's a wonderful place just have an intimate dinner with some friends. I wanna talk about
color for just a minute, because I think it's so important. It really sets the mood of a
room. Here I wanted to use two colors of gray. I wanted this room to feel really cozy. Now,
this is really kind of a cool gray. If we had added some brown to it it would have warmed
the gray up. Now, you can see, the walls, the ceiling, the doors, the cabinets all are
painted this gray color. It blends nicely with all this stainless steel that we have
in the room as well. So it reads all as one. If you just sort squint your eyes and look
at it, the sense of it is it is a monolithic space. Now, there are elements of red that
come in. The red brick around the fireplace. And, of course, this island -- it's painted
red to sort of pop out and sort of create a little visual interest. This is a Benjamin
Moore color called Bird of Paradise. Now, there are some other red accents or warm accents
in here that play off of the cool grays. For instance, these window treatments -- they're
Roman shades with a stripe. Again, the same colors that you see in the island -- those
warmer tones of hearth and fire, all adding to make this a very cozy room. Let's talk
about the shelves: You can see, I really wanted some heavy, utilitarian shelves that fit a
workspace like this, because this is a real workhorse of a room. So what we did is created
these triangular brackets with wood. And then for the shelf itself, we started with a wood
base and then wrapped it with stainless steel. It was a very affordable way to get the look
that I wanted in here. You see, I wanted to echo the stainless steel appliances that you
see on either side. And so, by doing these four shelves on either side, it gave me plenty
of room to fill it with all kinds of pots and containers and bowls and things like that.
Here, I can display those orange tones, those red tones with this Le Creuset cookware, with
tomatoes out of the garden, all kinds of bowls that I've collected -- many of them are vintage.
And it makes a great place for storage, but I think the display also adds a lot. People
who come into this kitchen, they really love the warmth and the comfort that it exudes.
The kitchen is essentially divided in half. This side of the kitchen, the south side,
is dedicated to the preparation of food. And the north side here, with the fireplace, is
an area designated to enjoying food. So I have this dining table here with six chairs.
And the style of this table is one of sort of a country table -- it's a traditional style,
but it's all new. And these are Windsor chairs, all placed on a braided rug. Again, on the
floor, I'm picking up colors that reflect the warm tones in the room. Salmon, orange,
red and so forth. The floors themselves have held up really well. What I did was put a
light stain on them -- again, a grey, so that you get a sense of harmony and unity in this
space. Another way that I've accented the room is with some vintage finds: Using tools
like this old scythe, as well as candle holders, and paintings of cows and peaches and produce
and so forth, really add a sense of warmth to a space like this. And, of course, I can't
talk about this room without mentioning the light fixtures and the fans. You see, they're
definitely contemporary, which is a contrast to some of the furnishings, but they actually
look very good because of the finish -- the finish being stainless steel with the appliances
here in the room. If you found this video to be enjoyable or helpful, let me hear from
ya -- I'd love to know about some of your style ideas. And make sure you subscribe to
eHow Home. Now I'm gonna get to work here in the kitchen -- start fixing supper.