OK. I'm not going to finish this since the thread is getting a little long in the tooth. But you get the idea.

There is another aspect to Victorian kitchens we haven't explored yet--they've been around since Victorian times. Which means they've accumulated decades of life, design, renovation and accumulation.

This is kind of a Walton's Victorian, or maybe Sookie's grandmother's house from True Blood. A house that isn't a preserved Victorian but one that has been lived in over the years, presenting with a lot of elements from the '20s through the '60s.

So:

Marmo floors
Laminate counters (I couldn't find a true turquoise like I wanted)
Vintage elements from many decades, scrambled up

Marcolo, I like your latest design. I definitely see the accumulation of different vintages of stuff in my house and a lot of my friends houses. I did something similar in one of my 1920s houses with mid-century appliances.

Perhaps the kitchen in the movie "Practical Magic"?

Here is a link that might be useful: Practical Magic kitchen

It's got a similar feeling to that. But the PM kitchen is more purely Victorian. The odd thing is, many of us have seen kitchens in person like the one I designed, so it feels pretty odd to "design" it!

I don't have enough time to finish that design, but I would like to add some new items to it. The idea is that this kitchen would never actually change, but would always continue to absorb some of the flavor of the time as its life goes on.

Odd that giving feedback seems about as anxiety producing as developing a design might be. At any rate here goes.

Rorah: I am amazed that no one has asked where that incredible sink can be seen (other than your post).

Pal #1: You asked for feedback about why this design did not quite work. For me it is because a sense of the context was missing, where are the elements going? What is the room like? How will the one actual bit of warmth (the fabric) be used?

Juliekemo: The explanations you added with each of your elements were very helpful. Like Pal�s board #1 I found it cold but it made sense.

Marcolo #1: For me it seemed like a Sherlock Holmes movie set. Fun to move through quickly but not a place I would want to sit and have tea.

Pal #2: The rug with the warm orange grounding made the �room� seem habitable to me.

LWO #1: The pieces were fun, but I would not linger in that space.

Cawaps #1: To my surprise, given the cacophony when I followed the link, I would like to sit and have tea in that room. The pendant with the amber colors made it for me.

Painted Lady #1: The green tile (in a great shade of green) did not do much to bring the other parts together and everything else seemed cold and utilitarian.

Painted Lady #2: The floor and the great light fixture made it. The back splash seemed odd.

Mudhouse: Great cabinets. The bright blue drawer pulls and other colors did not seem to work together but I thought it was a great story.

Marcolo #2: My favorite. I could spend time in that space.

On anther note: I have been bemused by how irritating LWO and Marcolo are finding the oak cabinet thread. On that thread people mention how helpful and supportive they find their fellow posters and then Marcolo and LWO are adding their comments about 1) how childish the posters are and 2) how they are not learning anything from this post (to paraphrase greatly).

I have been enjoying both threads. It occurs to me that a way to understand this is with the Myer-Briggs type indicators. On the one hand we have two incredibly talented individuals who most likely rate very highly on sensation and thinking function and on the other hand we have the folks who are not confident of their sensation function and trust their feeling function. I think we should celebrate the difference.

Finally, as an INFP, thank you to those of you with sensation function for this tread. I am always sad when one of the design-this threads ends and then relieved when another one begins. To all of you who contribute, thank you!

orcasgramma,

I noticed two things I did by accident.

You said you wouldn't want to have tea in Sherlock Holmes' kitchen. My reaction was, "I'd love to!" But then I realized, I'd rather have a Scotch or a sherry--which is what guys would drink in there. Heck, look at what I said about being inspired by public spaces in London; in Vicky's day, that was the province of men, not women. Without meaning to, I had made the first space very masculine and the second very feminine. So that may be part of the reaction.

Second, I think both of my designs are very movie set-ish. The first is transparently Potter-y and Dickensien. Yet while the second does remind me of real kitchens I've seen (remember johnliu's friend's kitchen?), it's much more cohesive than something that really could have evolved over time.

However, now I'm really intrigued by the notion of incorporating elements from multiple decades starting with the date of the house, and continuing to do so indefinitely. Would that work in a 1980s house?

Oh, and by the way--to paraphrase greatly is quite the understatement. You know people are saying a lot of other things in that thread besides how wonderful everyone is.

Anyway, if people really want golden oak as the next topic I'll participate, but only if everyone agrees to enforce the "no taking it personally" rule if need be.

As an INTP on the very far side of the T, that being able to bring order and coherence to a physical space is a clearly logical process akin to working a geometry problem. I'll freely admit, illogical emotion is an irritating obstacle to that process.

Marcolo,

Your comments make me think of a Scotch tasting in Scotland more than 2 decades ago - if the Scotch is peaty, tasting of Scottish Lochs, I think I will join you - with the fall back plan of an excellent Sherry.

The second design also reminds me of real kitchens, hence my reaction. I'll look for johnliu's friend's kitchen. I don't remember it.

Point taken about the understatement - still....

I hope the topic of oak is left in the dust. I love quarter sawn oak (for example, 1920s singer treadle machine cabinets) and despise the kitchen cabinets from the 80s, having lived with the cheap tract house version for years and being delighted when they were painted over. That experience has left me with sympathy with those who are still trying to make that stuff work.

I don't think it's hard to make quartersawn oak work in an early 20th century aesthetic--it just works. Heck, all the floors in my house are oak in a Provincial stain and they look great. It's the golden oak, golden arches, cheap builder cabs that are the issue. They're not just out of trend; they were poor quality and poor design to begin with. I think for some reason oak got really cheap in the 1980s, so those cabinets didn't proliferate because they looked good, but because they made a nicer profit.

I don't think that thread has anything to do with Meyers-Briggs. I'm OK with emotional people. This is something more specific: the Victim Princess, She Who Must Be Obeyed Lest Ye Be a Hater and a Basher, For It Truly Is All About Her. A kiddie tantrum is all it is.

Meanwhile, I'm eagerly collecting elements for the Golden Oak thread, including goose water pitches, Hunter Green Formica, and maybe some burgundy wallpaper with little white dots and a country border. Ooh, and I can update the shiny brass with smoked glass!

If I remember my Meyers-Briggs results, I'm also an INTP.

Orcasgramma, regarding Roarah's brass sink: I used a similar one in an earlier thread, and I think they are from the same manufacturer, Restart (Italy). I'm providing a link below. They also have complete kitchens that would look pretty fabulous in a Victorian.

Here is a link that might be useful: Restart brass and copper sinks

Marcolo,

I am having so much fun with all this Design around threads. Can you add Farmhouse/ country kitchen with a modern twist to your list? It would be great to see all the creative minds interpret this for present times where one lusts after a modern german appliance and a classic sink or faucet with the same fervor.

Lurker only (well, occasional solution-seeker with all clothes on before leaving the house).

I.love.these.threads. Not because I want to be able to design a kitchen (or any other room or structure), but simply because the backstories are clever and the results are stunning. I cannot comment on whether the elements meet the design criteria only on whether they are pleasing to my eye in and of themselves ("in a vacuum").

Roll on, please.

Orcasgramma, it is a Restart sink I found it on Roundedoff.com. They are beautiful, sorry Cawaps, I did not remember yours in the formica thread or I would have credited you for it:). The only thing I am not sure I love about the sinks is how shallow they are. I had ,in my last home, a 1930s shallow sink that did not bother me at the time but after having a deep sink now I am not sure I could go back:)even when it is sooo pretty. Form over function.
Javachick, I wondered if the mood boards really did portray how it would look IRL so I did one of my current kitchen with just close ups of my individual elements and it provided a very realistic feel of the whole room so I do think these boards can portray how the finishes will work in a real room.

Cawaps and Rorah,

Thank you for the information about where you found the sinks - such eye candy!

Although I am probably the only one who learned there was such a thing as steampunk from reading the Design Around threads, just in case there are others who wonder - the Roundedoff site has a great pair of steampunk goggles. If you are interested the link is: http://roundedoff.com/2011/02/11/x-131-cast-steampunk-biomech-goggles/

Marcolo, reading your plans for the golden oak thread I find myself wondering if it will be the first of these threads I'll be ready to see come to an end. :) Probably not - such amazing talent here.

Mudhouse: Great cabinets. The bright blue drawer pulls and other colors did not seem to work together but I thought it was a great story.

Orcasgramma, the colors work for me but then I've always had a bad weakness for the admittedly courageous pairings of complementary colors (opposite each other on the color wheel.) However I doubt I would have the guts to do it in real life with something as permanent as a range and countertops (my family would freak.)

I thought the cobalt glass pulls were too bright too, but after plopping about five other pulls in my board, decided to go for broke to see what others might say.

The fun thing about this exercise was pushing myself to do things I would not/could not in real life, and get good input back. I really appreciate your comments.

Regarding a possible Golden Oak thread, I do see value in a thread dealing with any common "design hurdle" that is faced by many kitchen owners. I have not wrestled with golden oak, but we did update a bathroom with sixties wall-to-wall tile the color of band-aids (ugh.) Working with challenging colors you can't change is an exercise in frustration, and I personally would enjoying seeing what others might do.

If we're starting to vote on the next theme, then I vote for animal prints. They're ubiquitous in today's designs. And yet they can look so 1970's Harlem pimp if you aren't careful. I'll admit that I mostly don't care for them, so it would be challenging to make them a tasteful inclusion, especially in a traditional kitchen.

If we do oak, and we should, we should let at least another topic or two in between now and then to allow people to settle down, and also to be able to cheat and start accumulating images now. ;)

I would not/could not in real life

I have to bust you on this. Why not?

There is an instinctive fear reaction that causes people to pull back too far when it comes to their own kitchens. Too risky. Bad for resale. Family would hate it. It's important to realize these are rationalizations. I busted mtnrdredux for saying some of the earlier kitchen designs were too impractical and expensive. She's a smart lady with great taste but she was dead wrong on that. With some exceptions most of the designs she was talking about could actually be sourced point-and-click at the same prices a lot of GWers seem to pay for blander kitchens. It seems to be that the natural reaction to anything different is, "I can't do that," and then afterward we come up with a rationalization why not.

I'm not saying you would actually build a specific kitchen in one of these threads. But these ideas absolutely do apply in the real world. In fact, they're indispensable in the real world for anybody who doesn't want to overspend while still getting a bad result. We see a constant stream of people who did not follow this process, simply defaulted to bland and "neutral," and then come pleading, "How do I fix this?"

Voting: Animal prints please. If I can manage it I might try to do a high/low.

Marcolo, busted, and rightly so! A more truthful sentence would have been, "the fun thing about this exercise was pushing myself to do things I would not previously have had the courage and self confidence to even consider, in real life."

Truth is, some of my happier creative moments would likely affect resale, and cause the all too familiar eye-rolling among family. But then again, they might lead to real success that would not have been possible without crawling out on the skinny tree limb. And anyway, life is short, and I am having too much fun stretching to let those things be impossible obstacles. Thanks for the gentle and quite appropriate bonk on the head.

Hopefully Sarah will be back in future threads, having fun falling on her nose in front of everyone, and learning (which is the very best part.)

I hope others who have not tried a mood board will jump in here too (if I can do it you certainly can.) It's such a great way to work on ideas...you'll be amazed. Olioboard was not hard to learn after some fiddling.

I have an honest non-judgmental question for the new participants here and lurkers in the thread who have never worked in what are typically (not always accurately!) called the "creative professions."

Have you ever participated in a real brainstorming session? Do people use these in a lot of other professions, or not?

I ask because a lot of folks seem to start their processes by eliminating things. Masses and masses of options are dismissed out of hand as "too expensive," "bad for resale," "weird" or whatever, often with literally not one nanosecond of thought. It's more of an autopilot assumption. Right from the start, it seems, the task ahead is defined as replicating some other commonly-seen kitchen, and that's all that's considered. Anything different makes them freeze in fear.

Imagine the fear worked the other way. If you worked in advertising and you wrote a boring headline, your creative director or client may humiliate you at a public meeting. If you wrote boring songs, your audience might walk out before you are done. If you designed a boring building for a major architecture firm, your boss might call you into his office and fire you to your face. Imagine that.

In professions like these, people brainstorm because they have to. They have to get over their fear of coming up with a stupid idea, and just start generating ideas period. Maybe we should advertise e. dysfunction with a talking broomstick. Maybe we should write an e. dysfunction jingle. Maybe we should have an old guy turn into a male stripper. Maybe, maybe, maybe. 99.99% of these ideas will be awful. It doesn't matter. A few of them won't be. Those are the ones you have to get to.

How you narrow them down later--that's a separate discussion.

I've been busy with insurance adjustors, so I haven't played or commented...but I just wanted to say "Wow" to Marcolo's last kitchen. That's my favorite kitchen example on GW, ever. The mix of vintage details, the colors, the style...it's the kind of kitchen I'd like to have :)

Actually, lavender, I was specifically thinking about you when I put it together. But that's why I was frustrated to be unable to find a laminate that tilted more turquoise rather than green--you put that idea in my head!

Marcolo, interesting comment about brainstorming.

I work in a pretty analytical field. We sometimes do brainstorming sessions. Just today I was working with a team trying to pin down the documentation approach we want to take with data inputs to a model. We had come up with an idea months ago (to run by the client when proposing the project), but now that we are into the project and really digging into the data, we are reevaluating the approach. There is so much data in so many forms that there doesn't seem to be a perfect solution, but four of us were throwing out ideas and actually came up with some good new ideas. Now we are each off to the drawing board to each do a mockup of how we think it should be done. Next week, we're going to discuss and evaluate the four mock-ups.

When I was planning the remodel-that-didn't-happen-I'm-getting-a-divorce-instead, I started with the things I liked in my existing kitchen--inset Shaker cabs with cabinet latches (it's a 1910 Edwardian and as far as I know the cabs are original; the white kithcens trend hit at the right time for me), linoleum flooring, mid-century Wedgewood-Holly range. Then I built up from there. Not exactly brainstorming, but it seemed like a good approach to preserve the historic character of the house.

For these exercises, I've been starting with a lot of ideas that don't all necessarily go (the brainstorming part), then I review the ideas and pick a theme, then assemble specific elements from the brainstorming process that work with that theme, and then fine-tune it (e.g. That fabric is a bit too formal, everthing else is heading in a more casual direction, let me find something else).

Marcolo- That is so sweet! It's been a rough month and it's nice to know someone is thinking of me...if only for a kitchen laminate :)

Are the birds and flowers both wallpaper options? Those are beautiful and elegant, but still blend very well, with the more simple lines of the vintage appliances, countertop, and floor. The chair and bowl? (under the sink) are perfect with the other colors.

I haven't had the time this week to do a board, which sucks since modern Queen Vic was my suggestion I think. Oh well, you've all done a great job. Mudhouse, I wish I'd seen those pine cabs in Coburg before Sarah, I have just the application for them. Really great kitchen. I'm still figuring out Olioboard as well, but it is fairly intuitive.

LWO, I love the sisters' kitchen! The lavender gray cabs with the purple backsplash is inspired, and with a turquoise island to boot, love it all. Thanks for the long informative post on Victorian homes too. My neighbourhood is full of coloured Victorians, although most are "restrained" greens and yellows with a few nice gray/blues. My immediate neighbour painted her home the most shocking blue last year, with a serious PINK front door. Shocking at first, but I quite like it now. Still don't know if I would have done the pink door though. I'm bummed that I didn't get to do a colourful Victorian, mais c'est la vie. Next time. I'm already thinking about animal prints for this weekend.

Mudhouse,

I appreciate you going where I cannot yet follow - putting a board together. I've gone back to look at your board after realizing that my comment didn't give any details - just a reaction. I hope these are more thoughtful comments:

On my monitor the blue in those wonderful tiles and the drapery fabric looks like a soft, almost lavender blue, very different from the cobalt blue of the range, which seems different again from the electric blue of the drawer pulls. Those elements don't seem to be a good fit with each other to me.

On the other hand the tiles, the transfer ware, the counter, and the stripped pine cabinets seem to belong together to me. My reaction surprised me because on its own I very much like the cobalt blue range.

Marco - in disciplines where outcomes are measured by grades on standardized tests thinking in general, never mind brainstorming, is given lip service but NOT encouraged. Sorry to be so cynical/angry but major money is being made from standardized testing and it does not work with thinking.

You know, Sochi, I don't think these threads have an expiration date. There's nothing to keep you from doing a Queen Anne even if Animal Prints is already up (you might have to point people back to it, though). And of course you could put your animal print in a Queen Anne, if you wanted.

I agree with Cawaps, Sochi. I have so enjoyed your beautiful boards in other other threads. Personally I'd happily wait forever to see your colourful Victorian. Although the animal print Queen Anne is intriguing, too.

lavender, yes those are wallpapers. When you get to that point, poke me and I'll try to find them. The parrot is called Parroquet, and it's Osborne & Little. I forget the other but can probably reconstruct.

orcasgramma, I hear you. I'm very sorry that so much money is being spent to ensure that our youngsters grow up to fail. Because standardized responses to an unpredictable environment inevitably result in failure. Oh well. Every empire falls. Anyway.

cawaps, that sounds pretty close to a typical brainstorming process. The first rule is, be generous. The second rule is, be ruthless. Open, then closed. I'm truly personally amazed how many people don't get that.

Marcolo, we were professional craftspeople, so brainstorming was a normal routine. My guess is brainstorming may be a bit easier when the folks involved all know each other quite well, since the underlying (unspoken) respect makes everyone more comfortable (harder to ruffle feathers.) Brainstorming on an internet forum may be a bit harder...?

On people tending to replicate ideas...on rare occasions, customers would ask us for a copy, free, of a design we'd developed, so they could use it on their own. (Rather a touchy point for artists, but let's set that aside.) One woman was delightfully honest, explaining:

1. I can't come up with anything on my own that looks that good, and
2. Why should I do the work of figuring it out, when you already have?

This was an eye opener for me. I believe we are all creative, but I understand it's hard to grow up with these beliefs intact. Many wonderful things are lost to the world because people are taught (often by well meaning family and friends) that they "don't have a creative bone in their bodies." Of course I disagree, but if people believe it about themselves, it's sometimes a long road to changing their minds. This is such a shame.

The second is not as simple as it seems. I think many people are able to perceive the work and value in a well-designed widget (thank goodness, or creative trades across the country would starve to death!) But surprisingly often, they may not perceive the joy/satisfaction/reward involved in the process and work of creating their own widget. To some, the process is not fun. It's hard, and scary (see point one.) And/or, they just have other things they'd rather do. If they really feel this way, then replicating a design they like seems the wiser choice. Doing something risky seems needless, with no up side. (I'm not defending this viewpoint, but I know it exists.)

Of course, as you've pointed out, the folly is, the safe route doesn't guarantee a happy ending. I think these Design threads are great for helping people get more comfortable with both sides of this issue:
1) wow, I really can do it, and
2) I'm actually having fun doing it.

YIKES! EMERGENCY!

Sorry to interrupt--tech savvy people needed right now to protect these threads.

I just went back to check something on the "Dreaming of a White Kitchens" thread, and multiple photos have already disappeared. This is what happens when we post using outside image hosting, whether through a service or manufacturer's website.

Anybody know how to save these threads, images and all, immediately for later preservation? Please? We need action right now because damage has already occurred.

mudhouse, apologies for interrupting your well thought-out post.

marcolo, just visited that thread and it appears to be fully populated with photos (i.e., nothing to indicate anything's gone missing).

Marcolo, I recognized the danger when I tried to show my FIL the 1920's thread. I think the issue was mostly his Mac or his network, but a lot of stuff wasn't showing up (it was there when I went back later from my computer). I took the time to save the pics from my posts to my computer. I can assemble them into one image file and put them on Photbucket and repost that way. I've since gone to that approach entirely.

I think anyone interested in saving the fruits of their effort should do the same.

Of course if any tech-savvy person can save the entire thread with images, that would be even cooler.

Not that I am tech-savvy by any means, but I will save an important thread as a web archive - it saves everything - pictures and text - as is to my computer (I have a Mac.) All I do is File -> Save As - > and choose web archive. Not sure how that is done on a PC.

Ok, I started from a real house - its what I think of as a bridge house that foreshadows the coming trends. It's kitchen had been the subject of multiple remodels including an unfortunate tex-mexican mission period. Because it's me, there are elevations and a floor plan instead of a mood board.

It has elements left from likely the original that I'm interested in preserving. The house is located in a historic district and policed by a neighborhood association so nothing about the exterior or the floor plan of the house shall be altered in any way. I'm uncertain that removing the tex-mex fireplace is possible or impossible.

I like the tension between old things and new things. So, the room is victorian, but the working bits are modern. I'm picking modern, italian cabinets but in a softer style. Counters to be dark to medium gray caesarstone in a matte surface. I'm thinking about recasting the tex-mex as a wood-oven - there is an alcove above that looks like a beehive oven, so I'm adding a salvaged oven door to it.

The hood, the marble slabs on the walls and a few kitchen cabinets are original. Why the marble slabs on are the walls is beyond me. Dude who built the house was a shipbuilder. There are two converted gas lights scones on either side of the range. There is one intact top and base, one top and one set of shelves and I'm using all of them plus one replica base after a trip to the paint strippers.

The kitchen is larger than it should be because of one of the previous remodels - possibly the one that added the fireplace. A fair amount of the room trim has been removed and the remaining woodwork is quite plain. The historic restrictions are so strong that to replace the woodwork with replicas, I would need actual proof that it wasn't original. On the other hand, they don't consider kitchen or bath fixtures as needing any restrictions.

The floor is a disaster - water damage, wear, shrinkage, holes. It needs to be replaced. I'm choosing white oak in a matter slight brown finish.

I'm going with William Morris wallpaper and prints plus the embroidered white linen curtains. I'm thinking the same type of table and chairs that cawaps posted, but I'd like mine to have wear and tear marks. The chair seats would be the "upholstery" which is a velvet weave.

The ceilings are pretty high and would love to get away with something like this..

or this

Not so much for the steam punk vibe but for the noise, the air movement and the reminder of belt-driven factory machines.

It's funny how cobalt blue and Victorian goes together in my head too. This is very plain-ish in comparison to the others. I'm a plain-ish person.

Alternate if fireplace goes:

I tried to post earlier but "computer ate my homework" so here's another try. I envision a warm, inviting room with historic references but a modern feel. Assume that this house is like my Grandmother's 1880 place in St. Paul, with a speaking tube to upstairs, a narrow door to servant's steep stairway upstairs, an inside door to basement (as well as outside one with ramped cover over door), and window facing neighbor house with lilies of valley underneath. I'm going to insert a twist--a single story narrow 20th century porch/sunroom addition on back that I'm now going to incorporate into this room, making it pretty big and allowing me to add a bank of good, tight new doublehung windows across the alley end of the house. Also let's install a good outside door--with a lot of glass--at the former back hall entry area which faces alley abt 6 feet from the outside corner. There is a big budget for all this--the owner has a lot more money than Grandma and very different taste.

First, add a beadboard wood bin in that corner beyond the door. Then add a wood stove in the opposite corner of the addition. The stovepipe should have a kink in it for character and it should pierce the ceiling through one of those old fashioned tin-plates. Get a soapstone one, either old fashioned or modern, with a flat surface for warning pots and coffee cups. Consider one of these...Scan "Anderson 40" {{gwi:1988387}}or Woodstock "Keystone" for example, although you can find much more Victorian stoves if to your liking

The existing cabs can be rehabbed and painted a gentle gold; walls get painted creamy white; the countertops are Vermont Structural Slate's "Unfading Red Slate"{{gwi:1577424}}
The island is sort of a cart without wheels, made of a yellow wood like maple with a wood top and open storage below. There is a pot rack overhead also either made of the wood or of non-shiny stainless steel or such. Pots include a few enamel cast iron items in a strong green color.

There is a banquette built below the bank of windows at back and a rectangular trestle/harvest table of same warm wood is there, with mismatched chairs from antique to modern on the open sides of the table. If there's a high chair, it is of wood, perhaps antique. There is a valence high over windows made of same bold red-gold-green mod fabric that covers the banquette. There are stiffly starched panels of white linen on the lower halves of the window; window shades can be pulled down by the tatted rings that hang in the upper part of the windows.

The kitchen sink is Kohler's largest "Stages" unit with all the accessories and two "Karbon" jointed faucets. A second sink is in the butler pantry, an L-shaped connecting hall between kitchen and dining room (make it wider than Granny's for efficiency).

This one by C.J. Kitchen Designs is an integrated sink and countertop in zinc but let's add a historic-style faucet with white ceramic handles.

A paper-mache animal head or a wooden hay fork would not be unwelcome mounted above the windows. If the cupboards have space above them, put up a collection of large, colored interesting items. Put a large framed piece on the non-cupboard side of the pantry/passageway with lots of bright color and use strong hooks so that the piece does not fall if bumped. Inside the glass-front uppers in the kitchen you can let all the stuff show through--cereal boxes or whatever. In the pantry, put the good stuff on display behind the glass fronts: Ittala pebbled glassware, white bone china, and perhaps a LeCreuset lime green casserole.

Refrigerator (medium capacity French door with drawers below) and dishwasher (use plenty of insulation around it so it really is quiet) are practical, stainless steel, perhaps Kenmore. But the induction range is ired, perhaps this Viking "Apple Red"
Cabinet handles are pewtery. There's a different sculpted mod-backed Jeffrey Alexander I had in original lost posting, but his "Encada" are close:

LIghting is a combo of old and new. I can't get the image to behave itself so look for yourself at the Toltec Lighting pendant show below in link. It's got black metal and I'm not sure where to put it but I really like it. Maybe over the butler sink? There needs to be a ceiling fan to keep the windows from rotting with condensation and to pull heat out of the ceiling in winter...how about a mod one with hallogen light from Minka to position between cooking and table area? If you like recessed lights, hey put them in, but I like globes that stand out in relief against a ceiling, and with a tall ceiling you gotta hang some good light or use _large_ globes. We used two and three bulb "Nova" ceiling models from Besa in our current project and we really like them, but the "Katie" would have that Scandinavian vibe that this new room has. Besa also makes a lot of flexible combos for pendant-izing their many great glass pieces. Avoid the temptation to use colored glass in work areas. White matte glass is very practical--doesn't show dust. Of course there needs to be undercab lighting--gentle, please not harsh.

{{gwi:1988395}}
If you want to go Victorian nutsy, put in an embossed ceiling--either metal (has an echo problem) or embossed wallpaper that can be painted. Retain old beadboard where appropriate and smooth out the rest of the plaster walls and paint semi-gloss creamy white. If you want tile, go for something that your children won't hate when they're 50. Right now I'm thinking about a backsplash in checkerboard of matte 4" rectangles in red and cream but it just might be too much. Ya think?

And of course, Florantha prescribes a minimum of three pull-out wooden boards, one at the chopping station near the kitchen sink, one in the butler pantry to accept overflow items coming and going to dining room, and a nice big one at the baking station unless there is room for a recessed stone area for candy making and rolling out dough.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bellacor / Toltec Lighting pendant with funky glass

Thanks for playing :)

I think this would be a really pretty kitchen. All that marble--do you think that was salvage from something commercial?

The fireplace probably isn't very practical but I does add the the "evolved" feeling of the kitchen. As to what the historic commission would say about it's removal, I suppose that's up to their interpretation. There is one school the would probably let you remove it because it is not original and may not be considered "appropriate", while another school would say that removing something old would be revisionist.

I did this a little too quickly, but here goes.

This is a house in my neighbourhood. Beautiful red brick. Owner recently won a city heritage award for the restoration of her chimney, it is fabulous house. Some exposed brick in kitchen. I've been in the house - narrow rooms, small kitchen that leads through a short hall to the dining room. I don't know the owner well, but what I know of her lead to many of my choices below.

Wallpaper and wall colour in hall to DR.

Cabinets will be blue-gray (imagine all cabs below are the same colour). No island, just the open shelves with a zinc countertop beneath, and carrara counters on the main run. The inset nook shelving will be in the short hallway that leads to the DR.

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Shallow sink with mini-black range, good for small spaces

src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7030/6487440541_bb95d0e599.jpg"; width="400" height="300" alt="White Carrara Marble CD commercial">

bump

I'm so glad we waited for the late entries.

BMore, I like it--it seems very elegant. I like the layout better without the fireplace, but I'm not optimistic about the removal flying with the hisoric preservation police.

Florantha, I have to admit I'm having trouble visualizing, especially with key elements like the cabinets not being shown.

Sochi, I like. I especially like the open shelving and the recessed cabinet. Who makes the black range? I'm notusually enamoured of tiny ranges, but that one might make me a convert.

I see that the cabinets I posted in the thread are different from the ones in the mood board. Ops, that is what happens when you try to post too quickly! I prefer the look of the cabs in the mood board, although they are very similar.

cawaps - I'm afraid that the oven is from the UK. Leisure Gourmet Mini Range (see link). It is only about �450, or about $700 I think, pretty affordable. Apparently Leisure used to be owned by Aga ... maybe there is a way to get one on this side of the pond? They are pretty great.

bmore - those fans are ridiculously wonderful. I love the exposed red brick with the cobalt blue appliances.

florantha - you used zinc too, I like that choice for a modern Victorian kitchen. I contemplated the Karbons, but I just couldn't picture a Karbon in my neighbour's house. But I think every kitchen should have a Karbon! :) It is hard to visualise the whole kitchen, but good elements I think. Like the red too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Leisure Gourmet Mini Range

Hmm, I think that I may have caused the disappearance of my pics. I cleaned out pics from my DH's Flickr account that I thought I didn't need anymore. Guess I shouldn't do that. Will fix tomorrow.

So animal prints next?

I believe there is a consensus for animal prints. Who wants to post? Does anyone have insight into the history of animal prints in interior design, or educational content of any sort?

Clearly late breakers should become a tradition. Such great ceiling fans, a reason for choosing white matte glass, and a new (to me) range. In 3 wonderfully creative boards.

The tradition of animal prints extends back to the 19th century as far as I know. Scalamandre makes the ultimate animal prints, Le Tigre and Leopardo in silk velvet. They list for approx $2000 -2900 a yard, and are used in highly formalized, traditional interiors.

This is the house I just sold. (crying, lol). 1880's, but a stick Victorian not a Queen Anne.

10X10 main kitchen, with a regular pantry (all shelving from PO) and a butler's pantry/water pantry that housed the sink and dishwasher, as well as a few original/early 20th cabinets with glass door uppers and bead board lowers. Clearly built in place and not to standard depths or heights.

The main kitchen had one, 1970's, 12" floor cabinet, a broken range and an old side by side fridge. Happily it also had original white beadboard, 10' ceiling and a heavy plate rail around the top. It also had (challenge) 7 doorways and 2 windows. In a 10X10 space.

We wanted a functional kitchen that played up the nice architectural details of the room and had a bit of an unfitted feel (had to due to all the doors, there was no space for a "run" of any kind) but were very much on a budget and looking for materials that were simple, easy to clean and could be replaced without tears if we decided to make changes in 5-10 years.

Changed the pulls on those cabinets to these:

the uppers had proper and nearly matching latches so those stayed.

In the main kitchen, we put IKEA Adel White cabinets, with glass door uppers, and IKEA butcherblock countertops (later replaced by a dark green granite).

Light fixture: Restoration Hardware Schoolhouse with vintage fans ceiling fan fixture (no longer made).

Range, micro/hood, and dishwasher: Bosch smooth white. D/F range with warming drawer for busy working family with kids and crazy schedules.

Fridge, Jenn Air French Door floating glass white.

{{gwi:1988404}}

Walls Benjamin Moore Popcorn Kernel:

(ooh I found an old GW pic of MY kitchen!)

Backsplash:

If I could do that kitchen over, I'd have done granite/stone counters sooner (we did it just to sell), and I'd have done the backsplash sooner. But the rest, I was really happy with!

The history is not easy to find, but anecdotally I have seen pictures of rooms or pieces over 100 years old with animal prints (and or the real thing).

I will set it up.

Awww lets do this one again...I wasn't ready in december LOL

Igloochic- LOL! It would be fun to do this one again...or something similar.

I really like Marcolo's idea of an older kitchen starting out to fit the house and then adapting different elements from later decades. That could be really interesting, if done well...like his example above :)