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THE GARDEN ISLAND
Friday, November 17, 2023 • B3
Create a kitchen that serves up holiday joy Kim Cook ASSOCIATED PRESS As the holidays approach, there’s one room in the home where the tantalizing aromas of good food and the chatter of good folk converge: the kitchen. Yet, if you’ve scanned the pages of décor magazines and websites in recent years, you’ll have noted that the prime aspirational kitchen leans toward a serious and sleek vibe — prolevel equipment; a super-functional layout; lots of neutral colors and clean lines. “We’ve officially reached peak kitchen design. We know exactly how to make a beautiful, luxurious cooking space,” Sophie Donelson writes in her new book, “Uncommon Kitchens” (Abrams, 2023). PATRICK BILLER / VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS Donelson and other design experts say that with a Sophie Donelson, author of “Uncommon Kitchens,” measure of color, pattern shows a small pantry decorated with a vintage peand/or décor elements, we tite table lamp. can all have a kitchen that in the morning while you’re Donelson says. “Mine’s vinserves up happy. A few making coffee or preparing tage, sits next to the toaster, ideas to sip and savor: lunches for the day is differ- doesn’t take much room. All the feels But it’s charming and cheerent than how you might Whether our ideal want to feel while you’re ful, and it’s the first thing I kitchen is kitted out like making a late-night mug of click on in the morning, the Martha Stewart’s or hasn’t ice cream or on a relaxed last to be turned off.” much more than a humble Sunday evening preparing Researching her book, cooktop, toaster oven and dinner with a loved one,” Donelson learned that many mélange of mugs, it’s a she says. renovators were opting to space with many functions Have a variety — an over- add or restore windows and moods. head light; warm-toned, un- when possible in place of Be mindful of lighting tile backsplashes. der-the-counter LED task and, above all, how you use strips. Room to let loose your kitchen, Donelson “And I always make the says. “Many, many people mencase for adding a petite ta“Lighting that feels good ble lamp at the counter,” tioned dancing in the
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rate falls to 7.44 percent ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell for the third week in a row, welcome news for house hunters facing a market held back by persistently high prices and a near-historic low number of homes for sale. The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.44 percent from 7.5 percent last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.61 percent. As mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already out of reach for many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in far lower rates two years ago, when they were around 3 percent, from selling. The combination of rising mortgage rates and home prices have weighed on sales of previously occupied U.S. homes, which fell in September for the fourth month in a row, grinding to their slowest pace in more than a decade. Homeowners that locked in mortgages rates closer to 3 percent are less willing to move and take on a mortgage at near twice that level, decreasing even further the number of homes for sale. This average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at the lowest level it’s been in eight weeks, when it was 7.31 percent.
John Cialone of the firm Tom Stringer Design Partners amped up the energy in a Palm Springs, California, villa by putting Benjamin Moore’s Kiwi paint color in the kitchen. “The home’s mainly a weekend house, so the clients were willing to go bold on cabinetry.” The vivid green is picked up elsewhere via artwork and textiles. In his own kitchen, Cialone says, “I like bright, crisp countertops that reflect natural light and conColor trast with food. If I was Minneapolis-based deadding color, it’d be orange, signer Lucy Penfield has put because it evokes sunshine and citrus — two of my fafrosting-pink paint on the door of a baking area. vorite things!” Added snappy orange Have things where you kitchen barstools. And in a want them family cabin, there’s now a fun, sunshine yellow Smeg Cialone loves to cook but retro fridge for beer storsays an organized galley kitchen’s fine with him. age. “I’ve learned I don’t need Color “creates a mood for a lot of counter space to the space, and can invite prepare even elaborate conversation,” she says. meals, if the area’s well laid Cortney Bishop, who out,” he says. “Fitted runs a design studio in Charleston, South Carolina, drawer inserts make me very happy — they provide also uses playful hues. A a dedicated space for items beach cottage got seaI use often.” foam-blue Big Chill appliGot kids? Set up pantries ances, and a countertop is embedded with chunks that with low bins for easy snack stowing. Proud of your look like sea glass. cookbook collection? FeaIn another kitchen, she used deep, dark color to turing it in plain sight makes frame windows and ground access easy, and creates a cabinetry, then added homey décor moment as cheery notes of citrus and well. tomato via stools, artwork, Entertain often? Set up canisters, even range task stations — maybe a knobs. The result: a space separate coffee-making that’s packed with style and zone; a mise en place personality. counter, where you can lay kitchen by themselves or with their family. It’s fun, and a great way to exercise!” Donelson says. Shift tables or even islands around if you can, so there’s room for a twirl. And add a great wireless sound system. And maybe you don’t need a full-service island with a stool lineup; a table of any size with chairs can be a more convivial arrangement and still be a decent workspace.
out all of a dish’s ingredients before cooking; a dedicated baking prep area. Build or adapt your kitchen to suit how YOU will use it, designers say, rather than worrying about conventions. Storytelling After a trip to Marrakesh that “changed my life,” Penfield says, she cooks a lot of Moroccan dishes. “There’s nothing better than fresh cut dill or basil,” she says, “but my favorite is the aroma from mint added into a Moroccan dish.” Her kitchen now features tagines, North African earthenware pots. An art lover, Penfield has modern prints and sculptural pieces on display, including a vibrantly colored piece by Belgian painter Luc Lebon: “He’s known for his cheerful, optimistic works.” She wrapped the kitchen in earthy green terracotta tiles reminiscent of ones she saw on her trip. “It was a bold move, but it just felt right.” Make it a room Everyone benefits from remembering that the kitchen is also a room, Donelson says, and can be decorated with the same things we add to other spaces. “Art, plants, a little throw rug. Something that brings you joy in another room will also do so in the kitchen,” she says.