Decor Insights: Country Living's "Saved" Kitchen

Though the October 2009 issue of Country Living has already hit my mailbox, I’m still swooning over the kitchen they “saved” in the September 2009 issue. You might remember I posted about the September 2009 issue once already. Hold onto your hats (or chairs or pants …), because this is more than a kitchen makeover – it’s an overhaul!

The ever-required “before” picture (above). Makes you wince a bit doesn’t it? I’ve seen so many houses with kitchens like this and while I highly enjoy a challenging design project, it can be hard to see the gold under the dirt with something this outdated. Thankfully, the folks at Country Living weren’t swayed a bit …

… and they hit a home run with this one! CL’s style & market editors teamed up with Shawn Henderson to create this jaw-dropping kitchen. Who needs a living room when you have a space like this to settle into? There are so many elements about this space that I adore I barely know where to start:

+ A flawless mix of modern & rustic is so very difficult to create, but they nailed it! Cozy, functional, and timeless, I wouldn’t feel the need to redesign a kitchen like this for decades.

+ Yellow & gray: one of my all-time favorite color combinations. Warm and sunny meets cool and solid; both a powerful and fun mix – it all depends on the shades you use. Seeing these 2 colors in a kitchen makes me love them all the more.

+ Farmhouse sinks make the designer in me swoon. There’s something so “European countryside” about them & their color reminds me of fresh milk from cows or goats. A metal sink belongs in the laundry room. For a kitchen, I’ll take a hefty ceramic Farmhouse sink.

+ Last but never least, open shelving is the kitchen trend I hope lasts for years to come. It makes the whole space feel much more friendly and accessible (no pun intended). Always the creative type, Country Living’s editors found some shallow fruit crates, tacked them on the wall, and stored canned vegetables in them (see picture below).

For all the pictures and product details, click over to Country Living’s website.

P.S.: Don’t blame me if you get distracted & browse the site for hours … happens to the best of us.

[Images courtesy of Country Living; taken by Wendell T. Webber]