Renovating a kitchen…it can be a major undertaking, and homeowners have to make big decisions with long-term consequences. And the design industry values a certain look. Sophie Donelson PWK is called the “perfect white kitchen.” Design journalist, former editor-in-chief. beautiful househer new book is unusual kitchenoffers a fresh approach to the most popular room in the house.
KCRW: You say we've reached “peak kitchen.” The internet is full of kitchen porn. Why did you feel you had to write this book?
Sophie Donelson: Because I didn't like what I was seeing. I'm sure we've been taught by media sources, TV, Instagram, and now Tik Tok, but you know what I call “PWK” – how to create the perfect white kitchen. I wanted to know what else was out there. Media has a certain job of expression, and I feel like if you're not good at it, you'll be called out on the mat. And I don't think design media is doing a good job when it comes to kitchens. With a few exceptions, I felt like I was seeing a lot of the same things and an evolution of some sort of aesthetic. I wanted a whole book, something I could hold in my hand, and a brand that said there was more to the kitchen than this.
I've had such a split experience with the kitchen. In my professional work, over the years as a chef and caterer in Southern California, I saw hundreds of $150,000 kitchens that were immaculate, but without blood or soul. It's a place where people rarely seem to cook or gather together. My favorite kitchens are the ones I saw in Italy in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s: Nonna's kitchens. It has a human touch and is a place for people. When did we grow out of it?
It has to do with the housing crisis, and 2007 was a real turning point. I call this fear-based decorating, but the decision had been made to start designing kitchens with resale in mind. Around this time, people in America realized that their entire nest egg was at home, and that the way they built wealth in the world was completely tied to their home. So the choices they're making in their homes need to be determined by the market's gaze, the value there is, or the gaze of what other people think is worth spending money on, and rightly so. It felt essential.
It changed everything. The market has changed many times since then, but I've never really gone back from so-called “fear-based decorating” where you could choose this color or that color or this tile or that tile. , Okay, I'll go. No one is going to say, “Oh my god, I found the most amazing grayish tile and I can't wait to install it.” Something like, “Well, I love lavender and I live and wear it every day. It's been my favorite color for 30 years, but I chose taupe. This is my kitchen and I didn't want to make a mistake.” is. Just hearing people talk about it is depressing. So there are alternatives, and this book is full of them.
The walk-in pantry in writer and designer Sophie Donelson's Montreal kitchen is decorated with salvaged shelves and splashes of color from the 1950s. Photo by Patrick Biller.
For me, a lot of it lies in the monolithic nature of furniture.
Yes, I call it a unitard or a designed bodysuit. When did everything become connected? [When did it happen that] Did the lower cabinets have to be the same color as the upper cabinets? And did they need to blend seamlessly with the stone or composite materials? And was everything uniform and continuous?
I use the word “kitchen” to describe these ill-equipped kitchens, but all kitchens were once ill-equipped, just like kitchens are today. That means there were tables and later a counter. There was a foosie cabinet containing pantry items, cutlery and china. There was a separate hearth. In the old days, mainly women spent a lot of time there, so they added a table, chairs, a drying rack for clothes and comfortable chairs above the hearth. That way, you should be able to find a place that feels comfortable to you.
These kitchens were rooms that were combined as needed. One way to look at a modern kitchen is to ask, “What of these parts do I need? What do I need in there? Is it possible to leave some wiggle room or flexibility when designing? ” is what you think.
That's something you talk about a lot in the book, the idea that things don't have to be 100% complete. You have to leave room for change, that's what life is all about.
I think that's the golden rule. People say, “You wrote a book about the kitchen.” “No, that's not true. I wrote a book about life.” Many of the lessons there are from my experience writing about design for more than 20 years and working with incredibly smart designers, architects, and homeowners. It has been honed from interviewing people and tenants about how they live and what works and what doesn't. What the smartest people I've talked to come back to is the kind of idea of getting to 85% and then realizing that there might be a little bit of wiggle room.
Color plays a big role in this small kitchen in south London. Photo: Michael Paul.
There may still be a time when it seems like every new kitchen comes with an island. Could you please dispel this concept? Can't I use a table instead?
It can, and probably should. Now there are even islands with legs. The British call these worktables, and they're a great hybrid. One of the good things about traditional tables is that they have worked extremely well for thousands of years. It is comfortable to sit on and is suitable for many people. Barstools are suitable for certain age groups from 18 to 46 years old. It doesn't work for many others. So I'm a big fan of kitchen tables. Works well for all kinds of things and is very cheerful.
For me, the ultimate cheerfulness in a kitchen is a British kitchen diner with a sink, fridge and stove. Everything is there, a table, chairs, and maybe even a comfortable chair or sofa.
Yes, the British are right, as always, when it comes to home design. These British kitchens are one of his inspirations for this book. I saw PWK, Perfect White Kitchen trending on Instagram.after that [I was seeing] This British kitchen has curtains under the sink instead of cabinet doors, a kitchen table, exposed pots and pans, knives out, and signs of life. The same person liked both images, right? I was like, “Oh, I want the perfect kitchen, I want it to look like that.” And they will have an emotional and visceral response to the cottage kitchen. It is personal to each of us, but at the same time it is universal and touches somewhere within our souls.
This renovated 1940s kitchen in Sacramento, California, features soapstone, unlacquered brass, and copper, giving it a certain patina.Photo: Shavonda Gardner
This book is full of delicious kitchens, some of which are highly designed and cost an exorbitant amount of money, while others are lovingly crafted. Those are definitely my favorites. But whether you're renovating or renting, you're planning on some ways design can enhance your kitchen experience. Let's start with the collar, which is one of the cheapest ways to provide a facelift.
If you have walls to paint, go for it. But if you have a white or gray kitchen, or a rental home with that weird taupe color left over from the '80s or '90s, and you want to choose accessories and decorative items, there are plenty of ways to go about it. So it's great to have a tea towel or towel exposed and have it. The same goes for hanging artwork. If you can't directly deal with the idea of painting the cabinets, I think that's also a good option. If you feel like it, or if you want to make other kinds of major changes, and you don't have any intention of doing that, I personally really like a rug for the kitchen floor. Getting a rug is not that difficult. Just put it in the washing machine. You can take them outside to clean them and they are perfectly fine and not dirty. However, displaying artwork is something that people don't really think about. Because I believe that kitchens follow some kind of different design rules and conventions. In fact, most of the things you'll find anywhere else in your home are exactly in your kitchen.
What I find so interesting is that every time I see a photo of furniture broken down into different colors, I think, “Oh, it's beautiful.” That's the way to avoid becoming monolithic. However, purchasing color cabinets is very expensive. You encourage people to buy white cabinets and paint them.
That's definitely something you can do. This book features some great British kitchens that do just that. However, the front of the cabinet is easier to access. semi-handmade is one of the many companies that specifically does IKEA cabinet fronts. You can buy a box from IKEA and then buy that box from these people and get something colorful. It can also be painted.I'm not going to encourage anyone to do his DIY [project]. If you are not already willing to do so, I am not going to convert you to do so. But there are also experts. An old trick for interior designers is to take it to an auto repair shop. The door needs to be removed from the box and beautifully enameled to look like the car.
The kitchen in this home in LA's Fryman Canyon is divided into a cooking area and a cleanup area.Photo: Jess Isaac
You've been writing about design and kitchens for a while. When you decided to do the renovation yourself, was it easy or difficult to make the decision?
It was terrible.
It feels so much better.
It was terrible, and I did a terrible job. I also wrote a book at the same time. This year has been a big year of learning and work. Heck, I'm a much better writer than a kitchen designer. I no longer live in the house described in the book. But we renovated a great 1950s kitchen that we wanted to keep as is, except for some dangerous electrical equipment. So it's time to upgrade. And I tried my best.
Many of us have similar hopes and dreams regarding renovation. I lived in New York for her 19 years and then had the opportunity to live in a house and build a kitchen. I had a lot on my mind about that. In doing so, I realized that manufacturers, designers, and the entire design world are trying to achieve this picture-perfect generic kitchen, even if they choose cool colors. Ta. I was really bristling at being poured into this place that felt like there was no way out.
Everyone around me was talking about practicality, functionality, kids, and making lunch boxes. And I thought, “Oh, but wait a minute. There's got to be something more. There's got to be another way.” Life has its twists and turns and we are no longer the owners of the house. I live alone with my two sons in a funky rental with a really boring kitchen. I feel liberated and I am very happy. I feel like I'm freed from a big, expensive kitchen. I have the ability to make these small changes little by little and put into practice what I have been proselytizing in this book and other writings. This is a really fun kitchen. We have a great window and we do a lot of work and fun projects and cooking there. To me, a messy kitchen, an incomplete kitchen, a used kitchen is a kitchen where love is happening all around.
unusual kitchen is full of ideas that go beyond taupe tiles and a plain color palette. Photo courtesy of Abrams.
