Landon and I have been talking a lot about kitchens. We’re in the midst of planning some updates to ours, and have been swapping inspiration points, weighing matters of functionality and frivolousness, and flagging one another for scope creep. The main thing is: it must, first, be practical. Landon probably spends half of his life in the kitchen — brining, breaking down chickens, basting. Preparing the coffee, emptying the dishwasher. He is a seasoned and talented cook, and master of the kitchen. He notices everything that comes in and out and keeps ruthless tabs on the produce so that it’s used before wilted. He knows the provenance and expiration of every onion and potato in the pantry. So any changes we make must amplify or ease his efforts. (For example, this has led to extensive conversations about fridge/freezer — he could probably make use of a full-on, restaurant-grade walk-in solution. We won’t actually explore this, but it has made us think about wanting one of those top-bottom fridge styles so you can slide entire baking sheets in lengthwise. So, too, with a new sink: the bigger the better so you can actually get enormous trays and platters and cutting boards in there, and a tall, swiveling faucet that enables more manipulation…how big a sink is too big?)
As I’ve been thinking through the updates we want to make, I’ve noticed the things that jump out at me as incredibly stylish (and functional) in a kitchen. These are:
Brass hardware and faucets
A splattered, dog-eared cookbook in a wooden stand
Morning sounds: the coffee beans decanted into a porcelain dish and then ground; the scrolly open and close of familiar drawers; the toaster ping; the tick-tick-tick of the burner lighting beneath a fry pan
Sinks as big as they come
A bowl of citrus, some partly peeled having been called into recent cocktail service
Copper cookware
Proofing dough covered by a dish towel
Post-it note reminders — “bake at 350” and “$2 for bake sale”
Persistent, ambient music
A drawer full of clean, tightly-folded side towels
Salt cellars and pepper mills
Hedley and Bennett aprons hung by the door
Gracious crocks laden with warped, well-loved wooden implements
A neighboring potager or herb garden
Quart containers containing brines, fats, and rubs, labeled with Sharpie on painter’s tape
Specific (recherche) knives for specific (recherche) uses
Friends who fare la scarpetta around its island — nibbling on leftovers, pouring a last glass of wine, unfazed by the late hour or the dishes collecting in the sink
A slow boil stew on the stovetop
Kerrygold in a countertop butter bell
The way everyday forms of love — the cut sandwich, the covered plate — humbly collect here
Post-Scripts.
+A delicious, easy weeknight dinner recipe.
+Other chic things related to food.
Shopping Break.
+Majorly trending among Magpies this week: this tee dress. It is SO good. Feels like a t-shirt, but looks so polished thanks to a really high-quality cotton with structure and that great belt. As we’ve discussed extensively, I love any clothes that barely touch my body and that just move with me.
+Currently wearing these pants and reminded of why they are one of the best pairs of pants I’ve ever ordered. Insanely comfortable, do not wrinkle, and so flattering. They’re currently offering $55 off with code SS26. Come in a petite inseam! Start with the black or navy — so useful!
+A great $29 upgrade to your office, child’s room, bedroom, etc! The patterns are so charming. I have one of the navy ones in my son’s room.
+Recently picked up this scallop-edged cardigan at Ann Mashburn. Love the color and detailing. A good look for less option here. I love the styling suggestion on the latter site, worn over a simple white tee, and maybe paired with some wide-leg white cropped jeans like these or these. (Sizing notes: I find the VB Taylors run a tiny bit snug, but would generally advise taking your true size unless you’re between sizes — in which case, go up. La Ligne denim generally runs a bit big. Take your smaller size in them.)
+Other J. Crew Factory gems: this Doen-esque dress, these pointelle tees, and this Staud-like embroidered number! (Compare with the Staud Wells, which is, incidentally 20% off right now in wear-forever black! This dress is magic. Looks so, so good on.)
+Two other great Shopbop sale discoveries: this fun and on-trend cord necklace, which I’ve been wearing a ton this season (honestly, any of the jewelry from this brand is fab — just so joyful!), and these Weezie coated toiletry bags, which make fab gifts. (Also come as a set — this is the exact trio and pattern I have. The big size is enormous and can fit an entire hot tool / brush / full-sized cosmetics / etc.)
+Speaking of chic kitchens: we got my children one of these Teamson kitchens a few years ago and they are so adorable. They’ve now basically outgrown it but I’m having the hardest time giving it up…this brand also makes adorable playhouses and sandbox systems for outdoors. Just in case you’re thinking ahead to summer!
+A gorgeous, semi-sheer luminizing bronzer. I just dug this out of my summer makeup arsenal. It looks so pretty layered over bronzer in the warm months.
+Fun cutlery for outdoor dining.
+This tote in the strawberry print is such a cute gift for a girl this summer! She can use for camp, pool, day trips, visits with friends, sporting outings, sleepovers! I actually put together an edit of cute finds for 9-10 year old girls here. We’ve had a flurry of birthday party invitations and I simplified by ordering a bunch of these brushes with the matching hair clips and will put in a cute little toiletry bag.
+While you’re there: pretty spring sheets at a great price. Apparently Nancy Meyers loves this exact set! I’m also a big fan of the Target Threshhold sets — insanely well-priced relative to hand feel and wear in the wash.
+This sweatshirt cardigan! Love!
+You know I’m into the botanical motif on this dress…!
+This brand makes the most gorgeous platters and bowls.
+Super chic outdoor bistro dining table.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation. Image by DC Collab Collective.
I LOVE my oversized kitchen sink. When we were looking at homes, the divided sink was always my pet peeve. You can’t even fit a half sheet pan in there, which is so impractical!
I love the bottom drawer as freezer situation. It makes things a lot easier to find!
I have to chime in on the Ruti pants. I hemmed and hawed for a LONG time as I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on $200 for pants that were made of activewear kind of fabric. Until I tried them on in the store! I must say, it’s all about the DRAPE. It just drapes beautifully. Bonus points for petite lengths, because that kind of cut just doesn’t translate well in regular inseams that I would then have to get tailored. And yes, I compared them to a pair from Old Navy that a Reddit thread referred to as a dupe, and while the intent is probably similar, the execution is totally different. Maybe I’m biased? But I compared them for a long time, and ended up keeping the Ruti. I was happy to get it at 25% off at the time, which made the cost easier to bear. But overall, regrettably worth it.
So glad you love those pants as much as I do! Truly a wunder-product for me. You’re right – the drape, the material, the fit, it’s all 10/10.
Amen on the divided sink! They seemed very common in NYC and they drove me nuts.
xx
This will be the review that tips the scale for me…I have also been holding back because of the material, but Magpies are never wrong!
Yay! You will love! xx
We have a full-size matching upright fridge and freezer in our garage. In a perfect world I’d have this set-up in my kitchen, but we were limited to a standard size built-in option. The garage fridge/freezer set-up is a dream. I can slide oversized sheet pans easily onto the shelves. I’ve even fit a 25 lb turkey in the roasting pan into the fridge. Highly recommend! This set-up leaves our kitchen fridge/freezer filled with only the daily items we’re using, not the bulky Costco purchases.
Sizing question on the ruti pants, on their site they mention sizing down. Do you find this to be true or did you take your true size?
I took my true size and think the fit is IDEAL. Maybe a tad loose but really I think this makes them insanely comfortable. I’d personally suggest taking your true size! xx
This is kitchen-adjacent, but I find a butler’s pantry to be chic chic chic! I aspire to have one someday. Also, a nice, big vent hood. And a clear, empty countertop – at least one small section that is cleared off!
Completely agree! A friend of mine re-did her kitchen area recently and added this gorgeous butler’s pantry beneath a window — wine fridge, ice machine, etc! — and then across the narrow hall she has a huge walk-in pantry with doors that slide open. It’s like a DREAM.
Echoing so many of these! The Nancy Meyers kitchen from It’s Complicated always felt like the height of chic kitchen design with the intention of being lived in, and so many of your notes harken back to that!
I find that we bookend our days in the kitchen, starting with coffee and the mid-week lunch packing scramble, and ending with putting the house to bed for the night, flickering the dishwasher to the ‘run’ cycle.
I love starting the mornings with our four-year old’s bare feet swinging from the counter stool, hands delving into fruit or cereal, recounting what she dreamed about the night prior.
On weekends, we have an oversized bowl filled with freshly washed fruit (usually berries, grapes, etc.) that slowly get picked away at over impromptu conversations planning out our Sunday.
After the kids are in bed, I love the feeling of that final swipe of disinfectant / cleaner across the island, lighting a candle with herbal topnotes – whatever seasonal, impatiently awaiting the tomato basil scents of summer – while we round out the night on the couch with a show or a book.
Wow Caitlin — I loved the way you capture the heartbeat of your home here! Amen. The kitchen is sort of a metronomic force, isn’t it? The first place we go in the morning, the last place we leave at night. And the bowl full of freshly washed fruit that you slowly enjoy over the weekend — what a gorgeous, gracious little weekend ritual! Might have to steal that. Landon does something similar in the evenings — around 5, he cuts up a rainbow of fresh vegetables to serve with hummus or ranch or pimiento cheese and the kids snack on it until dinner time. He’s always been a big proponent of the phrase “you eat with your eyes first” so he fans them out into this beautiful, inviting rainbow. The kids find it irresistible! And such a good way to get extra veggies in them (and tide them over til dinner). Love the idea of a parallel option with your fruit idea in the mornings.
xx
OH! And yes and amen to your Nancy Meyers observations! I remember thinking you couldn’t possibly improve on the kitchen in “It’s Complicated” and then I saw her kitchen IRL and someone had smartly commented: “Now we know what heaven looks like.” LOL!
But she really does nail that balance of luxe and lived-in.
xx
Consider a large chest freezer for your garage! We bought one so I could prep and freeze meals (souper cubes!) in bulk before our baby arrived for easy dinners in the postpartum chaos. Now we use it way more than we thought we would. Think entertaining, holidays, etc.
Great idea, had not even talked about this option! Will be entering the chat 🙂
We got one, too! But because we order quarter cows of grass fed beef and needed to store it. Don’t be like us and buy an indoor-only freezer and try to put it in your garage…apparently only some are made to withstand freezing temps.
!! Noted!! Also very cool that you order quarter cows!! xx