The Cottage Journal Cottage Kitchens 2015

Whether you’re planning a complete kitchen redesign or just a few simple updates, we have a collection of kitchens that are sure to inspire you! Many homeowners face the same dilemmas: should I paint the walls or the cabinets? Add new appliances and flooring or change countertops and backsplash features? Remove a wall or two to create a new open space or can it function as is? Each homeowner has a different story, but all the homeowners featured in this issue had the common goal of creating a beautiful, functional space for cooking, sharing meals, and spending time together. For most, the kitchen is the gathering, entertaining, and nurturing area for the family. Whether you’re looking for creative ways to stretch your dollar, (see Busbys on a Budget, page 97),…

From the classic clear originals to the colorfully-patterned mod collections of the mid century to the now near-ubiquitous glass measuring cups, Pyrex has been the choice of chefs and home-cooks alike for 100 years. Interestingly enough, the story of Pyrex doesn’t start in the kitchen—it starts on the railroad. In 1908 research scientists at Corning Glass Works created a glass insert for railroad lanterns that could withstand extreme temperature changes. Five years later, when the wife of one of Glass Works’s researchers grew frustrated with the poor quality of available casserole dishes, she tried baking a sponge cake in two sawed-offbattery jars made from the resilient material. She found that not only were the improvised dishes durable, they offered additional benefits like a shorter cooking time, more uniform baking, and…

They rest side by side on our tables and counters, perched in cupboards and up on shelves. You may have a set to remind you of a special trip or an antique pair that has been handed down in your family for generations. Salinopeperophilia, the love of saltshakers and peppershakers, is more prominent than ever. Today shakers come in every conceivable shape and size and are made in a variety of materials including wood, metal, ceramics, glass, and plastics. Any set in its original combination is a pair. The use of salt and pepper at the table began during the Middle Ages in England, where the seasonings were typically served with a tiny spoon out of small bowls made of pewter, horn, or wood. By the 15th century, the containers…

Today cutting boards come in all shapes and sizes and are displayed on kitchen countertops and hung on kitchen walls. Although maple has long been the wood of choice for the boards, bamboo has become a popular option. Collectors often focus on a single shape or animal, and pigs seem to be at the top of the list. Popularity may be explained by the Chinese and Europeans’ belief that the pig was a symbol of wealth that had the power to bring good luck. Homeowner Margaret Ritchie has fond childhood memories of her Aunt Marmee’s pig cutting board that sat behind the kitchen faucet. Years later at an antiques show Margaret came across a man selling a number of cutting boards. “I bought them all for sentimental reasons,” she says.…

According to owner Nicole Carillo, Kitchens on the Square is no Williams-Sonoma, though she admits she loves the high-end kitchen supply store. Kitchens on the Square is a vintage-style kitchen boutique. “I’ve been collecting items for years, and it’s now a dream come true to buy stuffwith purpose,” she says. The shelves are filled to the brim with unusual kitchen utensils including banana peelers, grapefruiters, and even bacon gumballs. You can find cookie cutters shaped for any situation—numbers, letters, states, sports, and even martini glasses. But when asked what products were the most popular Nicole says it’s the textiles. She and Johnny designed and screen printed hand towels with fun sayings, including the best selling, “Omg, my mother was right about everything,” which Nicole says has sold thousands. Johnny also…

We know Audrey Hepburn as a cinematic legend, the epitome of class and grace draped in a long black gown and pearls standing in Tiffany’s storefront window, her hair swept up in an elegant coiffure. Yet, the actress was so much more than the roles she played. In Audrey at Home, fans get to know the woman beneath the large black sunglasses through her favorite place in the world, the kitchen table: “… I believe that our images at home are no less important than all those impeccable black-and-white photos, and that these notes in the margins of her favorite recipes matter as much as those in her scripts,” writes Luca Dotti, the youngest son of Audrey and Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti. A devoted wife, nurturing mother, and an avid…