Dream a Little Kitchen Dream

A super large French Farmhouse kitchen is something I always dream of...

....I imagine being on holiday in Provence in a rented villa
Cooking a simple peasant meal of rosemary roasted chicken and potatoes...
....fresh greens tossed lightly with EVOO, a plate of heirloom tomatoes lighted brushed with sea salt..
...crusty bread and a few figs and cheese on the side...
....and an amazing vin du table red wine that costs only about 5 euro (otherwise selling for $50 in the States!)....

Join my on my dream, won't you?

Get me these chalkboards STAT! Don't you love this look for a casual farmhouse cucina? Of course most of us lack the proper wall space needed to pull off the dramatic look of seven. Gotta love the industrial cheese and meat cutter on the far right. I love a meat cutter in a kitchen. The sign of a serious cook.


I added an entire room to my small 1920's beach bungalow when I designed my own kitchen.

Here's a portion of the unfinished kitchen several weeks before I actually took occupancy. Eighteen days before the movers were set to move me in, I hauled a box of some creature comforts to place in the kitchen for an informal gathering; an air mattress and a several votives were also in the loot (The first informal night slept here was magical and wonderful). Imported Australian Cypress wide-plank flooring had many, many hiccups to obtain, but I persevered as I loved it so (and still do). With three coats of self-mixed gloss top coat, the floor is the 2nd biggest item commented on (second to the refrigerator!) Timeless planks I think.


{...it's rather different now that's it's finished but you'll see more of that when I decide to allow one of my favorite magazines to professionally shoot it. I keep my home private so I've been reluctant to date.}

Black granite honed and edges all chipped. At night or for a party when the lights hit the edges, the glorious stone particles glimmer.

My installer refused to provide the treatment I wanted of a chipped edge. He just couldn't grasp my vision. We argued and argued, so I took out a napkin on the spot, scribbled out a waiver, signed it and handed it to him. A photograph of it is now the front cover to his brochure! I just prefer a look that is unconventional.

After almost a year of searching, I unearthed amazing hardware in Paris, distressed and beaten pewter...


But after I designed the Island from reclaimed wood, I couldn't find the right antique hardware to suit my eye. I bought new and soaked them in a "secret" mixture which sat in the sun for 7 days...result was the perfect look for me.


Discovered at a small antique fair in the Champagne region, this antique meat cutter serves as a holder for the cookbooks most used--the rest stored in the pantry library...

An antique French door propped on a wall serves as a favorite focal point....


I love to have people over and cook for them. Before I opened Vintageweave, I was part of a group of amateur cooks where we'd gather bi-monthly to cook together rotating at one another's homes. Dinner parties are now "dinner gatherings"--more informal and spontaneous, which I love!