I'd like to see more color in the kitchen. Even just some brightly colored plates or accessories. Between the dark wood, the tile floor and the black and steel appliances, it could use some oomph.

Well the layout looks efficient, and I generally like the wood cabinets although they may look less attractive in person. However I think what appears in the photos as black counter tops with white walls and backsplash create too stark a contrast. Some other paint color could help. Also the light fixture is not very appealing to me. Do you have any under cabinet task lighting? Also nice pendant lights over the breakfast bar might add a sense of division from the kitchen to the dining area.

I think the cabinets and counters make it warm; the white walls and backsplash cool it down a lot. Think of adding some deep red in the form of paint and accessories (little rug, vase, counter-top appliances) if you want to warm it up. You could also go with something caramelly or pumpkiney.

I like it, though, and props for living in such an eco-conscious building - The Solaire is way ahead of its time.

This kitchen is on the nicer end of cookie-cutter rentals but, it seems like you need to make your mark in some way, despite all the evidence that it is used and appreciated. I'm with the people above who suggested a splash of strong color in some form and pendant lights over the island.

I haven't really agreed with people who found some of the sleeker kitchens 'cold.' Still, I think you need something to look at or you might start obsessing about not having the perfect appliances, faucets etc.

Also, kudos for supporting green developement like the Solaire.

Yes, I think a lot of use of white (along with extreme tidiness) is generally what people have meant when they have described kitchens as somewhat cold in this competition. (By contrast, the use of orange in everyone's favorite was very welcoming.) I like the color of the wood here, and think the kitchen would look much more inviting (warmer) if the walls were a color other than white. I think a golden color would be nice with the wood, but given the black countertops, maybe the above suggestion about red is the best one.

Oops, development. Maybe...bright, enamel bins above the cabinets (behind the fridge) would add color and add a little storage for things you don't use too often.

Jamie, thanks for defending those of us who have "cold" kitchens in the contest! Personally, my fave is Aida's because it's stunning but also makes a lot of sense for her lifestyle. But, on to your kitchen... I think you absolutely scored in terms of a kitchen in a rental properties. I've never had a kitchen that well-appointed and efficient in my rentals. I don't think anything is bad at all. Personally, I would live with everything as-is since it is a rental, except to change the wall color. I would go with deep grey
(or some other color you could pull from the slate tile) in semi-gloss, as opposed to a medium-hued putty or moss color. I think that might give the kitchen a more unified look and a more-substantial, weightier feel.

I guess I just want to parrot Jimkk's comments above.

And also to say that not only do I thank you for supporting The Solaire, but also congrats on living in such a wonderful, beautiful building. I'm very jealous!

I would add the same wood type on the cabinets and put it under the island where it is white behind the dishwasher, instead of a paint color.

Just another thought on this warm/cool dialectic--

The entries that I have liked--the warm and inviting--are lived in and thoughtfully reflect the owner's personality, habits, etc. I can look at Angela's Orange Crush kitchen and glean a small sense of who she is. She likes to read; she collects interesting d'objets; based on her kettle, I imagine she likes tea (white jasmine, perhaps?).

I think the best design takes you into someone else's thoughts, invites you to look at living from a different perspective--and that's what makes it warm and inviting.

Contrary to popular belief, warm does not mean cluttered and that you can't use white.

I wouldn't classify your kitchen as warm just because it has dark cabinets. Your kitchen is obviously used (YAY!) but I feel safe in saying without repercussion that it probably doesn't reflect your personality.

So yeah, it's pretty cold.

I like the ideas to add pendant lights over the bar and to paint the walls of the kitchen. You could also paint the side of the bar to unify the space. Every time I look at the pictures, I want to bring the ceiling lower visually to carve out a separate space. But I'm stumped how to do it without looking cheesy. Perhaps just losing that ceiling light and putting in some really nifty chandalier or mobile?

Little touches would also make a big difference--things like a vase of flowers on a pretty runner on the bar, plants in the space above the cabinets.

Of course, we've been working on our kitchen for six months, so who am I to cast stones?

A pretty runner on a black granite bar? Oy.
Still baffled.

If it were my kitchen, and not a rental, the only thing I'd change/add would be to do 1 x 1 tiles (glass?) on all the backsplashes, in a random scattering of shades of grays/silvers/whites/off-whites and MAYBE some black. Oh, and maybe swap out that overhead light.

Can't see what the cabinet knobs look like, but I've found out changing the knobs in my rental was HIGHLY satisfying, easily replaced when I move on, and went A LONG WAY to changing the look of the kitchen.

But, jeez, we saw that bathroom you did. You soooooo don't need our help with striking the balance between clean-edged modern and the elusive "warmth."

There is just WAY too much granite and the like out there. Those shiny countertops are so 2000. Think concrete, soapstone, anythng but that ubiquitous granite.

Thanks to all of you who understood my question and the point of my posting. I'm sorry dev but you missed the point as did the voters who did not comment - I'm not interested in the competition or the votes (or whether granite is out or in - this is a rental remember). I am really trying to understand what I am (and Patrick for that matter) missing when it comes to other ppls' views.

Contrary to your assertion zia, it does look like white walls and lack of objects are the main reasons that ppl think a particular kitchen looks cold. This is evident from a lot of the comments. However, I am very interested in what you said zia because it does reveal a side that I had not considered with respect to the personality aspect. I still don't fully understand why the design of a kitchen should be so tightly integrated with the objects you place in it when those objects can easily be removed or added at any time (whereas the intrinsic design elements of a kitchen cannot - Patrick also made this point very well in the Enrique's kitchen thread) but am glad to have had a glimpse into your reasoning and have enjoyed a certain level of enlightenment.

Let me explain that a bit better. To me a kitchen has to satisfy my design requirements or sensibilities in so many more ways than, say, a living room or bedroom. Not only does the kitchen have to look good to me but the design must also be complentary and integral to the many functions one has to perform and the kitchen has to perform. A well designed kitchen to me would be like the whole "system" that Apple have built with the iPod - a seemingly simple yet wonderfully realized gestalt. You have a beautifully designed (in terms of aesthetics, function and user interface) music player but coupled with that is the best software on the planet for organizing your songs (iTunes) coupled with an amazingly intuitive method of purchasing your songs (iTunes store tightly integrated with iTunes desktop software) coupled with the best design in computers even down the the firewire interface (that you don't get with windows PCs).

The irony is of course that all of the hardware above are white and minimalist if one gets an ibook or imac over a powerbook or powermac.

A kitchen to me should be similar. All parts functioning seamlessly to achieve the goal while looking insanely great.

I find my current kitchen to be visually jarring (and not because of the white walls). The heavy handed combination of muddy brown cabinets, dark green slate and dark green granite combine in that jarring way that I guess you could then equate to a "coldness" or lack of purity of design, or lack of cohesiveness etc. I much prefer a kitchen like JP's Tribeca kitchen with one or two strong colors (he does have yellow as a third color which I would never have thought of but works brilliantly).

In summation, I can say that I have learnt a lot and have enjoyed every step of the process and every kitchen and I want to thank everyone for contributing in such illuminating and valuable ways. This was a far more satisfying competition than the bedroom one and I firmly believe we as a community have become better at expressing ourselves and very much look forward to the smallest, coolest apt in NYC contest.

jamie, you had indicated you were not particularly happy with this kitchen. Curious what ideas did you have in mind to improve on it? By the way I'm not entirely sure what warm versus cold means either or if one or the other is necessarily preferable in all situations.

You know Jamie Pup, this kitchen looks like the high-end kitchen from The Sims, and I think that's why you don't like it. It's prefectly nice, but it's pretty unoffensive. In almost every kitchen we've seen so far, the coolest thing was the thing that was the most, well, expressive. Angela's orange backsplash, Faith's aqua applicances or even Shoshana's general tiny-ness are all things that are part of their respective charm that would scare a developer or real estate broker. Patrick (the other one) said on one of his other posts that if you were redoing something for resale your choices would be bland or ugly or both, and while you have the nicest possible kitchen for resale, it's still not yours...

Remember that it's only a certain group of people who think that white, modern, decluttered kitchen is lab-like or cold. Plenty of people like their kitchens to be clean and white and modern, else we wouldn't be seeing so many of them...

Jimkk, if I could change anything, I like Patrick's idea of a glass mosaic backsplash and Zia's idea of bringing the ceiling lower. We had this in our previous kitchen which was in a loft so was open to the main living space. The ceiling was lower with recessed high hats and was neatly bordered with a thick border lower than the dropped ceiling. We also had those Fucsia lights (www.mossonline.com/product-exec/product_id/31974/category_id/45) that Aida had in her dining room over our island and I would do something similar over the breakfast bar.
I'm not keen on the cabinet color (it really is a dirty brown) and would like the kind that Aida or JP has if I am to stick to wood. However, an easier fix, as Patrick pointed out, would be to change the handles and I could do this in a rental if I could line up the holes but I prefer either the long bar handles or simple small ones like the ones in Bai's kitchen so I could not do it because these are pretty small two hole types.

Mary I think you nailed it but I first thought you'd written the Simpsons! You're right about your last point also. It seems to come down to an emotional response vs. well designed function a la my ipod example - I wonder what the emtional response to Apple's design is.

Finally, thanks to all for the kudos about living in a green building. I was intrigued by the Solaire when I first read about it so when the chance to rent there came up it was a natural choice. Living steps away from the children's playground and the water and having a communial children's playroom also helped make the decision - it is a very child friendly/oreinted place.

Some of all these warm/cold reactions could be linked to the owner's white balance settings on their camera as much as anything else... Just stating the obvious. ;->

I agree with you, Jamie Pup, on your design thoughts. A kitchen, perhaps more than any other room, needs to functional - and the closer the form and function are linked, the more I usually like them. That being said, I really sympathize with you on your beautifully bland and practical, functional kitchen. Like everyone said, it probably is just the right thing for a rental unit - sort of traditional, with respectable appliances. But hard to express your personality or aesthetic preferences through it, and the black/brown thing is tough. I've never liked that combo either.

But I love the breakfast bar - really convenient with the high chairs. (You don't have twins, do you?!) I think personally, that if this was my kitchen I would bring some strong red into it, which seems like it could pull the brown and black together - maybe hang a Marimekko panel on the wall next to the breakfast bar?

jamie pup -

Very interesting points. Your analogy helped me understand your --and patrick's (t.o.o.)-- viewpoint on kitchen design. I'm still not sure I agree that white is the REASON people find a kitchen cold--I think it's more likely that the white kitchens have also been otherwise very clean--i.e., no clutter, no knickknacks, most "like a showroom."

Regarding the items that can be moved around-- SOOO much easier than ripping out a wall of cabinets. It's not the objects themselves; it's the act of claiming the space as one's own. The bank of bright yellow cabinets over at JP's does the same.

I understand what you're saying about functional, but for me, I don't want to live in an iPod! I want pictures I enjoy looking at, objects I remember buying, stuff that connects me to my life, imperfect though it is.

A Robert Herrick poem comes to mind, which may be completely off topic, but seems connected to the perfect/imperfect debate ...

A sweet disorder in the dress
Kindles in clothes a wantonness —
A lawn about the shoulders thrown
Into a fine distractiòn,—
An erring lace, which here and there
Enthrals the crimson stomacher,
A cuff neglectful, and thereby
Ribbands to flow confusedly,
A winning wave, deserving note,
In the tempestuous petticoat,
A careless shoe-string, in whose tie
I see a wild civility,
Do more bewitch me, than when art
Is too precise in every part.

I agree, I don't think that a kitchen is "cold" simply because it has white on the walls. I think your design has warmth in the cabinets and the countertops. They compliment and contrast with the walls very nicely.
I found that yourhomesupply.com has some drawer slides and I know that they had great prices on cabinet hardware, so I thought it might be worth mentioning as a remodeling resource.
Some people get stuck on having earthy tones for wall color, or having color be the dominant source of "warmth" in a kitchen, but I think you're safe on this one!