apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Purely Decorative items? No. Save that for the living room and the den.

Useful kitchenware, appliances, cooking tools, trays of spices, cookbooks and canisters? Most definitely.

I have only a minimum of objects on the counter. So technically I am not completely bare, albeit mostly.

Unfortunately, in this case, what I want (bare) and what I will always have (tons of stuff) are two totally different things...

I prefer clear, uncluttered work space, with pretty much everything either mounted to the wall or stored in a cupboard.

There isn't enough room for "cozy" in my small kitchen.

I like my countertops so much, I don't want to put stuff on them!

I cook too much to hide my stuff.

I agree with bepsf.
I want my stuff handy (especially food processor, toaster, recipe books, spices, cooking utensils).
If I stash them away they can end up "far from the eyes, far from the heart" and be ignored during cooking. Seeing them there gives me ideas of stuff I can prepare and that way I can cook nice meals 3-4 times a week.

Stuff on the counter, at least those things I use a lot such as the toaster, the crock full of cooking utensils, the coffee pot, the chopping boards and knife block and the coffee grinder, everything else is in drawers, cupboards or on the top shelf of the pantry as there is no other room for them. I also leave my drain basket and a towel out on the counter to the sink's left 24/7 as there is almost always stuff in it or on it.

I do hang my most used pots and pans that I can hang on a plastic coated wire grid mounted to a section wall backing up to the bathroom where they are easily gotten to and I can just hang up wet when washed. :-)

All my spices are in the upper cupboard next to the stove and the rest in the pantry. and I don't have lots of counter space but I make the best and yes, I cook much of the time.

I cook twice *a day* so what I'd really like is a bigger kitchen so I can stash things away and keep my countertops free. Not even a bowl of fruit, thank you.

In a bigger apartment I might like things on the counter, but in my tiny studio I've had to compromise - clear countertops, but lots hanging off of the backsplash above them. (Knives on a magnetic strip, utensils and potholders on hooks, etc.) The clutter looks purposeful that way and stays off my prep-area .

I should say, I don't have a lot of counter space and I do make the best of the space I do have and yes, I cook much of the time.

I have a lot of open shelving in my kitchen so I really don't have to keep a lot on my counters for things to look homey. I recently removed then replaced everything in my kitchen for massive editing purposes and cleaning, so I basically have nothing on my countertops unless it's an every day appliance - on top of a piece I found at a thrift store that fit perfectly between the "random" end of my counter and the wall (with more open shelving underneath for the ugly tupperwares and glad plastic crap, and non-every day small appliances), and if I want something cute to look at, there's the narrow bottom shelf that looks just made for tchotchkes, plus the built-in "open shelving look" which is hardly anything but food or dishes and cookware, and I will try to keep it presentable.

I prepare stuff on the actual counter by the sink which is kind of small (also ugly and so obviously not original to the apartment), plus I have an attached hutch ("built-out"?) with more space, that's got my utensils by the stove and a mirror I just decided would look nice propped up there, and, for the time being, a piggy bank made for me by my aunt. Ok, so the mirror and the pig are extraneous and I took my kitchen table out, so no basket of lemons or loose unconventional grapefruits. I would probably put stuff like that on the hutch or the windowsill if I had some fruit waiting to ripen.

In a small but oft-used kitchen, paying attention to the design of the objects that must be out in view can be really helpful. Clear countertops are not an option for me, but I choose the items that go inside the cabinets vs on the countertops based on having things I enjoy looking at in view.

Wow, how sad, such a big, expensive kitchen and you only use it twice a year? What is the point?

"Wow, how sad, such a big, expensive kitchen and you only use it twice a year? What is the point?"

That kitchen in the photo isn't Beth's...

I cook a lot, its my hobby. I don't have a ton of things on my counters. I looked for a year before I found the perfect coffee container, its so beautiful it does stay out. Some basics items like butcher blocks, two white ceramic containers to hold the most used utensils- one for wooden spoons, the other for mix of most used items, toaster oven, salt jar, pepper mill, glass jar for dog treats, olive oil dispenser that I use for dish soap and big bowl for fruit and another bowl for onions, potatoes and garlic.

if I had that kitchen above I would like it like that.

I really don't cook much, but just really hate the look and feel of clutter, anywhere. A few select items are out, but everything else just collects dust, so it gets put away.

http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

The things I use every single day are on the counter. Since I cook every day, that's plenty of clutter, but I don't want to let pots boil over while I'm looking for a spatula.

I have ...maybe... three feet of usable counter in my kitchen, and thus, it's streamline all the way. If an item doesn't have an immediate or regular use, it doesn't belong there.

I cook a lot and have a decent amount of counter space so the stuff that gets used most gets to live on the counter: big wood cutting board gets left out, as does the electric kettle and the big tea tin, also the blender and knife block since they all get used every day (well, not every single knife). Decor-wise I would really only count the fruit bowl and the big tins of flour and sugar that I think look so cool (and they are in corners that aren't exactly prime real estate). Also the big KitchenAid mixer that I inherited since it is too big to fit anywhere else. So I guess that's a moderate level of clutter. But it's functional clutter!

Bare would be ideal but I'm a natural clutterer.

this kitchen is gorgeous, except for the oddly under-utilized shelves. I like the bare look, but that's weird.

I have stuff out. My kitchen aid because it's big and heavy, my coffee maker cause I use it every day, my crock of spoons and some fruit. I also have art on my kitchen counter propped on the back wall that I want to see every day. I have a total of 6 ft of countertops -3- 2ft sections- and I cook every day- twice a day. It doesn't get in my way and I like how things are easily reached.

I like to have one counter perfectly clear for doing space-intensive stuff like making bread, rolling cookies, etc. But with the rest of the kitchen, I like it to be inspiring, with spices and cake molds and graters etc. hanging out. Think apothecary or mad scientist's lab.
The show-off sparse kitchens like the one above just don't have enough character for me-- I'd feel like I was cooking in a hotel.

There is a LOT of counter space in my house, so a paper-towel holder, toaster, spice rack, and can opener can sit on the counter and not make it cluttered.

On the kitchen island, I always keep a bowl of fresh fruits. I wouldn't say they're decorative (though the bowl is a rather nice shade of red) just because I seem to go through at least 2-3 pieces of fruit per day.

None of those ornaments/purely-for-decoration items, though.

BARE!! clutter gives me chest pain. and like beth mentioned - when i cook, somehow i fling food about.

i have a wine rack on my counter. that's it.

i like the look of cozy, but i'm a bare-counterrs girl. i can't even start cooking until the kitchen is clean. i'm ocd. there, i admitted it.

what? i'm the only one with a counter-surfing Weimaraner? except for a bowl of fruit, bare so i can easily wipe off the pawprints.

Our counters have the necessities out - stuff we use daily.

-Coffee pot
-Microwave
-Canisters for sugar, tea bags, etc
-Spice rack
-Knife block
-Couple potholders by the stove.

Beyond that, it's just a few vases on the breakfast bar area.

i love the clean look, however i have a little "centerpiece": seasonal flowers in the center of the island, and on the counters, i have a nesspresso coffee maker, a cuisenart, and a holder for my spoons, forks, spatulas.

I live in a studio apartment where countertop space is a rare commodity so I try not to have anything on there to begin with but I found that when I went home to visit my parents who have a kitchen that is 3/4 of the size of my entire apartment it drove my CRAZY that they had so much stuff on their counters.

Sure they have the space but still - why clutter it when it's completely unecessary!? But to each his own. :)

**end rant**

I don't "decorate" my counters. Well, I actually do a little. I bought an adorable vintage ice crusher at a thrift store for a few dollars. It's bright red and so iconic of the 50's and early 60's - every time I look at it, flashes of Donna Reed episodes bowl me over - that I had to have it and I like to have it out, but the rest of the kitchen? The Kitchen Aid Mixer, the food processor, the utensil bucket, the food scale, the toaster, the vintage percolator? It's all on the counter. I actually snatched the old wooden butcher block top from my in-laws ancient roll-away dishwasher to put on the counter as a cutting board. It guarantees us that there is always an empty space that's clean enough to cook on :P

I put away what I can (the immersion blender and all of the attachments for my various appliances make their way into the cupboards and drawers) but I am I just not the girl who can give up easy access to the things she uses daily. Plus, I don't care what anyone says, that mixer is too heavy to move around that often.

We have a nice toaster oven on the counter (that really makes decent toast!) and a few ornaments. That's about it. Everything else fits into cupboards and drawers. I like it that way, but my partner tends to let mail and junk he's carrying with him end up there... it's an onging struggle.

I still don't get why people have such an aversion to having things on the counter - isn't that the purpose of having counters?

I LOVED the use of marble in the above picture, especially on the wall, all the way up to the ceiling! Feels fresh.