apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Let's see, a ton of cabinet space since you can rarely have too much, better layout, an island, a pantry, etc. Wouldn't mind having some cabinets with glass doors to showcase some nicer things or a double door fridge. Momentarily, would like to have the washer/dryer located away from the kitchen and just more cabinet and drawer space.

Someone to clean it.

I've always dreamed of having more counter space. I like to bake and when I do, I seem to have trays, bowls, and supplies on every surface. If I take out the scale, I have to put it away immediately to make room for something else.

But it's better than living in a car or not having enough to eat. Now I feel ashamed at my petty complaints.

Jamie Oliver

My dream kitchen would be outdoors; with a built-in grill, refrigerator and a wood-burning pizza oven!

lets see my dream kitchen...

good layout... white shaker cabinets... stainless steel appliances... wood flooring... glass tile backsplash....some open shelving... simple with some colorful accents... enough counterspace... good lighting.... open floorplan to the rest of the house.

an island with an end-grain maple countertop that's about 3" thick and a 48" viking dual fuel range. *sigh*

These days, gas and a pot-filler. Given a bit more space, a big ol' butcher block.

All I need that my kitchen doesn't have is a double basin sink. That's it.

Definitely a farmhouse sink. My sink is in a corner, so that won't work.... A bigger kitchen so I could have an island or a work table in the center....open shelving so I could display some of my collections...a nook off the kitchen for eating, reading or daydreaming....a large bay window above the sink area with a gorgeous country view and gardens (I could put plants in)...soapstone or rustic stone counters, or maybe butcher block (I'm a little bored with granite)....a vintage stove...a professional chef to do all the cooking for me! (I'm a terrible cook!)....a walk in, well stocked pantry with a sink (copper)...an all around quaint kitchen.

I love to cook and cook almost every day and host a dinner party every week (yes, I also work full-time).

My dream kitchen:

* Is small or medium-sized. I once rented a place with a huge kitchen and kept running around. Ugh.

* has excellent lighting
* has toddler-proof cabinets
* has a stainless gas range.
* has a stainless double sink.
* has a built-in dishwasher.
* has solid surface counters.
* Has a sofa - for friends to sit and sip lattes while I cook.
* has a bookcase in the vicinity of the sofa.

The current kitchen is really not bad, even though it's 30 years old, small, and has uncomfortable and insufficient cabinets. I bought and installed a new stainless gas range, and that proved to be the recipe for my cooking success. Stainless double sink is to be installed tomorrow. :)

Wood-fired bread oven, and a cozy armchair to read my cookbooks in

As an avid cook, I've always always always wanted a gas stove. My problem is that I have a serious case of OCD and will spend 5-10 minutes checking to make sure the stove is off before leaving the house. Hence, I have an electric stove.

If I had a gas stove, I would probably be turning off the gas valve in the basement before leaving the house.

I have this irrational fear of a fire ripping through my house.

Stainless steel kitchen
Cabinets with no handles
Ample storage in order to hide/store everything
LEM Piston bar stools

My kitchen is pretty dreamy already, but one thing I couldn't figure out a way to swing in this house was a real woodburning fireplace in the kitchen, where one could roast meat on a spit, set their bubbling cauldron, make pizza or roast marshmallows.
Next time for sure.

A U-shaped arrangement with a 3' deep peninsula counter facing the dining area.
Corner base cupboards that have lazy-susans inside so I don't have to dig for things in back- 1 for storage and the other with bins for recycling & scrap collecting for compost.
Multiple deep drawers where I can store all my cookware and tools.
An induction cooktop with an efficient ventilation system.
A self-cleaning oven at chest-height with a rotisserie and a door that swings open rather than pulling down - and drawers in the cabinet below for bakeware and a slide-out wooden shelf just beneath the oven to catch hot items coming out of the oven.
A quiet dishwasher.
A refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom.
A 24" deep cabinet above the fridge enclosure.
A pull-out sprayer at the sink, an undersink filtration system and an instant-hot water system.
European-Style cabinetry with solid walnut raised-panel doors and antiqued-brass hardware.
Heath Tile backsplashes, glass-terrazzo countertops and cork tile floors.
A high ceiling.
Plenty of halogen lighting.
A large south-east facing window over the sink where I can grow herbs.
A floor-to ceiling niche with shelves for my cookbooks.
A separate cocktail area near the dining area with an undercounter thermal-induction wine-cooler, an ice maker, a small bar sink plus a mirrored backsplash and glass shelves for all my barware.
A grey-water storage system so that the water in the kitchen could be reused to water the garden.

Clean, white, and not too big. Wooden floor. A peninsula or island with deep pull-out drawers as a baking center. A gas range and an unobtrusive counter-depth refrigerator. A big window. Connected to main living area so I don't feel lonely while slaving away in the kitchen.

Definitely no pot rack. Hate looking at people's pans hanging down from the ceiling. Hope that doesn't catch on in other rooms, too, people hanging all their jumbled-up crap from ceiling hooks.

Im a messy cook and always hated in rentals that I never could tell with the speckled, textured, stained countertops if mine were really, truly clean. One apartment was so bad I stopped letting things touch the the countertop at all. Now, I got pretty close to my dream kitchen and the thing I love more than anything is the solid white corian countertop with undermount sinks. You'd think solid white is hard to keep clean, but there is NOTHING you can't scrub off from the completely non-pourous surface, and when it's clean, I KNOW it's clean. Every time I wash down the counter I think about how awesome it is. hehe.

I like my little kitchen for the most part. I like to cook but it's not a passion for me. I do wish I had a big, double sink, a garbage disposal, non-cracked tile flooring (I rent and it came that way) and updated cabinets.

A giant pantry.

A big vintage stove.

Big white vintage sink with drainboards.

Dishwasher.

Wide floorboards.

Some open shelving.

Stand alone furniture, rather than built in cabinets. (I don't need them thanks to my big pantry. ;) )

Kickboard heaters under the cabinets

A cork floor

Four small fixed skylights - no hand cranks and no gaskets that leak

Turkish geometric tiles for the walls

A corner fireplace in the dining area - gas would be fine

In the apt I'm living in now, the countertop is extra deep and it's stepped. At the back of the countertop, there's a raised, 8 inch deep ledge, essentially a second or auxiliary countertop, where you can keep things but they don't clutter up the regular countertop.

I've never had this type of countertop before and I really love it. It's unbelievably convenient. You can keep things on there without cluttering the countertop. When you're working, you can set things up there to keep them out of the way but within reach. A wonderful feature.

If I ever get to design a kitchen, I would include something like that.

An island with butcher block countertop and enough room for a few barstools.

Good lighting

Forbo/linoleum floors (softer under foot than the wood I have now)

Double ovens (I know I wouldn't use them much, but for the few times a year I did, they would be totally worth it)

Nice sized pantry

Industrial refrigerator and freezer featured on AT a few weeks ago

I can't even get into the cosmetics of it, that changes often

Lastly, someone to shop and clean for me. I love to do the cooking, I just fail miserably at planning and cleaning up.

My kitchen back in North America is pretty great as-is:

-matte cherry cabinetry; soapstone counters and HUGE soapstone hand-carved sink; island with microwave and concrete top with bits of coloured glass; quiet dishwasher; Wolf 6 burner range; great refrigerator (GE Monogram); 2 skylights; rubber floors; lighting in upper cabinets, and on top of them.

It would be lovely to have a cozy bench and table seating next to a fireplace, comfy armchairs and sofa. But that is pretty extravogent!

The things I would do differently in the kitchen (and I tried to have it done this way in the planning stage, but I was talked down) was to have only very shallow pantry shelves -- regular depth, and you lose things in the back -- and ONLY drawers on the bottom -- no cupboards except under the sink.

I find vintage stoves, especially Chambers, alluring, and would love to be rid of all upper cabinets, with just a shelf for regularly used items. We'll see what I do in the next kitchen...

I've stayed in holiday lets in Italy and Spain where they had a cupboard over the sink to put dishes in as they were (hand) washed. There was a dishwasher but I found it just as easy to use this (I usually rinse plates before putting them in the dishwasher). It seemed green and was tidy. I have an open plan kitchen so no space over the sink but I liked using it.

Those kitchens are nice, but they just make me sick thinking about having to clean them. Id be happy with some stainless or concrete counters, a drawer dishwasher and open shelving. If I were dreaming about a kitchen it would involve a cook and a maid.

concrete poured counter tops. i hate granite.
also floor to ceiling shelving unit to display great bowls and teacups collection i have already started and already cannot fit.

I now have hope for humanity: Only 4 people dreamed of an island and no one asked for granite. Our terrible national nightmare of homogenous kitchens with granite, cherry, stainless and huge islands may be coming to an end!

If we're talking dream kitchens...here goes (granted expense not a consideration): AGA cooker w/second bread oven, Soapstone double sink, Labtop counters, Walk-in fridge, refrigerated drawers for most often used stuff, attached greenhouse for year round veggies, Salamander, Leather,cork or grass for flooring (raised bed w/good drainage of course) wood fired pizza oven, Blast chiller.

Reclaimed wood floors and cabinets, with a few open cabinets for my stemware and nice dishes, gas stove, serious double sink, sandstone countertops, big windows, a bread proofer, copper bottomed pots and pans a wide range of cast iron stuff. I like islands, but they aren't necessary. Being open to a seating area is a must for entertaining.
Extra points if I can put a shelf in the widow to increase my herb growing space, and have a door to walk out into my own organic garden.

stuff that my nice kitchen doesn't have:
plugs *everywhere* for the various machinery
something to hide the various machinery (spice grinders, cuisinart etc)
a tap above the oven....pure indulgence...no more carrying heavy pots of water
a small second sink
a HUGE farmhouse style sink
an under the counter fridge and freezer
and somewhere close...a cold room/huge pantry for all my ferments and preserved things

in addition to jamie oliver (i love that answer!):
- sunlight/windows
- farmhouse sink
- nice overhead hanging pot holder
- wood floors
- subway tile backsplash
- more cabinet space than i currently have
- better countertops
- dishwasher

concrete countertops
pot filler
wine chiller
walk-in pantry
no overhead cabinets (i'm short)

Range fan that vents to the outdoors

white shaker cabinets
Carrara marble counter tops
window over the sink
vintage stove
vintage looking fridge and dishwasher
open shelves for displaying my pyrex collection

The only thing to make my kitchen my DREAM kitchen might be swapping the ceramic cooktop for an induction variety (only about $1000 more!) and having someone else cook delicious healthy food in it for me! Otherwise, to the extent I care a lot, I have just what I want.

my dream kitchen would have;
a walk in pantry
a walk in fridge
laundry room
automatic dog bowl filler
automatic put-dish-in-dishwasher-not-in-dish-drain
automatic sponge sanitizer
and a sky light.

We are still acclimating to our new kitchen and I'm not loving how far the range is from the sink and the fridge. I'd also prefer granite, concrete or butcher block counters to the tile currently there (something solid because I hate cleaning grout). And I have to say that though the flagstone-like floors are beautiful, they get COLD and I'm not looking forward to cleaning up the inevitable spills. Still, with three windows (one of which is an herb garden window), tons of storage, new appliances and enough room for me and my fiance to cook together without tripping over each other constantly I can live with a few compromises. I'm working on "curing" my kitchen this spring so I'm hoping that the space will just get even better.

FYI prices for the La Cornue stove start at 32,000$. I think the one pictured starts at 45,000$.

What can I say? I bought my stainless range for 1200$, saved up for it, and thought I splurged.

More counter space, a dishwasher that actually gets the dishes clean (I use mine as a giant dish rack), and lots of natural light.

A vintage oven like Rachel Ray has. They are such awesome pieces of equipment.

enmnm, you read my mind.

Alas, someone to clean the kitchen isn't in the works, so my dream kitchen has a place for everything behind cabinet doors. Nothing open: no pots hanging, no display shelves - it's all just more to clean/dust/wipe down.

Also, a sink and countertops that are the proper height for me; Julia Child had the right idea. Plus, more counter space for prep and I'm all set.

A kitchen sink that has a beautiful view of the outdoors.
An eat-in area for morning breakfast.
A dedicated alcove to hold all my specialty baking (including two stand mixers) and chocolate equipment (including two tempering machines), marble counters, a wine fridge to use to chill chocolates.
Dishwasher _drawers_.
Walk-in pantry, root cellar, wine cellar.
A double-sided fireplace-style oven (for indoor and outdoor grilling with the same flue stack).
3 ovens
An obscene, and I do mean obscene, amount of storage space for dishes and glassware.