I started this Food + Dreamy Kitchens a while back where I post images of a beautiful kitchen for design inspiration and write a corresponding food that I would love to cook and eat in that particular kitchen.  The food I am noting here would be the first food that could be perceived by my taste buds at the site of this space. You can play this game with me and tell me what your dish would be.  

Designed by  Urrutia Design

There are several decisions to be made when planning the dining space.  Should it be private or open to the living area?  How many seating is required?  What happens when more guests arrive beyond the seating capacity?   Should it be incorporated within a kitchen? Or should it be held separately on its own adjacent to it?

  Design by little rock interior designer Tobi Fairley

Two years ago, I flew to France to take charge of the kitchen design for a house in the countryside that will be rented out.  I worked with my father-in-law who's a plumber and electrician. He's familiar with the building laws there. With his help, we worked together to design the house from scratch.  We considered the orientation of the sun  in planning the rooms, to ensure the house maximizes the use of sunlight especially during the summer, thus saving costs on electricity bills and saving on water by having a separate tank for collecting rain water to be used in toilets and cleaning.  We worked together on the architectural plans and finally transformed the drawing into reality under his supervision.

In this post, I'll be focusing on the kitchen.  We were designing a kitchen on a budget.  I turned to IKEA planner tools as a quick and effective solution. I worked on it while I was in Dubai and during my vacation in France, we bought the panels and units from IKEA located in the nearest city.  This was how it turned out.


It's still very rough because the photos were taken just right after the construction and the tenant should provide the appliances to go with it.  Imagine it with  bar stools and accessories.


The kitchen has a view of the terrace from the small window. The kitchen being open to the dining and living room allows interaction and mingling perfect for entertaining. The host could play bartender at the bar counter provided there.   Lots of light coming in which would be great during summer thus saving energy.


We modified the side a little bit due to the details, as we wanted to create a bar and a ledge.


The mosaic tiles with grey pattern was a great find at a local kitchen tile specialist within the area.  The sink was purchased from a home depot.


We had a limited budget but we were pleased with the result.  The small window next to the sliding door below is the kitchen's.   The last I heard, the current tenant likes the house so much they want to purchase it if it's open for sale.  So great to hear that!

This is the perfect kitchen for entertaining! An island equipped with dishwasher and grill.  The orientation of the dining area and bar stools allows the party's chef cooking and talking to guests at the same time.  

The gorgeous tones of birch wood marries with maple cabinetry in charcoal finish.

Overlooking great mountain view from the surrounding windows while cooking, what more could we ask for?

Bringing some more light in..

Love the combination of Carrera marble stacked tiles and the maple.

The large Sub Zero refrigerator is ideal for huge gatherings.  Not to mention the food warmer below integrated under the counter makes serving so convenient and stress free with lots of work space.

Every host's dream, a fully stacked Sub-Zero under counter wine storage.

 It can store up to 46 bottles of wine.

And there's an entertainment center with an Ipod deck!

This beautiful kitchen made my Friday.

Contemporary Living Area

Living Area & Open Kitchen

Breakfast Area

Kitchen

Love the Dining!

Images via Houzz

It's already a given that all of us women dream of large walk-in closets.  Who wouldn't want one?  Long behold a walk-in pantry in your dream kitchen!  For those blessed with space living far far away from the hypermarkets, this is a dream addition that will might as well become a necessity.

Contemporary design

Go green!

Go subtle..

Sundays make me think of Traditional Kitchens.  This is a perfect place to gather for a big family weekend lunch.  Here's another kitchen design in my inspiration board.  Whites, cream tiles, dark backsplash, hardwood floors and gorgeous sloped ceiling with wooden panelling. The contrast is charming.  Lots of storage space and beautifully concealed range hood.  Dreamy.