What do a luxurious high-end handbag and a kitchen have in common? Give up? Fendi! One of the most impressive exhibits I viewed earlier this year at EuroCucina in Milan was the one featuring Fendi. As you can imagine, a show like EuroCucina (a part of the even larger Salone Internazionale del Mobile) encompasses pretty much everything you could ever think of when it comes to kitchen design. Not only that, I saw things I've never imagined in my wildest dreams! The Fendi's Casa Ambiente Cucina line fits squarely in that category. 
Styling can be described as elegant and sophisticated with details that call to mind to a fancy buckle or luxurious lining on your favorite expensive bag. Speaking of linings, I was impressed with the cabinet interiors too. In this case beauty isn't only skin deep it extends to what's inside. This includes clear (yes CLEAR) roll outs and LED illumination which activates when you open the door or drawer.
Fendi Kitchens made its debut at Salone two years ago with its first line of kitchen designs known as Ambienta Cucina, produced for them by SCIC, a high-end Italian kitchen manufacturer.
The Fendi exhibit was kept strictly under wraps, no peeking from outside and once you were cleared to enter photography was verboten! Big burly bouncer type guys were on hand to enforce the no pic policy. Sadly I witnessed one enthusiastic viewer caught in the act. She was made to show her phone and delete all photos in presence of bouncer! I thought the whole point of showing at a trade show was to garner publicity, no?
Fendi Casa Ambiente Cucina can be ordered in the U.S. exclusively through the Luxury Living Group in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Their offerings are truly a marriage of quality and fine design 
Check out Kitchens for Living On the Road to view all my pics and comments from Eurocucina 2014 and more!
Modern Tradition: The New Farmhouse Sink
I have been away a little longer that usual but I have not forgotten my dear blog reader peeps. Let’s just say I suddenly find myself as busy as a dishwasher on Thanksgiving! Speaking of cleaning, I thought I’d show you some kitchen sink loveliness today.
If you’re remodeling your kitchen you might want to consider something different when it comes to the kitchen sink. It used to be true that the “farmhouse sink” could only really look right in a traditional type kitchen but that’s no longer true at all. Your sink doesn’t necessarily need to be sunk under the counter, it can actually be a focal point as you see here.
Stone Forest sinks are hand-carved from solid stone! You can get the fronts polished, rough, with a floral design or with the wavefront as seen here. Don't ask me how much they cost but a splurge on this will definitely elevate the character of your abode. Some models come with interior dividers if you’re addicted to the double bowl and you can even get them in stainless steel for a more modern look. This sink is by Kraus. We've come a long way, huh?
Here are a couple things to consider if you go this route. Depending on they type of cabinetry you have, it may be difficult or impossible to retro fit a farmhouse sink into your existing cabinet and countertop. If you are in fact replacing your tops and you have a back behind the false drawer front under your sink you may be in luck but it’s always safer to check with a professional first. Speaking of professionals, make sure of two things. You need to know what sink you'll be using before ordering cabinets to make sure that you have enough space on the front above the doors to accommodate the front. The second thing is to be confident that your installer is familiar with this type of installation. It will make or break you!
Secondly if you really enthusiastic at the sink ie water everywhere be careful. That same slick smooth apron front is a perfect pathway for water to drip down on to your cabinet doors. That said, I have had clients who love their apron front farmhouse sinks with nary a problem. I say if you love it and you can then go for it!
The Best of Jenn-Air: My Top 3 Picks
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks in my little “kitchen designer world”. Earlier this month I made a quick trip to the World of Whirlpool in Chicago to learn, in depth, about their premium Jenn-Air line of appliances. Jenn-Air has been around a long time but has recently been reinvented to compete with the luxury brands. Overall the line is very impressive and I could go on and on but today I thought I'd share with you my top 3 favorites. 
Jenn-Air appliances are all made in the USA, other than that I was interested to learn what sets them apart from the competition. What I found out is, for cooking, many of their appliances lead the pack when it comes to power and variety of power. For example, a high BTU like 20,000 will give you hot quick high heat and a low one like 650 gives you excellent simmering capability. The Jenn-Air cooktops whether gas, electric or induction have you covered.
Jenn-Air is also a pioneer in downdraft technology (since the 1960s). It used to be that you couldn't use down draft ventilation unless your house was built with ductwork in the slab under the floor. No more! The JX3 downdraft cooktops can be purchased with a duct-free accessory kit. When you consider that the average family expels 1 gallon of cooking grease into the home every year, ventilation becomes an important consideration.
The buzz around induction and steam cooking continues and these appliances impressed me enough to make the top 3. If you know me you know I predict induction cooking will rule the world (almost) in the next decade or so. Induction means cooking with electro magnetic energy so the pot, not the cooking surface, is your heat source. It is 90% efficient and you won't get burned! Surprisingly electric cooking is only about 65% and gas is last with 45% efficiency. Your pots are probably not going to be a problem. If a magnet sticks to the bottom you're good to go. This cooktop is also modestly priced compared to the competition and retails for $2,199.oo
The Jenn-Air appliance I would want the most for my kitchen would be the steam and convection oven. It's a lot of cooking capability packed into a 24" oven! Steam cooking is not just for veggies but also great for cooking eggs, bread, meat, desserts and heating leftovers. The best thing is that you can combine steam and convection cooking so that things like meat and bread brown on the outside. If you just want to bake you can use convection bake mode without the steam. Convection gives you uniform cooking, a must for baking.
No plumbing hook up is needed. The reservoir on the right holds the tap water you'll need to get steamy. You also won't need a 220 outlet, 120 is all it takes. Another impressive fact is you can cook several different foods together such as salmon, green beans and creme brulee' with no flavor transference! See more photos and commentary from my trip at Kitchens for Living On the Road and thank you Jenn-Air for the royal designer treatment :)
Hip To Be Square, Or Not
I've heard the saying " it's hip to be square" but that’s not always true, sometimes curvaceous qualifies. Here are three of my fave new products that sport some cool contours and are far from square. 
Sometimes just the slightest suggestion of a curve is enough to soften a silhouette. This beautiful faucet by THG Paris is available in, get this, 35 finishes! The French excel when it comes to subtly, oui?
This is what you would call a "statement refrigerator"! Smeg is an Italian company largely known for these cool retro-style fridges. The other new colors just introduced are white and a highly anticipated Union Jack pattern (who knew?). The soft rounded corners are all about the 1950s. The 9.22 cubic foot capacity is a little more Euro than American but who can resist those sinuous lines and vibrant colors combined with cutting-edge technology?
I even found you a sofa to partner with your new yellow Smeg :) Not bad, I must say. Last but in no way least is Infiore by Estiluz. It's a beautiful stylized flower sculpture masquerading as a lamp. This one is a pendant but it also comes as a floor or table lamp. The petals are available in different colors and sport a collection of bi-injected polycarbonate petals. I have no idea what that means but I do know it means the lamps feature an interesting two-color lighting effect. These are available at LightingbyGregory.com
The organic curves of Infiore add a whimsical softness to this very linear contemporary kitchen (which I love) The larger-than-life scale also makes these flowers fun! I rest my case, curves are a beautiful thing ;)
Mid-Century Cooking at its Finest, When Julia was Queen
Another week has flown by! It's Friday afternoon and since I can't face a serious topic, I thought I'd share these fun pics with you. In case you're too young to know (I almost am). Julia Child was the quintessential "French" Chef and Diva of the Kitchen. I put "French" in quotes because she was actually American. 
Her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking brought that style of cuisine to the US. She was also a pioneer of the TV cooking show genre. Her TV series The French Chef aired from 1963-1973. Although Julia's style of French cooking is not known for being particularly healthy, she did enjoy a long life of enthusiastic cooking and eating. She left us in 2004 at the age of 91!
The kitchen above came from Julia's home in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was donated the the Smithsonian Institute where it is today. She cooked her heart out from the 1940s until around 2001 and everything you see here is from that time period. If you'd like to know more check out the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History website.
The New English Kitchen
A bazillion years ago (circa 1994) when I first began my adventure in this business, the “English Kitchen” was all the rage in the high end market. I learned to design, by hand, in metric and things like astragal mouldings (yes moUldings with a “u”) were all the rage. Distressed, fly specked finishes were hot and no one wanted a white kitchen unless it was encrusted with glazing. I learned the English style by apprenticing with a true Englishman and gentleman who I shall be forever grateful to.
Those kitchens looked something like these photos from Houzz.com. Back in those days I did not work for a top notch custom shop like Brendan Donovan's. I worked for a top notch cabinet dealer so we actually imported this type of cabinetry from the UK. This came with its own set of challenges, to say the least. Just think of how long it would take to get a parts order and how expensive it was to transport! Charming and beautiful in their own way, these kitchens are full of detail and working on something like this was good training ground for a budding kitchen designer such as myself. That was then. 
This is now. 
Today ground zero for the latest in high end kitchen design in London is located in the West End, in and around Wigmore Street. It's home to exclusive brands such as Bulthaup, Poggenpohl and the Nicholas Anthony showroom featuring the latest by SieMatic. 
The new English style is exactly that, new! Cleaner more modern design utilizing the latest technologies are now the order of the day. With the advent of the internet I believe it really is a small world. Ideas and trends fly over the web at the speed of light. We all influence each other cross pollinating our designs but there is still an appeal in wanting what the other peeps have. Many of us here want the new, slick, Euro styled kitchen and, dare I say, many Euros and Brits are amazed at our American sized appliances, namely the quintessential 36” refrigerator! 
I feel the advances in technology when it comes to laminates and counter top material lend themselves to these new clean- lined looks. Decorative detail is found in interesting wood grains and the random markings of stone rather than from moldings and corbels. So what do you think? Are you yearning for the "olde world" look again? Do you think it's coming back or are we here to stay for the time being?