After reading a recent post by Sarah Kate at the Kitchn, I got inspired to take a moment to share with you what I love about the kitchen my husband and I share in our rental apartment in Los Angeles. Though I’ve lived in this lovely two bedroom apartment for almost ten years, it’s only after getting married last year that my husband and I have embraced the kitchen for what it is–charming and small. In just one year we’ve done some basic remodeling, painted the ancient walls a cheery sunshine yellow, bought a few key pieces to improve organization and learned to make the best of our charming and tiny (!!!)
1920’s kitchen
As a food writer, recipe developer and food blogger I spend most of my time in this room. Though the kitchen is small, I love the little scalloped cabinets, blue and white tile counter tops and the new checkered Marmoleum flooring my husband and I had installed to echo the kitchen’s 1920’s feel.
2. My salt collection
Watching chef Nancy Silverton finish off plates at Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, has taught me that no dish is finished without a sprinkle of a great finishing salt.
3. My wood utensil collection
From the simple spoon to the well crafted spatula, my wooden utensils are some of the most used (and loved!) items in my kitchen.
4. My mini granite mortar and pestle
Bought for a handful of dollars at an Asian market, I use this kitchen tool for muddling ingredients, making pesto and crushing fresh spices. Considering how much I use this item, I should probably get a bigger model. The mortar and pestle is so compact, however, it’s small enough to live on my counter top–thereby getting much more use because of its proximity. Thanks to the advice of Marcella Hazan, I will never go back to using a food processor for pesto ever again.
5. My favorite metal cooking utensils mounted on the wall
I don’t know why it took me years to get a wall rack for my metal utensils. After admiring my friend Leah’s magnetic knife rack I decided it was high time to make the purchase. Now I have everything at my finger tips. Tongs make serving salads and pasta a breeze. The microplaner grates cheese, nutmeg and zest. The gorgeous, light and incredibly sharp Masahiro knife (A Christmas gift from my husband–thanks honey!) slices through everything beautifully and with ease. The fish spatula gently moves meat in a pan, giving all the meat and fish I cook the respect it deserves.
6. Water purifier and vintage milk bottles
My husband and I drink a lot of water, so this little water purifier is a great and inexpensive choice for two renters. The vintage milk bottle is part of a larger collection (left overs from our wedding last year) that we now use to hold room temperature and chilled water. We often add lemon or cucumber to make drinking purified water more appealing.
7. This space saving cooking rack from Crate and Barrel
Our kitchen is tiny and since I’m often called upon to develop recipes I need to make cooking in the kitchen as easy as possible. Thanks to this rack I don’t have to search through cabinets to find the right pan.
8. My all time favorite cooking dish–my cast iron skillet
Cooking in a well seasoned skillet is such a pleasure, I’ll often cook an entire meal in just this one pan–just to see if I can!
9. My Vintage china
I love Danish patterns, Buffalo China and other hearty dishes from the 30’s-50’s. It makes photographing food so much more fun when it’s in a beautiful old dish!
10. My modern and vintage cook book collection
As a food writer, my cookbooks are markers of time, my encyclopedias of knowledge, my paper Google and my every day bibles.
What do you love about your kitchen?
Way to use your space wisely. I need to give in and also do the magnetic strip thing. Also, ditto on the cast iron skillet being the favorite dish. I don’t know what life would be like without a skillet/dutch oven combo.
i love everything about my kitchen! I bought my house last year for the kitchen. Yes, the rest of the house if great! But the kitchen is amazing. What I love about your kitchen is the metal instrument rack! Brilliant idea. Thanks!
These photos of your kitchen made me smile.
I love your kitchen! I have a close personal relationship with my KA mixer, three sets of timers (even the one I hate because it is so quiet), and silicon heatproof spatulas. 🙂
Most of us don’t live in Better Homes and Gardens ads, so thanks for all the good ideas about how to make a small kitchen feel like an inviting and homey place to cook!
We bought our house as a fixer upper, and while I love my kitchen the small amount of cupboard space drives me nutso. However, I adore the Spanish theme of the kitchen, which goes perfectly with the Spanish architecture of the house. It is a beautiful kitchen to entertain in, as far as cooking goes it is a work in progress.
I love your kitchen floor! My hubbie and I are planning on doing a Marmoleum floor in our bathroom and are thinking of blue and white check. What colors of Marmoleum did you use? Thanks!
You do have a pretty great kitchen, I must say! We are going to be remodeling our kitchen here soon and I can’t wait to get started. We just need to decide what look we are going to go for. Thanks for sharing your beautiful kitchen!