Butter Up Your Kitchen With Julia Child's Wisdom
Your kitchen will serve you more fully and beautifully when you borrow from these keen insights
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
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My colleague Laura Gaskill recently showed us a charming makeover of Julia Child's childhood kitchen. It made me think of all of Child's wonderful bons mots, and how we can apply them not only to food and life but to our kitchens. Here are some favorite Julia Child quotes to live, cook and decorate by. Bon appétit!
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| “You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces — just good food from fresh ingredients.” Think about fresh design ingredients when you're overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of tiles to choose from, or if you've gone appliance crazy and priced yourself right into a blown budget. Simple, honest materials like raw wood, tongue and groove paneling and a rectangular drum shade make this one of the most appealing kitchens I've seen. See the rest of this house |
by Tucker & Marks
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"With enough butter, anything is good."
As my butter-yellow kitchen has always cheered me up, I can attest that this is true.
As my butter-yellow kitchen has always cheered me up, I can attest that this is true.
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| “If you're afraid of butter, use cream.” If butter is not your favorite, and you're not feeling crisp white either, consider cream. It's a light neutral that can warm up a kitchen. |
| “I think every woman should have a blowtorch.” Whether you're finishing off that crème brûlée or finishing off your kitchen design, an industrial element like these propane tanks refashioned as pendant lights adds a dollop of the unexpected. |
| “Fat gives things flavor.” Extra-thick countertops stand up to all the other large elements in a kitchen. They're a great way to add flavor to a minimalist kitchen. See the rest of this home |
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| "Everything in moderation ... including moderation." Do you love having all the things you adore close at hand? Go for it. There's no rule that says you have to be a minimalist. Set up your kitchen as a place where you can get your work done and have all the things you love around you. See the rest of this kitchen |
"Being tall is an advantage, especially in business. People will always remember you. And if you're in a crowd, you'll always have some clean air to breathe."
Adding cabinets above your upper cabinets is a great way to make the most of an often wasted space — that gap between upper cabinets and the ceiling. I mean, yuck, have you ever actually cleaned up there? It's disgusting! Way up high, glass-front cabinets give you a chance to display beloved items, while solid fronts provide storage space for lesser-used items. Since most of us are shorter than Julia Child was, incorporate a step stool somewhere close by.
Adding cabinets above your upper cabinets is a great way to make the most of an often wasted space — that gap between upper cabinets and the ceiling. I mean, yuck, have you ever actually cleaned up there? It's disgusting! Way up high, glass-front cabinets give you a chance to display beloved items, while solid fronts provide storage space for lesser-used items. Since most of us are shorter than Julia Child was, incorporate a step stool somewhere close by.
by Splendid Willow
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"She was my first cat ever, and I thought she was marvelous."
OK, I admit, I just threw this one in here because I love cats and I love this photograph.
See the rest of this home
OK, I admit, I just threw this one in here because I love cats and I love this photograph.
See the rest of this home
"In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men's underwear."
Be picky about the pots, pans, small appliances and other kitchen tools you buy. Do your research, test things out at a friend's house, ask salespeople questions. Approach these purchases like you'd approach a wedding registry. Your food and your kitchen are worth it. If you need to go pick up some men's underwear after you're done, that's OK too.
Be picky about the pots, pans, small appliances and other kitchen tools you buy. Do your research, test things out at a friend's house, ask salespeople questions. Approach these purchases like you'd approach a wedding registry. Your food and your kitchen are worth it. If you need to go pick up some men's underwear after you're done, that's OK too.
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| "A cookbook is only as good as its poorest recipe." When you find a great cookbook, hang onto it for life and keep it close. A lot of new kitchen islands have designated cookbook space. You may find a good spot over the refrigerator or designate a cabinet shelf for cookbooks as well. For you techies, check out Why Your Kitchen Wants Its Own iPad. See the rest of this home |
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| "Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music." Make room and time to teach your kids how to cook. Start with cookies and setting the table (flower arranging is another fun activity), then make sure they know the basics by the time they go off to college. It's a wonderful way to spend time together. |
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by Dana Nichols
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| "Just speak very loudly and quickly, and state your position with utter conviction, as the French do, and you’ll have a marvelous time!" Add a swath of chalkboard paint somewhere in the kitchen for inspirational quotes, doodles, menus, grocery shopping lists and messages. |
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by kbcdevelopments
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| "Food, like the people who eat it, can be stimulated by wine or spirits. And, as with people, it can also be spoiled." Whether you're someone who sticks your whole snout in the wineglass, swirls, sniffs and spits, or someone who just likes a glass of "Two Buck Chuck" after work, the kitchen is a great spot for storing and displaying wine. Clearly, the wine storage here is an extreme example, but small wine refrigerators are quickly becoming a staple appliance in kitchen design these days. |
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| "Remember, 'No one's more important than people'! In other words, friendship is the most important thing – not career or housework, or one's fatigue — and it needs to be tended and nurtured.” We've looked at some beautiful kitchens today, but don't fret if your kitchen doesn't look ready for its close-up. Don't put off having that party because your cooking skills aren't up to Julia Child's level. After all, she once declared that "cooking well doesn’t mean cooking fancy." Call everyone up and invite them over anyway; what matters most to them is showing them that you care. How to Love Your Kitchen More, Right Now |
Ideabook published on Feb. 8, 2013.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/14/julia-child-quotes_n_1775163.html
Happy weekend!
And most apt that you got a big blue Bluestar range in there; Bluestar are the genius offspring of Garland (Julia Child's range later was a Garland).
@ scarbowcow - here's an amazon link to Julia Child biographies - maybe someone else can jump in with some recommendatiosns from this list?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_scat_2445_ln?rh=n%3A2445%2Ck%3Ajulia+child&keywords=julia+child&ie=UTF8&qid=1360363060&scn=2445&h=a30f527f3f1cb4e9b4c0234bb537899028206db5
Britain's equivalent to Julia Child is perhaps Elizabeth David: she, too, bucked the trend of the time, went to France, and learned how to cook properly: came home, and proceeded to change how people approached food in Britain, and wrote with wit and charm about it. Her nephew is the kitchen design genius Johnny Grey, who credits his aunty as his inspiration:
http://www.johnnygrey.com/greymatters/
I love a kitchen table myself, as I grew up with one and we had almost all of our meals there, except on a weekend night where we grabbed pizza in front of a movie in the TV room or had holiday or celebratory meals in the dining room. I now have a small open island in the middle of my u-shaped kitchen, with a separate eating nook. It comes in handy for placing hot things right out of the oven (it's tile), preparing meals and unloading groceries. It also gives me extra storage space, and has a potrack/light hanging overhead.
Loved the article - makes you think of home, and the idea of really what that word means. That design and space and aesthetics are all really essentially rendered useless if it doesn't support the individuals personal needs, loves, and aspirations. As a designer - this is the challenge - the shared vision of understanding what your clients want and need, and how they define 'home.'
The pictures all speak to the personalities of the homeowners - and I think that's whats really great about this article. In a sense it makes me think of what makes our house, our home. Some elements do, and some don't, and it adds a lot of clarity to what types of changes I'd like to make. Great post Becky - maybe your the Julia Child of Houzz!
My kitchen is essentially a galley with a long island acting as one of the 'walls." Our table is steps away, so the stools are mainly used at breakfast when we have kids eating at different times. My youngest does her homework there and I like that we're able to easily talk while I'm getting dinner going.
When we have company, I also like that it serves as a line of demarcation between the working zone and the rest of the house, really. It's a natural spot for guests to perch in those busy moments before a meal is served.