The Intelligent Kitchen

My friend Tara sent me this link to a short video on the Dwell site showcasing the most amazing kitchen. Her friend's sister is the architect and owner featured in the video. It is incredible.

Video: The Intelligent Kitchen: Francine

What a perfect layout for hanging out with your kids or entertaining guests. There are so many great details like the hidden tray down the center of the island, the shelves at each end of the island for cookbooks, the huge kitchen table near the fireplace and all the big windows to let in so much natural light. I would love to cook for my kids, carve pumpkins or throw a dinner party in that kitchen!

I love that there isn't a huge plasma TV in the main kitchen too. It definitely takes away from the quality of your interactions in such an important room if a big TV is blaring away. The kitchen is where families come together for a short amount of time every day to eat and reconnect.

For some interesting thoughts on mealtime, check out the chapter "The Blessing of Food" in Blessings of a Skinned Knee by Dr. Wendy Mogel. It has definitely made me more aware of how I behave during mealtime in front of my daughter. Instead of standing at the counter eating something quickly while I feed her, I try to sit down with her and eat breakfast and lunch together. My daughter has usually eaten dinner by the time my husband gets home but we just give her a snack so we can all sit down and enjoy that time as a family. We use to eat with the TV on but now that we have a child we don't do that anymore (except for election night of course). Don't treat your kitchen just as the place you cook and eat. Cherish those moments where you have all slowed down to come together, and appreciate your good fortune that you have a delicious meal and a family to share it with!