mamadadapaige, could you email me? I have a question for you.

okay, sent you an email! let me know if it came through.

Just saw that one yesterday....Unbelievable!!! I am not "cottagey" at all and I loved it. They did have some great ideas and the way these kitchens were put together was amazing. I really liked the one that was a small U shape and had stainless, marble and wood counters. The center of the U had stainless cabinets. I think the cabs were Siematic. I was actually thinking this morning that I have to go back to B&N and actually buy this one!

Does anyone know if the kitchens are new or just recycled from Cottage Living past issues? I had one of their special publications in my hands yesterday (Cottage Gardens) but it was bundled in plastic and I was afraid I'd just be seeing a rehash of gardens I knew from being a subscriber for a few years.

Hi mama
I was drawn to the same kitchen -- #21 --all those glass cupboards -- it became an inspiration for me as we have leaded glass cupboards and I have been wondering whether to risk going really dark on the cabinets or stay mid-toned. This was a surprisingly good collection of kitchens. Another good book is Great Kitchen Ideas, Meredith books, 2007. You can get it cheap on Amazon. And of course AD. There was a gorgeous white kitchen in a tudor house designed by Victoria Hagan in AD, many years ago. Dark floors and counters, subway tiles. Have always loved it. This predates SGG by some ten years and I think was really the mother of all the pretty white kitchens.

Hmm, you know, I am "cottagey" and I have to say I don't care for Cottage Living much anymore, although there were a few nice kitchens in the mag, but I think 'loft living in a cottage" is more what they're about--too sparsely modern for me. They used to have a nice mix of styles, but this year everything is how to make your cottage not look like Manhattan.

You convinced me to run out and buy a copy!

I agree about kitchen #21--I like it to. (And I particularly like that antique chair on page 86. ;) )

A book I really like is Great Kitchens: At Home with America's Top Chefs by Ellen Whitaker, et al. What I really like about it is that it's full of kitchens that are designed by people who actually cook, and it shows--the designs are typically much more open, and focused on work surfaces, than are kitchen designed by kitchen designers.

Highly Recommended.

I've attached an Amazon link to the edition I have; I note that there is also a 2001 paperback edition that I believe has the same content.

Here is a link that might be useful: Great Kitchens

hi solarpowered,

I actually bought that book when planning my kitchen. I found it very helpful in planning how the kitchen should function. I found some of the kitchens to be too utilitarian and others to be sort of dated, but there were a couple that I loved. One, I have seen recently in a magazine. It is the chef couple who moved from NYC to the rural south. Their kitchen is huge and very open... they have cinder block walls and somehow it looks stylish.

re: cottage living kitchen magazine. the other element I just love is on page 92. the antique terra cotta hexagon floor and the way this kitchen flows from the inside to the outside. I would imagine this is a southern house... it has that feel - reminds me of something you'd expect to find in Savannah.

LOL, I thought I was the only one still buying kitchen magazines and obsessed with kitchen books long after all my kitchen planning and decisions were done. Now I need to find this one on the news stands!

thanks a LOT. i'm getting my arse up right now to run out and buy this. it will find it's home amongst the other 3092 kitchen magazines and books i already have in my possession. i don't want to think about how much money i've spent. each time i buy a new one i wonder if i will stop buying these things long after our build is complete. you answered my question!

On my way to B&N!

Thanks for recommending this magazine. Normally, I don't bother with these kitchen porn books because I find them rather irrelevant to my application. However, on the basis of the rave reviews here, I went over to B&N today, quickly browsed the pages of this edition and saw enough good stuff there to go ahead and buy it. So glad I did. I've been drooling over the featured kitchens ever since! I must say, as one who loves white kitchens (and is planning to have one as well), I was especially surprised to find that my three favorite kitchens were in the "warm and cozy" group -- nos. 21, 23 and 25. Of those three, only one had white cabs. But all of them were simply beautiful. Thanks!

Maybe I'll take another look....saw it in store yesterday, thumbed through it quickly and was going to buy it till I saw it was $9.95!

Amysrq, I do think all these kitchens have been published before in Cottage Living. I know I've seen several of them and CL is not a magazine I buy or look at regularly.

It's strange, because if you go to the Cottage Living website, they have an article "Top 25 Kitchens", but most of the kitchens they are showing on the website in this article, aren't in the magazine. At least I don't think they are, didn't buy the magazine, just thumbed through it a couple of times.

I'm with treeskate - I was ready to buy also until I saw the price. Although I really did love the kitchens!

I didn't look at the price first and nearly choked at the check out stand. I am used to paying more in the $6 range for such a magazine, however, I have had hours of pleasure thumbing through it so it has been worth the price.

I was suprised at how many kitchens had marble counters.