Spring Has Finally Sprung

Yes, I've been quiet for a while. As everyone in the northeast will attest, the past winter maintained a far too tenacious grip on us; I mean, snow in April?!? Any reasonable person [and I include myself in that demographic] would have gone into hibernation. And I did.

Now, with the tentative blossoming of magnolias and cherry trees, I'm back. This over-the-top Miami kitchen has both the witty artistry and the panache to carry us forward into what I hope is a glorious springtime, late though it may be. frankdibiasi.com

Straighten Up

It's good to be back after a needed winter break. Looking ahead to Eurocucina, we'll be seeing more highly organized open storage in the kitchen. Item-specific shelving, racks, and cubbies—often fitted with accessories like canisters and other containers—continue to sideline enclosed wall cabinets [with the exception of big, double-door pantry units]. varennacucine.com

Sky-High Kitchen

Dubbed the 'Jenga tower' for its top-heavy collection of blocky,  cantilevered condos, the new high-rise by architects Herzog & de Meuron features kitchens that counter that jagged image. Curving islands and conical range hoods add an element of softness to the interior. dada-kitchens.com

A Serene [and Clean] Kitchen

In the wake of Thanksgiving, it's almost startling to see a kitchen that's so tidy. That reaction is heightened by several more integral factors of the design: The shadowy, fog-colored palette; the dissolving, rounded edges of the cabinets, the coved ceiling, and the arched door; the time-telescoping use of contemporary and period details. Hmm...maybe the room is more evocative of Halloween than Turkey Day? evgeniybulatnikov.com

Calm [Kitchen] Before the Storm

This refined kitchen storage reassures me that in this week of culinary chaos, there are still beautiful details in the room deserving of appreciation. In this pantry alcove, the transparent woven-brass sliding screen is a lovely counterpoint to the dusky blue chevron-patterned parquet wall. The design is enlightened; the craftsmanship extraordinary. Something to be thankful for, indeed. lanserring.com

Talking Turkey

It's Thanksgiving week—time to bring it on in the kitchen. For me, the most important design ingredient is a copious amount of work surface. I'm not picky; it can be centralized or dispersed throughout the room, just as long as there's lots of it. This kitchen, anchored by a generous table/island, looks like a promising environment. plainenglishdesign.co.uk

Not Standard Issue

Sometimes all it takes to make a kitchen memorable is a curving countertop—really, why not stray from the straight line? But of course, there's more to the Cloe kitchen than a creative contour. Pairing a deeply textured dark elm with satin-finish white surfaces produces a scintillating contrast. The doors and drawers feature a finger-friendly 30º bevel on the inside edge, making them easy to operate. cesar.it

Wood is Good

I had the great fortune to visit this location—the Copenhagen showroom for the fabled Danish flooring company—shortly before it opened. Even as a corporate kitchen, it's a space that impresses with its materiality and craftsmanship. Designed by Dinesen creative director Thomas Lykke. dinesen.com

BOOtiful Design

In this week's run-up to All Hallows' Eve, I'll be featuring kitchen and bath items that are a bit on the dark side—such as this high Gothic range hood. Let's hope that the insert draws well, because cleaning any grease off this ornately carved piece would otherwise require some devilishly good help.

Zaha's Kitchen

The Code kitchen was designed by the late Zaha Hadid. Now in production, it's a toned-down melding of the architect's favored swoops and curves. While I find it too tame to convincingly be a part of her exuberant oeveure, it nonetheless offers a distinctive look that can be at home in contemporary or period settings. boffi.com

You Say It's Your Birthday

John and Yoko remodeled their kitchen in the Dakota to be more in the spirit of the artists' lofts they knew when they lived downtown on Bank Street. Saltillo tiles, a combination of open shelves and closed cupboards, director's chairs, and a farm table—it's very 1980.

Happy birthday, JWL + SOL.

Behind Closed Doors

Big—really big—built-in cabinets have been making quite the mark in kitchen design lately. Owing to their jumbo size, they offer more than storage capacity; they are large enough to house work stations (complete with counter space and power outlets). The Trotter kitchen features walnut doors whose mitered frame angles outward, adding dimension and focus to the wall. gama-decor.com

Super Kitchen

During last week's London Design Festival, KitchenAid revealed a series of concept kitchens. This one, by Ellen Bernhardt and Paola Vella, is my pick of the lot. The pole-based system could be installed in virtually any space, as it's not dependent on walls. The brass supports are fitted with tinted-glass shelves, lending a note of color to the kitchen. The name—La Super Leggera ['The Super Light']—could refer to weight, massing, or even be an artistic reference: doesn't the design bear a certain resemblance to a musical staff? kitchenaid.com

Transitional Kitchen

Exactly what 'transition' does this kitchen represent, you may ask. Well, while the time of year would signal a seasonal change, I see this design also showing a shift in outlook—the vintage back-bars finding a new purpose as kitchen storage.

Future Past

A confession: Lately, I've been finding escape—and even fulfillment—in episodes of Star Trek. A few days ago marked the anniversary of the original series' debut in 1966. This look at the galley of a later version of the USS Enterprise reveals a clean, spacious, and well-lighted prep area, as well as a predilection for cabbage.

Kitchen as Art

A more enigmatic kitchen I have yet to see! Task lighting is eschewed in favor of mysterious glows. On the far wall, panels of raw travertine slide to reveal [or conceal] a cooking alcove that's lined in luminous bronze. The thin bronze frame that cages the island barely seems capable of containing the massive block of carved Nero Marquina marble. dietervandervelpen.com

Best of the West

Los Angeles is much in my mind and my heart these days. So I'm happy to see how one of its architectural highlights, the Harpel house by architect John Lautner, has been brought back to close to its 1956 state. Unencumbered by any hanging cabinets, the kitchen offers a fabulous view of the City of Angels.

Speaking Volume

Such a well-considered variation on the backsplash! By intentionally echoing the 3D geometry—a wedge of shelf space is carved out of the marble wedge—what might have been an anonymous detail is turned into a dynamic design element. jacktrench.co.uk

Top-Down Design

I like how the shallow shelving in the Lab13 kitchen can extend down to the floor. While the design might require an occasional crouch, it's easier to access than a full-depth cabinet and is a viable storage alternative for smaller kitchens, where a pantry isn't an option. Look at the far end of the galley, too—there's a dash of diagonal symmetry with some shelves reaching upwards. arancucine.it

Celestial Design

Today, I'll be looking up at 2:42 PM EDT, when the solar eclipse will be most evident here in NYC. Although the skies will be clear, it might be a bit of a challenge to find an unobstructed vantage point in Manhattan; something tells me that rooftop lounges will see a surge in mid-afternoon business. The deep skylight in this kitchen would allow for limited tracking of the event—which occurs in fewer than one in a billion planets. davidchipperfield.com