apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Something’s brewing in NYC’s Nolita. Hidden away down a narrow flight of concrete steps off Lafayette St. is Pravda, an atmospheric Russian bar-bistro. Infused with the rich, warm tones of well-worn wood and old leather, and accented with earthy reds, Pravda's Old World style doesn't end with the decor. Earlier this week, I visited their bar kitchen to find out more...

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Brooklyn Kitchen is one of our all time favorite stores. From affordable vintage cast iron, to copper made in Brooklyn, not only do they have everything you'd need to stock your kitchen, but it's that quirky mix of new and vintage items that keeps us coming back. We knew that co-owners Harry Rosenblum and Taylor Erkkinen had to have a pretty cool kitchen of their own, and we were right. This is a kitchen with some personality!

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When David and Laura first moved into their Miami home, the kitchen was a small white box, cramped and extremely old-fashioned in design. They have taken their time in renovating, carefully choosing each piece for quality, cost, and beauty, and now their kitchen is finally done! Read on for a wealth of photos, along with plenty of resources and details that show how this beautiful kitchen was remodeled into a space just right for these two cooks.

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We received this lovely, light-filled kitchen from Julie Van Rosendaal, a food writer, researcher, cook, and mother in Calgary, and we are so happy to share it with you just before the weekend begins. Julie says, "I have a relatively small but long, sunny, charismatic kitchen. A lot goes on there. I write, teach, and talk about food for a living, so people always assume I have a massive restaurant-style kitchen with lots of stainless and granite, but as soon as they see my kitchen, they love it."

We love it too! Read on to see more of Julie's kitchen, hear about where she sourced those countertops (science labs were involved!) and to see more of the little touches that make this kitchen such a lovely place to cook.

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We met Emily at her home on a cold Wednesday morning when her husband and four kids (all under 9) were out and occupied. We chatted while she showed us around the old Victorian which was quiet and calm — something we could tell might be a rarity given the evidence of her brood everywhere. Their home is warm, thoroughly lived in, and clearly loved to the hilt. But the kitchen has an intriguing vastness. Where others might have installed an island with room for bar seating, Emily's kitchen seems to relish its uninterrupted square footage, something that no doubt comes in handy when 6 warm bodies are working together to bring a meal to the table...

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Our most recent New York kitchen tour was with the Executive Chef of Il Buco restaurant, Ignacio Mattos. Ignacio lives in a bright, sunny walk up overlooking Tompkins Square Park. The kitchen occupies the back of the apartment, and while roomy enough for a table that seats eight, the actual cooking and prep area is tiny for a professional chef. There is a small electric stove and oven, no dishwasher, and minimal storage and work space.

But how effective Ignacio is at adapting to his working conditions! Read on for more of Ignacio's kitchen, plus a seasonal recipe of pasta with ramps, peas, and mint.

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Just over sixty years ago, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay’s farmhouse kitchen was completely made-over and modernized by the editors of Ladies' Home Journal. Its wood-burning stove and old icebox were replaced with sleek Mid-Century appliances, and its walls were painted a fashionable sky blue to complement the new salmon Naugahyde.

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Virginia and Mateo aren't the first homeowners to use a baby on the way as an enforced window of time for finishing a kitchen renovation. Sara Kate did it (with her whole apartment, no less), and so did New York Times columnist Melissa Clark. Virginia was placing backsplash tiles at 37 weeks, all so she and her (soon-to-be expanded) family could come home to a bright, open, completely transformed space. It is a quintessential urban kitchen, with maximum storage, clean lines, and even a washer and dryer under the countertop.

Read on for a before shot, full slideshow, and even a lemon pistachio cake.

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Somehow we’ve managed to live in Boston for over seven years without ever making it to Marblehead. Only a short 45-minute meandering drive from the city, this quaint seaside town is stunning — even in winter — and Katin & Brandon’s lovely home made for a wonderful welcome. Of course we just happened to arrive while Katin was reducing vinegar so our first impression of their cozy, sun-drenched cape-style house was one filled with apologies for the unflattering aroma...

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We recently took a kitchen tour of Ortine Café, a new Prospect Heights, Brooklyn eatery opened by former Schiller’s and Pastis manager, Sarah Peck. The restaurant, which opened mid-December, has an eclectic café-style menu and an equally eclectic kitchen. Read on for more of this tiny restaurant kitchen and some of the creative, cost-saving solutions Sarah found to fit her space.

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I recently had the pleasure of visiting the East Village kitchen of Kenny Lao, founder and owner of Rickshaw Dumpling Bar. Wrapped up in my morning with Kenny was a dumpling-making tutorial. In honor of Chinese New Year, we ran the recipe today. But first, a tour of his place.

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We're smitten with this kitchen! Adelle and Justin own H Is For Home, a small and marvelous online boutique based in northwest England. They specialize in the unusual, the quirky, and the one off. Well, their home kitchen follows right along, with a rich, warm mix of antique, modern, and vintage furniture and kitchen tools. Read on for more of their retro modern kitchen.

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White might be the most popular color choice in kitchens. It speaks of clean, of modern, of bright light. It recedes and lets the food take center stage, and it's also extremely versatile: a white kitchen can be modern, retro, contemporary, or traditional. And even though white isn't even officially a color, the predominance of colorlessness doesn't have to mean a sterile or boring kitchen.

Here's a look at some of our favorite white kitchens from across Apartment Therapy. There's a wide range of styles, and there are some inspiring splashes of color that show how you can dress up an otherwise plain white kitchen.

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In 1994, Zachary Smith took a crowbar to the interior of his small North Beach house and completely demoed the place himself, all the way down to the original walls, which were horizontal planks nailed to studs and covered with cloth. The house dates back to 1906 -- one of the thousands of hastily-built shacks that sprang up all over San Francisco after the earthquake. When he was done with the demo, Zachary sat down and drew up the plans for his new, minimal, Japanese-influenced interior.

Visiting his house today, it's hard to believe that he undertook this massive project almost 15 years ago. The kitchen, in particular, is very expressive. Like Zachary, it's creative, quirky, and way ahead of its time...and yet there is something very down to earth happening here, too. This is a kitchen that is truly used and loved and appreciated everyday.

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