MY COOL KITCHEN

A style guide to unique and inspirational kitchens, colourful blocks of Mondrian colour and other big bold artworks, a cow's skull for a statement sculpture, tasteful ceramics, scrubbed wooden table, stencilled cupboards, gleaming Aga, New England pastel wood colours, a wood burner, burnt orange cupboards, distressed wood, galvanised steel, mixing woods for a spectacular effect, juxtaposing tiles, throwing in a sofa and rug, organising a kitchen cupboard for a display, Enjoy the elegance of an historic 1890s Antwerp merchant's house with high ceilings, original stonework, wrought iron, marble, grand fireplaces, cornices and woodwork and a wonderful checkerboard kitchen and the original glazed dresser-style cupboards were moved into the anteroom and old photographs, giant stacks of logs and piles of antiquarian books convey a sense of history. In today's high-spec world of gadgetry, the book is a celebration of getting back to basics and enjoying a more relaxing lifestyle with less fuss and clutter but bags of style and design. Raw lime polished walls, aged wood and reclaimed materials are combined with old limestone blocks and farming implements for a rural Italian mill house using reclaimed wood pallets as shelving. Photographed sometimes with cat or a little dog, full of natural light, colour, flowers and books even the odd chicken, who lives in a house like this? The actual interiors of people's homes across different continents and cultures from beach houses and warehouses to city apartments and cupboards, the eclectic to the eco-friendly, borrow ideas to achieve style without spending a fortune and a far cry from the boxes and units of the catalogue kitchen. The last page has a glorious colour photograph of a little doggy sat up the table, where everyone has left their debris, staring at the untouched cake! 160pp, colour.