Open Your House
The Paris-based trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort creates reports that look 18 months ahead. (Her latest, for the watchmaker Rado, even explored the alchemy of food.) So why hasn’t she redesigned her 17-year-old kitchen? Because the open space is a natural draw for friends.
On Entertaining: “Opening the kitchen makes everything lighter and gentler. It’s really a good recipe. Even if you’re not cooking, you’re participating in the feeling of space. Friends lounge and drink while I cook. We can go back and forth and talk—it makes it more convivial and fun. And it forces you to clean up!”
On Collecting in the Kitchen: “The space is always transforming. I use it very much like a room: There is culture, a little stone Buddha. It’s like it doesn’t want to be a kitchen.”
Think Small
“We eat with dessert knives and forks,” says Edelkoort. “I like smallness because you eat more slowly and more precisely.” Try these new Ikea Sittning forks.
Light Gently
The only light in the space comes from a skylight, sconces, and the stove hood, giving the room a quietly dramatic feel—no candles required. This Ameico sconce mixes materials Edelkoort-style.
Choose a Statement Piece
The workbench in Edelkoort’s kitchen was left in the garden by the former owners. She uses it to show off ingredients and her ever-changing collection of bowls from her travels. The table shown here is from Restoration Hardware.
(content courtesy of Bon Appetit)