A neutral kitchen adds flexibility, allowing the food, flowers and wine to shine: innovative kitchen designs by Poggenpohl

 There is no denying our collective fascination with color in the home 

So,  if this is true why am I touting the value of a neutral kitchen?

Poggenpohl kitchen cabinets.  
Kitchen designed by David Rockwell
for the Designer Visions Show house in NYC

Unlike other rooms in a home where the decoration and design tends to stay the same from day to day, the kitchen is in a constant state of change.  We cook, set the table, arrange flowers, entertain guests, eat family dinners, gather around the island for projects, and clean.  The cycle repeats again each day.  The kitchen may be the best room in the house to offer a clean, neutral palette; a blank slate of sorts, to allow the room to change with our daily needs.  We need the kitchen to be flexible.  Sometimes, my kids bring friends home from school and work on a class project around the island, while weekend nights we often invite friends over to share a dinner in our kitchen.  On those evenings, I need my kitchen to "dress up" a bit and feel a little more sophisticated, and maybe not as buttoned up as a formal dining room but a space to showcase the food in fine form.  We are asking a great deal from a room that is constantly working to churn out three meals a day.  

 The neutral kitchen offers a soothing alternative to color, or even white, because it gives a soft glow to the room allowing for a serene environment.  Just like how the white kitchen offers a perfect backdrop for food and tabletop decor, the neutral kitchen provides the same clean palette.  

There was much color shown at Spring Market this season at Highpoint.  I was happy about seeing so much color because anyone who reads Nest by Tamara knows I am crazy for color in the home.  However, while I was at KBIS, the kitchen and bath show for the design industry in New Orleans, I noted a growing trend in neutral color for kitchens.  We have seen white for quite some time but now there are even more options from brilliant to off-white, and an abundance of more subtle creamy shades for tile, cabinetry, appliances and counter tops.

  Poggenpohl's German crafted cabinetry is beautifully detailed and sleek.  In addition to launching many new neutral colors they are now offering more style options, with  horizontal detailing, and sleek handles and hardware.  

Take a a look at a Poggenpohl cabinetry expert 

here 

talking about David Rockwell's kitchen for this year's 

Designer Visions Show house 

in NYC  for 

House Beautiful magazine.  

By implementing a neutral kitchen, I can change my decor from day to day to fit my needs.  Additionally, a blending of subtle, neutral colors allows the star of the room (the food) to shine. 
Poggenpohl offers many colors with lovely names like 
"blossom white" 
"polar white"
"sand"
"pebble grey"
"sand grey"
 "terra" 
and
"black". 
The new color choices are available in direct coating or lacquered finishes.

you may remember when the very generous Poggenpohl showroom in NYC graciously

hosted my Culinary Dinner Club's

French Country Supper 

last spring in their newly installed kitchen

designed by chef Eric Ripert.
Here is one of my tables from that evening set at the bar in their kitchen showroom 
on a white Silestone counter.

the neutral palette of this extraordinary kitchen works as a perfect backdrop to add color by way of dishes, flowers and food.  In this case, I brought in coral-pink peonies and a combination of magenta, coral, terra cotta, green, and white to tie in our French Country theme. I added rosemary plants in aged pots, and utilized bright linens from Roberta Freymann.

 source:  Poggenpohl kitchen cabinetry designed by Eric Ripert

photography:  Tamara Stephenson 

White attending the Kitchen and Bath show in New Orleans (KBIS), I learned about the  new +EDITION Collection, which offers wooden front doors framed or unframed and in natural walnut or natural ash heartwood finish options.   This new collection combines classic details with modern sensibilities. 

See more on the Poggenpohl website.

speaking of neutral, 

I could not help but notice a lovely patina on many 

of the antiques we spotted during 

our tour of Magazine Street's boutiques.  

This unique southern touch makes neutral colors 

feel complex and rich.  

See inspiring shots of neutral beauties I found in my travels

around New Orleans and the KBIS show:

for more inspirations and photographs from my trip to New Orleans

please check out my NOLA post 

Happy Nesting XO