Farmhouse Modern

I think a lot about the earlier post: “Farmhouse Modern Kitchen” and the question “what makes a kitchen Farmhouse Modern?” Just a minute ago I saw two things that I want to share. First is the picture above. It is a kitchen in Orinda California from Sunset magazine. The homeowner wanted to be able to shut the door to the kitchen during a dinner party, so added the sliding door. My guess is that the door never gets shut, but I like the detail just for its aesthetics.

The reason it stands out to me is that it is a great example of the way that kitchens get used these days by families with kids. Someone (in this case the mother) holds court over the kitchen and probably the adjacent family room while standing at the island. The kids do their homework at the “farmhouse table” the intellectual and social soul of the house. I have an image stuck in my head of the mom/cook standing at the island pouring oil and vinegar together as if she were standing at the alter preparing for a religious ritual.

Anyway, I also stumbled on a transcription, including sketches, of Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language section on Farmhouse Kitchens.