Wall of windows

I recently had the opportunity to tour a house that was just built in Brookhaven, one of the most beautiful parts of Atlanta. The house is custom in every way, and is incredibly beautiful. One of my favorite parts of the house is the kitchen. The lot was very carefully chosen, and the architect placed the kitchen on the east side of the house so that the morning light will stream in through the windows. There were only a few upper cabinets in the kitchen (as seems to be the style these days), and perhaps most charming of all, the entire east side of the kitchen was a bank of windows.

I looked through a few of my design magazines, and realized that my magazines from the early 2000s have a few kitchens with the wall of windows. According to something I read, this is the time when there was a change in kitchen design towards making the kitchen more like a furnished room. This charming kitchen is from Southern Accents Nov/Dec 2002; interior design by Suzanne Rheinstein, photography by Tria Giovan. I had this page turned down at the corner; even six years ago, this style of kitchen captured my imagination.

Look at all of the windows in this beautiful kitchen. It does not even look like a kitchen! The house has low ceilings (7'10"), but the architect and designer used a lot of floor to ceiling windows and an open floor plan to make the space feel expansive. Traditional Home, October 2008. Interior design by Susan Marinello, photography by John Granen.

The kitchen of designer Dan Carithers, which he 'redid' 30 years ago. Carithers has long favored using furniture pieces in his kitchen, rather than wall to wall cabinets everywhere. The kitchen overlooks Carithers' beautiful sculpted English garden. From Traditional Home.

This looks like a remodelled kitchen from an older home, based on the ceiling height. The windows really open up the kitchen and give it a modern feel.

I love this gray and white kitchen, and although I am not certain whether the windows extend along the entire wall on the left, I like to imagine that they do.

It helps if the wall of windows has a beautiful view, and if the view is nice, I prefer no window treatments at all. If I ever build or remodel a home, I will pick the lot carefully so that my kitchen has a nice view. My current kitchen overlooks the brick wall of my neighbor, so I have no plans to take down the cabinets and expand the windows! (This kitchen is from Lindy Weaver Kitchen Design.)

These windows are quite contemporary, but I like the overall effect of lightness that they give the kitchen. From Southern Accents, Nov/Dec 2008, interior design by Sara Steinfeld.

Finally, a lovely kitchen that I found in one of my new favorite blogs, Velvet and Linen. The author of the blog, Brooke Gianetti, is an interior designer and has just launched a store in Los Angeles. I love the colors of the kitchen, but most of all I love the wall of windows and the lanterns about the sink. Image from British Homes and Gardens.