House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Year: Gossip, Highlights & Recipes

Filed under: Kitchen, Your Home, Design, etc, House Tours, News & Trends

House Beautiful Editor-in-Chief Newell Turner and Flipping Out designerJeff Lewis give us the scoop on their Rockefeller Plaza dream kitchen.

House Beautiful has a thing for kitchens. Each issue has a curated page of kitchen products, each house-tour spread has at least one dreamy kitchen shot and they even have a designated "Kitchen of the Month", playmate style (no, they're not centerfolds but we kind of wish they were).

So it makes sense that their big event pays tribute to the busiest room in the house by building a kitchen in the busiest part of New York City: Welcome to House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Year 2010, live from Rockefeller Plaza. Today kicks off a week of cooking demos, tastings and naturally, serious kitchen envy for everyone involved.



"I'm most jealous of the fact that there are 44 doors that I can open all at the same time," says Jeff Lewis, who took on this project in addition to his 18 clients and, oh yeah, his reality show Flipping Out. "I'm one of those people that loves the indoor-outdoor feel so much that if I didn't have five pets that could escape, I'd have every door and window open all the time. I'd even live in a tent outside." Really? "OK, it would be a designer tent."

Newell Turner, House Beautiful's new editor-in-chief, has his eye on the Walker Zanger tile (seen below). Used to create a blacksplash, these sculptural tiles caught Turner's attention because while he's seen them on the market, not many designers have actually used them. And it's not just the fact that Jeff used them, it's how he did it -- in repetition. "I think it makes the wall very three-dimensional. And when you light it, the wall becomes very sculptural."


Sculptural is a big word with this kitchen -- after all, it's the first time in Kitchen of the Year's three-year history that the design has been so contemporary, and Turner tells us the bold look may be showing up more in the magazine as well. "We're always exploring the definition of House Beautiful and we're now asking: What is it about contemporary that's House Beautiful? In the case of this kitchen, it's the softer side."

And who knew the softer side would be ushered in by a high-energy reality star with obsessive compulsive tendencies? "Jeff is really good at doing clean livable spaces that are not cold, hard or austere. There's still a lot of warmth in the kitchen, especially in the materials," Turner explains. "[Jeff] thinks the way a homeowner would think, about what works and what wouldn't work in reality and he makes it beautiful and practical -- never superfluous."

Turner's right: Lewis actually thinks so much like a homeowner, he thought of himself as the homeowner of the kitchen. "I designed this kitchen completely for myself," Lewis told us when we asked about the inspiration. "And I don't care if anyone else likes it. I like it."

Both Lewis and Turner advised that we keep an eye out for the stunning CeasarStone island -- Lewis has been dying to recreate one in his own home, and Turner already has the material in his upstate New York home. "It looks like natural stone, but is actually a new high-tech material that's better than stone in so many ways. It's so easy to take care of!" he said. "And for someone like Jeff, who loves a glass of wine, it doesn't stain like marble."

Wine, you say? Another one of the exciting features is the KraftMaid wine rack, which Turner thinks will be one of the major ideas viewers can take away from the kitchen. "It's a rack, it's a screen, it's a wall; it gives you storage and organization but it's transparent so it's not a barrier."

Lewis' take: "It that were in my house, I'd drink the wine faster than I could buy it."

The kitchen is open July 19-23 but if you don't get to there in time, House Beautiful's website has got you covered. It's got photos, videos and lots of fun extras like interviews and a guide to their sponsors (Kate Spade. Toblerone. The list is a who's-who of designer favorites) . After Friday, the kitchen turns into Bar 30 by House Beautiful, a place for sweaty midtowners and tourists alike to grab a drink al fresco. For the full experience, pick up the October issue of House Beautiful to see the big feature.

Want a taste of the fun atmosphere? We asked Turner and Lewis for a few favorite summer recipes. Enjoy!

Newell Turner's Summer Gratin: "It's a beautifully colored dish, so easy to make and it's great as leftovers."
Start with cut-up eggplant: salt it, let it drain for 30 minutes, rinse it, then lightly fry in flour. Place the pieces at the bottom of a clear bowl or deep dish. Now cut up the following in equal-sized pieces and layer them row after row, alternating veggies: sqaush, zuchini, tomatoes. Bake it for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees or until it's soft. Then drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Bonus: It sits well in the fridge and makes for great leftovers.

Jeff Lewis' Bloody Mary: "The size of the glass? That depends on how hard my day is."
Combine Grey Goose vodka and Mr. & Mrs. T's Bloody Mary Mix. Always salt the rim with celery salt. Add in celery, green olives and Worcestershire sauce, then add limes and a little bit of lemon juice. "It's a big production, but it's amazing."

Want more kitchens?
See our coverage of Kitchen of the Year 2009 with Ina Garten!
5 Kitchen Trends We're Pretty Sure You'll Forget
Plus, see past kitchen coverage from ShelterPop!

 

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