All the pain and complaining is over. All the displacement and inconvenience is history. My kitchen is finished and I am thrilled. It is truly a feel-good room. Unlike my last kitchen, it has a zen quality.

There were several major changes that make this room successful. The most significant material change that I made was selecting the marble, called Bianco Pergoni. It was important to me to find something with a soft veining, which provides a peaceful backdrop.

I also chose to remove all the upper cabinets to create a sense of open space. I replaced these upper cabinets with lighted open shelving, which gave me a stage for objects. I love displaying collections of unique and beautiful objects. My kitchen houses a salt and pepper collection, an array of vases (which I had in the old kitchen in the same place it is now), sets of dishes, a collection of olive oils and vinegars, and other objet d'art. The fun is in the arranging of these distinct groups. Arranging for me is like following a train of thought. It doesn’t matter what I start with-- it’s the relationship between the objects that I’m responding to.

Another shift from the aesthetics of my old kitchen was adding up and down lighting on these open shelves. Lighting the objects in my collections is critical for the drama of the setting. At the same time, the LED strip lights that I used in the new kitchen help to create a peaceful, ethereal feeling. To achieve this look I positioned a strip of lights facing down on the bottom shelves, whereas the top shelves have one strip shining down and one strip shining up. When the main ceiling lights are off, the lights create a lovely ambiance.

I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome from such a disruptive and miserable happening. I love love love my kitchen. End of story.

SK