Living in a Nutshell: Designing Out of the Box

If you can reach your kitchen sink while you’re watching TV from your sofa, the idea of a “Living in a Nutshell” dining room seems laughable but my dear friend Marianne, my designing partner in crime, reminded me that a dining room is wherever you imagine it to be. Put a tray and some key accessories down and you have an instant dining room.

The focal point of my “dining room” is an open chef’s pantry on wheels---more out of necessity than by design because there is never, never enough kitchen storage in a small space.

Because it is open shelving and something I see from every angle, I really wanted to make sure my cups and plates didn’t look like messy piles and afterthoughts.

The number one tip for keeping things looking nice and orderly is to stay true to a color scheme. I have collected green and white dishes for years and I never get tired of that color combo. I like mixing up the different tones of green---a pinch of moss green and chartreuse makes me happy. The second tip is to turn all of the handles of cups, pitchers, teapots and mixing bowls in the same direction.

My favorite tip of all is to add a footed platter here and there on the shelves. They dress-up everything you put on them so I stack my dessert plates and my teapot from Paris on them. They add height and a little glamour to my open pantry. The best lesson I’ve learned from living and designing in small quarters is to not fight the space. Instead of trying to hide everything, I make potential eyesores a focal point and a distinct design element.