Friday, February 1, 2008

Why Am I So Interested In Ina's Kitchen?

I got a nice comment from a reader the other day, who wondered why I was so interested in seeing Ina’s new kitchen. Truthfully, I don’t think it is JUST me, but I admit I AM plenty interested and I’m trying to figure out why.

Probably the first reason is just that I’m really nosy and I LOVE to see other people’s kitchens. A few of my friends have been brave enough to ask my advice before they renovated their kitchens, but most people are too scared that I will take over the entire project, which isn’t totally unjustified.


What they don’t know is that I’m a frustrated kitchen designer (without any formal training or professional tools, so really unsuited for the task), but I pride myself on my good ideas that could fit any budget.

Anyway, INA mentioned the new barn on her show, both before and after it was built, so I think it’s kind of churlish not to have shown it to us. I assumed it would be a big and splashy space and I always like to see stuff to drool over. Frankly, it never occurred to me that they would build it in the exact style as her other kitchen, which I do agree was very clever for keeping up the continuity of the different episodes.

Another reason I’m so interested is that most people don’t have the room on their property to build a shack, much less an entire new building. And this is certainly no shack. From the little we’ve seen, it looks beautiful.

I hope that explains a little of my obsession and in keeping with that, here's a slide show I’ve prepared detailing the new kitchen...or the little bit we've seen.




12 comments:

Emily said...

That doesn't look like a barn, at all. I was expecting there to be hay, horses, cows, stuff like that.

It looks like a very nice kitchen. It probably took a lot of time to put in, as well as the big garden.

jOoLz said...

there's no wallpaper in ina's old kitchen. she goes into it on her website. it's paint, which makes it even cooler in my book.

i think you're right about how she should give us a tour of her new digs though.

Sue said...

Oh Em,
You're funny...I could see her on a real farm though..maybe not Jeffrey, but Ina...definitely.

Joolz,
The thing I'm most impressed by is that you actually read the captions in my slide show. THANK YOU. And I found that reference you were talking about...and changed my captions.

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

I know when I was remodeling my kitchen I paid attention to EVERYONE's kitchens on TV and otherwise for information. I kept saying I wanted Paula's kitchen, although you really can't have Paula's kitchen in an 8'x8' space.

Interesting point about keeping the old and new kitchens the same for the sake of show continuity. I guess that means FN plans to keep her around and she plans to stay. I worried about that when you consider she's not really appealing (in theory anyway) to the target demographic. I always wondered if her dissasocation with the rest of the FN personalities would work against her, but it seems to work for her. She has a niche.

Unknown said...

I too, have been sleuthing and wondering and acting nutty about Ina's Barn. My guess is she built it in a different location perhaps Connecticut nearer to Yale where her husband works.

Anonymous said...

I am with you screaming "tour, tour, tour" I sooo want to see the kitchen and every other area in the barn_ would it be too much to ask for a bathroom tour also? I just love Ina and everything she does!

Anonymous said...

Are the counter tops granite? I love the simplicity of it, it's clean looking. Aren't Ina and Jeffrey cute and perfect for each other?? Love them both!! She gets so excited when she sees him!!

Sue said...

Hi Rachel,
Ina certainly has a niche with me. You would think that the FN's sometimes poor programming decisions would affect Ina, but, thankfully, not so far.

Hi Catherine,
No, the new barn is on her property in Southhampton. It's across the expansive lawn. Lucky thing!

Kathy,
You're funny. I never thought to ask for a bathroom tour too! Do you remember the show when Patricia Wells came for the weekend and Ina showed us her guestroom? That was cool, but I'm losing hope that we'll see the barn in detail.

SoCalCook said...

This is so funny. I found your blog because I was sleuthing around looking for info on the new barn.

I too was looking forward to seeing what new things she had done. Was so excited to see that there was a 2008 epi and that I'd finally get to see it. At first, I thought "what is taking so long for the damn barn to be built" when I saw her cooking. Then I realized she went and built the new kitchen to look pretty much exactly like the old one.

My theory is that it wasn't for continuity...it was because she REALLY loves her kitchen. I think FN would be more interested in something new and exciting to promote over continuity. I think she just did it her way. I'll bet she loves having that crew and equipment out of her house!

Sue said...

Hi Jennifer,
Welcome!
I’m glad I’m not the only one obsessed with the new barn, but I still think it was kind of a shame to do it exactly the same way. If I were building a new kitchen, especially if someone else were paying, I would go whole hog and do something exciting and different.

BobbyJoyce said...

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one interested in Ina's new kitchen. When I first saw it I thought she had moved. I can't wait for her new shows this fall.

By the way, that's some fancy barn she has there.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
There's detailed cover of Ina's new barn in the decorating section of House Beautiful. It has lovely pics of the place and Ina herself tells us about why/what she used to decorate, the style of the barn etc. I'm certain it will be appreciated by everyone.