
This is exciting. Our kitchen cabinets from Kitchen Studio got delivered today. The contractor is starting to piece things together. I’m dying to share the step-by-step process. But I don’t have enough photos yet. And currently our Matwood wooden floors were mistakenly made too shiny – something to do with the sealant applied by the contractor. So I will wait til the right surface and texture is achieved. I’m also in a panic because I put off ordering my windows. I haven’t even found a supplier yet. Gosh. Who has the time? Haha.

Meanwhile let’s have a look back at some of the most memorable kitchens I featured in Urban Zone. This one is at Mitch and Shelley Shivers’ home. I love the stainless steel everything.

This house was small. They really used the space efficiently. The kitchen was visible from the entire house, so they kept everything in its place. In order to save on energy costs, they placed a generous skylight window over the back counter to provide natural light during the day.

This house in San Juan had a big square kitchen with a huge island counter in the middle. I’m a fan of natural light. And their clerestory windows provided lots of it.

The pantry was back lit and visible from the kitchen through the sliding glass doors.

The space was even lovelier because of the Vigan bricks that lined the outside walls. This walkout lanai was the perfect spot for a breakfast table.

The owners of this kitchen are in the baking business so they knew exactly how they wanted their home kitchen to function. They raised all the drawers on legs for hygienic reasons so that they could have every corner of the floor cleaned every night.

You can see the kitchen legs better here. I also liked that one of the sections of the stainless steel counter top opened to reveal a dish dryer beneath.

This is the kitchen of Mike Pena (architect). The kitchen island doubles up as their daily dining table.

Beautiful carpentry in this kitchen designed by Dominic Galicia (architect).

Charisse Tinio’s brand new kitchen.

A modern modular kitchen in an Alex Co home.

A small kitchen in a bungalow designed by Dan Lichauco (architect). Curious about your thoughts on induction cookers. Please share.

Here’s what it looks like from another view. I love that it’s not just for show!

Interesting wood-effect tiles in this kitchen designed by Tania Lichauco. I considered wood-looking tiles on my kitchen but I had concerns about weight because my kitchen is technically on stilts in the second floor.

A little bit country. Designed by Frenjick Quesada (interior designer).

This was at my cousin Joan’s condo. Space was an issue. So the designer, Tito Villanueva used tricks like transparent furniture to reduce the bulk. One side of the wall also converts into a folding bed for the helper.

Sorry for the blur. This was the perfect kitchen at that stunning house by Luigi Bernaro. It was the awesome because it was a real working kitchen. The appliances and fixtures were of industrial quality. (In case anyone wonders why I mention “working” kitchens, that’s because in the Philippines a lot of homes have a secondary kitchen called “dirty kitchen”.)

The Benitez house was patterned after a Spanish colonial home in Vigan. The kitchen reflects the same old world feel.
I have a gazillion more kitchen and rooms previously featured in Urban Zone. I shall try to group them in to a story. Meanwhile we are about six weeks into renovations. I still need to source some suppliers to complete this enormous task. The house continues to look like backstage..