Every now and then I find design inspiration in the most random places like airplane bathrooms, chain restaurants, car dealerships, hiking in the woods, and even strolling through the tool aisle at the Home Depot! Once upon a time when I was single living on an incredibly tight budget in West Hollywood, California I thought it would be interesting to use a tool box on wheels as a utensil drawer in my kitchen. Some friends felt sorry for me while others saw my vision for a cleaner, more simple way of living (they also often had to endure my flight attendant fantasy, as I rolled it out into my living room to serve cocktails and appetizers, but that's another story for a very different blog). Years later and thousands of miles from my former life, our totally fabulous friends Bruce & Mel have incorporated these rolling modern storage units into the design of their extraordinary gourmet kitchen (if the soon to be defunct
Encyclopedia Britannica included photos for the definition of "hip couple" Bruce and Mel would be right there!). Bruce, hands down the best cook I've ever met, designed his dream kitchen a few years ago to include heated floors, exposed beams, commercial Viking ranges, commercial refrigerators, custom built double ovens, stainless steel counter tops, built-in butcher blocks, antique cabinetry for storage and, yep, stainless steel rolling storage units. Every item in the kitchen serves a purpose and these add a clean, modern feel to the already hip environment. The coolest thing about this design element is there's no need to involve a snooty designer, wait thirty weeks for it to arrive and it won't force you to dip into your kids college funds to pay for...you can find it in the aisles of your local hardware store starting at $100!!
