50 Kitchen Ideas from the Barefoot Contessa (2024)

Put table lamps on your island or dining table to make your kitchen feel like a room, not a laboratory, like designer Robert Stillin did with Visual Comfort's Column lamp in Sheffield silver for House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Year with Ina Garten.

10. Add more warmth with custom wood panels. 11. Control the lighting with dimmers. Ina can also direct it just where she wants it with Thomas P. Richmond's flexible lighting system. 12. Large-scale objects have more impact. Hurricanes from Bloom.

Ina Garten with designer Robert Stilin.

13. Ina prefers a wide, deep sink with no partitions, like Kohler's 8 Degree sink. 14. Clever use of space, and sponges dry out of sight.

15. Consider sink inserts like Kohler's drying rack and cutting board. 16. Even the tallest pasta pot can fit under Kohler's HiRise faucet.

17. Invest in two dishwashers, so you can wash a party's worth of dishes in one load. 24-inch Viking dishwasher with custom front.

18. Organize wood and stainless-steel utensils into separate crocks.

19. Timers times three, because Ina is always cooking several dishes at once.

20. Always have lemons and limes — just the thing to perk up a recipe.

21. Ina's favorite combination — electric ovens for baking and gas burners for cooking — in two 30-inch Viking Professional Custom Series Dual-Fuel ranges finished in Stone Gray.

22. No more crouching to see what's in lower cupboards when you have pull-out drawers. 23. And they're deep enough to store the All-Clad stainless-steel pots and Le Creuset French Oven with their lids on, so you never have to search for the right top.

24. Breakfast essentials — Dualit toaster and Braun juicer — are all in one spot.

25. Ina's workbook. Put your own favorite recipes into a notebook with clear sleeves so you can wipe off spills.

26. Open shelves make everything visible and accessible. 27. The secret of display is to group like objects, such as these Hôtel silver coffeepots and teapots.

28. Ina decants her spices into uniform jars.

29. A big basket holds large items that don't easily fit into cabinets.

30. You don't need a garden to have fresh herbs.

31. Get a super-quick boil, while Viking's Professional Series All-Induction cooktop stays cool to the touch.

32. Keep serving spoons on the counter, so if something needs a stir you don't have to open a drawer.