Rue Madame, Paris Kitchen II

We wanted an enclosed kitchen in our new Paris apartment but it was not to be. Our apartment is so old that the space has been defined by time.

In our new apartment on rue Madame, beautiful windows opened onto a light, green courtyard and if we enclosed the kitchen, much of the light and view would be lost to the rest of the apartment. So, we opted for an open kitchen, which, ironically in France is called “cuisine Americane” or American kitchen.

The good thing about an open kitchen is that the cook is not isolated from everyone else during a gathering.

When we moved from rue de Seine to rue Madame, my kitchen space was greatly increased. I was in heaven. I didn’t have to move the coffee pot to cook something on the stovetop. I didn’t have to put the chopping block across the sink. There was plenty of room in the cabinets, they were almost empty! Everything was nice, new and clean.

Now, three years later, I’m out of space. I still love the kitchen, but I’m now spoiled and could use some more space. I guess this holds true for all houses – your “stuff” expands to fill the space.

I now have a spice drawer, but it is overflowing and I need to put obscure spices in a different spot. I’ve bought a food processor, a mixer and a few nice serving pieces, all of which take up valuable cupboard space.

The Nespresso is on the kitchen counter. At rue de Seine, I would have had to buy a small table to be able to use the Nespresso. Now, everything has a place. I can cook for a large number of people.

What's for dinner? Anything but fish -- it's a "cuisine Americane" and the smell will permeate the entire living room.