Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to visit Minotti Cucine‘s one-month-old New York showroom in SoHo. It’s definitely worth a visit if only just to have the experience of walking by and being pleasantly surprised by the space itself.

The showroom is located in a building that previously housed an iron works company. Because the weather was gorgeous when I visited, its storefront, a motorized, oversized garage door, was completely open to the street, which made my initial encounter that much more memorable. Of course, brick walls, artwork scattered throughout and a dark coffee table, placed out front and adorned with the word “art” in slightly blurry white uppercase letters, helped plenty.

Once inside in the showroom, you may not immediately spot the four kitchens on display, but don’t feel too bad. As I learned from company CEO Gastone Pagot, Minotti Cucine is known for making ultra-minimalist kitchens that don’t aspire to look like kitchens. Targeted at the well-heeled, yet intended to be as social as their more conventional counterparts, they are extremely spare in line, dispense with cabinet hardware, come in stone, metal, wood and lacquered finishes and resemble large monolithic furniture pieces that just happen to contain a cooktop and/or a sink.

Their owners, Pagot added, tend to cook only one night out of the week. “And eat out the rest of the week?” I asked. He nodded and smiled.

I have to admit, prior to my visit, I wasn’t all that familiar with Minotti Cucine. According to Pagot, the company was started in the 1940s, is currently owned by private equity and has enjoyed a long tradition of setting trends for other kitchen makers in Italy. Currently, its offerings include 12 kitchen collections, each of which allows for much customization. Each order takes about eight weeks to be made, and prior to delivery, clients have the opportunity to travel “on the company’s dime” to see their kitchen pre-assembled in the company’s facility in Italy. And yes, this also applies to clients in the United States.

Although the New York showroom is new, Minotti is no newcomer to the U.S. market. It has had a presence stateside for the last 12 years, thanks to its showroom in Chicago. Miami will soon follow.

And if you’re wishing to extend the company’s clean, streamlined aesthetic to the bathroom, you can. Minotti also makes bathroom fixtures and furnishings.

If you’re in town, stop by the showroom at 43/45 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013. (All photos by © D.R.)

Yes, I’ve been bad. I’ve been sitting on some photos (not great, albeit) I took during a visit to the Kipps Bay Decorator Show House, which is closing tomorrow.

This year’s show house took over two units at The Aldyn Residences on the West Side in New York City and was particularly illuminating—at least, to me—of the significant difference a designer can make. From the sell sheets scattered throughout the show house, I caught glimpses of the condo units in their “normal” state and they seemed pretty much like standard New York City fare: small and, in some rooms, truly undistinguished. What the designers were able to do with them was truly remarkable.

There was, of course, a kitchen. In its original form, it, too, was small, especially when considered in relation to the rest of the home, noted designer Robert Schwartz, of St. Charles of New York. Consequently, one of the first things he did was to expand it into what I believe (but I could be wrong—I told you I’ve been bad) was an adjoining dining room. There he located an oversized island with a cooktop and sink, a second island/sideboard with another sink and a grand view of Manhattan and a series of tall wall cabinets that contain a La Cornue rotisserie, refrigeration and storage.

The modest corner to which the existing kitchen had been relegated has been opened up and equipped with stainless steel cabinets that wrap around a corner, ensuring ample storage and allowing Schwartz to include a beverage area. The upper units have subtly textured glass inserts, which add lightness, while the base units have simple slab doors. Black natural stone countertops and backsplash offset the cool metal.

Because existing infrastructure could not be moved, Schwartz concealed it (plumbing, I believe) with a dining table, which is lit from above with a dramatic, funky blue glass chandelier.

Schwartz also incorporated artwork where he could: a painting on a back wall, an abstract sculpture displayed on a table near a window. Those touches of culture, coupled with the openness of the space and its mix of door styles, materials and finishes, give the kitchen a look that is modern, urbane and oh-so-New York.

The Aldwyn is located at 60 Riverside Boulevard, Riverside South, in New York City.

You can see more of my photos from the visit on K+BB’s Facebook page.

I had the good fortune to spend yesterday morning at a press event for a new Blanco sink and some new Poggenpohl introductions. I say good fortune not only because the new products were oh-so-pleasing to behold and, in the case of the sink, touch, the event also fed me, along with a group of bloggers—some of whom were in New York from Europe to attend the Architectural Digest Home Design Show—so well.

The morning’s festivities kicked off with words of welcome from Ted Chappell, president of Poggenpohl U.S.,

followed by a presentation by Christy Emens, marketing communications manager for Blanco, who presented the company’s latest, Cerana, a fireclay apron-front sink designed to slide under a countertop in one of two ways.

Let me explain: one side has sharper corners for a more contemporary look, while the other boasts more rounded corners for a more classic appearance.

White and generous in depth (it measures 9 1/4 in.), it comes in a 30-in. or a 33-in. single-bowl model, as well as a 17 1/4-in. bar style, and is completely smooth to the touch and lovely to feel. It will be available mid-year.

We then were given a tour of the Poggenpohl introductions, which included +Artesio (not new) in a warm walnut veneer (yes, that’s new). It’s amazing the difference a change in finish can make!

The line was conceived by architect Hadi Teherani to include elements that lend the kitchen quasi-room definition; hence the ceiling element—which is accented with white LED lighting—in the installation and the arch in the linked image above. I imagine if set in an open-plan space with lofty ceilings, the concept would be especially dramatic. The hardware is also quite striking.

Last year, I wrote about an event announcing the collaboration between celebrated chef Eric Ripert and Poggenpohl and the interesting details he brought to kitchen design. I won’t go through them again, except to say that my, ah, “fixation” on the flush cooktop was fully satisfied yesterday, as we were treated to a demonstration of the benefits of such an arrangement. Here’s a photo I took of the new Eric Ripert Kitchen by Poggenpohl:

Here are the official photos:

And here’s one I took of something that looked delicious but never made it into my stomach (I told you they fed us well!):

Want to see the new Poggenpohl kitchens in the flesh? Check them out at the company’s showroom in the A&D Building.

Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year has been making the rounds on various websites and was even featured on the Yahoo! homepage at one point. It’s a vibrant orange-red called “Tangerine Tango.”

But Pantone is not the only company with a color forecast for next year. This past fall, Benjamin Moore revealed its palette for 2012, which features colors that seem reflective of the uncertainty still lingering in the country as it struggles to recover and of perhaps the desire for comfort and the familiar in these troubling times.

Among them are tranquil blues with a green and/or gray cast, such as the company’s top pick, Wythe Blue HC-143 (shown on walls),

Montpelier AF-555 and a slightly purplish Amethyst Shadow 1411 (shown in wall stripe).

The forecast also calls for an array of grays, some of which have names suggestive of a more sober and subdued—but not necessarily depressed—mood: Nimbus Gray 2131-50 and Storm Cloud Gray 2140-30. And then there’s Sharkskin 2139-30.

Naturally, with the economy still up in the air and a future somewhat nebulous, one may find oneself yearning for clarity and purity—whites are still popular—as well as an emotional anchor, especially at home. Why not try on a rich earth tone, such as French Press AF-170,

Farm Fresh AF-360,

Masada AF-220 (shown on wall),

Dunmore Cream HC-29 or Fresh Olive 2149-30.

And for a hit of color, the 2012 forecast offers up Gypsy Love 2085-30 and Persimmon 2088-40 (shown on ceiling).