happy design & unhappy design

There are a lot of places and spaces that make me happy- which isn't to say I can't find some serious flaws with them. One of these places is the Anthropologie at Rockefeller Center in New York City. Now, of course, this may be because I debatably have a shopping addiction and I'm a fan of pretty much everything Anthropologie does in their stores and sells, but this space is pretty amazing. The store is huge and yet is divided up so that it feels somewhat homey- even despite the tourist-y bustle of Rockefeller Center just outside. I would literally just go in here and chill out because it felt good- and then walk out with a $160 jacket (it was on sale from $300!).




Now, what makes me unhappy. Well, a lot of things make me unhappy. A lot of spaces make me unhappy. And anyone who goes anywhere with me knows that the first thing I'll see when I walk in somewhere, no matter how beautiful it is, is what is wrong. (This doesn't mean I don't appreciate what is right). However, I think that if I could re-do anything, it would be somewhere that I come in contact with daily. This would be the kitchen in my apartment. It's very small, which isn't the real issue with it. The main problem is that whoever "designed" this kitchen didn't take advantage of what space is there. There is barely any counter room, appliances are awkwardly place, and some cabinets are downright difficult to get into. Not to mention, when designing a kitchen, please, I beg you, always put a place for a trash can. I would say to even put "trashcan" in the programming. In basically every kitchen I have ever been in, there's no good place to put the trashcan except under the sink or in a cabinet of it's own, which is nice, but often a tad bit too small. I basically never cook in my kitchen, not only because I don't like to cook (nor am I good at it, nor do I ever want to do dishes), but because this kitchen is so non conducive to cooking.