The Unusual Object in Ina Garten’s Kitchen That Caught My Eye

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Few culinary icons are more aspirational than Ina Garten. From her breezy chambray shirts to her “How easy is that?” attitude, she could make anyone want to ditch their day job, start a catering business and live on a Nancy Meyers–esque property in the Hamptons. But not everyone is a bestselling cookbook author and TV personality, so most of us can only dream of having a $17,000 Lacanche range and impeccably arranged open shelving, like in the renovated kitchen of her main home (yes, she has two kitchens). But there’s one detail I noticed in Ina’s kitchen (her barn kitchen, that is) that’s as unusual as it is surprisingly attainable: table lamps.

Among her beloved food processor, a stand mixer, plenty of cake stands and cutting boards, the Barefoot Contessa has two matching, tall table lamps perched on either end of her countertop.

I’m no interior designer…but adding a table lamp to a kitchen counter wouldn’t be my first thought for lighting that space. As much as I hate the unflattering placement of overhead lighting—recessed lights, track lighting, boob lights, ugh—I’ll admit that it’s useful in a space where you need to see what you’re doing.

So why would Ina make such a choice? Ambience, naturally. We all know how lighting changes a room : Where overhead lighting is harsh and unflattering, table lamps add a soft, cozy glow along with depth to a room that can be seen as highly utilitarian. Does Ina need the lamps to see ? Probably not—she has some form of track lighting overhead (plus gigantic windows that let in natural light during the day). Imagine yourself going to put the kettle on in the evening for a cup of tea, the space softly lit from those kitchen lamps, and Ina waiting with a plate of homemade black and white cookies in the other room. How cozy is that? I digress.

As it turns out, Garten was ahead of the times with her decor choice: These photos are from 2008, but in 2023, Martha Stewart noted that kitchen lamps were trending. And according to Pinterest Trends , searches for “kitchen lamps on counter” are up 70 percent from last year.

Lucky for us, this seems not only like a a decorative statement that can go the distance, but one that’s fairly easy to incorporate in your own home. Again, most of us probably don’t have an 18-foot stone island to work with, but you could work with the scale of your own kitchen—maybe that’s a table lamp next to your coffee station in a dark corner, or by the spot on your counter where you always find yourself skimming through cookbooks.

Ina’s lamps have tall black bases and white or off-white empire shades, which flow with the black and ivory colors in her kitchen. If it were me, I’d choose one of these cordless brass lamps with a patterned shade from Pooky, both for aesthetics and because it frees you from the shackles of an outlet location. For the most inviting effect, pick a warm light bulb (something in the 2,000 to 2,700 Kelvin range ). You’ll want to be mindful where you place your lamp, obviously—a few feet away from both the stovetop and sink would be wise for safety reasons.

So fine, whatever, we can’t all have an East Hampton kitchen or a multi-million dollar cooking empire…but we can all stomp over to IKEA, pick up a table lamp and let it illuminate our next batch of Garten’s chicken Marbella . And that’s kind of the same thing.

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