I confess, I am addicted to CNBC. This is being written as the Dow fell nearly 700 points, most of which happened in the last hour of trading. I admit to feeling that I am living in a dual reality...the writer of a blog talking about the virtues of owning a fabulous kitchen filled with fabulous products and the other extreme of hearing that we may be in for a severe recession (one person's opinion) in 2009, probably affecting many people's lives. So, where do I go from here?

I'm a positive thinker (believe it or not) combined with being a realist. What I'm feeling now, at this moment, is that regardless of where you, the reader are, whether you are planning that fabulous kitchen or wondering what small tips you can get from this blog in an effort to either keep your kitchen for a longer time, in good shape, or prepare it for a home sale, there are common threads in these two extremes. 

I think, which I hope has been an underlying theme in my blog, that one should look at one's kitchen or kitchen design, and get back to basics.

Use the catalogs, magazines and fabulous internet images of kitchens as inspiration, not the word "should." You know the slow food movement? Get into the slow kitchen design movement. Here's how:

1. Take your time on every decision connected to your kitchen
   
2. Make sure it's a personal decision, not one based on, most importantly, a trend, although resale decisions require mainstream aesthetics
   
3. Seek out materials that are long lasting, make your money work for you
   
4. Watch your stress level. Can you defer decisions? Do so, if you need to.
5. Say goodbye to matching, say hello to authenticity and blending
   
6. Find professionals in whom you trust and who have that important quality of patience - and yes, professionals know how to save their clients money
   
7. Get organized in terms of food preparation equipment, it's location and access for a sense of security
8. Find perspective...put more weight into long term investments, a more casual approach to shorter term purchases
9. Go out to the garden and pick flowers, leafy branches or another natural collection to keep things fresh in your space
10. Little luxuries go a very long way to make your kitchen "new again" and can be defined in many different ways
    

I'm not sure, actually, if I'm making a whole lot of sense in this post, but, the metaphors of the "slow kitchen design" approach and "back to basics" perhaps will provide a bit of insight and opportunity for some to keep things on an even keel.