Judging by what we’ve seen in our New York friends’ apartments, the city isn’t generally known for big kitchens, or even medium-size ones. Maybe that’s why House Beautiful turned to a Chicago designer, Mick De Giulio, to create its 2012 Kitchen of the Year. His 1,000-square-foot space, on display in New York’s Rockefeller Center through July 20, includes two fully functional kitchens (one indoor, one outdoor), a dining area, a butler’s pantry, and a cozy seating area with a fireplace. While we’re smitten with the blue ceiling in the butler’s pantry and the navy-blue sink in the kitchen proper, we’re not so sure about the full-length mirror leaning against one wall. Wouldn’t that, you know, kind of spoil a person’s appetite? But the rest is pretty fantastic. De Giulio said he focused on the “idea of livability” when cooking up his design. We’re thinking we could happily live in his lovely kitchen.