Like #3, the wood floors and rustic table break all the blackness and the hardware.

The last is a rolling library ladder. It doesn’t block anything.

If you’re not going to pay for an integrated, paneled fridge, #1 is great. Much better than regular stainless.

I really like #3 a lot but not the stuff on the shelves so much.

The shiny cabinets on #2...those are cruel. Lol.

i believe the kitchen with the ladder is a house that was previously a library. jessica halverson i think.

Wooden floors would warm up the first two kitchens. I like #3--very steampunk, reminds me of the Nautilus. #4 is enchanting, but the fridge is too far from the range. However, if it is a remodeled library, I could forgive that transgression.

I also like 3 and 4..Actually I love everything reminding of libraries.

(I have a vague feeling that whatever's considered a fortune for others is not for these guys..))

My cabs are matte black and they show a fair bit of dirt. Can't imagine a mirror finish black.

I like #4 best but honestly it's a stretch to think how any of them could work on a daily basis.

Books above the stove? Obviously nobody ever fries anything.

I suspect, I could be wrong, that most of the owners of these kitchens do not, or rarely, cook. A very good friend of mine has the largest, most beautiful high end kitchen, something like you would see in Architectural Digest, we stayed at her house recently, she confessed that she had never used the oven or range top in the few years she’s lived there. Dinner is either out or a microwaved diet meal she orders, certainly no messes to deal with in her kitchen :). !

Yes, I discovered during my 3 years living in LA, that the more money spent on the kitchen, the less chance any food was ever prepared or eaten in it. Everything in LA (this was the early 1980's) seemed to be about food - the lavish, show-stopper kitchen, dining out at the latest trendy, VERY expensive restaurant, but in fact, no food was ever even consumed!

I don’t fry enough to worry about books above a stove. :). I just don’t use enough oil in my stir fry.

The first one looks pretty cool. Too much black for me, but still, I would ooh and ah walking into it. The floor is perfect.

2nd one is way too dang shiny. 3rd one - ugly cabinets, horrid hardware and the lights just look silly.

4th one - a ladder in the kitchen??? LOL. And the bookshelves....LOL again. Ugly lights. But I love the floor - and I generally don't care for wood flooring in the kitchen.

the last one is my favorite and if it was a library, I am intrigued. I also like the vent hood in the second kitchen.

OK, now I am craving black licorice.