Kitchen Kitchen

This table's just begging to have bread or cookies made on it. Its proximity to the range and sink make it an automatic prep surface, yet with a quick clear and wipe it's ready for dinner.

Cons of Brick Flooring• Hardness. Durability comes with a price: Brick is unyielding beneath the feet. If you're using it in a kitchen or another space where you spend long periods of time standing, consider adding a cushioned mat or a thick rug to ease the strain on your legs and back.• Unevenness. Even the best-laid brick floors aren't 100 percent level, so you may need to compensate by sliding shims under furniture or pads beneath precarious breakables. • Weight. As you'd imagine, bricks are heavy, even in paver form. As a result, they're often impractical for a home's second or third story; it's very hard to reinforce the floor enough to support all that weight.

kitchen table instead of island