TIPS from the pros
Teal, brown and white. This sophisticated palette can impart a rich midcentury look in a room with the right furniture shapes. Here, teal throw pillows create a striking contrast on an ivory sofa. An accent chair with a more vibrant teal color adds another dose of blue, giving the room even more visual interest. Don’t be afraid to layer your accents by using different shades of the same color. Wood paneling rounds out the tri-color palette and amps up the room’s quintessential midcentury style.
Accessories can go a long way in pulling together a midcentury-inspired room. Look for simple lines in wood, black or gold. The Sputnik-style light fixture in the previous photo and the furniture legs here are good examples. You might also select organic shapes such as the kidney-shaped cowhide rug in the prior photo or the round mirror in this one.
Clearly, a narrow island is not going to be able to house a sink or a cooktop, but it can still be useful as a landing area when taking items out of the refrigerator or oven. In fact, for safety’s sake, if your kitchen lacks a surface next to your range or cooktop, you may want to add a small island nearby so that you have a place to set hot things without having to walk too far.
Or perhaps you need an island that serves as an in-kitchen hangout spot. Sure, you’re not going to serve a multicourse meal on an island like the one pictured here, but it’s the right size for a couple of people to sit, visit and enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. If you plan to set a stool or stools around the island, consider placing them so that the person seated doesn’t get in the way of the cook.
It’s important to think about the function of your island. Do you need additional storage space at the base of the island? Can it be open, such as this, or do you need closed storage? If it’s going to be an open shelf, think about what you will store there, as it will take center stage in your kitchen. Whatever is stored there could become a grease and dust collector unless it gets frequent use.
The minimum recommended width of a kitchen work aisle is 42 inches for a single cook and 48 inches for multiple cooks. A walkway should be at least 36 inches wide. In a small kitchen, it can be tough to accommodate a standard-size island, which typically measures 25 to 40 inches deep, and still have adequate space for aisles and walkways. A kitchen island should be designed and placed to provide an additional surface without being in the way of crucial kitchen tasks ; a compact island allows for better flow — it’s easier to get around when moving from one area to another.
South Beach style is about capturing the breezy summer spirit of Miami. With lots of sparkling white, transparent materials and other pale neutrals applied to the major surfaces, these interiors appear airy and open. This sort of palette is great for making any space look as large as possible. South Beach real estate is hot, so every bit of square footage needs to be used to its fullest potential.
Everyone knows that wood is a great way to bring warmth to a stark white space, but that can get costly really quickly. For an easier update, consider installing sea grass shades, as in this kitchen. They bring that much-needed warmth while also introducing texture. Of course, they also block sunlight and heat.
Feel ready to go pro status? You can combine the last two approaches to mix a ton of pattern and keep it all balanced. In this space, about 60 percent of the pattern is in the subtle wall treatment, with 30 percent in the geometric rug and 10 percent spread between the eclectic, mismatched pillows. If that seems like too much for you, just stick to a simpler technique. However, keep in mind that items like pillows are easy to move between rooms (or return to the store) if you find the look isn’t quite adding up. Play with it until it feels just right, and trust your own eye.
The pillow approach. Rather than picking a dominant pattern, you can take the opposite route and let all of the patterns be equally small accents. This is most often seen in mixed pillow collections where no two are alike. By using just a small dash of each pattern, you make sure than no single pattern stands out. This approach is fairly easy because you can add and subtract accessories over time, with low commitment. Just be sure to include a few solids, and choose patterns from distinctly different categories.
This balance can often be achieved by repeating one pattern in multiple places, such as in this room, which features the same fabric on the ottoman and drapery. A second pattern is found in the subtle rug, and then a single pillow gives a touch of a third pattern. Keep in mind, the pattern you’re seeing the most of shouldn’t be so bold that it becomes overwhelming when you use that much of it. The more you plan to use, the less intense the main pattern should be.
Other Approaches The 60-30-10 approach. This is a great ratio for mixing two or more major patterns with a small accent. Choose a major pattern to dominate the space and let that be about 60 percent of the visible pattern, such as this large area rug. Then choose a second, coordinating pattern to be 30 percent, like these striped drapes. Lastly, let just about 10 percent be a bold, contrasting choice, such as these marbled fabric chairs, or try a mix of pillows. The math doesn’t need to be exact, but if you clearly have a structure of dominant and non-dominant patterns, the whole set can be bold yet coherent.
Chevron. Chevron is a classic for a reason: This simple pattern is just one notch more bold than a classic stripe, meaning it’s still easy to mix with nearly anything, but it also gives a real sense of dynamic energy because of its many diagonal lines. Foolproof Plan 5: The Powerful Trio Here’s a potent recipe: Mix a chevron or plain stripe with a smaller geometric and a cheerful floral to achieve an easy yet dramatic look.
Traditional motifs. Like a traditional rug, other delicate, timeless patterns such as toile and fine china prints can be easily tossed into a space and contrasted against other traditional elements or much more contemporary designs. This room feels rich and sumptuous partly because it includes three diverse patterns, but to the casual glance, only the geometric wall treatment feels like a true pattern. The traditional umbrella stand and rug appear much less graphic, blending in perfectly yet holding their own.
Ways to Mix a Lot of Pattern Traditional rugs. Rugs in rich, traditional patterns are a bit like stripes in that they can almost be treated like a neutral with no pattern at all. Their fine, intricate designs and rich, sophisticated colors make them easy to mix with other patterns that are either more subtle, more bold or both.
This room uses three patterns at the same scale: one stripe, one chevron and one more organic pattern. They all appear to be the same “size,” with the linear stripes and chevrons at about the same spacing as the objects in the more complex print. The science isn’t exact, but to a casual glance no one pattern sticks out as being much larger or smaller than the others. Naturally, it also helps that these differing fabrics are in roughly the same color scheme as well. Combining differing strategies for mixing patterns definitely helps get a great result.
Scale The size of a pattern can be at least as important as its style. A very small pattern can easily be missed from a distance, while a bold pattern will command attention even from across the room. Mixing scales of patterns can be tricky, though not if you take one of these two approaches: going all different or all the same. This room uses the former approach, with a large-scale stripe on the chairs and a much-smaller-scale pattern on the rug. The chairs are clearly able to dominate, and the contrast of the almost textural rug pattern looks intentional.
Foolproof Plan 4: Black and White It’s about as classic as they come: Mixing several patterns in strict black and white virtually always works, even if the scales and styles are different. To play it extra safe, keep all the patterns at least 50 percent white so you don’t accidentally overdo the black, unless you’re going for a gothic look.
Instead of choosing one color pairing to use for every patterned piece, you can also try picking one favorite fabric or item and using that piece to inspire colors for the other accents. Here, you can see that each fabric draws colors from the ottoman upholstery, so the collection has lots of variety but is tied together and cohesive.
Other Considerations Color. Mixing patterns within a restrained color palette is a great way to use a variety of actual patterns without having any jarring contrast. Nautical schemes, for example, often use a variety of different fabrics, all in blue and white, to let the different lines and shapes provide the visual interest.
This is where things start to get a bit complicated, since there are many patterns that can sit in a gray area between geometric and organic, such as ikat patterns or tribal-inspired prints, which feature somewhat geometric-looking repeating lines but with an organic rawness. Luckily, there are other aspects of a pattern we can look at to guide us in how to mix and match.
4. Organics. There are lots of other organic patterns that take inspiration from nature or feature motifs or images that are non-geometric. Animal prints fall under this category, as well as natural textures like marbling or strié (which looks a bit like wood grain, but in fabric or paper). A zebra stripe, being essentially just a variation on a basic black-and-white stripe, is a great element to toss into any design (in a small dose) to add a little organic drama.
3. Florals. Florals are essentially the complete opposite of stripes: They feature complex, curving lines in patterns that feel natural and wild.Botanical prints also include leafy patterns that don’t feature blossoms but have a similar organic nature, and, just as in nature, these differing prints tend to mesh together easily (as long as their lush color palettes coordinate).
Foolproof Plan 2: Same-Scale Geometrics Another easy way to mix multiple geometric patterns is to choose patterns with a similar thickness to the lines. These pillows use very different patterns, but they all contain thin lines at approximately the same scale. A single pillow in a chunky pattern might look out of place, but since they all share a similar line weight they look coordinated.
Geometrics can be much more complex than a simple repeating shape, however. This room shows a simple striped rug, a chevron pillow and richly patterned side chairs: All are geometric, using simple angular lines, but the degree of complexity varies greatly. Using just angular geometrics, with no curves, is one of the easiest ways to mix multiple patterns without worry.
2. Geometrics. A geometric pattern is made of repeating forms that are usually very simple and linear, often using basic shapes like triangles, squares and circles. Technically, stripes are a geometric pattern, but in interior design a true geometric is one notch more complex than that, such as this wallpaper with its repeating hexagons.
Foolproof Plan 1: Dots and Stripes Mix a few different sizes of stripes, and maybe a polka dot too, and you’ve got a hard-to-go-wrong scheme with plenty of personality and energy.
Some designers also consider polka dots to be in the category of neutral patterns, with a repeating shape so simple that it reads as more of a texture. The round lines add an extra sense of softness, which can feel a bit feminine or romantic and make a space welcoming.
1. Stripes, especially in a two-color, one-to-one ratio as seen here, are probably the easiest pattern to work with, so much so that you can treat them as a “neutral.” That means they can mix easily with any other pattern, almost as if they weren’t a pattern at all. Classic navy-and-white or black-and-white stripes are the most classic and timeless, but you can use stripes to add bright colors as well. In a tone-on-tone effect like this pink bedding, the hue is actually softer and less dramatic than when used as a solid.Either way, stripes work beautifully with other stripes or with completely different patterns.
How to Mix Patterns Like a Pro Introducing a new pattern to a space adds a lot of life, energy and personality in a way a solid color rarely can. But why restrict yourself to playing with just one pattern? Combining two or more may seem daunting, but if you follow some of these formulas, you’ll be mixing and matching like a pro in no time. First, to make it easier to understand how different patterns relate, let’s identify four major categories of patterns. In reality, patterns are endless in number, but when it comes to mixing different types, we’ll start by looking at the main ones.
The Graffiti lamp, designed by Kazuhiro Yamanaka for Pallucco Italia, is ornamented with metal rods that are attached with magnets. They can be rearranged to change the overall appearance of the fixture to match the rain, one’s mood or anything else. These customizable designs are a great example of the overall theme of this year’s Salone. Rather than focusing on disruptive ideas, it showed how innovative takes on classic designs can put the focus back on the most important feature of all: the way furniture can be molded to our spaces and our lives.
Customization and Playfulness A lot of manufacturers worked from the standpoint that users may want to adjust a product’s appearance to their personal mood. We are used to changing the pillows on a sofa’s backrest (now even in outdoor collections) and selecting the color of lightbulbs (**Philips Hue**). Now designers are offering even more innovative ways of modifying furniture. The backrest of this sofa by Rubelli, for example, can change color thanks to a double-sided cover. Its front is the same color as the rest of the couch, but it can be flipped to reveal a bright orange underside.
Gray, Beige and Dignified Patterns Shades of gray, beige and terra-cotta were the main colors to be seen at this year’s fair, but they were enriched with interesting textures and dignified patterns. We see, again, the influence of timeless fashion: Tweed, salt and pepper, bicolored plaids with tiny checks and melange patterns — the same patterns that are used in suits — appeared again and again. They can be matched to upholstery, pillows or the geometric patterns on rugs, tabletops or works of art hung on walls or placed on surfaces.
Homes Are Blooming “Nature is the greatest designer in the world and the most expansive source of inspiration at the same time,” says Dutch designer Edward van Vliet. Flowers and the jungle trend are still hot. There were a lot of banana palms, Japanese maples and regular houseplants, often matched with huge flowers on wall art. Many companies let butterflies and flowers take center stage on screens, carpets & upholstery.
The Past Is the New Future This year’s Milano fair highlighted a longing among designers to create the new classic, the new design icon. Simple forms from the past — which are now easier to produce — were presented, adapted to today’s tastes. One example is the work of Spanish designer Jaime Hayon, who created a collection for Austrian manufacturer Wittmann. “This work is the result of my imagined trip back in time to the Vienna of the 1930s,” the designer says. Hayon adds that he was happy to find a company that is so deeply rooted in tradition but that also gives him a lot of freedom in his design process.
Finally, a trap that no homeowner wants to fall into is overdesigning a kitchen or succumbing to “of the moment” trends that may not last. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t include your favorite trend or unusual feature, but consider adding these in the form of accessories and furnishings, which are easier and cheaper to change at a later date than built-in furniture and countertops. For example, in this picture, the playful lighting draws the eye and creates a real statement within this all-white kitchen, but it would be easy and inexpensive to remove if the owner wanted to change it or move it to another room later on. Although everyone wants an impressive look, most people also want a kitchen that will stand the test of time. So look ahead and consider whether you’ll still be happy with your design five, 10 or 15 years from now.
Often, you don’t realize that electrical switches and outlets aren’t where you need them until after a kitchen is finished. We all use our kitchens differently, and your designer should take your needs into account when positioning these items. So don’t be afraid to convey your wishes. If you’d like additional outlets or a particular finish for the switch plate besides the standard white, this needs to be established during the planning stage. Keep in mind, though, that the placement of electrical outlets is subject to safety regulations. Your designer should be able to advise you on these rules during the planning stage.
Another common complaint is not having enough task lighting. This kind of lighting is important, as it focuses direct light onto specific sites. These are mainly areas where you’re preparing and cooking food, such as the countertop, stove and sink areas. Counters used for food preparation are often positioned directly under upper cabinets, so without additional lighting here, these cabinets can easily cast shadows and darken the surface, making cutting, slicing and other food preparation more challenging than it should be, or even potentially dangerous. Again, this one is easily avoidable. Solutions include spotlights recessed into the underside of upper cabinets, or cabinet lighting to let you easily see the full contents of your cabinets. You may also make a focal point of your task lighting, such as installing statement pendants over an island, successfully combining practicality with high visual impact.
Including sufficient trash space to suit a household’s needs is something that’s often overlooked. Often a trash bin is present and fits neatly within a cabinet so that it maintains the kitchen’s clean aesthetic (and conceals smells). But the reality is that the container is too small and fills up too quickly, meaning constant emptying. Or another common problem is that there’s no provision for separating and storing recyclables. As with many of the other design problems covered here, this one usually comes about because the designer hasn’t understood the homeowners’ requirements, dictated by how many people are in the house, how often they cook, their style of cooking, and whether recycling is important to them. Providing a container with a larger capacity, one with separate compartments (as pictured) or a kitchen waste disposal unit are effective solutions to consider.
Appropriate ventilation — such as with a range hood — allows the removal of grease, steam and cooking smells. These can otherwise linger on you, your clothes or any furniture, which is especially unpleasant in open-plan spaces. Choose the best-quality model you can afford, and ensure that you pick the right size of ducting to fit your chosen hood. This should make for quieter, more effective extraction that’s also more energy-efficient and less likely to break. Consider, too, how much noise your potential range hood will make; another common mistake is not choosing a model with a quiet motor. This is particularly relevant if your kitchen is part of an open-plan living space, or is big enough that everyone frequently gathers in it. They should comfortably be able to have a conversation or hear the TV while someone else is cooking.
It’s important that cabinets and appliances, while well-positioned for easy use, are also well-spaced. For example, walkways should be about 36 inches wide so that doors and drawers can open clear of one another. Similarly, they shouldn’t be too far apart: For the sake of a smooth workflow, you shouldn’t have to take more steps between appliances than is necessary. Similarly, it’s important not to place wall ovens and microwaves so high that you can’t safely remove hot food from them. Think also about which way your cabinet and appliance doors open. For maximum ease of use, and where it’s possible, these should swing according to the surrounding kitchen space.
You may want enough countertop space for more than one person to operate in your kitchen at once. However, you need to consider how to achieve this so that users don’t get under one another’s feet while trying to reach the fridge, oven or sink. Similarly, if you have (children) DOGS & CATS, you may want to ensure that they won’t come charging past as you’re carrying hot food or handling sharp knives. Both are examples of how traffic can become a problem in a kitchen’s work area, but they are preventable through careful planning. This may mean setting up two separate and well-spaced prep zones or ensuring that there’s only one kitchen entry point, so you can easily see who’s coming or going, as shown. You can also make sure that frequently used appliances, such as the fridge, are on the periphery of your kitchen, so other household members can still get things out of them without having to fully enter the kitchen (also illustrated here).
A lack of countertop space, or counters not being positioned where you need them, is a common design problem. It can also prove to be one of the most frustrating, since your counter is needed for just about every activity you’ll carry out in your kitchen. The countertop forms part of the kitchen workflow, so this will help to determine where and how much of it you need. A common mistake is not leaving sufficient space next to or opposite a fridge or an oven. With a fridge, this counter space is merely convenient, but having space next to or opposite an oven and a cooktop, as seen in this scheme, is also important for safety. This way, you shouldn’t find yourself carrying piping-hot food across your kitchen, looking for a counter on which to set it down. During planning, it’s important to think about all the ways in which you currently use, or intend to use, your countertops. For example, you may want space for more than one person to cook at once, or maybe an area where your partner can sit and chat to you while you cook.
A poor kitchen layout will make you work much harder than necessary and ultimately stop you from enjoying it. Your kitchen should work specifically for you, with a workflow and layout designed to cater to your individual needs. For this to happen, your designer must enquire about your lifestyle, habits and kitchen requirements, as well as how many people live in your house, who likes to cook and what your preferred cooking style is. All this information should be used in the planning of your layout. While a lot of designers still plan using the traditional kitchen triangle, I think defining separate areas or zones for prepping, washing and cooking can result in a more efficient and personalized design. This approach allows fluidity in the positioning of the different areas of the kitchen.
One of the most common kitchen design problems resulting from poor planning is insufficient storage. This can easily lead to clutter, mess and frustration. Yet even in really small kitchens, generous upper and lower cabinets should be achievable — you just need careful and sometimes imaginative planning to fully maximize the space. Kitchen corner units, for example, can make use of otherwise unused space. In this tricky kitchen, the lower cabinet in the left corner could have been closed off completely by the oven. Instead, a cabinet door swings open to the left. In cases like this, pullout corner organizers keep contents accessible. Similarly, drawers offer more generous storage for pans than cabinets do and are easier to access. Another option for a small kitchen is upper cabinets that extend to the ceiling, with a stool nearby for reaching the highest items. There are also lots of clever storage options to consider, such as secret drawers or hidden spice racks, and many kitchen storage options are specifically designed for smaller items, such as gadgets, handheld appliances and utensils. Carefully thinking about your storage needs from an early stage of the design process wil...
Together but Separate Respecting boundaries and acknowledging your partner’s need for space can be a winning recipe at home. If your other half is easier to be around with a dose of alone time, why not encourage it? Whether you call it a man cave or a she shed — or just a solo hanging chair in the garden – dedicated individual spaces grant both people permission to have some breathing room when they need it.
In the Bedroom. equality rules. When one person has more storage or a bigger say in the decor choices of the shared bedroom, problems can arise. Do whatever it takes to incorporate both partners’ tastes and needs in your sleeping quarters, as a symbol of your commitment to each other’s happiness.
A double vanity creates individual zones for each of you and increases efficiency on busy mornings. A generous mirror with plenty of built-in storage means there’s ample space for both partners’ products and plenty of room to primp and preen for as long as either of you needs.
Having to stoop when working on meal prep or cleanup is no fun for the taller members of the family (nor is having to stand on your tiptoes). Practicality for both partners is key in a harmonious home, especially if one partner doesn’t want to be doing all the cooking or cleaning. Designers these days aren’t afraid to use different countertop heights in the kitchen — all you need to do is ask.
For the heavy-handed cook, soft-closing mechanisms on doors and drawers are a godsend. They prevent jarring door slams (some ears are more sensitive to these sounds than others), improve the drawers’ longevity and can be retrofitted on any door. Inside the drawers, dividers ranging from plate holders to spice racks can minimize clutter and make it clear where everything belongs. Sighs of annoyance when you’re searching for an item your partner put back in the wrong place could become a thing of the past.
12. Create an “outdoor ceiling.” Narrow backyards can be just the right width for adding a cover in the form of a trellis, arbor or shade cloth. Creating an “outdoor ceiling” can increase the feeling of intimacy in a garden and help screen adjacent buildings. Here, the designer added metal arches to span the entire width of the garden and to support the growth of climbers.
11. Add outdoor lighting. Soft, glowing lights give a narrow garden much more dimension in the evening. The trick to getting outdoor lighting right is to add a diversity of light types (accent lights for highlighting plants, washes for walls, and path lights for safety) and keep them subtle. The designer of this narrow garden used soft lights on plants and clever track lighting beneath the bench to give the illusion that the seat is floating.
10. Incorporate grade changes. Varying the level of different areas of the garden can help define them and create multiple destinations in a narrow garden. Terraces are a natural solution to sloped lots, but completely flat gardens can also also benefit from grade changes. Add a raised deck under an outdoor seating area or remove soil to create a sunken patio.
7. Create a cozy outdoor room. Another strategy for narrow lots is to embrace the feeling of increased intimacy that comes with a relatively small and enclosed space. Make it look inviting with outdoor furniture, potted succulents, plants climbing up walls, and a string of twinkling cafe lights overhead.
6. Maximize growing space. Look for ways to increase planting opportunities without taking up floor space. Add trellises to fences, invest in a living wall, train fruit trees into espaliers and look for tall, skinny containers to plant.
5. Layer plantings to avoid the “corridor effect.” Planting beds that curve in from the sides of a garden and cut into the line of sight down the yard help break up a “corridor effect” and make the garden seem wider. Vary the heights of plants in the beds as well as their foliage and flower colors to emphasize dimension in a small space.
4. Or devote the space to your top priority. If you have a small, narrow garden, it can be a better strategy to focus on having it do one thing well rather than trying to squeeze in too many elements. For example, the owners of this home devoted the sunniest area of the backyard to growing a robust kitchen garden in galvanized metal feed troughs.
3. Divide the space for different uses. Maximize space in a narrow garden by splitting it into smaller sections, giving each one a different purpose.
2. Go diagonal. Shift the sightline of the garden by laying out walkways, seating areas and planting beds at an angle between 30 and 70 degrees to the house. A diagonal garden layout works much in the same way as a curving pathway to direct a viewer’s gaze and make a narrow garden feel more expansive.
With a few clever ideas to expand views and maximize space, narrow lots can look and feel more expansive than they really are. There are a dozen ways to transform a skinny lot into an inviting garden with room for outdoor entertaining, hidden storage, places to relax and everything else on your garden wish list. 1. Create curves. Undulating pathways and planting beds running across a narrow yard can trick the eye into thinking the space is wider. For example, consider this narrow, wedge-shaped garden. Three circular lawns bordered by stone pathways and verdant planting beds encourage one’s gaze to meander back and forth across the property, making the garden appear larger than it is.
Colour! This is not meant as a put-down of white or neutral kitchens but plan to incorporate color in a fun way in your new home. Tip: Keep your countertop and flooring a neutral hue, and save the more assertive color for components that are relatively easy and cheap to change, such as paint and decorative items.
Durable, low-maintenance flooring that can really take a beating - concrete and porcelain tile.Many folks experience joint paint if they stand on hard surfaces for long periods of time but you can avoid this by donning a pair of orthopaedic flip-flops when on upper feet for long periods of time in the kitchen. Tip: If you are considering a porcelain tile for your floor, go for a color-body or through-body product. This simply means the color you see on top goes all the way through the body of the tile, versus a glazed tile, for which the color is just a coating on top of the clay body. That way should you nick your floor, the chip won’t be as obvious.
Single-bowl granite composite sink in a dark colour. A white cast iron sink takes one splash of coffee or red wine for it to become instantly stained. Compared to the work (and chemicals) required to keep it looking clean and bright, replace it with a darker, lower-maintenance gray or black granite composite sink, as shown here. You will love its durability and the minimal work required to keep it looking clean. Also - large single-bowl sink can easily fit your largest pots and pans for soaking. Tip: Undermount your sink for easier kitchen cleanup.
Windows in lieu of wall cabinets ; nothing beats a sun-flooded interior space — both to look at and to live and work in. So when designing a kitchen, prioritize windows over wall cabinets on exterior walls. It’s incredible how much this visually opens up a kitchen, making it feel more expansive. And, as a bonus, the extra daylight cuts down on electricity, since artificial lighting often isn’t needed until after the sun does down. If you really can’t give up the extra storage you get from installing wall cabinets on an exterior wall, perhaps you can add a horizontal strip of windows just below your wall cabinets. Or, if the view out the window is less than desirable, perhaps a bank of windows at the very top of the wall above the upper cabinets would also do the trick.
Drawers instead of doors on base cabinets. It’s so much easier to organize and find things when you can pull out a drawer instead of having to squat down to dig around deep inside the cabinet. Extra-deep drawers are great for storing dishes, pots and pans. Also try to fit as many wide (36-inch) cabinets in as you can, because these can hold all manner of items yet still be within easy reach.
Ample work aisles - if an open kitchen with generously spaced aisles is very important to you. The minimum recommended kitchen aisle width is 42 inches. More comfortable, 48 inches. If you live in a multicook household, up that to 52 or 54 inches. The extra space really eases tight spots, especially around the sink and major appliances. Wider than 54 inches, your kitchen can become inefficient — you’ll spend more time walking than cooking.
In the excitement of unwrapping and setting up a new appliance or piece of furniture, most of us have all been guilty of discarding warranty details. Things break. Keep a warranty file and receipts. Clarify warranty details for big-ticket items. Is the construction covered but not the fabric? Are there special conditions? What’s the claim procedure?
Chartreuse and gray. This is a cool, fresh duo that will instantly add midcentury chic to your decor. In this photo, the bright yellowish-green sofa forms a cheerful counterpart to the serene gray wall. When brought together in a room with architectural details such as an angled ceiling and glass window walls, the style is unmistakably midcentury modern.
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