Pull out knife block makes use of a small space while keep essential cooking tools close at hand. ~ Brian DalBalcon Photography
Kitchen - mid-sized transitional kitchen idea in Seattle

Harbor View is a modern-day interpretation of the shingled vacation houses of its seaside community. The gambrel roof, horizontal, ground-hugging emphasis, and feeling of simplicity, are all part of the character of the place. While fitting in with local traditions, Harbor View is meant for modern living. The kitchen is a central gathering spot, open to the main combined living/dining room and to the waterside porch. One easily moves between indoors and outdoors. The house is designed for an active family, a couple with three grown children and a growing number of grandchildren. It is zoned so that the whole family can be there together but retain privacy. Living, dining, kitchen, library, and porch occupy the center of the main floor. One-story wings on each side house two bedrooms and bathrooms apiece, and two more bedrooms and bathrooms and a study occupy the second floor of the central block. The house is mostly one room deep, allowing cross breezes and light from both sides. The porch, a third of which is screened, is a main dining and living space, with a stone fireplace offering a cozy place to gather on summer evenings. A barn with a loft provides storage for a car or boat off-season and serves as a big space for projects or parties in summer.

Peter Molick Photography
Open concept kitchen - mid-sized transitional single-wall medium tone wood floor open concept kitchen idea in Houston with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, gray backsplash, mosaic tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island, white cabinets and wood countertops

Armani Fine Woodworking End Grain Hard Maple Butcher Block Kitchen Island Countertop with Mineral Oil and Organic Beeswax Finish. Armanifinewoodworking.com. Custom Made-to-Order. Shipped Nationwide.

Armani Fine Woodworking African Mahogany butcher block countertop with Monocoat finish. Armanifinewoodworking.com. Custom Made-to-Order. Shipped Nationwide.

Interior Designer: Vision Interiors by Visbeen Builder: Joel Peterson Homes Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography As a conceptual urban infill project, the Wexley, is designed for a narrow lot in the center of a city block. The 26’x48’ floor plan is divided into thirds from front to back and from left to right. In plan, the left third is reserved for circulation spaces and is reflected in elevation by a monolithic block wall in three shades of gray. Punching through this block wall, in three distinct parts, are the main levels windows for the stair tower, bathroom, and patio. The right two thirds of the main level are reserved for the living room, kitchen, and dining room. At 16’ long, front to back, these three rooms align perfectly with the three-part block wall façade. It’s this interplay between plan and elevation that creates cohesion between each façade, no matter where it’s viewed. Given that this project would have neighbors on either side, great care was taken in crafting desirable vistas for the living, dinning, and master bedroom. Upstairs, with a view to the street, the master bedroom has a pair of closets and a skillfully planned bathroom complete with soaker tub and separate tiled shower. Main level cabinetry and built-ins serve as dividing elements between rooms and framing elements for views outside.

The owners of a charming home in the hills west of Paso Robles recently decided to remodel their not-so-charming kitchen. Referred to San Luis Kitchen by several of their friends, the homeowners visited our showroom and soon decided we were the best people to design a kitchen fitting the style of their home. We were delighted to get to work on the project right away. When we arrived at the house, we found a small, cramped and out-dated kitchen. The ceiling was low, the cabinets old fashioned and painted a stark dead white, and the best view in the house was neglected in a seldom-used breakfast nook (sequestered behind the kitchen peninsula). This kitchen was also handicapped by white tile counters with dark grout, odd-sized and cluttered cabinets, and small ‘desk’ tacked on to the side of the oven cabinet. Due to a marked lack of counter space & inadequate storage the homeowner had resorted to keeping her small appliances on a little cart parked in the corner and the garbage was just sitting by the wall in full view of everything! On the plus side, the kitchen opened into a nice dining room and had beautiful saltillo tile floors. Mrs. Homeowner loves to entertain and often hosts dinner parties for her friends. She enjoys visiting with her guests in the kitchen while putting the finishing touches on the evening’s meal. Sadly, her small kitchen really limited her interactions with her guests – she often felt left out of the mix at her own parties! This savvy homeowner dreamed big – a new kitchen that would accommodate multiple workstations, have space for guests to gather but not be in the way, and maybe a prettier transition from the kitchen to the dining (wine service area or hutch?) – while managing the remodel budget by reusing some of her major appliances and keeping (patching as needed) her existing floors. Responding to the homeowner’s stated wish list and the opportunities presented by the home's setting and existing architecture, the designers at San Luis Kitchen decided to expand the kitchen into the breakfast nook. This change allowed the work area to be reoriented to take advantage of the great view – we replaced the existing window and added another while moving the door to gain space. A second sink and set of refrigerator drawers (housing fresh fruits & veggies) were included for the convenience of this mainly vegetarian cook – her prep station. The clean-up area now boasts a farmhouse style single bowl sink – adding to the ‘cottage’ charm. We located a new gas cook-top between the two workstations for easy access from each. Also tucked in here is a pullout trash/recycle cabinet for convenience and additional drawers for storage. Running parallel to the work counter we added a long butcher-block island with easy-to-access open shelves for the avid cook and seating for friendly guests placed just right to take in the view. A counter-top garage is used to hide excess small appliances. Glass door cabinets and open shelves are now available to display the owners beautiful dishware. The microwave was placed inconspicuously on the end of the island facing the refrigerator – easy access for guests (and extraneous family members) to help themselves to drinks and snacks while staying out of the cook’s way. We also moved the pantry storage away from the dining room (putting it on the far wall and closer to the work triangle) and added a furniture-like hutch in its place allowing the more formal dining area to flow seamlessly into the up-beat work area of the kitchen. This space is now also home (opposite wall) to an under counter wine refrigerator, a liquor cabinet and pretty glass door wall cabinet for stemware storage – meeting Mr. Homeowner’s desire for a bar service area. And then the aesthetic: an old-world style country cottage theme. The homeowners wanted the kitchen to have a warm feel while still loving the look of white cabinetry. San Luis Kitchen melded country-casual knotty pine base cabinets with vintage hand-brushed creamy white wall cabinets to create the desired cottage look. We also added bead board and mullioned glass doors for charm, used an inset doorstyle on the cabinets for authenticity, and mixed stone and wood counters to create an eclectic nuance in the space. All in all, the happy homeowners now boast a charming county cottage kitchen with plenty of space for entertaining their guests while creating gourmet meals to feed them. Credits: Custom cabinetry by Wood-Mode Fine Custom Cabinetry Contracting by Michael Pezzato of Lost Coast Construction Stone counters by Pyramid M.T.M.

Armani Fine Woodworking African Mahogany butcher block countertop. Armanifinewoodworking.com. Custom Made-to-Order. Shipped Nationwide Interior design by Rachel at Serenedesigncompany.com in West Des Moines, IA

John Gillooly/PEI
Example of a classic black floor enclosed kitchen design in Boston with flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, wood countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Jordan Bentley / Bentwater Studio
Example of a farmhouse u-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen design in San Francisco with an undermount sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and an island

Example of a large trendy light wood floor, brown floor and tray ceiling eat-in kitchen design in Chicago with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, quartzite countertops, paneled appliances, an island and white countertops

Closeup of the door to the hidden pantry. False panels and hardware to match the rest of the bank of cabinets. We custom made all of the kitchen cabinetry and shelving. The kitchen was a small area so maximizing usable space with function and design was crucial. The transitional design features a pantry wall with the Sub Zero all glass door refrigerator and oven cabinet centered and equal size pantry cabinets to either side with 3 large storage drawers below and rollout shelves and work surfaces behind the door cabinets above in each with a hidden walk-in pantry door next to the Sub Zero. The cabinets on the range wall all have large storage drawers with wood organizers in the top drawer for spices and utensils. The client also wanted floating shelves to either side of the steel hood which were made from re-sawn maple to look like cut pieces from an old beam, each shelf is lit from the underside with LED flush mounted puck lights. The island was our biggest challenge. It needed to house several appliances of different size, a farmhouse sink and be able to have function from all 4 sides and still have room for seating space on the backside. The sink side has the farmhouse sink centered with storage drawers to the right that feature wood organizers and a double middle drawer to help hold all the small utensils and still maintain the 3 drawer look from the front view that matches the integrated dishwasher to the left. The right side contains both the integrated soft close trash unit and an icemaker with a third false panel door to maintain the size balance for all three. The left side houses the Sub Zero undercounter freezer. I wanted the face to look like six equal sized drawers, which left the integrated drawer fronts for the freezer overlapping the side panel for the dishwasher. The back of the island has storage tucked up under the seating space. The quartz countertop meets up against the maple butcher block to create a stunning island top. All in all the end result of this kitchen is a beautiful space with wonderful function. We finished the false beams in our exclusive hand-rubbed cappuccino stain. Photos: Kimball Ungerman

As a conceptual urban infill project, the Wexley is designed for a narrow lot in the center of a city block. The 26’x48’ floor plan is divided into thirds from front to back and from left to right. In plan, the left third is reserved for circulation spaces and is reflected in elevation by a monolithic block wall in three shades of gray. Punching through this block wall, in three distinct parts, are the main levels windows for the stair tower, bathroom, and patio. The right two-thirds of the main level are reserved for the living room, kitchen, and dining room. At 16’ long, front to back, these three rooms align perfectly with the three-part block wall façade. It’s this interplay between plan and elevation that creates cohesion between each façade, no matter where it’s viewed. Given that this project would have neighbors on either side, great care was taken in crafting desirable vistas for the living, dining, and master bedroom. Upstairs, with a view to the street, the master bedroom has a pair of closets and a skillfully planned bathroom complete with soaker tub and separate tiled shower. Main level cabinetry and built-ins serve as dividing elements between rooms and framing elements for views outside. Architect: Visbeen Architects Builder: J. Peterson Homes Photographer: Ashley Avila Photography

Elegant u-shaped eat-in kitchen photo in Philadelphia with a farmhouse sink, recessed-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and a peninsula

A stunning modern farmhouse kitchen filled with exciting detail! We kept the cabinets on the traditional side, painted in pale sandy hues (reflecting the beachfront property). A glazed subway tile backsplash and newly placed skylight contrast with the detailed cabinets and create an updated look. The focal point, the rich blue kitchen island, is complemented with a dark wooden butcher block countertop, which creates a surprising burst of color and gives the entire kitchen a chic contemporary vibe. For more about Angela Todd Studios, click here: https://www.angelatoddstudios.com/

A contemporary kitchen with "stadium seating" for large parties and family get togethers. For information about our work, please contact info@studiombdc.com

Alise O'Brien
Freestanding bathtub - mid-sized traditional master freestanding bathtub idea in Other with gray cabinets, green walls and recessed-panel cabinets

Doorless glass block shower with corner blocks. To see our many designs, please check out: https://easternglassblock.com/ or call 800-635-1226 for more information!

The focus of this stairway and kitchen renovation was to take a very blocked off, disjointed living area and transform it into a lively space perfect for entertaining. The staircase was once blocking the living area from the kitchen, but now serves as a structural centerpiece and it completely opens up the room. The kitchen offers a contemporary, yet colorful feeling with the addition of these beautiful cement tiles and clean kitchen cabinets. The best feature of this space is the toe kick drawers, allowing for easy and convenient kitchen storage — the perfect space for hosting a party.