Designer's Edge
Small arts and crafts galley light wood floor enclosed kitchen photo in Portland with an undermount sink, white cabinets, soapstone countertops, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, no island, beaded inset cabinets and black countertops

This is an addition to an 1891 Historic Farmhouse. We matched the original pine flooring to keep consistency between the original and new parts of the home. We decided to take a Farmhouse approach with a twist. The blue custom base cabinets are complemented and contrasted by the timeless and traditional white upper cabinets. The island countertop is a beautiful Quartzite with warm and cool tones in a Leather finish. We custom stained the hood range with a beautiful walnut color inspired by the knots on the pine flooring, which creates a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing Kitchen.

Aaron Leitz Photography
Kitchen - contemporary kitchen idea in Seattle with a farmhouse sink, stainless steel appliances, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, white backsplash and stone tile backsplash

I've been wanting a farmhouse style kitchen sink forever. It didn't work in our last kitchen remodel due to not planning ahead on the cabinets. Hopefully the next kitchen remodel.

Halkin Photography, LLC
Example of a minimalist kitchen design in Philadelphia with stainless steel appliances

Double islands give flexibility for cooking work space as well as "art" space for a family's young children. The counter top was stain and glue resistant and still elegant. This counter is Silestone. The selected the Cygnus in the suede finish for the two islands and the Helux for the surrounding counter tops. Storage is important, so a large pantry was incorporated as well as a mud room for coats and accessories. A bar area was also created for parties along with a wine refrigerator, plenty of glass storage and a double pull-out trash can. Open shelves in that area break up the wall of glass cabinets, giving the kitchen an airy feel. Stacy Zarin Goldberg Photography

Make no mistake: Heidi’s passion was the basis of the project. Heidi loves to cook. Given a choice, she might live full-time in the kitchen. She revels in creating culinary delights for family and friends. She lives to entertain. Her kitchen is her castle. It has to be just right. But, it wasn’t. For starters, she wanted a different stove. Looking around, other things jumped out. This wasn’t the cooking mecca she envisioned. There were better options available. The ball started rolling. “I needed a bigger island and a bigger stove,” Heidi said. “That led to ‘We need a bigger kitchen.’” This wasn’t a new revelation. She had been researching kitchens for some time. She didn’t have all the details, but she had a plan. “My vision was to have it very clean and simple, but I wanted some artistic flair,” she explained. Our task was to design the kitchen her passion demanded. It needed more countertop space. It needed more storage space. It needed functional elements that were big, bold and suited to the needs of an active, passionate user. So, first things first. We started with a Viking Professional stove and oven that would make Julia Child proud. “I told Kevin (her husband) it’s coming with us if we move,” Heidi said. The custom stove hood was custom-made on site of wood and dual-color Venetian plaster, with a Ventahood exhaust inside. Two corbels accent its artistic look and feel, hewing to Heidi’s desire to make the kitchen both fully functional and pleasing to the eye. When working at the deluxe Viking unit, Heidi doesn’t have to go far for pots and pans, either. The new island has three large base drawers built into it directly across from the range. She can literally turn around, take what she needs from the drawers, and go right back to work. We nearly doubled the cabinet space in the kitchen, offering many more storage and organizational options. The drawers are all soft-close, full-extension design. The doors are soft-close. The upper cabinet above the refrigerator has vertical tray dividers, easing the sometimes arduous task of sorting trays and cookie sheets. Heidi sought an antique look for her cabinetry. To achieve this, we utilized maple cabinets with a mink wash treatment and ancient bronze hardware. We ordered matching panels for the dishwasher and refrigerator doors, creating a seamless look with the cabinetry. We maintained visual interest by staggering the heights of the different cabinets. Upper cabinets feature double-stack crown moldings. Some cabinets have rain glass inserts to display decorative items within. Meanwhile, the entire area was brightened with a plethora of new lighting. Eight recessed lights in the 9-foot ceiling illuminate the counter space. Undercabinet lights brighten any food preparation work. In-cabinet lighting spotlights decorative items within glass-door cabinetry. Above-cabinet lights offer just the right ambiance to complete the scene. Above the island hang two distinctive, eye-catching chandeliers that definitely set off the kitchen’s mix of antiquity and artistry. Heidi simply would not be denied these fixtures, with their oil-rubbed bronze finish and Renaissance-era feel. “Everybody doubted me on them,” she said. “My kitchen’s not that big. I had to have these big, beautiful, glamorous lights. They make the room extra special.” The island itself took a bit of doing. Ultimately, we created a two-tier structure that provided invaluable food preparation and staging space, plus a dining area that allowed the owners to get rid of a kitchen table that had fallen out of favor. The 120-inch length of the island allows it to meet these dual needs. The island offers plenty of room for people to gather around during parties, with wide open spaces that offer guests ready access to food and drink. The increased seating space offers Heidi’s family a comfortable dining table, with more than enough room for plates and serving dishes. She bought accompanying chairs that blend with the island’s cherry base and the granite countertop’s multicolored brown hues. Two corbels built into posts on the island base give it a sturdy, dignified look. Heidi selected the white tumbled travertine subway field tile that makes up the backsplash ringing the main kitchen area. During its installation, she personally directed the placement of floral bronze metal accent pieces scattered into the backsplash. She helped create a six-tile decorative mural insert above the expansive range of her new Viking range. We put in a farmer’s sink with space galore for food, dishes or whatever Heidi desired. The structure and decorative feet of the sink, plus the mounted corbels above, create a furniture resemblance. “I just love my sink,” she said. “It’s big, it’s nice, and my family just loves it because they can help with the dishes and can easily reach into it.” Space wasn’t necessarily the final frontier in Heidi’s kitchen, but she definitely wanted more. We removed a wall from a pantry, transforming its small dark space into additional cabinets and counter area. Heidi keeps small appliances on the new counter and prepares her daughters’ lunches there. The rest of the former pantry was converted into a laundry area and new mudroom. By stacking the washer and dryer in the laundry area, space was freed up next to it to add new storage cabinets and a countertop for laundry sorting. On the other side of the mudroom, we opened and renovated a previous cramped closet for greater functionality and efficiency. By adding shelving and hanging hooks near the top, and storage drawers at the bottom, the variety and quantity of items it can accommodate was multiplied several times. This allowed the closet space to be narrowed by 18 inches, widening an adjacent hallway to the dining room. The top of the drawers doubles as a bench, further enhancing the area’s usability. The entire mudroom area can be closed off to the kitchen via a pocket door built into the reworked closet. The door has full-view etched glass, allowing light into the mudroom and visibility from the kitchen. The flooring in the kitchen and new mudroom – formerly engineered hardwood – was replaced with stonefire noce ceramic tile. Its color was chosen to blend in with the family room carpet, now a true neighbor after we took out a wall between the two rooms. The remainder of the living room wall was converted into two pillars that were custom-built on site and resemble the posts on the island. Removing the wall was a last-minute call by the owners. After living with the results for just a short time, Heidi called it “the best decision ever.” It’s not hard to see why – both the newly-remodeled kitchen and the family room seem larger, with a smarter and more efficient traffic flow. Accenting the freshly-opened space is a new sliding patio door whose color matches its casings. Its grid design matches those in nearby windows. The door casings bear the literal touch of the homeowners, who saved thousands of dollars by painting many parts of the project. Heidi personally painted the walls, window casings, base molding, shoe molding, pocket door and mudroom. She applied many coats of Venetian plaster to the stove range hood to create its soft, velvety look. We saved the homeowners at least $500 by researching the corbels used in the kitchen. After learning the steep price charged for corbels by the cabinet manufacturer, we found an online catalog that offered them for substantially less. Heidi gladly chose from the catalog, and this decorative touch was added at a great savings. In addition, we worked to keep the project within budget by providing Heidi with material allowances for the countertops, plumbing fixtures and all tiles. She had no problem working within these parameters – a win-win situation for all concerned. When all is said and done, the greatest achievement is hearing Heidi talk about the joy her new kitchen has brought her, and how it has benefited her family. “It’s exactly what I wanted,” she said, standing in front of the kitchen and spreading her arms wide to take in the expanse. “My vision is this right here.”

Cabinet Works Plus-Rebecca Melo, designer Green Mountain Soapstone, St. Catherines Karen Byker, photographer
Minimalist eat-in kitchen photo in Toronto with a double-bowl sink, black appliances, soapstone countertops, flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, white backsplash and stone tile backsplash

Door style: Pendleton RSP | Species: Rustic Alder | Finish: Autumn with Carmel glaze Good design makes efficient use of space. A clever combination of cabinets puts the raised dishwasher close to the sink. A corner wall cabinet is a perfect fit for a small television, while a cookbook rack adds convenience. Tall cabinets at the end of the room provide abundant storage. Learn more about Showplace rustic alder: http://www.showplacewood.com/WoodsFin2/woodsALDER.0.html

Planning for a new kitchen was in the minds of these homeowners for several years. Shortly after meeting Cathy at a Business Networking Event and talking about the remodeling process, an appointment was made to discuss in detail how to turn their dream into a reality. After several meetings and communications, Renovisions, inc. was able to put together a complete layout and design as well as a detailed scope of work, which would reflect exactly what the homeowners wanted. We created a new design to accommodate a Thermodor rangetop, Viking wall oven and microwave, a GE refrigerator, Marvel wine cooler and Bosch dishwasher. A unique drum shaped hammered copper hood was custom made with a specified built-in 1,200cfm ventilation insert to remove any smoke and fumes generated from cooking on this high heat rangetop. A rounded copper farmer’s sink in a matching hammered finish was installed along with a copper bridge faucet, which reflected nicely on the Black Galaxy Granite countertops, which boasts flecks of copper. The cabinetry design incorporated stacked glass cabinets with LED lights to display some glass pieces, pantry cabinets with pull out trays, and large deeper drawers to store pots, pans and small appliances. Their existing desk station was re-configured into a wine and beverage station with cubbies to store mail and letters for convenience. The homeowners were thrilled with the final outcome and enjoy entertaining family, friends and business associates in their long awaited kitchen “Renovision”.

Vintage Barn Scones from Restoration Hardware. Bosch Dishwasher to the right of sink beneath an integrated panel. Built-In Panasonic Microwave from Trail Appliances. Kindred Stainless Steel undermount dual sink with Solna faucet with pull-out spray by Brizo from Wolseley Kitchen & Bath. Butter cream cabinets from Pac Rim Cabinets. Polished bronze cabinets pulls from Lee Valley Hardware. "Nordick Black" granite counter tops from Metro Stone. Martin Knowles Photography

A remodeled retro kitchen mixed with a few original architectural elements of this Spanish home. Highlights here are aqua glazed lava stone counter tops, custom designed hand silk-screened fabrics, and children's art inside the upper cabinet panels. To know more about this makeover, please read the "Houzz Tour" feature article here: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/32975037/list/houzz-tour-midcentury-meets-mediterranean-in-california Bernard Andre photography.

Example of a minimalist open concept kitchen design in Seattle with a single-bowl sink, open cabinets, light wood cabinets, black backsplash, stone slab backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Roll outs beneath the Viking gas cook top, extra drawers, base and tall cabinets, allow for the extra storage the homeowners requested. Photos by Chrissy Racho

David Van Scott Photography
Kitchen - large traditional dark wood floor kitchen idea in Newark with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, granite countertops, beige backsplash and an island

RJK Construction, Inc. and Designs by SKill, LLC This kitchen remodel was dark and cluttered. Although the kitchen was large, storage space was not utilized to it’s full potential. With a few changes to the layout, new cabinetry, appliances, granite countertop, and a bold paint color, this kitchen now reflects the homeowner’s personality and has much more space. New white paint cabinetry surrounds the perimeter of this kitchen, to include the new tall pantry cabinetry around the refrigerator. For contrast and visual interest, the island is a dark glaze over natural cabinetry. Above the island are three pendant lights adding accent and task lighting. A bar sink in the island is convenient for large meals and when there are more than two cooks in the kitchen. The same dark cabinetry is found between the living area and the kitchen. This piece of cabinetry helps to divide the spaces, but adds extra storage. The new countertop is Azul Platino Granite. A monochromatic stone, the granite has many different shades of grey. Coordinating with this granite, the backsplash features white subway tile on a staggered pattern with a grey grout color. For contrast, the walls were painted in a bright blue from Benjamin Moore.

Brian Vanden Brink
Country l-shaped kitchen photo in Portland Maine with a farmhouse sink, shaker cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, subway tile backsplash and white appliances

Door style: Savannah Inset | Species: Paint grade | Finish: Light Mocha The compact laundry room uses the inset Savannah style for a subtle counterpoint. The mellow Light Mocha paint sets a soothing tone. Learn more about the versatile palette of Showplace painted finishes: http://www.showplacewood.com/ProdGuide1/PGantq/PGantq.html

http://www.pickellbuilders.com. Photography by Linda Oyama Bryan. Multi Level White Cabinet Breakfast Island with Ice Blue Countertops. Cherry floors.