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Now, the family can hang out at the breakfast bar, on Domino Bar Stools from Industry West or at the nearby dining room table, while the cook works. The gold pendant lights are Nuura’s Anoli 1 pendant, sourced from the Finnish Design Shop.

"Anthony and Sherry love to entertain, so they wanted something that felt a little more austere from the street and then became warm and cozy on the interio,” says architect Eric Hughes.

Making the decision to buy a home is never easy; it’s hard to know what life will look like five or ten years down the line. But on the bright side, buying a home is exciting. The responsibility can be invigorating.

Don’t skip over the layout. “The most overlooked thing in kitchen design would be space design/planning,” says Curtis Popp of Popp Littrell Architecture. “No amount of expensive materials can compensate for a lack of foresight.”

Hill Country Wine Cave

In the kitchen, a sliding glass door provides direct access to a large adjacent terrace.

In the kitchen, the couple found barely used appliances instead of new ones to save money. The cabinetry and butcher block counters are from Ikea.

Alessia’s favorite detail? “I am not a huge fan of handles, so there are only three cuts [in the cabinetry] which lets you open six doors.”

Síol Studios renovated a 1920s Spanish Colonial-style home as an L.A. getaway for a creative couple. The designers prioritized keeping the original charm of the home while updating it to accommodate an indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Each element in the home is a statement piece, particularly the custom-designed curving pink banquette. Upholstered in a durable outdoor-grade fabric, the seat is not only beautiful, but resilient against spills and wet swimsuits.

Reimagined by architect Lisa Breeze, this compact semidetached brick home in Melbourne was built by the client's granduncle in the 1940s and passed down through generations. While the kitchen was updated to fit a modern lifestyle, the pastel color, gentle curves, and preserved Bakelite handles are a nod to the original era.

Kitchen cabinets

Two complementary lighting fixtures from New Hampshire Antiques co-op hang in the kitchen. "One of my good friends from college was getting married in New Hampshire, and he mentioned an antique store down the street. We probably spent three hours in there,

The kitchen features its original built-in clock; a Michael Graves Alessi kettle stands on the range.

Beneath the postcard-like backdrop of La Concha mountain, a previously abandoned Spanish villa received a modernist revamp for a couple and their young child. Natural, earthy interiors connect the living spaces to the lush surroundings, with the light-filled kitchen opening directly onto an outdoor pergola and pool.

The expanded kitchen has a large central island, with room for prep, seating, storage, and cooking. The cabinetry is a mix of wood, Shinnoki Milk Oak, and white fronts, Fenix NTM Bianco Kos. The terrazzo counters are by Concrete Collaborative. There are two types of tiles: the Mutina Rombini fluted tile on the island and Cepac Krave Sugar Tiles on the backsplash. “It looks very mid-century modern,” says Blaine of the backsplash tile. “But in this application, it also adds that little touch of depth that I think is really important to making the house feel interesting.” The counter stools are from Hay.