Favorites

The new kitchen-and-dining area connects to the living area and the rear yard.

The main kitchen, where Margit, left, is working with her niece Sarah, has a bright blue island that offers a striking contrast to the warm-toned wood and pink floors. “We wanted a color that would transform it into an object that really stands out in the room,” says Thurmann-Moe. “It’s almost like a sapphire.”

Rick outfitted the kitchen with plywood cabinetry, engineered oak flooring, and open shelving.

Mahle also enlarged the opening to the dining room, enabling better sight lines and daylight to pass through the space.

Here, laminate kitchen cabinets are topped with Corian in Glacier White for a fresh and fun color-blocked look.

Make sure your kitchen fits seamlessly with the rest of your home. A good entertaining space should have a look that's consistent with the overall design, so use finishings, colors, and other elements that compliment the rest of the space.

Bierman designed the custom wood and resin kitchen cabinetry with a carpenter.

Surfboards placed above the rafters in the kitchen and living areas serve as artwork.

Tiffany swapped out the dated vinyl for matte white tile from Home Depot on the floor. The backsplash is matte white subway tile from Tilezz, and the plywood cabinets are topped with white quartz counters. The Ready Stacking Barstool from Blu Dot are tucked under the island counter.

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.

The bath and a secondary sleeping area, equipped with bunk beds, are arranged at one end of the open-plan kitchen area.

Vigo Plumbing provided the matte black plumbing fixtures.

This Barcelona apartment features soft round forms and arches throughout. The design move that is also on display in the open kitchen, where a portal window to the bathroom is echoed by a curved marble island and backsplash and a cylindrical Corinthia hood by Faber.

At a renovated home in Pennsylvania, the orange kitchen countertops were swapped for custom concrete countertops. The cabinets were painted Pink Ground by Farrow & Ball and paired with Build.com hardware, giving the kitchen a warm glow, in particular thanks to the natural light coming in from the double exposure of the windows. The kitchen sink and faucet are from Amazon, while the tile is from Lowes.

Ginge’s penchant for the bright red Varenna cabinets the couple splurged on is matched only by her love of animals; rescue pets are de rigueur around the house.

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

Marlatt built the cabinets in place from Russian Birch plywood, and the counters are a thin application of Neolith stone. The backsplash is glass, making for easy clean-up, and a few of the cabinet fronts are painted Masonite, for fun pops of color. The ceramics on the shelves are by Burgevin.