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The kitchen, dining, and living area features simple furnishings and a neutral palette—the views are the focal point in the design.

The architecture of Hood Cliff Retreat defers to the landscape, as evidenced by the cedar planks incorporated into several rooms of the home. Wittman Estes Architecture repurposed beams and siding from the original cabin as countertops and interior cladding. The firm's focus on simple details and a restrained material palette kept the construction budget to a minimum.

The lovely cornflower-blue kitchen cabinets in this Brooklyn, New York, home by Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design were professionally painted.

The simple, efficient kitchen features a stainless-steel counter. From the kitchen, another staircase descends to a basement with a utility room, larder, and TV area.

The updated, modern kitchen has plenty of counter space.

The Allstone Kitchen Collection designed by Joan Lao Design studio.

The shape of the kitchen island "reflects the local iconic beachside concrete kiosk building saved by the community," said the architects.

The contractor installed the walnut trim, shelving, and cabinets sides and backing on site.

"Maintaining sight lines to the outdoors and the adjacent den, we introduced a connectivity that transforms the kitchen into the center of family life,

Guess used inexpensive graded pine plywood so that he would get heavy grain patterns on the surfaces. One of the main goals in the kitchen was simplicity. To that end, he opted for a poured-in-place concrete island. "We didn’t know if we could afford to do that, but we found a great subcontractor [Nate Francis of Countertop Creations] here who had never really built anything like that," Guess says. "Because he was interested in giving it a shot and adding it to his portfolio, he didn’t charge an exorbitant amount of money because it was sort of an experiment for him as well." The kitchen features a GE Profile refrigerator and KitchenAid range, microwave, and dishwasher. The sink and faucet are from Kohler. The project's builder was Joe Doherty with Custom Homecrafters of Austin.

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

Cool blue panels hang along one side of the kitchen wall.

The kitchen joinery is by Barnaby Reynolds.

The expansive skylights are by Rooflight Architectural.

White subway tiles and a large window over the sink brighten the kitchen.

Australian expats Carla and Paul Tucker tasked designer Dan Gayfer with expanding their Melbourne bungalow without adding any square footage. In the kitchen, a soft palette of wood, laminate, and tile created cohesion, impressive considering the clients didn’t see a single finish, color, or material in person prior to their homecoming. The kitchen cabinets were clad in Russian birch plywood, and the countertops were concrete.

By eliminating walls and incorporating a series of interior gardens, architect José Roberto Paredes creates an eclectic and inspired El Salvador beach house. In the kitchen, rough-hewn materials like a eucalyptus-log-and-thatch roof offset the monolithic concrete island and glossy subway tile backsplash. Claudia & Harry Washington built the vivid wooden sliding walls, which are inspired by the palm leaves that change color and create diagonal patterns in trees near the house. The bar stools were a street market discovery.