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Danish architect Sigurd Larsen needed a new kitchen for his 969-square-foot apartment in the hip Kreuzberg district of Berlin—so he designed his own in collaboration with Reform. Larsen opted for a kitchen in anthracite—as the darker color added contrast to his oak floors and countertops.

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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.

Inspired by the sea and sand, Richard and Jackie Willcocks chose blue and orange joinery colors for their 1,140-square-foot prefab. The modular home is by New South Wales company ArchiBlox.

The colors used in the interior were inspired by the surrounding landscape. The kitchen island is clad in solid timber fluting crafted from durable plantation-grown iroko with with a granite top. “The green-blue-brown color of the granite benchtops very much reminded me of the colors of the water in the nearby harbor of Tutakaka,” says architect Belinda George.

"We added a different finish to every function," explains Otten. "In this way, we tried to suggest that the different parts of the kitchen are dating from different building periods and the construction had been growing continuously."

Colorful striped curtains set against a black background add color and whimsy and were a simple and budget-friendly way to create a major visual impact.

A table top-like breakfast bar designed by Otten is inserted in the wall to divide and connect the spaces.

Simple geometric forms and materials are layered for a clean and impactful effect.

"We always like to do floor-to-ceiling curtains: we feel it's softer and more intentional," says Peake. The light above the island is a Span Linear Pendant from Living Edge.

The kitchen island was handcrafted with 30-millimeter Tasmanian Oak half-round dowels. "The [curved form] became a real feature of the house which was mimicked in details such as the timber island and doorway threshold," explains Peake. The countertop is Carrara marble from Avant Stone.

Terrazzo flooring replaced the existing porcelain tile floor. "The terrazzo floor is about coming up with this lovely texture that wasn’t just polished concrete," explains Carter.

The bright-yellow cabinets are a playful touch in the otherwise neutral-toned space.

The kitchen backsplash comprises custom speckled white Anchor Ceramics tiles. Brodware taps are installed above a stainless-steel countertop and double sink.

A small galley kitchen is built into the larger of the two prefabricated pod volumes.

“The home wasn’t an inexpensive house to build,” says architect Peter Tolkin. “At the same time, it doesn’t have very fancy interior finishing. We wanted to design a modern house with a certain kind of spirit, and we didn’t think that the interior materials needed to be overly fancy. The two places where we really splurged—I think to great effect—were on the tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen, and the copper cladding, which protects the house but also has a very strong visual component to it.”

No whiteware here. In this moody apartment in Berlin, multi-toned charcoal gray subway tiles make up the backsplash, which contrasts with the pop of rosy color on the kitchen cabinets.