Kitchen

Riverwood, Hex, and Midcentury knobs and Greenwood pulls by Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co., from $12 Changing cabinet knobs and drawer pulls is an inexpensive (and noncommittal) way to tap into the warm metallics trend.

In addition to new appliance trends, homeowners and kitchen designers are also looking for design-savvy materials elsewhere in the kitchen. While marble remains a popular choice, concrete is being used more widely as a kitchen accent. This kitchen in El Salvador features a hefty concrete island.

What the original building lacked in period detailing, it made up for with massive interior spaces, natural light, and a hardy palette of wood and raw brick. Working with these loft signatures, David developed the hall’s liveable side, adding under-floor heating, and a gigantic kitchen on the upper floor running the width of the building, with a 37-foot-long solid walnut counter on top of stainless steel cabinets. This unites the dining, cooking and social spaces that run the length of the front façade on the upper floor.

Just because your kitchen is on the smaller side doesn’t mean you can’t make it as efficient and effective as possible.

The large, naturally lit kitchen is the heart of the house. Messmate-clad cupboards and huge expanses of glass dominate the space where Angelucci uses the sink, Gorman works at the kitchen island, and Pepa and Hazel look on. Play in the courtyard between the kitchen and garage is easily supervised and enclosed from the alley behind the house.

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.

The kitchen was originally an awkward alcove facing the main living area. The architects expanded the room and installed a classic modernist ‘service core’ at the kitchen’s center; it features large appliances such as a Sub-Zero fridge and an Asko washer/dryer. This allows easy movement through the kitchen to the adjacent dining room and main hallways.

At a seaside New Zealand house, the simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The bright green cabinetry of the island are a happy pop of color that references the native greenery outside.

Christine (at left), and Amanda (at right) chat with David’s sister Aroha Yates-Smith (center) in the kitchen.

The hanging Iko Iko pendants in the kitchen add a vertical touch to a space and help frame the views outside.

Local wood, contrasted with steel and concrete elements, comprise the home's modern palette. The light fixture is by German designer Ingo Maurer; the dining room table and chairs are from Crate & Barrel.

The pendant lamp is a vintage find.

Porcelain floor tile from Daltile is a durable, easy-to-clean substitute for wood. The family does laundry in an efficient Summit SPWD1800 washer-dryer combination unit. Miller saved money in the kitchen by using a reclaimed sink and faucet and drawer pulls from Ikea.

This kitchen in Austin, Texas, was designed by Royce Flournoy and expertly combines black, Shaker-style cabinets, white subway tiles, Carrera marble countertops, and wooden floors to create a balance between rustic warmth and industrial simplicity.

At a home about half an hour from Lake Tahoe, architect Jack Hawkins and interior designer Cheryl Chenault built a house that would support their clients’ unique requirements in a home that would be 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. In the kitchen, two islands, one in the shape of an L and the other a smaller rectangular island, are layered table over one portion create generous space to spread out. Norman Cherner barstools from Design Within Reach line the island in the kitchen, which is crowned by an open loft office. The faucets are from Dornbracht; the countertops are Caesarstone. Hawkins integrated a steel-clad casual eating nook, at left.

the reflectivity of the brass kitchen island makes it seem to dematerialize.

Geometric patterns and shapes appear throughout the homes interior. Photo by Andrew Wuttke.

Pros: Laminate is at the low end of the price range for countertops, is scratch- and stain-resistant, and comes in a tremendous range of colors. It’s also easy to install, making it a viable DIY option for the handy crowd. Cons: Because laminate countertops are created by layering pieces of plywood and plastic, edges can chip off easily, and the surface can even melt if too much heat is applied directly.