Kitchen

If you decide to mix finishes, Dublin advises choosing one finish for a statement element—such as the pendants over the kitchen island—and a contrasting finish for smaller elements, such as cabinet hardware, shelving, or rail systems. Here, Ormandy pendants and Blair faucet are in aged brass, which contrasts with the oil-rubbed bronze of the cabinet hardware, shelving, and pot rack.

If you don't like handles sticking out from your cabinet doors, then one quirky and clever idea is to have a hole drilled near the top of the cabinet door, so you can stick you finger in it and pull the door open. These orange-painted MDF cabinets in a New Zealand beach house is an example of how this idea works brilliantly in cheery, low- kitchen.

This 40 year-old mahogany-paneled Poggenpohl kitchen system was salvaged in a quirky 70s London home. Poggenpohl is the world’s oldest kitchen brand, and this model comes with pocket doors that slide up to reveal drink ware shelves.

Mixing materials and finishings can add visual and tactile variety to your kitchen. Architect Janet Bloomberg combined a dark concrete counter with candy-colored kitchen cabinets and particleboard walls to create a cool mid-century style look.

In this Palm Springs duplex, for cabinet doors, the architect owner designed aqua blue plywood sliders that park at specific positions, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Contractor Franklin Pineda custom-built these cabinets using Baltic birch plywood from Anderson Plywood.

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