Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen Cabinets

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Kitchen Backsplashes

Your Corner of Tuscany
It seems wrong to even call results like this a backsplash.

Light Bricks
Notice how the less-common rectangular tiles pick up the shapes of drawers below. The design subtly unifies the cabinets with the world below the counter.

Kitchen Tiles as Design Punctuation
Design is as much about exclamation points as it is about ellipses. Twelve small, red tiles help spread the nostalgic feel powerfully created by the vintage stove.

A Radical Departure
OK, we admit to looking at this photo and thinking about splatters. But after a cleansing breath, we realize this is a radical idea for a backsplash. Not just wood, but horizontal wood.

Nostalgia and Grout
Who needs lithographs? Use your backsplash to frame mood-setting ceramic images.

Directing the Eyes
Add backsplash to the list of roles wainscoting can ably handle. Here, it moves the eye up the same way a stand of self-effacing fir prefers you see the sky.

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kitchen Bar Sinks ideas

Perfect Fit
The Northland entertainment sink from Kohler can fit in with any design, available in a variety of colors and finishes. The 15-inch by 15-inch unit offers self-rimming installation and durable cast iron construction.

Shaped for Success
The Mystic by Elkay, a four-foot-long meandering secondary sink, is perfect for entertaining. The faucet and drain are positioned at opposite ends, allowing the water to flow through. Filled with ice, the stainless steel sink can keep beverages chilled during parties. A new 26-inch version is ideal for a butler's pantry.

Cool Concrete
The Merlot vessel sink from Sonoma Cast Stone is designed to be used above the counter surface. Hand-crafted from all-natural materials, the company's pre-cast concrete VesselSinks are available in both classic concrete, which will patina over time, and the company's Nucrete, which is modified to keep the material looking new and stainless.

Traditional Looks
Blanco's Spex stainless steel, drop-in bar sink measures 15-inch square, making it perfect for use at an island or bar area.

Quiet Time
Teka's Quadro sink is constructed of stainless steel with a hand-polished Euro finish. Sound-deadening panels muffle the clanging of pots and pans. Swivel clips offer an easy installation.

Down the Keyhole
Marvel's Keyhole sink features a large, round bowl ideal for rinsing wine glasses and platters. A deep, recessed drainer provides additional prep space and inhibits water spillage when draining larger items. Accessories include a circular chopping board, a stainless drainer trivet, and a stainless steel garnish bowl.

Modern Style
Elkay's Avado sink's square shape makes it perfect for more modern settings. Made from professional-grade stainless steel, an optional matte finish eliminates fingerprints and smudges for easy maintenance.

Terrific Trough
Featuring a distinctive square shape, Kohler's Undertone trough sink can be seamlessly integrated into any workspace or countertop. For bar-or island-use, the sinks come in four sizes ranging from 22-inches to 60-inches. Ideal for prep and cleanup when entertaining, wire drying racks and storage baskets are included.

Delicate Details
Purple Sage Collections brings nature inside with its Fern sink, which features hand-painted fern fronds in organic green on faux gray stone porcelain. It measures 12 ½-inch square and is 7-inches deep.

Over the Moon
Native Trails Luna sink, the newest addition to their line of hand hammered recycled copper basins, has a distinctive curved shape and dual drain design. The arched form creates prep space in front of the sink, perfect for chopping veggies or mixing cocktails. Both sides can be filled with ice to keep beverages cool and accessible. The basin measures 38-inch by 18-inch, with trough dimensions 6-inch wide and 6-inch deep. Available in Antique or Brushed Nickel finish.

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Kitchen Lighting

The Right Combo

"Contrast is good—it creates drama," says professional lighting designer Rosemarie L. Allaire, IALD. A good lighting scheme can be achieved by layering, which consists of mixing various types of fixtures to create a comfortable space. In this kitchen, task lighting is placed over the sink and prep area, where close work is done regularly. The dining space is illuminated with a decorative candelabra-style fixture, which provides ambient light for meals.

by Kristen Mucci

Time Travel

In this case, the lighting fixture serves as a bridge for assimilating a more modern kitchen with its 1920s roots. An old-time light from that era was placed over the island to provide task lighting.

Ceiling Spotlights

Recessed fixtures are the main source of light for this kitchen. Allaire says her top request from homeowners is for halogen low-voltage recessed downlights. "Most people are fascinated and intrigued with halogen, although it's a technology that has been developed for decades."



Green Scheme

By day, a bank of dual-pane, low e-windows bring in ample natural light while capturing views. Combining windows with an open plan layout lets sunshine be the main light source in this kitchen. When using this much natural light, Allaire recommends maximum UV protection for prevention from interior damage and fading.


Zoning


defined by lighting. Long pencil-like pendant lamps distinguish the island as a functional area, while the candelabra-style fixture over the table sets apart the dining space.

Design Details

Here, the matching fixtures truly add to the décor of the room. Two sconces flank the farmhouse sink accentuating the pale green walls and enabling that area to become the focal point of the room.

Set the Mood

This kitchen's overall vibe is definitely a product of its lighting scheme. Combining natural light—from glass doors, small skylights, and rectangular windows along the backsplash—with subtle undercabinet puck fixtures and interior-lit cabinets, the space is bathed in comfortable ambient illumination. For task lighting, additional fixtures are placed in between the skylights.

Product Options

Undercabinet lighting comes in three forms—strip, puck, and mini-track. Strip fixtures are the most common. The linear shaped bulb offers lots of evenly diffused, shadowless task lighting. Puck, or disc lights, cast pools of light onto counters. The light is softer, which can be more aesthetically pleasing but less beneficial for task purposes. Easy to install, track systems consist of miniature low-voltage halogen or xenon bulbs, which can be spaced according to the desired effect.

Undercover

Discreetly adding to a good kitchen lighting scheme, undercabinet fixtures provide illumination over otherwise shadowy counter surfaces. In this butler's pantry, undercabinet fixtures light the countertop workstation for easier food prep, while illumination inside the cabinets puts attractive glassware on display.

Perfect Pendants

These Craftsman-style pendant lights provide illumination for eating or preparing food at the island, and serve as a design element that evokes the home's early-20th-century roots. A few recessed fixtures add additional task lighting when necessary, and a large window lets in plenty of sunshine.

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Kitchen Cabinet Painting ideas

Crackle

Color changes everything. But color with a little flair can change the style of your cabinets from plain and simple to shabby chic, rustic, provincial, or modern. Here are a few of our favorite faux finishes that can spice up your kitchen's style.This weathered finish comes from a special "crackling glaze" available at paint stores. Apply the glaze over a dry base coat, brushing in only one direction (thick for large cracks and thin for fine cracks). Let it dry, then finish with a flat top coat of the base color, brushed on perpendicular to the glaze. The paint will start to form cracks as it dries, a process that takes about an hour.

Distressed

Whether it's simply worn or truly beat up, this rustic finish is made up of layered colors and spattered dark paint (to mimic fly specks). When the paint is dry, you can "distress" the finish by hitting it with a chain and lightly sanding in the spots where cabinets get the most use to reveal the colors underneath.

Antiqued

This provincial look evokes a slowly aged surface. Speed the aging process by dipping the tips of a paintbrush in a color lighter than the cabinets, dabbing the excess onto a cloth until the brush is almost dry and lightly grazing the surface of detail trim, corners, or seams.

High Gloss

Not only will a high-gloss finish repel dirty fingerprints better than any matte (and it's easier to wipe clean), it will also simulate the look of metal or glass in a modern setting. To shine up your smooth cabinets, paint a high-gloss clear acrylic varnish over your final coat to add depth and effect a glassy finish

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Small Kitchen ideas

Units from Plain English painted in Farrow & Ball eggshell blend traditional elegance with modern clean lines. Cream walls are a backdrop. A traditional-style radiator, modern wood chairs, reclaimed floorboards and a simple blind with a complementary stripe continue the mix of contemporary and classic. A vintage-style ironing board and peg bag from The White Company and floral china add interest.

Shaker-style units blend seamlessly into the neutral decor of this kitchen, and provide plenty of storage and workspace - especially with the breakfast bar. Striped roman blinds complete the look.

Simple streamlined fitted units, white tiles and a light grey worktop help make this small galley kitchen appear bigger. Retro accessories are a fun touch.

At the heart of this traditional kitchen is a Rangemaster cooker, and a sturdy pine island unit from Barratts Garden Centre provides an additional work surface in the compact space. Silk flowers from Elmridge Gardens have been tacked to the ceiling, creating an interesting border.

Cream kitchen cabinets keep this small room light and bright, and accessories are kept to a minimum to avoid a cluttered look. Wooden surfaces and floors have rustic appeal and keep the look warm and inviting. Collapsible chairs are a good idea in small spaces as they can be folded away when not in use.

Turn an antique armoire or wardrobe into a rustic kitchen larder or storage cupboard to bring a heart-warming look to your home. Trim with pretty lace edging or broderie Anglaise in contrasting embroidered designs to add a feminine touch.

This modern kitchen uses glossy white units from MFI, with a contrasting walnut-wood laminate worktop. The light-reflecting Ikea glass table and white chairs make the most of the space available. Oak flooring from Pergo adds warmth and grounds the scheme.

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