• Balance sleek, contemporary appliances with stained or painted wood on walls and ceiling. Apply wallpaper between ceiling beams for additional color and pattern.
• Find an antique table or old base cabinet to use in place of a traditional island.
• Avoid filling your kitchen with too many rows of matching cabinets. Leave one wall free of cabinetwork, then add an antique cupboard or hutch.
• Support simple, open shelves with chunky brackets cut from thick wood. Use them to display handsome serving pieces or dishes.
• Add depth to wooden cabinets by using glass inserts on door panels. Flank the stove with base cabinets containing deep drawers for storage of large pots and pans.

Home for the Chef
New space at the rear of the house provides the ideal location for the handsome kitchen. Because of its large, open doorway and proximity to the living room, the kitchen reflects the style of adjoining areas. For example, the breakfast table is visible from the front door, so it wears a rather formal skirt fashioned from coordinating fabrics.

A creamy yellow finish on the cabinets and open shelving establish a cozy, cottage look. Solid-surface countertops add a similar mellow color. Glistening white tile provides a durable surface behind the stove.

• Position a study or library adjacent to the master bedroom to serve as a comfortable sitting area.
• Use fabric and color to give visual continuity to adjacent bedrooms, baths, and companion spaces.
• Give your bath the look of a luxurious dressing room by fitting each door with a glass panel and then backing it with decorative fabric.
• Use neutral-colored floor tiles in small geometric shapes to underscore a vintage look.
• Utilize small pieces of wooden furniture for bath storage with style.