Selecting a Favorite
Designing a kitchen can be an overwhelming process for even the most seasoned of home experts. Unlike other rooms in the house, which have essentially four walls, a ceiling, and a floor, the kitchen has cabinets, appliances, countertops, sinks, and many other elements.

To find a worthy project, we looked to Cyndy Cantley, a certified kitchen designer in Birmingham, who is known for her realistic approach. "A kitchen is a place to prepare food, but more than that, it is a place where people want to remain after the meal is done. Kitchens really are the living room of the home today," she says.

Cyndy showed us snapshots of her projects, and one jumped right out. It features traditional and contemporary elements, stained and painted cabinets, a great mix of materials, and savvy storage ideas--all to wonderful effect. Here's how Cyndy worked with homeowners Ginger and Charles Clark to create their winning kitchen.

Time To Build
When the Clarks purchased their home in 1998, they knew they would redo the kitchen. But before making quick fixes and potential mistakes, they decided to live in the house awhile. Then, about nine months after moving in, they tackled the kitchen renovation.

Like many other homes in the neighborhood, their house had been built in the 1920s, when kitchens were often small and uninviting utility spaces. Ginger, a fantastic cook, wanted more room and better appliances. "The kitchen wasn't my style," she says. "It was a galley. It had been updated in the wrong ways. For one, the lighting was horrible, creating lots of shadows."

The first idea called for adding 11 feet to the back of the house, but as they began getting bids, the Clarks became discouraged at the expense. They turned to Cyndy for advice. "She suggested taking three small existing rooms and combining them into one kitchen," remembers Ginger. "I thought they had a nice space to work with inside the old house, and removing a wall or two is so much easier than adding on to the house," Cyndy adds.