One way to warm up the popular cool gray and white kitchen palette is to add a warm brass accent. For the past few years, I’ve seen brass looking very fresh in the kitchen. Its as if designers turned to brass after tiring of the pale look of nickel and chrome for faucets and kitchen hardware. Seeking an alternative to the dour look of oil-rubbed bronze, the golden pop of brass … [Read more...]
Red Backsplash Kitchen
This red backsplash uses glass mosaic tile between cabinets like paint -- from counters to ceiling. It’s rare to find the color red is used in a bold way to create a visual theme for a contemporary kitchen with no red cabinets. But the red backsplash in this Swedish apartment kitchen shows us how to do it impeccably. Essentially, this is a contemporary white L-shape kitchen, … [Read more...]
Two Tables Kitchen
A dreamy modern kitchen -- black and white, unfitted -- also has two tables for dining + a fireplace. Let’s talk understated luxury -- meaning simple surfaces beautifully used in a kitchen with two tables as a dining option. Few designers do that better than Kate Hume. Based in Amsterdam, Hume uses her own line of modern furniture inspired by the mid-century French style of … [Read more...]
7 Kitchen Upgrades that Work
Key kitchen upgrades in our apartment and the difference each one made. In the summer of 2009 we made some kitchen upgrades. Our apartment kitchen is small (14’ x 8’) and our building was built in 1924, so the walls are lath and plaster. Nothing had been changed since 1986 when Mr. AM moved in and installed new appliances. The previous tenant had combined the kitchen and … [Read more...]
Newlywed Ikea Penthouse
Tour this $3.545 million penthouse furnished for newlyweds completely from Ikea High wedding season is reason enough for a show house dubbed “Newlywed Nest,” sponsored by Bride’s magazine and designed by top New York residential designer, Inson Dubois Wood, using furniture and lighting exclusively from Ikea. The 2,000-square-foot interior space is essentially a two bedroom … [Read more...]
Ancient House, Modern Kitchen
A modern kitchen befitting a two-hundred-year-old stone house on a Greek island. The Campanula House, on the Ionian island of Corfu, shows how a skillful design successfully marries a modern kitchen to a rustic interior. This is one of 12 restored houses on the Rou Estate, a high-end property in Greece that touts outdoor terraces from which you can see Albania. Kitchens in … [Read more...]
My Old New Kitchen
Our twelve-week apartment face lift is finished and the new kitchen is complete. I love it! The contractors have left and my new kitchen is ready. The 110 packing boxes plus assorted furniture came back to freshly plastered and painted walls, well-lit rooms, and a budget-remodel that gave us a more comfortable apartment with a new color palette, additional closets and better … [Read more...]