Colorful Kitchens

Bored with your pure white kitchen? Try adding a dose of light — or bright — color to liven up your favorite room.

Traditional Decor , Fantastic Vent Hoods

Vent hoods are vital with today's high-powered ranges and cooktops, pulling hot air and odors out of your kitchen. They also can play a major style role, serving as a room's stunning focal point or defining a cooking zone.

Basically a ventilation system uses a powerful fan to deliver hot air, moisture, odors, and carbon monoxide to the outdoors via a duct, making your kitchen a safer and more pleasant place to be. Most systems have removable filters that catch grease and particles that could build up in a duct system and lead to fires. A hood should be at least the same width as your cooking surface, according to the Home Ventilating Institute, and mounted 18 to 30 inches above the burners.

Now that you know practical fan basics, take a look at some custom and semicustom hood designs that are simply fantastic.

Traditional Decor , Green design can be beautiful

Traditional Decor Green design can be beautiful, and designers Vasi Ypsilanti and Margreet Cevasco proved the point when they chose earth-friendly products for a showhouse in Long Island, New York. "You don't have to compromise on quality and good design because a product is green," Vasi says. Even if only a handful of products in a building project are from sustainable sources that's a start, she adds. "If 70 percent of the products are green, what a difference that makes in how you live and in what manufacturers produce." Vasi and Margreet designed the kitchen, a wine room, and a breakfast room in a designer showhouse at Caumsett State Historic Park in Long Island.

Kitchen Designed for Comfort

Bridgehampton builder George Gavalas laid the groundwork, constructing a new house with a spacious rectangular kitchen rich in architectural details. His white wood cabinets with recessed panel doors are accented by pilasters, carved corbels, a plate rack, and a glass-fronted china cabinet. Carrara marble perimeter countertops and a marble mosaic backsplash are sophisticated, while bin-style pulls and a beadboard ceiling keep the mood informal. The white cabinets and marble are warmed by the toast-colored Australian cypress floor and a dark mahogany countertop on the large center island.

Gavalas designed the kitchen so traffic flows easily around the island, and a dining area at one end of the room makes it ideal for entertaining. Two sinks and ample work surfaces accommodate multiple cooks and others who just like to hang out.




To create an inviting eating area, Denyse brought in a large wood table--inspired by an English antique--that can extend to seat 12 people. The table also works as a serving area for buffets or as a place for children to do homework, she says.

Comfort was the mantra for seating, with a pair of upholstered wing chairs bookending the table. "The armchairs give the kitchen more of a family-room feeling," Denyse says. A Swedish country settee backing up to a large window is softened with colorful blue and pink pillows ("colors the vibrant skies of the Hamptons are known for"). Antique wicker chairs across from the bench are casually slipcovered in a cozy plaid fabric.

A reproduction of an antique chandelier hangs above the table, and a striped cotton area rug provides warmth and softness underfoot while helping to define the dining area.




The lure of a kitchen is undeniable. No matter the occasion or time of day--from tempting aromas of coffee in the morning to fresh-baked bruschetta before a dinner party--it's the room that seems to have a magnetic pull. And while attracting people may be no problem, interior designer Denyse Rinfret prefers to create kitchens where people will linger. That motivation drove her interior design for the Hampton Designer Showhouse in Bridgehampton, New York. "I wanted a kitchen where people would gather and stay, not just a place to grab a bite and leave," says the Manhasset, New York, designer. "I like the kitchen to be a communal room where people sit with family and friends to eat, converse, read, or just relax."




A decorative plate rack, pilasters flanking the farmhouse sink, brushed nickel fixtures, and marble tops and mosaic backsplash give the new kitchen vintage character.

IKEA Kitchen Design Ideas Modern 2011

The IKEA kitchen design is not only ideal for big space, but it will work for small space too. These IKEA kitchen remodeling ideas 2011 allows you to move comfortably letting the children play around the kitchen since the space provided is large enough. The finishes come in various materials and colors that will make your kitchen look more stylish. Just visit IKEA online to enjoy 2011 IKEA Kitchen Design Ideas.

My new kitchen design

My new red kitchen designed by Kabnoury