Kitchen Design

Pictures, information and ideas for kitchen design, remodeling, decorating, budgeting, working with designers, and choosing kitchen appliances, cabinets, ...Browse the blogs for design trends, ask our experts for advice, or share ...Get tips and ideas for designing your kitchen and view pictures of kitchens from the remodeling...Best kitchen design ideas and information that you need to know before you embark on your kitchen remodel.

Romantic Living Room...Romantic Kitchen

romantic kitchen

Romantic Living Room

MIMI READ: Sometimes a piece of furniture has so much presence that it looks best by itself, with nothing but air around it. Is that why you isolated this gorgeous table on the loggia of this guesthouse?

ERIN MARTIN: It's a 17th-century French monastery table made of slate and cast iron—and it took me a year of looking all over the world to find it. It fits so beautifully with the style of the house, the bronze railings, and those handmade tiles. A room with a view like that needs only a lid and a shoe, something to cap it and something to ground it. After I found that great, simple iron chandelier, the space needed only a nice little Manolo Blahnik.

Please pinpoint that extraordinary view.

It's in St. Helena in the Napa Valley of California. You're looking out at rows of lavender, lots of roses, vineyards, meadows, and rolling hills. You feel like you are in the clouds in heaven. You can't see any other houses.

Who's your client?

An amazing woman, very involved in the arts, who adopted two children and had four of her own. They're all grown. She lives alone and wanted a place for her children and grandbabies when they visit. She loves France and wanted it to be a French country-style guesthouse.

You're known for being one of the few young designers who's following in the footsteps of Ron Mann and the late Michael Taylor, the legendary designers who helped create the so-called California look in the 1970s. They used generously overscale furnishings and lots of neutral colors, making for a certain relaxed opulence. You're also known for taking old architectural fragments and converting them into tables, lamps, and other things.

Nowadays you can walk into any house and name every big showroom where they got every single piece of furniture. So we use old things or make our own. I like to be creative and take things out of context. In the living room, there are Italian Renaissance giltwood pillars that were turned into lamps. We took antique Venetian doors and now they fold over to expose the television. We had a lot of fun making the drapes from an old blue theater curtain we bought in Lyons, which is famous for its silk; we joined panels of it with panels of a creamy Great Plains linen from Holly Hunt.

The kitchen is beyond charming. I love that extraordinary decorative painting on the walls and across the ceiling.

Michael Duté, a San Francisco artist, did the painting. The design was completely his idea. He's so talented that I just left him alone and let him paint. He based it on patterns in Swedish classical rococo interiors, but it's also suggestive of blue and white china, which is perfect for a kitchen. He was just going to paint the ceiling, but the client and I loved it so much we suggested he do the walls. It makes the room strongly romantic, and isn't wine country all about romance?

What are those wall tiles?

They're Middle Eastern—Tunisian, probably. I lived in Morocco and Israel, so I'm very inspired by things from that area.

What's your favorite thing about the kitchen?

Decoratively speaking, the room has a lot going on, but it's still very peaceful. There's pattern on the tile, the ceiling, the walls, the drawers, the doors and accoutrements, but with all of that, it still has a very clean, classic feeling. Here's what I think—jeans should be blue, tennis outfits should be white, tuxedos should be black, and kitchens should look clean and classic.

In color and in feeling, the blue and white dining room flows right out of the kitchen. And though your color palette isn't neutrals here, you're exhibiting the California look again—good-sized pieces, but not many of them.

You just don't need that much, especially in a room with that much architecture where the walls are solid stone. I love the simplicity of the old Spanish walnut table. It has history, great patina, great marks and dings. The client found the hutch in France, and had no clue if it would fit, but it's perfect in size and scale. We made the fire screen out of an old French garden gate I bought while I was in Montpelier, France. I had to drag to it back to Napa!

What color and texture are the walls in the master bedroom?

Throughout the house, we used a lot of plaster with integral color and different finishes. It added a ton of character. In this bedroom, it's powder blue, the client's favorite color.

Why did you use a settee at the foot of the bed?

As long as it doesn't mess with the feet of a six-feet six-inch man, I like things at the ends of beds. It makes me feel cozy, protected, and warm. In this case, I thought a settee in sky blue linen would be perfect, because it faces a marvelous view. The view out of that bedroom door will make you believe there's nothing wrong in the world. It's like a piece of art. We call it the kissing lookout.

Who designed the prehistoric pizza oven on the dining terrace? It's so sculptural. I've never seen one remotely like it.

The architect. He based it on ancient rural storage structures that still stand in Provence. To go with the primitive mood, we had designed weathered wood cabinets with ropes for pulls. As for the iron chairs out there, they were made by a man that the client stopped on the freeway because she saw metal furniture in the back of his truck. I like them because they're low, big and you can hang towels on them.

How to Create a Comfortable Home

In our homes the ability to make them feel comfortable and unique is the appeal that draws us home every day. What is it in our homes that make us feel at ease, and gives us the desire to beautify them every chance we get? From the beginning of civilization where humans call home is a mixture of comfortable living environments, decorative touches and optimal climatic conditions. If you are trying to make your home feel more comfortable, or you are brand new to your living space, look at these tips to make your space feel like…home.

Falling in love with your built environment: We often take for granted the color of our walls, the amount of windows we have, and the welcoming wood flooring below our feet. The reality is, there is a reason we enjoy living with soft textures and patterns, rather than four walls of solid gray concrete. In order to feel comfortable your built environment should show a reflection of you and your family’s lifestyle. Bring in colors that remind you of your childhood, or spark an emotion that reminds you of your last vacation! Whatever is your inspiration, bring it into your built environment.

• Feel comfortable with the climate: Whether we think about it or not, the climate in your home can make the difference of how comfortable you and your guests feel. Those who live in extreme conditions of hot or cold, tend to stay uncomfortable and have to adjust the heating or air conditioning in their home. Natural light and fresh air are also factors of comfortability. Homes that have more operable windows to let in fresh air and natural light tend to be more attractive than the contrary. If you tend to stay uncomfortable in your space, see if any of these factors may be the culprit.

Bring in nature: You’ve probably heard this time and time again, but natural elements are the easiest way to make humans feel comfortable. Water in the home is tranquil and meditative. Consider a fountain or even looking at a pool or lake out your window can bring comfort. Natural materials such as wood, natural stone, living plants and natural textiles feel good to the touch and are visually appealing. If you can’t bring in the physical natural elements, bring in the colors that remind you of it. Blues, greens, browns, and neutral colors make for a comfortable environment that very few humans don’t like.

Surround your home in you: Quite simply, find your favorite decorative style and bring in touches of yourself. Whether that means adding a do it yourself project to the wall for personalization or reupholstering your favorite chair from college, find a way to reflect you in every room. Homes that have kids are easy to personalize, with their artwork, and personal belongings, kids naturally bring comfort to a home. If you have an apartment, put up pictures of your home town, or paint a mural of your favorite still life photo. The sky is the limit, comfort starts with you.

A comfortable home is the number one mission of most humans. We want to come home from a day of stress and unwind, play, and relax in comforts of familiarity. From the décor you choose, to the climate you keep, your home can evoke a sense of calmness or excitement. However you choose to live, it is what will keep you comfortable and content in your home. Use these helpful tips to find your comfort zone and to make your home the best it can be.

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Family Room

Family Room

Family Room

Kitchen

Kitchen Final

Master Bath

Master Bath

Master Bedroom

Top New Livng Room

New Living Room

Simplicity of lines and trim harmonized new construction with old. In the new living room, French doors blur the transition between indoors and out, while white cotton slipcovers and a sisal rug create a relaxed atmosphere.

Harvest Dining Room

This 10-foot harvest table was rescued from an old general store; its linoleum surface peeled away to reveal honest wood beneath, which Kevin finished with a light coat of wax. The surrounding chairs are as individual as Kevin's frequent dinner-party guests.

Kitchen

Paneled cabinets painted a sober dark gray (Ralph Lauren's Surrey) lend a pantry ambience to the kitchen area. Classic marble on the counters emphasizes the sleek utility of the stainless steel Viking range.

Renovated Bedroom

Maximize usable space in small rooms, such as designing windows to open outward.

Oversize Bathroom

Kevin created this oversize bathroom by removing a closet and part of the upstairs hallway. He kept the original claw-foot bathtub, adding fixtures and hardware to enable its use as a shower. The door, like most in the house, is salvaged; the differences in style from door to door reinforce the house-with-a-history feel Kevin sought.

Living Room - Interior Design Pictures

Below are sample pictures of interiors of living room, dining room, bedroom and kitchen. The pictures are of new homes or newly renovated or refurnished houses, condominiums and town homes. Hopefully, these pictures will help you get some interior design ideas when renovating, redecorating or building your home.

Kitchen Lighting Design Ideas

Contemporary Modern French Kitchen Lighting Design

Kitchen lighting is an important thing is this French lighting ideas.The biggest aspect in any room....

Kitchen Lighting Ideas on Kitchen Island Design

Kitchen need enough lighting system, because of its function, here are several sample of kitchen lighting ideas. On the first picture, a kitchen with pendant lamp.

Here is the natural lighting for Island kitchen design, look at this kitchen cabinet and lighting system.

Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

What Incredible fantastic house design! Executive living with Elevated superb Ocean View panorama out Kapoho Family Hawaii Lodging and down to Fremantle Kapoho Beach Hawaii. This house design architecture maybe the home dream design by everyone whose want a home with ocean views. Fantastic Tri level family house design with five bedrooms and two bathrooms was superb with ocean views from all levels make this house design just like a paradise. The exclusive features from this house design is Theatre room on top level with balcony to maximize the views, Separate formal sunken lounge and formal dining room, fireplace family room with wood burning stove, large Games Room design, Immaculately maintained reticulated gardens with delightful tiled gazebo summer house, entertainment outdoor area with built in gas connected Barbeque, open plan gourmet kitchen, Below ground pool with gas heated if want to swim all year round. Also this house design has large car garage with double remote controlled garage plus additional parking for two cars. Check out next exterior pictures and interior pictures and you will found how luxurious, incredible and fantastic this house design. –via-

Exterior Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Breakfast corner with ocean view panorama – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

balcony Design with ocean view panorama – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Master bedroom Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Family Bedroom Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Master Bathroom Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Bathroom Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Living Room Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Kitchen Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Stair Design – Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii

Fantastic House design architecture with Ocean View panorama in Kapoho Beach Hawaii Pictures Gallery