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Our Most Beautiful Kitchens
Find loads of inspiration and practical ideas from some of our favorite kitchens
Written and produced by Debra Steilen and Rebecca Christian
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Uncommonly Pretty Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of your home. Whether your style is sophisticated or rustic—or your color preference is for earthy neutrals, cheery brights, or gleaming white—you’ll find not only loads of inspiration but also practical ideas here from some of our favorite kitchens.
Why We Love It
Lovely light fixtures, generous applications of tile and marble, and a pleasing blue, white and silver palette make this kitchen an inviting place to cook, relax, or converse.Kitchen design: Julia Kleyman
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Great Palette
Why We Love It
Dramatic hanging lights illuminate the kitchen island with its pretty chairs. A heavy-gauge raffia on the walls adds textural interest. Accents in royal blue add color and pattern.Kitchen design: Suellen Gregory
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Timeless Style
Why We Love It
A warm copper hood and captain’s chairs add timeless style to this kitchen, contrasting nicely with the ivory and bisque cabinets and island.Kitchen design: Robert Elfers, Ulrich Inc.
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Debonair Kitchen
Why We Love It
In the kitchen of this Chicago penthouse, the breakfast area is subtle and muted, letting the city view command attention. The handsome bar is crafted from ebony walnut.Kitchen design: Doug Atherley, Kinari Design
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Kitchen With A Confident Air
Why We Love It
This kitchen has a self-assured look. A stainless steel pharmacist’s cabinet fashioned into an island is topped with honed blue limestone. Cabinets and trim painted a deep charcoal contrast with the marble countertops and backsplash.Kitchen design: Lili O’Brien
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Welcoming Kitchen
Why We Love It
Everything about this kitchen says welcome, from the shelves for cookbooks to the lovely tile to the roaring fire.Kitchen design: Sandy Kline
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Kitchen With Beautiful Details
Why We Love It
It’s all in the details for this kitchen, highlighted with a beautiful hutch, handsome handles on the stove, and an island topped with marble.Kitchen design: Jim Dove, Canterbury Design
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Glamorous Kitchen
Why We Love It
In this glamorous kitchen, the double refrigerator with bottom freezers has mirror-and-wood panel fronts for furniture styling. Windows on each side of the range and transoms above the hood invite sunlight.Kitchen design: Mick De Giulio
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Folk Art Style
Why We Love It
Because folk art finds peek from the corners of this crisp white kitchen in a summer home on Nantucket. Glass shelving on the bottom of the island and the light fixtures reminiscent of ship lights add vintage charm. See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen design: Jane Forman
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Folk Art Style
Why We Love It
Because collections always add character to a home, we love the painted hutch that houses the homeowner’s collection of mochaware.Kitchen design: Jane Forman
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Soaring Ceiling
Why We Love It
Because a barrel-arched glass ceiling enclosed in a finished attic space gives this kitchen its heavenly look. And we’re smitten with the black, brass-trimmed La Cornue range. See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen design: Joan Nemirow
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Soaring Ceiling
Why We Love It
Because the handsome custom-built hutch, including the wall-hung shelves above it, supplies everything the family—and their dog—need for breakfast. Two built-in refrigerator drawers from U-Line can also be used as freezer drawers for ice when the the family entertains.Kitchen design: Joan Nemirow
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A Few of Our Favorite Things
Why We Love It
Because burnished copper brightened with shimmering surfaces allows the owners of this kitchen to entertain large groups, accommodate caterers, and have a place for the family to gather comfortably. See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen design: Regina Bilotta
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Outfitted for Entertaining
Why We Love It
Because the kitchen and pantry are outfitted for entertaining with Electrolux ranges, two warming drawers, and a glass-front wine cooler. The 42-inch-wide side-by-side refrigerator was custom trimmed with stainless steel for added impact. Stainless steel reflects light and brightens the space.Kitchen design: Regina Bilotta
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British-Inspired Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because from porch posts to iron brackets, salvaged and reused materials give this kitchen personality plus. Vintage church light fixtures and hand-forged iron straps were combined to make a distinctive and functional pot rack and light source.Kitchen design: John K. George
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A Table That Can Sit a Crowd
Why We Love It
Because wood floors laid in a herringbone pattern and beamed ceilings give this kitchen a lovely sense of age. The table is slightly more than six feet long; antique French chairs are upholstered in white vinyl for easy cleanup. See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen design: Lori Tippins
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A Table That Can Sit a Crowd
Why We Love It
Because of the beautiful antique breakfront that the floor plan and kitchen cabinets were designed around. You can never go wrong decorating with what you love!Kitchen design: Lori Tippins
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Ornate Island
Why We Love It
Because the island makes an ideal spot for company cocktails. It is topped with a thick slab top of Arctic Cream granite, finished with double-rolled edges. Two oak corbels with burl inlays support each of the four corners. Notice the mix of painted and natural finishes. See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen design: Rosalia M. Kallivokas
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Ornate Island
Why We Love It
Because we love the idea of parking a large table in the center of the kitchen for use as a portable island. The Roman shades and chandelier convey a sense of formality.Kitchen design: Rosalia M. Kallivokas
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Wonderfully Warm Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because of its beamed and barrel-arched ceiling. This handsome kitchen opens to a great room and an adjoining breakfast room. The French country architecture of the house plus the size and scale of the rooms dictated color choices of orange-reds, golds, and muddied greens to add warmth and comfort. See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen design: John Phifer Marrs
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Wonderfully Warm Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because large-scale furnishings and blocky granite-topped cabinets provide needed visual weight to the rooms, and are in keeping with the French country look of the house. A two-level island allows for seating at one end, so guests and family members can chat with the cook. The raised island also shields the great room’s views of dirty dishes.Kitchen design: John Phifer Marrs
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Uncommon Elegance
Why We Love It
Because it makes durability look elegant. The kitchen of this five cat and one Great Dane has vinyl on the stools and stone rather than wood on the floor. The pendant lights and ceiling heights reflect the style of the 1920s Georgian-style home in which this kitchen is a natural gathering spot. . See the next slide for another view of this kitchen.Kitchen Design: Dee Dee Taylor Eustace
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Uncommon Elegance
Why We Love It
Because of the efficiency of its plan: The homeowner can tune into the Food Network when she’s in the kitchen, on a flat panel TV built in above the desk. It’s easily viewed but protected from splashes and spills. The desk makes a good landing spot for mail, too.Kitchen Design: Dee Dee Taylor Eustace
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European-Style Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because we're gaga over the French La Cornue range with its matching black hood and cabinets trimmed in silver. That ceiling-high backsplash of classic white subway tiles and silver nickel countertops make the whole room feel like an old Parisian kitchen. See next slide for another view of this kitchen.
Kitchen design: Kathy Manzella -
European-Style Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because the limestone floor and the island's stone countertops make it feel like this kitchen has been around forever. Plus, we love the transparency of the open shelves flanking the vent hood and the contrast between the stools' luscious tan upholstery against the cool gray island.
Kitchen design: Kathy Manzella -
Timeless Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because they created a custom hutch with leaded-glass doors inspired by old salvaged windows. And they designed the rest of the space to keep up the façade of age. Buttermilk-colored cabinets sport furniture-style details, pewter-finish cup pulls, and a brushed gray glaze. Glossy subway tiles line the range wall, where stainless-steel appliances (along with the TV in the island) reveal the room's utterly modern functionality.
Design: Susan Geier and Michael Ranson -
Burnished Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because copper takes center stage in a room whose glowing walls were inspired by the three antique ship lights hanging above the marble-topped island. A decorative painter layered custom-mixed gold-toned paints on the walls, then combed the damp paint to create a subtle crosshatch pattern. White woodwork, cabinetry, and backsplash tiles provide classically neutral good looks.
Architectural Design: Louise Brooks -
Stately Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because of jet-black-painted kitchen cabinets that look like they came straight out of a library. Weathered nickel hardware and champagne-silver painted accents on the cabinets give the room a touch of glitz. Other details are simple, but gorgeous. Slabs of richly veined Calcutta marble cover the backsplashes, the 12-foot-long island, and the perimeter countertops. The rich brown flooring is Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) with a custom stain.
Design: Carrie Hayden -
Elegant Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because the sophisticated cabinets look like fine furniture. The elegant refrigerator cabinet is character butternut with a burnished bronze finish, while the island is crafted from hand-scraped walnut with a granite countertop. Warm white accents make a creamy backdrop for all of the rich wood tones throughout the space. Bar stools with cream-colored backs and seats offer comfortable perches for homework or casual dining. See next slide for another view of the kitchen.
Interior Design: Kara Mann -
Elegant Breakfast Area
Why We Love It
Because the stately stone pedestal base of the breakfast table balances the potentially overwhelming impact of all the dark wood. And the graceful Chippendale arm chairs and iron chandelier from Holly Hunt offer sensuous curves in the midst of those hard edges.
Interior Design: Kara Mann -
Light-Filled Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because it's so clear that the enormous island is the kitchen's nerve center. And the vaulted ceiling and gargantuan chimney hood take our breath away. Plus, the maple cabinets, concrete countertops, and stainless-steel appliances command attention without detracting from the lush landscape outside the wall of windows.
Design: Melinda Douglas -
Glamorous Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because the sexy lipstick-red Molteni Cooking podium shouts that this kitchen is for passionate cooks. Plus, the 8-foot-long island is accessible from all sides, encouraging cooking and conversation with its induction burner, grill, prep sink, and refrigerated sink. Romance also thrives in the satin-brass embossed ceiling panels, the incredibly intricate mosaic floor, and the 11-foot-high walnut cabinets finished in chocolate.
Design: Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams -
Kitchen Getaway
Why We Love It
Because this kitchen makes us feel like we're kicking back at the beach. Suited for ultra-casual entertaining, the space reflects colors and textures that are inspired by sand, seashells, driftwood, and other soothing natural elements. The mix of cabinet colors, glass doors with simple X-mullions, and open shelving personalizes the space with a handcrafted quality. A solid maple floor with a Pewter finish is both scratch-resistant and easy to clean.
Design: Robert Young and Janice Pattee -
Kitchen in Concrete
Why We Love It
Because this kitchen doesn't take itself too seriously. A rugged marble-topped island with old wood legs comfortably shares space with modern stainless-steel cabinets and appliances. The range hood is made from a plasterlike material that was finished to look like concrete (but without the corresponding weight). The floor is natural concrete finished with a beeswax derivative.
Design: Marcia Bond -
Lavish Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because glossy lava-stone countertops, stainless-steel appliances, and stained walnut cabinetry create a rich interplay of textures. We love looking up at the plaster-relief medallions and deep crown moldings that add detail to the ceiling. And we love looking down at the magnificent "rug" on the floor that's actually an ornate tile mosaic. See next slide for another view of this kitchen.
Design: Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams -
Lavish Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because the rich, dark-stained walnut cabinets contrast so beautifully with multi-tone walls that give the appearance of quarried blocks. And we admire the mirrored doors in a central shelving unit because they look like muntined glass, but actually conceal a dumbwaiter and stairs to the basement.
Design: Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams -
Rustic Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because of its surprising mix of materials. An antique French butcher-block table serves as an island. Ann Sacks tiles set on the diagonal create a stunning backdrop for a massive range hood accessorized with a cow. Reclaimed hickory floors are accented with colorful antique rugs. And an upside-down meat rack-turned-pot rack dangles antique copper utensils from the soaring ceiling.
Design: Judith Nadler Ellerman -
Edwardian Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because it looks like it was assembled out of a collection of fine furniture over time. Cabinets were custom-finished using colors and finishes reminiscent of the Edwardian Age. Premium natural materials such as marble, pewter, and oiled wood were added to the mix. And the massive pot rack hovering over the island is an architectural marvel.
Design: Shelley Gordon -
Eco-Friendly Kitchen
Why We Love It
Because it's beautiful and green at the same time. Custom cabinets are built with certified sustainable lumber. Like the cabinets, the island is painted with low-VOC paint; its Aegean Sea blue hue reflects the homeowner's Greek heritage. Although the island's lustrous soapstone countertop had to be shipped from overseas, that choice was offset by using locally sourced white Danby marble for a countertop and backsplash. The floor's wide pine planks come from managed forests.
Design: Patricia Gaylor -
