DESIGN BY MORRIS INTERIORS

It’s needless to say that we are obsessed with kitchen design at our design studio; hence, I am not surprised to see this post turned into our longest one yet. I actually had to restrain myself from not adding more as there’s always more to state about the many design considerations that go into every kitchen, no matter if that kitchen is designed from the ground up or recreated as part of a home renovation.

Without further ado, please read on below. We hope you feel inspired for your project(s) and you can gain value from our examples and design tips. A kitchen remodel is no small feast and we hope to guide our clients through the process with client-centered design service. If you need help with your kitchen or home design (or bathroom design), please complete our contact form and we will get back to you as son as possible.

Design is in the Details and essential for every kitchen remodel

Marble cladded walls

We may see what we want to see but we’re pretty ecstatic over at our interior design studio that more people are embracing the use of marble – and not just on the counters itself but we see lots of cladding, such as this kitchen with its walls entirely cladded in marble slabs.

No upper cabinets weigh down this kitchen but open shelving and the unity of marble makes one completely forget that the ceilings are actually super low in this kitchen.

Design by Mike Moser Studio

Low ceilings can be a common challenge to deal with in kitchen renovations. It may be very expensive or just downright impossible with a second story above. The marble cladding creates movement and visual interest without being obtrusive. Incorporating shelves in the same material as the walls is another way to make the space feel seamless. For some home owners, this might offer not enough kitchen storage but there are always other ways to explore storage. We love clients who will allow us to think outside the box so we can find unique solutions.

We also like to encourage home owners to retain little quirks of the home. It might be old, it might seem without use for the modern home but it might save special characteristics of the home – a gentle, maybe slightly nostalgic reminder that the home once belonged to a different era.

Add Floor-to-Ceiling Cabinet Wall

… or even steel glass doors creating a closet space that can serve as your pantry. This makes for a visually impactful and extremely functional interior design feature in your kitchen.

Adding a floor-to-ceiling wall of cabinets can have great functional advantages over the usual countertop and upper cabinets. It all depends on the overall layout of your kitchen of course and good space planning is essential. We always create 3D drawings for that very reason. It helps us visual our design ideas and we want our clients to be able to be on board with us – to feel confident when everything gets torn apart during the demolition phase of the remodel. Making a home renovation an enjoyable experience is very important to us at our interior design studio.

Check out this design concept we’re currently working on. It also features an open glass pantry with steel doors and is located in Wildwood, a gated community with a private lake in Penn Valley, CA.

Design by Nicole Green

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Kitchen Fireplace

Having a working fireplace in your kitchen may or may not be something on your Dream Kitchen Wish List but we feel it’s definitely something that should be considered. It brings in an obvious warmth to the space along with another realm of cooking possibilities. Just think of all the different ways you could prepare a meal or the recipes you could try if you had a fireplace like this in your kitchen! It’s a beautiful display of taking an old-world concept and giving it a modern design twist.

Design by Elizabeth Roberts Architects

Modern Farmhouse

Despite its large size, this design gives the kitchen cabinet an airy look. We like to break up large cabinet walls with glass for that reason – we don’t want to overwhelm the space with lots of cabinetry. If you don’t want to see the contents of the cabinet, use decorative glass options that don’t allow things to be visible, such as reeded glass. There are many options out there that we can propose to our clients during the interior design phase.

In summary, this is one GRAND kitchen. It’s meant for the entertaining enthusiasts among us. Imagine yourself hosting guests while still being right in the center of it all. Everyone is able to hang out around the large island. It’s an absolute dream kitchen. The materials in this space are beautifully juxtaposed between light and dark, warm and neutral, rustic and modern. With how expansive the space is, it could run the risk of losing some of its personality but the blend of materials is well balanced and functional.

Contemporary Warmth

Ever since this project was first published, It’s stood out to me as a timeless showcase with its arresting beauty and reverence for the Californian landscape. The home was designed by Los Angeles-based architecture firm Walker Workshop; a company that consistently creates modern architectural masterpieces and receives tremendous recognition and admiration – mine included.

The spirit of Mandeville Canyon is in its surroundings – in the rolling hills and live oaks of the California landscape – and add a little ocean breeze to that. The design team brought to pass a ‘modern-rustic’ home composed of simple forms yet added the intrinsic warmth of natural materials, such as travertine, white oak, terracotta, and western red cedar. “The goal was to keep the material palette simple and unadorned while also staying true to the home’s surroundings,” principal architect Noah Walker says.

DESIGN BY JAIMIE BUSH + CO

Architecture by Walker Workshop

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Consider Open Brass Shelves and a Flower Sink

… in your kitchen design or move it into the mudroom or laundry area.

I believe that I have written about flower sinks before; we definitely designed one for our Sierra Oaks Vista Renovation Project in Sacramento.

It’s a beautiful addition to the functionality of your kitchen. It sometimes gives more interest to a connecting hallway – for example between a kitchen and a mudroom or garage. You can also include it in a pantry.

The vintage brass pipe shelves in this project are placed in a well-appointed butler’s pantry over light gray plank cabinets. Marble never disappoints us in any way and we LOVE to use it.

Casement windows like this are a must for any high-end luxury renovation or new construction home as the quality and beautiful proportions are much superior over the less expensive more commonly used alternative: sliding windows.

Design by Amber Lewis

Unexpected Functionality

We’re in love with this gorgeous kitchen that – even though situated in New York’s West Village neighborhood – is reminiscent of San Francisco’s famous Victorian homes. As kitchen designers, it has been our experience that our clients always appreciate more storage. Coming up with smart solutions is a huge part of the interior design process at our interior design studio.

We thrive to incorporate unexpected functionality into the spaces we design. For example, we might suggest adding a bookshelf or an open fireplace. Bringing in these unique elements immediately adds character to a kitchen.

The fireplace is a functional design feature that also helps to keep the kitchen warm during those cold winter months. When considering built-ins that are not kitchen specific, we prefer adding a bookcase over a bookshelf-desk combination. A desk area usually requires more non-useable floor space for the chair and less storage. A desk in the kitchen also invites the accumulation of clutter, and we prefer to avoid the temptation. Lower cabinets and a bookshelf above allow for more storage as well as a space to showcase your favorite dishes and cooking literature.

Burgundy cabinets are trending in popularity in the kitchen design industry. This color can be beautifully paired with a variety of different countertop and backsplash materials. We love how Chused & Co combined high-gloss burgundy colored cabinets with Macaubas Quartzite, giving this kitchen a bold yet timeless appeal. If you’re considering countertop options for your kitchen renovation, this natural stone is highly resistant to scratches, etching, and staining, making it a great choice for kitchen countertops. Quartzite is also heat-resistant, so you can place hot pots and pans on it without worrying about any damage. Plus, the beautiful patterns and colors in this stone make it a popular choice for homeowners who want a unique look in their kitchen. The veining can be similar to marble but quartzite offers a higher resilience to scratches and stains.

Design by Chused & Co

We admire this kitchen design in its entirety. From the detailed moulding to the Chevron floors, one can tell that no detail was overlooked. Thoughtful architectural detailing, along with an emphasis on natural light, extraordinary space planning, and unique design features make this kitchen a timeless masterpiece in its own right.

It’s all about the preparation…

The Corchia Marble countertops and backsplash paired with the Zellige tiled wall and hood create a modern yet timeless design. The marble wall shelf is a great way to add personality to a kitchen but our favorite design feature has to be the integrated marble prep sink.

Prep sinks are often found at the kitchen island but Rob Diaz of Diaz + Alexander Studio shows us a stunning example of how installing a prep sink near the range is just sensible design. Having a sink placed in close proximity to the range creates a great flow when cooking meals. We find this to be more common in Europe but we’d love to see it incorporated into more kitchens here in the States.

For our New York City kitchens, this layout has definitely been always more common – we just incorporate a little more European design sensibility these days. Usually, this means more natural stones like marble and more open shelving.

DESIGN BY Rob Diaz of Diaz + Alexander Studio

A Modern Kitchen and its Brass Cladded Island

This kitchen is stunning blend of clean lines – contemporary and classic. The combination of floor to ceiling white oak cabinetry with the brass cladded island shows us yet again that modern and contemporary design can also exude warmth. The island is the obvious focal point but that doesn’t take away from the rest of the space. The light fixture hanging above the island brings another level of pared down elegance to the space.

Whether you choose to go bold with brass or keep it subtle, incorporating this metal into your kitchen design can add a touch of luxury and sophistication

Design by Oz Architects Inc.

easy-going elegance

Just like all interior design aesthetics, California Casual has its own vibe. It’s warm yet minimalistic. It’s classy but not pretentious.

Replicating this interior design style in your own home can be achieved by selecting a neutral color palette consisting of only a few colors. The goal is to keep visual distractions to a minimum. Practice restraint here. Use mostly natural materials, such as stone and light colored wood species. The rest comes down to simplified architectural detailing and proper lighting design.

Blending white oak cabinets, marble countertops and backslash, with vintage furniture and accent pieces infuses the old with the new. Vintage items are a great way to add texture and character to any space. Remember to keep your selection restrained though or it will start feeling cluttered or lose its California identity.

Design by Clements Design

niches add a sense of practical luxury

We believe that niches are an underrated design feature. They’re a unique way to add function and character to a home and differentiate a custom home from the usual cookie-cutter home.

In the kitchen, we like to position them to the side of the range rather than at the back to avoid reaching over any cooking pots and pans. This is also advisable for purposes of cleaning – it’s much easier to clean the backsplash when it’s a solid surface.

If you’re working with an interior designer, we suggest discussing all functional needs and desires in the very beginning. This is part of our client onboarding and design programming phase.

a different spin on an white kitchen

When designing an all-white kitchen, please don’t just choose any white. The color white has many shades and undertones, so do your research, request lots of samples, and compose all the finish materials before you make your final decision. When working with a professional interior designer, the selection of which exact shade of white shall be used, might actually come last in the design process for a reason.

Are you interested in making your all-white kitchen more interesting and stand out from the crowd? We recommend using a wood interior to upper cabinets to add depth and visual interest to your white kitchen. Remember, that details are always very important but they can become even more important when working with an all-white or neutral interior. Every well-appointed detail will pop, so choose wisely when it comes to your cabinet hardware, lighting, plumbing fixtures, and the appliances. Most appliances can be paneled these days and as such hidden from plain sight but maybe a decorative range might help to make your kitchen extraordinary – see above examples on colorful ranges.

Another point to make about this kitchen design: choosing cabinets with a full overlay is a great way to achieve a modern look while keeping your design budget in check. Just remember the importance of design details, or your kitchen might end up looking contractor-grade level.

Design by Gachot Studios

Wondering where to find our interior design studio? Below you’ll find our office location in Downtown Sacramento and San Francisco.

We mostly serve local areas around our office in Sacramento. This includes Granite Bay, El Dorado Hills, Arden-Arcade, Fair Oaks, and Carmichael. You can see from our portfolio that we also serve clients in the San Francisco Bay Area from our satellite office in Pacific Heights, as well as clients in Los Angeles and Truckee. If your home or project site is located somewhere else in the US, please don’t hesitate to connect – we’re always open to collaborate on inspired interiors in other places.