Even a beautifully remodeled kitchen sometimes needs to be warmed up and personalized. Interior designer Ken Binder adds warming touches to an already lovely kitchen. A recently remodeled kitchen with rich features including cherry cabinets and a green tin ceiling needs some warming finishing touches. A long, bare-looking ivory backsplash behind the cooking area was replaced with a stainless-steel backsplash in a dramatic fan shape (figure A). The quilted stainless steel, with the feel of a 1930s diner, is practical, easy to maintain and less expensive than you might think. The total cost was less than $400, about the same price as ceramic tile, and without any grout to clean. An important consideration, however, is that a backsplash of this type is no quickie job -- it takes a long time to have made and to install. Conspicuously absent in this kitchen was countertop seating. High-back stools stained grass green, with seats covered in burgundy leather, provide inviting seating (figure B). The colors brighten the kitchen and coordinate nicely with the green tin ceiling and adjoining 1914-patterned wallpaper (figure C), and they're a great place to have breakfast or to keep the cook company at dinnertime. The granite countertops in the kitchen are accessorized with baskets and groupings of kitchen items, handy for this hardworking area. Fruits and vegetables serve as accents too--arranged on the granite countertops, they look as pretty as a still-life painting.
RESOURCES :
Kitchen Planner
Author: Better Homes and Gardens
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Ken Binder, Interior Designer
The Complete Book of Kitchen and Bathroom Renovation
Time Life Books
Website: www.timelife.com
Kitchen: Decorating Ideas & Projects
ISBN: 0696211149
Author: Linda Hallam (ed.)
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The New Kitchen Idea Book
Author: Joanne Kellar Bouknight (Taunton)
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The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com
The Decorated Kitchen: Creative Projects
ISBN: 1564773507
Author: Leslie Beck
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