Kitchen Makeovers

Give instant visual interest to your kitchen by mixing and matching multiple materials and textures. In this kitchen, cream-colored custom kitchen cabinets lighten the space and add contrast to the steel stove. The island is made of repurposed cypress wood.

To indulge the splurge on marble countertops, these homeowners saved elsewhere by keeping the original room layout and plumbing as is. Off-the-shelf cabinets and inexpensive tile also helped cut costs.

Free up cabinet space, and create a clever spot for collectibles, with above-window shelving. This kitchen gets additional warmth from cherry counters, an antique island, gingham-check wallpaper, and an apron sink.

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Honed black granite countertops and black-painted oak cabinets offer a dramatic counterpoint to this kitchen's white plank walls. Plumbing-pipe fittings make for unexpected wall art.

Cabinets from the 1930s get an easy update with the addition of beadboard doors plus new, modern knobs and pulls.

Instead of claustrophobia-inducing wall-to-wall cabinetry, this kitchen has two open upper storage units, including this plate rack. The lower cabinets, with solid doors, offer hidden storage.

New appliances make a huge difference. This kitchen is home to some big splurges: a large industrial stove, and marble and steel countertops.

A custom island, topped with sheet metal, echoes this home's barnwood beams. Why stop at the usual overheads? Additional sconces make any countertop an enlightened spot for prep work.

Unify everything with white paint. Ditch laminate countertops for affordable oak. A silver-plated tray strikes a luxe note and serves as a spot for holding recipes: Just add magnets!

Antique milk-glass pendant lamps illuminate the kitchen, which sports custom cabinetry. Give a kitchen living-room elegance with a wall of framed—even lighted!—art.