Kitchens
September 29, 2016
30 Of House & Home’s Best-Ever Kitchens
What makes a great kitchen? We asked design editors and readers to choose their favorite kitchens from the House & Home archives. Here, we’ve gathered the top picks, including a range of styles from modern to traditional, bistro, country, European and more. Vote for your favorite below!
This kitchen designed by Lynda Reeves for the 2011 Princess Margaret Showhome has so many standout features — barn-style pendant lights, Noce Travertine flooring, a custom-made range hood — but it’s the mustard cabinetry that makes it so memorable.
In the kitchen of food photographer and blogger Nikole Herriott of Herriott Grace, open shelves and cupboards keep her eye-catching collection of kitchenwares on display, while a vintage French faucet adds a dose of patina.
Knotted wood barn doors bring a cottagey feel to this traditional kitchen, while black hardware offers a modern edge. Serving as an entrance to the family’s pantry, it suggests the idea that even utilitarian features can make style statements of their own.
In Hudson’s Bay vice-chairman Bonnie Brooks’s kitchen, a striking bench-style table stands in for a traditional kitchen island.
A monolithic marble island brings a sculptural feel to the Scandi-style space, while rustic pieces, like wood stools with tractor-style seats and pendants with jute-clad cords, offset the sleek finishes.
Classic country cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke (47) function as furniture, while a brass farmhouse sink and beadboard panelling bring plenty of charm.
Light-filled windows, olive trees and a fireplace oven bring the best of the Italian countryside indoors. Ceiling-height subway tiles and brass hardware offer a contemporary feel.
Stacey stayed away from trends and instead opted to keep the kitchen as simple as possible, with white walls, counters and cabinets — the perfect recipe for a timeless kitchen.
This kitchen designed by Tommy Smythe riffs on period kichens, but is completely contemporary. Graphic Escher-style tile floor, a handsome black island, and a cherry-red lantern light fixture combine to create a standout space.
Inspired by the villas and chateaux of the Italian and French countrysides, this kitchen is full of the charm and character typical of old-world kitchens across the globe.
Steel-framed french doors let incredible natural light into this small kitchen, while a Saarinen table and Thonet chairs lend a chic bistro note.
Designers Suzanne Dimma and Sarah Hartill created this kitchen for the Ikea booth at Toronto’s 2015 Interior Design Show. With white nowhere in sight (except for the ceiling), the kitchen’s moody palette proves color has a place in the kitchen.
From the blonde wood herringbone floors to the dark-painted cabinets, everything about this British kitchen is a master class in building character and charm.
See more of this kitchen in our October 2016 issue.
Designer Samantha Sacks nails the mix of modern and vintage to a T in this Toronto Victorian kitchen. Light Calacatta marble lightens up the warm walnut cabinetry, while a brass light fixture hovers over the island with pride of place.
James Davie didn’t play it safe in his extraordinary kitchen. From the blue and rust cement floor tiles to the professional French range and caged light fixture, there’s not one feature that doesn’t scream “wow.”
In the kitchen of this 100-year-old Montreal home, a 600-pound Diva de Provence range is the focal point. Its dark color contrasts the surrounding creamy cabinetry, while the brass knobs on both offer a cohesive feel.
This modern, exotic kitchen packs a graphic punch, with Acapulco-style bar stools and a patterned backsplash that mimics the look of on-trend cement tiles.
Designer, contractor and HGTV host Danielle Nicholas Bryk designed this kitchen with her family in mind. “We wanted it to feel urban and unfitted, like the East Village spaces we once lived in,” she says.
The brass details in this kitchen by designer Allison Willson make it hard to ignore, and the majestic stainless steel range hood with brass trim makes a stunning focal point.
This condo kitchen in a converted 1914 brick schoolhouse is a lesson in small space living. Cupboards that go right up to the ceiling offer plenty of storage, while a built-in wine fridge, microwave and cappuccino machine ensure maximum functionality.
Symmetrical cabinetry with a dark trim creates a tailored, tuxedo effect in this black-and-white bistro kitchen.
This fairytale-like Zoffany wallpaper is the star of this space. Slate grey cabinetry, brass detailing and a buffalo-check roman blind work in tandem with the saturated colors to create a bold, yet livable space.
Lynda Reeves updated her classic white kitchen with hits of charcoal grey and dark brown. “I find the combination of traditional and industrial has good tension. Nice and edgy,” she says.
Sleek dome pendant lights play with scale and bring a contemporary feel to this cottage kitchen, while butcherblock countertops add warmth to the all-white space.
A showstopping blue La Cornue stove and hood radiates against this kitchen’s grey cabinetry and quiet, scalloped mosaic tile. A saturated rug balances the beautiful bold palette.
Inspired by a butcher shop in Rome, this classic bistro kitchen gives hard-wearing materials like full-height tile and stone a sense of European grandeur.
The owner of this kitchen, designer Christine Ralphs, is among the cofounders of Club Monaco, so it’s no surprise her space is appropriately stylish. Standout features, like a geometric pendant light, bring wow-factor to her high-contrast kitchen.
This kitchen in a Magog, Quebec, country house feels updated and polished, but still cozy and casual — a difficult combination to achieve.
See more of this kitchen in our October 2016 issue.
In this handsome kitchen, a range of warm woods envelops the sleek finishes, preventing them from feeling too cold.
The entire wall in this kitchen is clad in tile — an idea borrowed from restaurant kitchens, where chefs often have to hose down the entire room after a night’s service. The “rug” is inspired by the patterned-tile floor you’d find in old world European restaurants, and is strategically placed in the area that gets the most foot traffic.