Kitchens

Decorative paint and soft, natural colors were used in this old farmhouse kitchen to create a soothing, timeless, ambience, as if the room had always looked just like this. To complete the feeling, the refrigerator masquerades as an antique armoire. But up-to-the minute cabinets and appliances provide every modern convenience.

Country Living featured this bright, cheerful kitchen on the cover of its July 1993 issue. The space was once dreary and oppressive. Nancy removed many of the dark wood cabinets, primed the remaining ones white, and washed them in blue. The "island" is a well-worn chopping block salvaged from a butcher's shop.

The beauty of real limestone and tumbled marble is combined here with the practicality of solid-surface "limestone" on the countertops. The lighting system is both dramatic and functional.