Kitchen of the week: Tommy Smythe's kitchen

This delicious kitchen designed by Tommy Smythe, co-host of Sarah's house is very much like a perfect dessert where the red vintage lantern plays the role of a cherry on the cake.  Tommy revamped a  classic Victorian home in what he calls the new "Victorian look" and I can see why.  Painting the molding kitchen cabinets with three very traditional colors, paneling the ceiling and using red throughout is a genius way to modernize the Victorian style.  The beautiful floor is painted in a Roman style geometric pattern.  That custom made range hood, how handsome with that gleaming brass accent!

This kitchen has all the thoughtful details, from the gray grouts that gives it an older feel to the brackets under the cabinets that add more ornamentation to the style.  

A kitchen with a sitting area like this is not an average one.  I love how Tommy used black wood instead of an old-looking and Victorian era mahogany color.  The chair and tufted red sofa make a nod to Victorian style as well, but in a very updated way.  The floor to ceiling tiles add another beautiful layer.
Images via House and Home.

Kitchen of the week: Kitchens with Floor to Ceiling Tiles

A kitchen with walls covered from floor to ceiling with tiles gives the impression of being well finished.  Regardless of what type of backsplash is covering the walls, the simple subway tiles, marble slabs or hand painted tiles, the whole effect gives the kitchen a feeling of grandeur and cleanness.  For an even more seamless appearance some people go with grout of the same color as the tiles while others who prefer a more contrasting effect decide on gray or black grout.  I prefer a darker grout especially if the kitchen is all white to give it depth.  There are many different shades of gray from darkest to lightest.  Enjoy!