Kitchen Design
Trending: 13 Warm, Inviting Kitchens You’d Want to Wake Up To
Some of the most popular kitchen photos uploaded to Houzz in summer 2018 offer a recipe for creating a welcoming design
Our Trending Now series features the most-saved photos uploaded to Houzz in the previous three months.
Warm and inviting means different things to different people. There’s one test I apply when it comes to kitchens. Is this the kind of room I’d like to spend the morning in drinking coffee with friends and family after a late night? To me, that means lots of sunshine, an abundance of wood and plenty of comfortable seating on which you can sip a hot drink and watch someone else cook breakfast.
In my mind, the following popular recent kitchens by designers on Houzz embody that cozy vibe. Now, if only the homeowners would invite me to a holiday party.
Warm and inviting means different things to different people. There’s one test I apply when it comes to kitchens. Is this the kind of room I’d like to spend the morning in drinking coffee with friends and family after a late night? To me, that means lots of sunshine, an abundance of wood and plenty of comfortable seating on which you can sip a hot drink and watch someone else cook breakfast.
In my mind, the following popular recent kitchens by designers on Houzz embody that cozy vibe. Now, if only the homeowners would invite me to a holiday party.
2. Sunny Side Up
Something magical happens when sunlight hits brass fixtures, light wood floors and creamy cabinets (here, it’s the fittingly titled Wind’s Breath by Benjamin Moore). Michelle Mentzer designed a winning recipe for this welcoming vibe. Even the gray-tiled backsplash and granite countertop add to the visual softness.
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Something magical happens when sunlight hits brass fixtures, light wood floors and creamy cabinets (here, it’s the fittingly titled Wind’s Breath by Benjamin Moore). Michelle Mentzer designed a winning recipe for this welcoming vibe. Even the gray-tiled backsplash and granite countertop add to the visual softness.
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3. Lakeside Lightness
Hard to imagine a more blissful moment than raising a steaming cup of coffee to your lips as you watch the sun rise over Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka through this kitchen’s wall-to-wall windows.
Meanwhile, ash wood cabinets and brass hardware and shelving rods give off a subtle golden aura, waking up the light and airy design by Laurie Kruhoeffer.
Read more about this kitchen | Find a local architect on Houzz
Hard to imagine a more blissful moment than raising a steaming cup of coffee to your lips as you watch the sun rise over Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka through this kitchen’s wall-to-wall windows.
Meanwhile, ash wood cabinets and brass hardware and shelving rods give off a subtle golden aura, waking up the light and airy design by Laurie Kruhoeffer.
Read more about this kitchen | Find a local architect on Houzz
4. Farm Fresh
Many of us have been fortunate to spend time in a home that just has good vibes — maybe it was a vacation cabin, a best friend’s house, your grandparents’ place or your own. Designer Aimee Brothers of Lavender & Lotus Interior Design nailed that feeling with this New Hampshire farmhouse kitchen. Her approach included an antique sink, a mix of refinished oak and painted cabinets, beadboard paneling on the island, rich wood floors and dark granite countertops.
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Many of us have been fortunate to spend time in a home that just has good vibes — maybe it was a vacation cabin, a best friend’s house, your grandparents’ place or your own. Designer Aimee Brothers of Lavender & Lotus Interior Design nailed that feeling with this New Hampshire farmhouse kitchen. Her approach included an antique sink, a mix of refinished oak and painted cabinets, beadboard paneling on the island, rich wood floors and dark granite countertops.
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5. Spanish Revival
If someone described a kitchen as having soaring ceilings, tile floors and a large cast-stone range hood, you might imagine that kitchen would look cold. But that’s not the case for this kitchen design by Courtney Blanton Interiors, where reclaimed wood beams, soothing white walls (Mediterranean White from RH) and a dark, worn antique farm table make it just the kind of kitchen you’d want to stick around in for a second breakfast.
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If someone described a kitchen as having soaring ceilings, tile floors and a large cast-stone range hood, you might imagine that kitchen would look cold. But that’s not the case for this kitchen design by Courtney Blanton Interiors, where reclaimed wood beams, soothing white walls (Mediterranean White from RH) and a dark, worn antique farm table make it just the kind of kitchen you’d want to stick around in for a second breakfast.
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6. California Casual
Leyla Jaworski and Ashlee Berry of Design Shop Interiors used white shiplap walls and cabinets (Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore) to embrace the Northern California sunshine while wood-look tile flooring and a large custom maple island and table would have anyone clearing their calendar for the day to hang out here.
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Leyla Jaworski and Ashlee Berry of Design Shop Interiors used white shiplap walls and cabinets (Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore) to embrace the Northern California sunshine while wood-look tile flooring and a large custom maple island and table would have anyone clearing their calendar for the day to hang out here.
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7. Into the Woods
If you want warm and welcoming, just think walnut. Designer Lenore Weiss used the wood extensively in this Chicago kitchen, making it a cozy destination even during the most blustery of winter mornings. A Fusion quartzite island countertop and range backsplash make the kitchen all the more dynamic and inviting.
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If you want warm and welcoming, just think walnut. Designer Lenore Weiss used the wood extensively in this Chicago kitchen, making it a cozy destination even during the most blustery of winter mornings. A Fusion quartzite island countertop and range backsplash make the kitchen all the more dynamic and inviting.
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8. Morning Ritual
Mixing wood tones and species is a juggling act, but designer Wendy Blackband of Blackband Design didn’t fumble in this Southern California kitchen. A rift-cut oak coffee cabinet on the right beckons guests to grab a cup and take a seat at the alder wood table while breakfast is laid out on the island.
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Mixing wood tones and species is a juggling act, but designer Wendy Blackband of Blackband Design didn’t fumble in this Southern California kitchen. A rift-cut oak coffee cabinet on the right beckons guests to grab a cup and take a seat at the alder wood table while breakfast is laid out on the island.
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9. Maine Catch
Imagine shuffling down that back staircase in the morning to this raw wood post-and-beam-framed kitchen overlooking Cape Elizabeth in Maine, designed by Caleb Johnson Studio and Krista Stokes. Stained walnut and white cabinets and shiplap walls complete the casual coastal style.
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Imagine shuffling down that back staircase in the morning to this raw wood post-and-beam-framed kitchen overlooking Cape Elizabeth in Maine, designed by Caleb Johnson Studio and Krista Stokes. Stained walnut and white cabinets and shiplap walls complete the casual coastal style.
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10. Colorado Cozy
In this Denver-area kitchen designed by Michael Thulson of JM Kitchen & Bath, you can almost feel the warmth radiating off the rich wood floor, cherry cabinets, Supreme Gold granite countertops and natural slate backsplash in Brazilian Multicolor.
See more of this kitchen | Find a kitchen remodeler near you
In this Denver-area kitchen designed by Michael Thulson of JM Kitchen & Bath, you can almost feel the warmth radiating off the rich wood floor, cherry cabinets, Supreme Gold granite countertops and natural slate backsplash in Brazilian Multicolor.
See more of this kitchen | Find a kitchen remodeler near you
11. Gather Around
This Sacramento kitchen built by Landmark Builders is full of warm wood surfaces. And the California air circulating through a Dutch door would make for a fine morning almost any day of the year.
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This Sacramento kitchen built by Landmark Builders is full of warm wood surfaces. And the California air circulating through a Dutch door would make for a fine morning almost any day of the year.
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12. Log Lounge
If there’s a scale for determining the coziness of a home, a log cabin in Wyoming has to be at the top. This home designed by Peter Zimmerman Architects and Peace Design features a kitchen ensconced in reclaimed-wood walls, hand-hewn timbers, standing dead-log beams, reclaimed-wood ceiling planks, antique oak flooring and wormy chestnut cabinets.
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If there’s a scale for determining the coziness of a home, a log cabin in Wyoming has to be at the top. This home designed by Peter Zimmerman Architects and Peace Design features a kitchen ensconced in reclaimed-wood walls, hand-hewn timbers, standing dead-log beams, reclaimed-wood ceiling planks, antique oak flooring and wormy chestnut cabinets.
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13. Soft Side
Quarter-sawn white oak cabinets, stained in a finish with a bit of gray in it, soften the light pouring into one end of this Chicago kitchen designed by Filip Malyszko of steve + filip design. Warm white shiplap walls and ceiling also mute the light, creating a soothing atmosphere that never gets chilly.
Read more about this kitchen
More
Working the Room: What’s Popular in Kitchens Now
10 Cozy Kitchens to Inspire Fall Cooking, Baking and Dreaming
Other Resources on Houzz
Get kitchen design ideas
Find a kitchen designer
Browse kitchen products
Quarter-sawn white oak cabinets, stained in a finish with a bit of gray in it, soften the light pouring into one end of this Chicago kitchen designed by Filip Malyszko of steve + filip design. Warm white shiplap walls and ceiling also mute the light, creating a soothing atmosphere that never gets chilly.
Read more about this kitchen
More
Working the Room: What’s Popular in Kitchens Now
10 Cozy Kitchens to Inspire Fall Cooking, Baking and Dreaming
Other Resources on Houzz
Get kitchen design ideas
Find a kitchen designer
Browse kitchen products
It’s easy to see why this has been the most popular kitchen photo uploaded to Houzz since July 1. Designers Matt Retzak and Heather Scott of Bartelt the Remodeling Resource used timber framing, a wood ceiling and reclaimed pine on the floor and island top to put anyone lucky enough to belly up to that countertop in a sandwich of coziness. Cream-colored cabinets (Creamy by Sherwin-Williams, in fact), stone countertops and a green-covered view make this barn kitchen worth getting out of bed for.
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