apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love the orange!
I'm curious - are those the Ikea sliding fabric panels on your windows? Would you recommend them?

Neat idea to highlight the framed art work with background colour. I may use that at my place one day...

I love the (discriminate) use of orange, one of my favorite colors but one that needs contrast. The kitchen design looks very functional and clean, offers me many ideas. Can I ask what material you used for the floor?

missuswayne -- we have those Ikea panels (different color/pattern) over our washer/dryer room in CT; and for the cost, they are great. I think they look great here, too.

Love the orange! We have similar ceilings, so I am very intrigued by the light fixture -- is it also Ikea? Overall, nice job!

The design is great, and I can certainly see how you're a graphics designer :)
My only issue is that the seating area would feel a little too "Christmas-like" all year round.

Yes, these are Ikea fabric panels. We use the sliding doors that go out to the deck area a lot in the summer so the sliding panel is great for that. You can connect up to 3 panels and slide them over in one piece. They are easy to replace just in case you get bored with the color.

I LOVE your kitchen island with the frosted glass cupboards! Soooo European! You have a well put-together look here!

About the sliding Ikea panels: Do you cut them to your desired length? Or do they come in specific sizes?

You can cut them to a desired lenght. They come in very long rolls of fabric. Thank you for your comments!

Yum! What a gorgeous room!!

beautiful room, and totally an insta-finalist, but i think the orange might look better on the wall next to the cabinets. that way, those wonderful cabinets could really stand out, and the window with its white window treatment could too.

i don't get the christmas comment about the dining part. i love it!

I really like the orange stripe in the dining area. That's a great idea.
I had to vote "in contention" though because the white is a bit too stark, in my opinion. A cream or taupe might look more finished.
Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful kitchen. I especially like the panels.

This feels a bit sterile to me. Tasteful, yes but just sterile.

i agree with me - that sounds funny, but the comment ahead of me is listed that way.

I also thought sterile, and I think it is the combo of white ceiling against white wall, and such a big wall at that...

I would have continued the orange all the way across - there is enough contrast in the dark cabinets - and then used the stripe in the dining area against some off-white color, maybe a sand or hint of light blue in white, so it does not look so stark, something subtle. In my kitchen, the same one from Ikea, I used a peach/brownish white from BM called "evening light".

I like the white wall; I think painting it the creme/taupe would make the room calmer and I like the energy it has now. Of course final decision its yours, whichever you like better.

Excellent room. I like the colors, the curtains, and the way your paint job accents the ceiling.

The reason why we chose to paint the kitchen wall in orange is becasue the room next to the kitchen is on a slightly lower lever on the right side. Its the living room and it has the same high ceilings and same shape as the kitchen; it has a mirror effect. The main wall in the living room is painted in a warm brown tone so the colors complement one another. These two levels are open so when looking at the two walls as one it creates an interesting effect. The kitchen is not very big so I didn't want to make it appear smaller by painitng all four walls one color. Thank you all for your suggestions and your comments.

Very pretty, but a warmer white would do wonders.

This is the first room in this god-forsaken contest that I liked. Question: is that frosted glass cabinet to the right of the kitchen stools a wine refridgerator?

I love it...but, the white wall in the kitchen seems strange to me too. It could just be the area you chose to photograph, because at first you don't know that the red is not wallpaper and is actually the curtains. But when I first looked, the kitchen seemed unfinished, like 'why didn't they paint THAT section of the wall'?

I did notice the towel at the end of the counter and know what you were trying to do, I just think the white section is too much area to keep white. Perhaps continue the stripe around to that wall too? Then it would leave two slivers of white below the ceiling and above the counter. You would still have contrast but it wouldn't seem so stark.

Just suggestions, because I still like the space.

I'd love to see more of your place. Are you new homeowners? Do you have more photos on flickr by chance?

We are first time homeowners, and we have been in this house just little over a year. Every room in this house has been re-done. Two major things still missing in our kitchen is a wall oven and glass tile back splash (that will break up some of that white space few people have mentioned above). As with all house rennovations, there is always room for improvement.

The frosted glass door on both sides of kitchen island are cabinets where we keep our glassware, but that would be a perfect place for a wine chiller (great idea, have to find out if it could be done).

We would love to share more photos of the house, I will definitely look into flickr.

what's wrong with the white? everything doesn't have to be super decorated does it? some calm within a storm is ok?

i probably wouldn't have had a solid wall of cabinets, but i think that whatever people do in their own homes to fit their own needs and tastes is great!

good job with the kitchen, the color and everything looks fantastic!

I like the white. The color contrasts make the room look crisp and clean.

I also like that your color inspirations are from fruits and vegetables.

Love the wide orange band. Great idea.

On my monitor, what everyone refers to as orange actually looks like a baked squash yellow -- much more timid than an orange -- so I am a bit confused as to what colour is actually on the walls. I would love to see orange in this kitchen, and think it would look great if that is the actual colour (don't care much for golden squash). The fabric panels appear orangey red on my screen, but definately a red. The only orange I can see is on the table runner.

Since I don't know what the actual paint colour is, it is hard for me to judge -- I think that the rules of the contest should make contestants specify the brand and colour of paints, as well as fabrics just to get around the monitor issues.

I am seeing what you are seeing Monika--the orange is more of a dark golden color, and I'm not overly fond of it.

I think its hard to remember every color that you used in your entire house. Some people see color differently so its not possible for one person to interpret color for another person. I don't know what your monitor settings are, but I did not use any golden tones in this kitchen. There are different tones and shades of orange used in this room.

Also, the name of a sample swatch does not always describe the color itself; its just a name.

Visual appearance of color changes from person to person. I see orange here, but you may see golden.

Thanks again for all your comments.

Wowza! If this is your first kitchen, I can't imagine what your next will look like!

i love the red in you kitchen what colour and brand is it??

i'm very interested in those fabric panels. i looked at the ikea website and can't find anything about them. if anyone has more information for me, i would appreciate it.

It looks amazing!!!!!! you should see the rest of the house! Pure talent.

I had seen the IKEA window panels but did not have a sense of how they would look. They're quite nice and work very well here. I congratulate you for seeing what others might not be able to and for achieving a very high-end look.

I love this whole room and am in the process of purchasing some Ikea panels for either side of the glass french doors in our office. Can anyone tell me what hardwear I will need to hang them so they slide across the doors? I am ordering online as I live no where near an ikea. Thanks!

this needs some curves for my taste. the angles feel too hard to relax.

I like the simple lines and angles, and besides I think relaxation belongs in the bedroom not in the kitchen. Look great to me!

Ikea Panles:
I bought these too but I am havung trouble figuring out how to get then to hook together and slide open and then closed....what's the trick? I think my plastic peg-hooks are mounted incorrectly on the back?!?!

Ikea Panels:
I bought these too but I am havung trouble figuring out how to get then to hook together and slide open and then closed....what's the trick? I think my plastic peg-hooks are mounted incorrectly on the back?!?!