8 Simply Amazing Kitchens

These kitchens hand-picked from our archives serve up __design à la carte. For more inspiration, check out our kitchens board on Pinterest.

1. Ghat House by Max Núñez Arquitectos

Max Núñez tackled the topography head-on at this remarkable waterfront residence for an adventurous family in Cachagua, Chile. The space is filled with surprises—theatrical indulgences, if you will—such as a long, railingless staircase that descends into the kitchen. Overall, a restrained materials palette dominates throughout, with polished concrete flooring mingling with stainless steel counters. Slightly red-tinged timber—a local wood similar to American cherry—clads cabinetry, which doubles as the platform for a mezzanine seating area.

2. Penthouse Apartment by SABO Project

SABO founder and principal Alex Delaunay thought outside the box when renovating a 775-square-foot penthouse apartment in a century-old Paris building. In the otherwise white-on-white kitchen, a vertical garden sprouts from one wall and flooring is a veritable rainbow—whimsical six-inch-wide stripes of rubber in 14 colors deliver a chromatic treatment. It perfectly suits the client, a fashion forecaster, who “always flips through material swatches,” Delaunay explains.

3. Paris Apartment by Agency Marie Deroudilhe

“The futuristic look is reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey,” asserts Marie Deroudilhe, describing a 19th-century workshop turned apartment in Paris. She mostly refers to the kitchen, in which all-white furnishings and shimmering white epoxy flooring contrasts with the limestone structure. Harry Bertoia stools accompany a solid-surfacing island, where concealed LEDs create a luminous frame.

4. Chris Bosse’s Sydney Home by Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA)

Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) is best known for ambitious master plans and large-scale biomorphic installation, so designing a residence in a Sydney suburb heralded a marked departure for principal Chris Bosse. In signature LAVA style, organic elements pervade—the globular bamboo-topped kitchen island was fabricated at the same Shanghai factory where Zaha Hadid Architects interiors are made, and above hangs a standard office light punctuated with laser-cut plywood discs like vertebrae. Raw-edged plywood and high-pressure laminate clads custom cabinetry, providing a geometric backdrop to the curvaceous kitchen centerpieces. 

5. Oren Yonayov Apartment by UriMichaelPalan

Clean-lined modernism is no match for Uri Michael Palan, who studied under Pierre Koenig in the 1980s before establishing his namesake Tel Aviv–based firm. One of his recent commissions, a 2,000 square-foot apartment in the same city, boasts a Danish kitchen system consisting of stainless steel modules in powder-coated black. The finished island, which makes room for two sinks and integrated gas burners, leads to a bright yellow wire sculpture—a giant abstracted dandelion—hanging on the rough concrete wall. 

6. 19th-Century Town House by Markzeff

Single-family townhouses are the Holy Grail of New York living, but this formerly abandoned 1869 brownstone on a tree-lined West Village street breaks the mold—a diamond-in-the-rough as Manhattan towers climb to unprecedented altitudes. Mark Zeff spearheaded this gut renovation for a young family, his first course of action being opening the living and dining rooms for seamless circulation to the kitchen. Occupying a sun-drenched space facing the backyard, subtle details such as calacatta gold marble countertops, oak floorboards, and banquette seating deliver low-key luxury.

7. West Village Apartment by Messana O’Rorke

It’s no question that Messana O’Rorke leans toward a gallery-like aesthetic, so when a young family commissioned the duo to lend their __design prowess to a 1,600 square-foot apartment in a 1938 Art Deco building in New York’s West Village, all roads led to refined minimalism. The kitchen is a highlight—pristine white Corian countertops sit underneath a custom brass linear fixture, illuminating the BassamFellows stools that provide the two children-in-residence with a breakfast nook. 

8. Amsterdam Garage Conversion by i29 Interior Architects

When a marketing executive purchased the ground level of a distinctly utilitarian garage in residential Amsterdam, she entrusted i29 Interior Architects to open up the disjointed layout. The firm’s first order of business included pouring pale grey epoxy resin flooring throughout, nodding to overcast Dutch skies. Anchoring the kitchen is a charcoal-gray synthetic ceramic island—the room’s only work surface—but nothing more than four integrated gas burners interrupt the 3 by 10–foot countertop. Rough-sawn oak cabinetry in matte acrylic coating hides storage, maintaining the crisp aesthetic.