




Designer country kitchens by Alno can create the perfect place in your home if you enjoy cooking for your family or find relaxation from being a "stay at home chef". Cooking meals in the home can be more economical, bring family together, and be a way to catch up on the lives of your loved ones in this busy day setting. Alno has a great line of country kitchens to match your decorative tastes for those of you that prefer country themed home décor. Founded in Germany in 1927, Alno is now the second largest designer kitchen manufacturer in the market. Dealers can be found in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, U.S.A., Italy, Netherlands, and Spain.
Alno's country kitchen line features all the bells and whistles found in designer kitchens including: islands, custom cabinets, wide color selection, personalized configuration, high tech appliances, stunning details, optimized storage solutions, and overall visual appeal. The roots of German engineering are evident when you look at the details of these pictures of kitchens. I like how little elements are worked in like the small wine storage areas that are visible, the openness feel of the overall design, and the amount of overall storage available to the home owner. In the Alno website if you go under "Kitchen World" and "Country" you will find these examples featured here.


Quartz countertops offer an alternative to ever popular granite and marble as stone in kitchen design. One of the unique advantages is that quartz is one of nature's hardest minerals. The hardness of the stone can go a long way into durability for countertops and prevention of chipping or cracking of the stone. Quartz countertops are aesthetically pleasing in the same way as other stones helping beautify the look of your kitchen.
The pictures here feature a product from Caesarstone. Their product is 93% crushed quartz that is combined with polymer resins and pigments. Caesarstone then uses intense pressure, vibration, and vacuum to create slabs which provide the foundation for the quartz countertops. The decision as to which type of stone to put in a kitchen is a difficult one. If you are considering quartz, then be sure and check out Caesarstone's lifetime warranty.

Caravel Bowl and Salad Server
Henning Koppel designed the Caravel salad bowl in the 1970s originally out of sterling silver, but it was never produced at that time. Now the Caravel salad bowl, crafted in stainless steel is ready for public consumption and has Koppel's signature rotund, organic form. The salad serving set is available from georgjensen.com for a reasonable $295 US
Continue reading "Stainless Steel Serving Bowls from Georg Jensen " »


Who says your kitchen can't be cool! Snaidero USA has cool and functional down to a fine art and it definitely shows in the new Acropolis circular series kitchens and cabinets which puts everything you need in reach and view. Snaidero USA is the exclusive North American distributor of the Snaidero line produced in Italy and designed by Pininfarina, who incorporated highly advanced automotive engineering into the Acropolis. Pininfarina uses sandwiched aluminum that is extremely durable and 40% lighter than a comparable single plate, and it can easily be shaped and rounded. The Snaidero collection also includes revisited traditional and emotional modern kitchens.

Berkeley Mills builds custom kitchen designs using sustainable wood. I am always glad to read about companies that are forthcoming about what type of wood they use and how it is harvested. Sustainable ensures that trees remain in the harvested plot making sure that the forested area will continue in the future.
This is also a great design for a kitchen. I rarely see wooden counters now as granite has seen so much popularity in modern building trends. All the wood lends a rustic feel to the scenery making this kitchen a fit for both modern and traditional homes. Small features like the built in wine rack and the open shelving on the opposite end of the island are nice accents to the overall feel of the kitchen. I do like the elevated bar with the wine glasses atop it. The shape of the bar provides a little something different from the rectangular shape of the island, cabinets, and pantry. All of the work by Berkeley Mills is custom so the cost of a kitchen would be dependent upon the job.