A well-chosen pendant is perfect for creating an inviting atmosphere in your kitchen, where people will want to relax, visit, and eat.

Pendant lights hang individually from the ceiling by a cord, chain, or metal rod. They’re generally placed above a kitchen island or dining table to provide ambient light in the room, evoking a serene atmosphere and an elegant touch.

When selecting pendant lighting, be sure you don’t choose something only for its appearance–consider its light output too. If a pendant’s going to be one of the main sources of light in your kitchen, you’ll want to choose one or more that are pretty powerful.

Incorporating stacked stone into a kitchen design is a great way to create an earthy, contemporary look. For that reason, stacked stone is extremely popular among our Tahoe homeowners, and we suspect it will be for many years to come.

Plus, not only does stacked stone have widespread appeal, but it’s also inherently unique. Because no two pieces of stone are ever exactly alike, the veins and swirls of your stone will be yours and yours alone.

Consider using stacked stone for an accent wall, backsplash, or as a frame to your refrigerator. Because stone’s available in such a wide variety of colors, you’ll find it easy to achieve just the look you’re going for with this highly sought-after natural material.

The island is a great place to play with the design you’ve chosen for your kitchen. For instance, are you going with white oak cabinets? Then perhaps try a darker wood, such as cherry, for the island cabinetry.

Or, get creative with the island’s countertop. If you’ve chosen a light gray countertop for the rest of your kitchen, perhaps use a slate gray for the island countertop. Another idea is to use a wood accent at the seating area of your island.

If you want to really make a statement, consider an island in a bright pop of color. For instance, as a bold focal point, you might want to try an island with a hue of cool turquoise, cherry red, butter yellow, or sassy orange.

A brightly colored kitchen island is a fairly quick and easy way to transform the look and feel of your kitchen without making too big of a commitment.

Nothing brings woodsy Tahoe into your home quite like windows. As even the most beautiful pendants can’t compete with natural light, don’t skimp on the size of the windows when you’re planning your kitchen remodel.

For instance, consider counter-to-ceiling windows at the kitchen sink looking out onto evergreens, or skylights alongside beautiful wooden beams in the ceiling.

When choosing windows, just remember to look for ones that are easy to open so air circulates quickly, and you can enjoy a cool breeze when your kitchen starts to heats up.

An induction cooktop has such a sleek look that it looks smart in any modern kitchen.

These cooktops are standard in Europe for good reason. As they’re simply a glass panel, they’re incredibly easy to clean. Plus, no matter how high you turn up the temperature, the surface of an induction cooktop never gets hot, making them safer as well.

While they sound kinda magical, the heat from induction cooktops comes from electricity passing through a copper coil under the panel. While only pans with iron will heat on an induction cooktop, the heat is more evenly distributed throughout the pan than with an electric cooktop–for many home chefs, this makes an induction cooktop a no-brainer.

Inset cabinets have doors that are flush with the frame, so they don’t protrude. This gives them a modern, streamlined look, especially when they’re placed alongside an integrated refrigerator.

Generally, inset cabinet doors will have a panel design. This gives them a more decorative look than European flat panel cabinets.

We suggest using inset cabinets for displaying especially beautiful woods, like white oak or walnut.

In lieu of the traditional upper cabinets, many modern kitchens use shelving instead. Shelves allow you to display beautiful items that capture your fancy, like pottery, photos, vases, and heirloom dishes.

That said, shelves aren’t for everyone. For instance, if tidiness isn’t your strong suit, you may decide to use upper shelves in some parts of the kitchen, and cabinets in others.

Since everything’s out in the open with shelves, we suggest strategically deciding exactly what you’ll keep on them before incorporating them into your design.