Insights, inspiration, and expert guidance from KitchenVisions.
KitchenVisions won four PRO Awards on June 3rd at Clarke Showroom in Milford. KV earned Gold for Polished Open Concept Kitchen with Asher Nichols & Craftsmen ; Silver for Primary Suite under $200,000 with Out of the Woods Construction &…
Kitchen designers have been rethinking functionality in renovations. Like a professional restaurant kitchen, the residential kitchen “triangle” has become separate zones for prep, cooking, clean-up and gathering. At the heart of…
We expect to find water in a sink faucet, but how many other water sources can bring both positives and negatives to the kitchen? We’re taking a look at some choices and the consequences of each: pot fillers; touchless faucets; water…
Kitchens
When glass is tactfully woven through a kitchen remodel or ground-up design, it can lighten a room and add depth. Glass will reflect natural light and introduce elegance without feeling too ornate. When used thoughtfully, glass in…
The newest products for kitchens and baths make their debut at the annual KBIS show. Even when we don’t attend, we love to see what’s happening in the industry and to share the gold winners with you for a bit of inspiration. The KBIS…
Check out the Winter issue of Northshore Home featuring a Lexington kitchen renovation by KitchenVisions. Architectural changes played a big role in the transformation. By opening sightlines, removing heavy columns, and reworking the…
Kitchens
Think galley kitchens can’t compete? Smart design proves otherwise. A well-planned galley delivers serious efficiency and style, often outshining kitchens that rely on size in lieu of function.
Some materials don’t just sit quietly in a space. They glow . Copper and brass belong to that rare group of finishes that feel warm and instantly character-rich. Whether they show up in a sink, a hood, a cabinet pull, or a range with…
Bathroom Renovations
Open shelving continues to spark conversation as one of the hottest bath and kitchen design elements in recent years.
Here we go again. Proposed new tariffs on imported cabinetry and upholstered furniture is making headlines. How does it affect your remodeling project? The good news is that most of the cabinet companies that KitchenVisions orders from…
Kitchens
There’s nothing like stepping into your kitchen on a chilly morning and feeling warmth underfoot. Tile floors, which can often feel cold to feet fresh out of a warm bed, become cozy and inviting. For homeowners who spend a lot of time…
Kitchens
It’s not overly cliché to say that color has the power to transform a kitchen dramatically. Regardless of whether it’s the color selections on the cabinetry, walls, or accent pieces, the hues you choose set the tone for how your…
Mudrooms have become one of the most versatile and valued spaces in any home today, and one of the top priorities for renovation projects. Once thought of as purely functional, mudrooms are now multi-purpose command centers (not…
Bathroom Renovations
With bathroom remodeling , we view small footprints as an opportunity. While it often presents a design challenge, with thoughtful planning and smart choices, even the tiniest bathroom can feel spacious, functional, and beautiful! Even…
Kitchens
The countertop is more than just a surface; it’s a focal point, a workstation, and sometimes even a conversation starter.. While visual appeal is a consideration when designing a kitchen, countertops are one of the most important…
If your style doesn’t fall neatly into "modern" or "traditional," you’re not alone. More and more homeowners are asking for something in between, something with soul, but also sleekness. That’s where a transitional kitchen design…
Kitchen island lighting plays a bigger role than many homeowners realize. The wrong types of lighting, or lighting with limited capabilities, can leave islands feeling, well, lonely and uninspired, regardless of how beautiful the…
Our Modern Prairie Ranch Kitchen project is featured in the July/August issue of New England Home . We collaborated with builder Nate Dishington of JensenHus, architect Tanner White, interior designers Jess Tolman and Anne Mueller of…
KitchenVisions won two Gold 2023 PRO Awards on June 4th at Clarke Showroom in Milford. KV earned Gold in two relatively new categories: Primary Suite under $200,000 and Open Concept Kitchen + Family Room. Thank you to our project…
Kitchens
For years, open-concept kitchens have been the darling of design shows and kitchen renovation wish lists. And it’s easy to see why: they’re visually expansive, great for entertaining, and ideal for keeping everyone connected. However,…
Bathroom Renovations
For today’s homeowners, the bathroom is no longer just a pit stop in the daily routine—it’s becoming a personal sanctuary. With thoughtful design, a primary bathroom can transform into a luxurious escape, a space that soothes the senses…
Kitchens
Custom kitchen cabinets do so much more than store glassware and dishes. They set the design tone and presence for your entire kitchen and, in many cases, the entire home. Whether starting from scratch with a complete kitchen remodel or…
When it comes to smart kitchens, it’s more than fancy gadgets that let you control your refrigerator with your phone or make your oven turn on before you’ve even left the couch; we’ve entered an entirely new realm of kitchen automation.…
Kitchens
In today’s open-concept homes, the kitchen often takes center stage. It’s connected to the dining area, living room, and sometimes even the TV room (Go Celtics!) With everything in view, the challenge becomes clear: How do you manage…
Bathroom Renovations
A beautiful, well-planned bathroom remodel enhances the space you already have! While large bathrooms offer room to spread out and near-limitless design freedom, they aren’t always optimized best for function. On the other hand, a…
A well-designed kitchen functions effortlessly with how you live every day. What good is a gorgeous kitchen that doesn’t meet your cooking needs!? This includes beautiful cabinetry, sleek countertops and backsplashes, great lighting,…
Kitchens
For caffeine aficionados, a dedicated coffee station can feel like a dream come true right in your kitchen! But is it the right addition to your kitchen remodel ? Whether you are a casual coffee drinker or a bean purist/connoisseur,…
Is your kitchen outdated, inefficient, or just kind of blah? We’ve all been there. Whether planning an expanded kitchen remodel or looking to optimize your current space, understanding kitchen layouts and workflow zones is the key to…
We often get this question at KitchenVisions, so we thought it would be advantageous to write about it! Many homeowners are familiar with interior design, but interior architectural design is a lesser-known yet equally important field.…
Kitchens
As we step further into 2025, kitchen design trends focus more on personalization and functionality. We are in an industry insider’s position to discuss what’s coming for kitchen trends in 2025. Here’s what we anticipate leading the way…
Bathroom Renovations
Is your primary bath dated and dysfunctional? If you love your house and plan to stay for another five years, at least, it is worth investing in a redesign and renovation of the space.
KitchenVisions has earned accolades from IFDA New England and BRAGB in the past two months. The kitchen in a new construction project in Sherborn earned the Best Modern Kitchen Award from IFDA NE and a 2024 Silver PRISM award for Best…
KitchenVisions earned a 2024 Gold PRO Award for Residential Bath, $50,000-100,000 for Teal Appeal, a primary bath renovation in Sudbury. KitchenVisions shared the honors with Scott Zide of Custom Home Improvements, the contractor who…
KitchenVisions won a 2023 Silver PRISM Award for Best Kitchen Remodel $150,000-$300,000 for the Bakers Best Kitchen in Wayland.
Our award-winning open-concept kitchen project in Wayland appeared in the Sunday, August 13, 2023, Globe Magazine Style Watch . Thank you to Marni Elyse Katz @stylecarrot for writing the article. Thank you to everyone at The Boston…
KitchenVisions won two Gold 2023 PRO Awards on May 10th at Clarke Showroom in Milford. KV earned Gold in two new categories, including Primary Suite between $100,000-200,000 for our Acton Primary Suite Two project.
Anyone in the market for a new range or cooktop probably has heard the ongoing debate over induction-powered ranges and cooktops versus gas. The latest research suggests that without proper ventilation, gas ranges are unhealthy in…
Living through a pandemic raised awareness about a host of topics related to our homes and health. Although a trendy buzzword, wellness is a multidimensional concept encompassing the physical, emotional, social, mental, environmental,…
Our Belmont kitchen renovation is featured in the January 2023 Boston Magazine article Hello Reno! “An enhanced layout and mod aesthetics prime the heart of this home for its next century,” writes Boston Home editor-in-chief Jaci Conry.
The Yale Appliance podcast, Appliance Advisers, featured KitchenVisions Founder and Lead Designer, Jodi Swartz, on their January 26 episode, hosted by Dennis MacDonald and Fran Froio. Watch the simulcast recording on YouTube . The…
Thank you Designer Bath & Salem Plumbing for inviting us to be the January 2023 Guest Bloggers . It was a lot of fun choosing our Showroom Favorites, although narrowing the options to only five was a challenge. We love so many brands…
December brings holidays galore: the Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Boxing Day - all days to exchange gifts. Jodi shared some of her favorites with us this year, plus a selection of mouth-watering food websites for…
For the second year in a row, KitchenVisions has won a BRAGB PRISM Award. The Newton Gambrel Primary Bath earned a 2022 Silver PRISM Award for Best Residential Bath over $125,000. Thank you to the KV team and industry partner Asher…
Jodi and Natasha had a great time curating the palette for the Fall 2022 issue of Boston Home in the Essentials pages. In the article “Raise the Bar,” KitchenVisions created a palette - Happy Hour - that provides all the elements for a…
Our love affair with coffee keeps going strong - and keeps us going. More clients than ever ask for dedicated beverage centers and built-in coffee makers. Whether for our morning cuppa or entertaining family and friends, coffee stations…
Boston Magazine has recognized KitchenVisions with a 2022 Best of Boston Award for Best Kitchen Designer. KV earned a Best of Boston Home Award earlier this year.
KitchenVisions won two 2022 PRO AWARDS held on June 1st at the Clarke showroom in Milford, MA. KV won a Gold Award for Residential Bath under $30,000 for their third-floor bathroom, Under the Eaves; and a Silver Award for Residential…
Over the years we’ve been asked whether it’s better to renovate or move to a new home (and by new we mean new to the homeowner, not necessarily new construction). In the years before the pandemic when mortgage rates were lower, housing…
2011 was a propitious year: Game of Thrones premiered, NASA launched the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter, Prince William married Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey, Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ was the #1 one song of the year, and…
“KitchenVisions is thrilled to be honored by with their 2022 Best of Boston Home Award as Best Kitchen Designer,” said Jodi Swartz, Founder and Principal Designer.
The definition of a trend is: “the general direction in which something is developing or changing.” Although we typically don’t follow “trends” because they can be fleeting, there are some kitchen elements that have staying power. More…
The season of gifting is here. What’s on your wish list? Here are suggestions from the team at KitchenVisions. We’ve been busier than elves all year, and we’re looking forward to “our long winter’s nap,” however brief it actually will…
KitchenVisions won a Gold PRISM Award in the Best Living Area: Private Residence - Kitchen category (new construction) for our Midnight Magic Kitchen project in a Hudson condominium.
Today’s kitchens not only need to look beautiful, but they also need to function well. When it comes time to renovate your kitchen, you will be making a substantial investment in your home. Many renovations – especially since the…
We need to talk. Apologies for the buzzkill, but the pandemic has impacted us here at KitchenVisions, our clients, and the entire industry. We’ve got to share the hard truth. It is not business as usual, pre-pandemic. We are all dealing…
What mom wouldn’t want to relax in a spa-like bath on Mother’s Day? Pampering our mothers is one of our favorite ways to celebrate. What makes a bath feel luxurious? A bathtub with jets? A spacious shower - maybe with steam? Pretty…
It’s spring! Time to clean. When was the last time you gave your kitchen a thorough cleaning? Yes, we’ve all been fairly diligent because of Covid-19, but we’re talking about a top-to-bottom, inside-out de-cluttering, and scrubbing. So…
Let’s face it - busy families need a place to store sundries, snacks, staples, and other items that end up in our cabinets. Everyone asks for a pantry. While some homes have space for a walk-in pantry, in others we carve out that space…
One of the growing trends in the remodeling industry is multi-generational living, accelerated by the pandemic. Young adults have moved back in with their parents in many cases, while grandparents have joined the households of their…
Ready. Set. Shop! The holiday gift scramble has begun. We’re joining the fray with the first ever KitchenVisions Gift Guide 2020. Our list trends toward the home, no surprise there…
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” - Voltaire
Just as people add jewelry to their outfits to give them some sparkle, hardware offers pizzazz to home remodeling projects – it’s the jewelry of kitchen and bath design. The choices for hardware have never been as fabulous and wide…
Jodi participated in the August At Home Webinar, sponsored by KitchenAid , and hosted by The Boston Globe . Moderated by writer Marni Katz , the panel included interior designers Healther Alton and Tyler Karu. In case you missed it,…
Who doesn’t love al fresco dining? Whether under an umbrella on a sunny day or under the stars at night, eating outside can be delicious. Why not take it one step further with your own outdoor kitchen you can use spring, summer and fall?
Homeowners love natural light and glass doors have been bringing in the sunshine for decades. Sliding doors became popular in mid-century modern homes and have been a staple in residential construction ever since. Improvements in glass…
Five months have passed since the first news of a global pandemic, and it appears Covid-19 is still with us. Most everyone we know has adapted by social distancing, wearing masks, repeated hand washing, and disinfecting surfaces. 😧
In honor of America’s 244th birthday, we are sharing products we love to use that are made in the USA. Incorporating artisan and hand-made items into projects, especially when mixed with less traditional styles, has been gaining…
Do you have a basement that’s unfinished? If so, do you realize that you’re sitting on a proverbial gold mine? You could maximize your basement now and find the space you need for one or more of these functions:
During the IFDA NE Trivia Night, one of the questions was to identify kitchens from TV shows. It was a blast. So we thought we’d give you a chance to see which kitchens you recognize from TV. (No cheating…don’t look them up!)
What has living in your house during this stay-at-home era been like? We’re all experiencing our residences in completely new ways – spending more time in our kitchens and bathrooms than ever before. Many of us are working from home and…
Blue elements have been popular in KitchenVisions designs. We call these our Blue Belles. One of three primary colors, blue has had a long history in art and culture. Blue symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence,…
Most residential designers worth their salt use computer perspective images – a cool tool – to illustrate layouts for their clients. Not many of us are really skilled at reading blueprints, hence the rise of CAD (Computer-aided design)…
We are in strange times, no doubt about it, now that the novel coronavirus pandemic has arrived in Massachusetts. There has been an unprecedented run on toilet paper, but it won’t be a problem for those with a bidet seat on their toilet.
Want big impact in your kitchen or bath? Tile will transform your space. It is one of the staple materials of the contemporary kitchen and bath. While tile has been around for centuries in one form or another, technology has improved…
Since the turn of the millennium, more and more clients requested open concept spaces with casual dining - seating at islands and peninsulas, built-in banquettes, and breakfast nooks and niches. Formal dining rooms were on their way to…
Holiday season marks the time when we’re in the kitchen cooking and baking. One of the reasons we love what we do is that we know this time of the year the kitchens we’ve designed and transformed are being put to good use.
When Chicago sang “Color My World” did they have any concept of the role that pigments, hues, stains, and tints play in our lives? Most of us are sensitive to color and the impact it has on our environment. Painting a room can…
Planning a kitchen or bath renovation? Then your countertops and surface selections will be part of the decision-making process. We’ve covered key information about natural and engineered stone surfaces , as well as wood countertops.…
Wood you be my surface? Maybe the question is: should wood be your surface? Magazines and websites show off beautiful live edge wood islands, butcher block countertops and other exotic wood surfaces throughout the home. Is it a good option?
The story goes: The homeowners traded their old natural stone countertop for a beautiful new quartzite surface, but now they miss the old one. They just took it for “granite.” Despite the bad pun, granite countertops are still among the…
Cooler temperatures bring school days and a full calendar of activities. Usually backpacks and briefcases filled with paperwork follows. Our devices need a place to charge. Coats need a place to hang. Built-in desks and shelves,…
The musical group Crazy Frog sang “I like to move it, move it.” Doubtful they were referring to moving a bathroom or kitchen to another part of a house, but when we sing “move it, move it” that’s exactly what we mean.
President Reagan famously said “Tear down that wall!” When reconfiguring spaces in client’s homes, we often concur. Many older homes were built during a time when heating, cooling and window technologies were not particularly efficient.…
In 2019 imagining a kitchen or bathroom without a sink would give us a sinking feeling. It wasn’t until indoor plumbing became popular here and abroad that sinks actually produced water. Dry sinks – lined with zinc or lead - were the…
Have you ever tried baking a cake in the dark? It’s a challenge! As space designers, we know lighting plays an integral role in any kitchen or bath plan. There are different kinds of lighting we use and a variety of sources for the…
School’s out and you know what that means: summer reading lists! We’re sharing our favorite kitchen memoirs. Cookbooks aren’t exactly beach reading and kitchen design books might not work poolside. A yummy food memoir – kitchen,…
What defines traditional style? Traditional design evolved from 18th and 19th century Europe and the American Colonial and Gilded Age eras. Recalling your great-grandmother’s traditional style, known for heavy, dark, elaborate and…
What defines transitional style? Transitional style emerged out of the contrast between modern and traditional design. Where modern styles tend to feature clean horizontal and vertical lines and less adornment and traditional styles can…
What defines modern style? If you’re talking about a design era, then Modern refers to a movement that began at the turn of the 20th Century, marked by minimalism, clean lines and geometric elements. Historical modernism heralded a turn…
Come island hopping with us this week! Our favorite players may be voted off the island, but the island itself will never be voted away – the kitchen island , that is. It’s one of our favorite kitchen trends. Here are five reasons why…
Even the most organized among us can get overwhelmed with activities once spring bursts forth, so if you haven’t already finished your spring cleaning, here are some tips for re-organizing your pantry. Just as you would changeover your…
KitchenVisions won a Gold CotY Award (Contractor of the Year) in the Residential Kitchen $50,000-$100,000 category for a South End kitchen renovation, and a Silver CotY Award in the Entire House/Condo category for a project in Boston’s…
How often have you heard that a Do-It-Yourself kitchen renovation ended well? Most people do not realize everything that goes into a successful kitchen remodel, from planning to scheduling to procuring fixtures and finishes. The details…
When thinking about appliances for 21st century kitchen, what comes to mind for cooking up a storm? Ranges, ovens and cooktops are the work horses of the kitchen. There are more choices than ever in these categories. Whether you have a…
We consider ourselves good stewards of our planet, and do what we can to observe Earth Day every week. This year’s theme resonates with us: Protect Our Species . Not only do we support safeguards for endangered species, we also practice…
Your great-grandmother might not recognize the appliances in 21st Century kitchens. Today we use an array of appliances to preserve and cook food; these products have become much more sophisticated over the decades. Let’s start with the…
Of all the projects we’ve done, handling a remodel - Mini & Modern in Brooklyn - for Jodi’s daughter, Dana, and son-in-law, Dan, was one of the most rewarding. Reconfiguring their space was challenging but satisfying. It also gave Jodi…
When you walk into a kitchen, what is the first thing you notice – assuming there are no dishes overflowing in the sink? Most likely your first impression comes from the cabinetry because it is on at least one, two or three walls of the…
Recently The Boston Globe reported that the ‘open concept’ floor plan trend may be over. The KitchenVisions team does not agree, especially when it comes to renovating older homes with a maze of smaller rooms. It often makes sense to…
For the past five years, you may have been seeing more dark trim and casings around windows, both on the exterior and interior. Part of the popularity comes from the visual interest created with contrasting hues around windows. All…
If you are planning a renovation in your home, here is one tool we recommend: Cost vs. Value report . When we meet with clients, we use the report as a guide. Remodeling Magazine publishes it every year.
