Kitchen Design Tips - as part of the home design series by GeoBeats.

Hi, I am Robin Baron of Robin Baron Design, and we are talking kitchens, the heart and soul of our homes. Look at this fab kitchen. One of my most favorite parts of a kitchen is the back splash. It is a place to talk about personality, express yourself and really do something a little bit different. This back splash here is all glass. It is on the horizontal in small strips and that gives it a modern yet glam look, but the most special part about this back splash is the center panel that is recessed back. It allows to clip on shelves and hooks so you can have extra storage. It looks great and it is very utilitarian because it gives you more space than you thought you had. What really finishes this back splash is the way that the interior part of the recessed panel is finished. It is not the same glass tiles as the horizontal in front. It is another material and I love mixing it up because mixing it up, and stirring it up, and making it your own is what its all about.

Kitchen sinks are another way to create interest in your kitchen. We are there every single day so why not make it something beautiful and unique. This sink is unique. It is a stainless steel sink surrounded by deep stone all the way around it and flanking the sink are cutting boards. How much more useful can you get? You cut your vegetables, you throw it into your sink and go down your disposal. If you do not have a disposal in your sink, there is another surprise here, a disposal right under the cutting board. So remember, just because it is a sink, do not ignore it. It is important to pay attention to all the details because great design is in the details.

Think about what is going to make you feel really different. What is going to make you feel really good and what is going to inspire you every day because we all deserve to have a home we love. Look at this island. It is a really great example. Most people would not think to use this mosaic tile on the countertop. They would probably match the countertops to the rest of the kitchen, but it is a great place to do something a little bit unexpected, and it is paired with stainless steel framing around the wood drawers of this piece. The stainless steel obviously adds a modern edge to it and the two things I really want you to pay attention to, because even if you are not redoing your kitchen or your island, you can make these small changes. One is hardware. Hardware is like jewelry in a room. It is jewelry like we wear earrings to frame our face. Look at the hardware on these drawers. They are not very big, but they are different, they are square, they really add pizzazz to the piece.

And the other thing that you can do very simply is go out and get a lazy Susan. The lazy Susan is such an easy thing for you to go out and get on your own. Plop it down on the countertop or on the island so you really have a great way to display anything you want to, a vase or a pitcher, or fruit in a glass bowl, and it also is very useful.