EVERYTHING AND THE KITCHEN SINK

Since these rooms are such accurate mirrors of a homeowner's tastes, almost no one leaves the kitchen and master bath alone after buying a home. Kitchen renovations in the United States average upwards of $27,000 per job with 50 percent of the budget going to cabinetry. In the bath, renovators average about $12,000 per project with 12 percent of homeowners opting to bump out or add an addition to the existing bathroom. The National Kitchen & Bath Association estimates that 83 percent of Gen-X homeowners (the youngsters with $951 million in discretionary funds) will undertake ambitious remodeling projects this year with kitchens and baths at the top of their lists.

The Evolution of the Kitchen

kitchens are more than rooms for preparing meals. They have become entire suites that occupy a major portion of the home, the area most used for everyday living and for entertaining. The cooking area is usually equipped with two dishwashers, at least two sink areas and various refrigerator and freezer drawers throughout the workspace. Also, look for a commercial-grade cooktop and ovens of conventional, convection and microwave capabilities. Ninety-two percent of kitchen renovators still demand a new microwave oven, even though most admit they use it as a glorified breadbox or only to defrost frozen foods.

Flowing from the prep space is a casual eating area that might lead to an outdoor garden for growing fresh herbs. The full-size butler's pantry has made a comeback. Often, a temperature-controlled wine room or a craft room completes the suite.

A significant focal point in today's glamour kitchen is the hood above the cooktop. Hoods are essential for proper ventilation, but they have become art-high art. Hand-crafted of pounded copper, glazed tile, sleek shiny stainless steel and even tempered glass, the hood can be the signature statement of a professionally designed kitchen. It delivers the "wow" factor.

The Kitchen Styles of Southwest Florida

when it comes to choosing a theme for a room and supporting the theme with all the right detail accessories, it really is all about lifestyle and region of the country. The Southwestern kitchen with Navajo accent rugs and hot tamale color schemes is appropriate for Arizona and parts of California, but generally doesn't work in this part of the country. Same for the New England Colonial kitchen. It's charming, warm and cozy, but it doesn't say sun, sand, and casual al fresco menus.

Floridians seem to gravitate toward certain styles of kitchen design that are in harmony with the tropical environment. Here are the current favorites.

Mediterranean eclectic: By far the most popular kitchen design in our part of Florida. Think Tuscan farmhouse or Palladian villa. The key elements are stone and tile. Tumbled marble for the backsplash. Limestone or terra cotta tiles for the floor. Rustic iron light fixtures. The stove is set into a wide niche, sometimes with shelving above for displaying Deruta pottery. The hood is elaborate and ornamental. Carved molding of olives or grapes is often used around the hood and around the ceiling. The walls might be faux finished in a pale distressed golden hue. The center island might be configured as a heavy rectangular wooden farm table. A true Tuscan kitchen has very few (if any) built-in or wall mounted cabinets. Instead, you'll find an assortment of freestanding storage units, some closed, some open. The kitchen should look like it has evolved over many years and has a patina of wear and family enjoyment.

Relaxed country: Exposed beams, pine paneling and cabinets in pine or wormy chestnut, exposed brick, stenciling around the ceiling, an apron soapstone sink and a chair rail might be features to incorporate in this popular style. Hang clumps of dried flowers and herbs from the ceiling, install a pot rack above the center island. Decorate with roosters, baskets, quilts, straw hats, shells, dried flower wreaths and accent pieces of white distressed painted furniture. Put pots of basil, oregano and mint on the windowsill. A few rag rugs or canvas floor cloths in Florida colors for the floor and that should do the trick. This relaxed country look can be modified to become Country French or American Shaker, both of which are quite popular in Southwest Florida.

Contemporary: This style is sleek, spare, slightly industrial and totally free of clutter. Incorporate appliance garages to hide essentials. Consider having the cabinet doors open like the overhead compartments on an airplane. Install stainless steel restaurant-like cooktop, ovens and sink. Use track or recessed lighting. Flooring is often high gloss and free of throw rugs. Counter and cabinet finishes might be shiny laminates, granite, stainless, or woods such as birch or ash. Concrete countertops and floor are strong contenders. Opt for spring-release cabinet doors and drawers. No hardware. The judicious use of black as an accent color raises the level of sophistication.

Traditional: The traditional kitchen is likely to feature raised panel cabinets in rich woods such as cherry. You'll want lots of detail work, such as rope molding, on the cabinets. Consider fancy drawer pulls, crown molding, glazed walls and a chandelier over the center island. Place Oriental area carpets over the wood, marble or porcelain tile floor and include a wingback chair and ottoman for reading. Built-in or freestanding cabinets display fine china or other collectibles. A fireplace with Delft blue and white and a white mantel for displaying a collection of vintage pottery pitchers would be nice. A few Old-Master paintings could complete the picture.

Guidelines for a Successful Kitchen

design and furnish your kitchen for the way you really live, not the way you or someone else thinks you should live. Rooms should reflect your personality, and the goals should be comfort, practicality, and beauty.

If you do not enjoy formal entertaining, you do not need a big dining room. So make sure your kitchen has an inviting big area for a table, hanging light fixture and comfortable chairs. If friends and family are going to be in the kitchen on a regular basis, make sure there is room to spread out. Do children tend to congregate in the kitchen to do homework? Is the kitchen your favorite place to talk on the phone?Then you surely need a comfortable club chair or rocking chair somewhere in the room.

Lighting. You need ambient and task lighting. Proper lighting, or the lack thereof, can make or break a kitchen. Too many people budget lighting at the end of a project and run out of money. Lighting should be a priority. Consider both natural and artificial light sources. Add dimmers to all lighting elements.

Designate spaces to display collectibles. Glass front cabinets? Built-in shelving? A large freestanding cupboard? Don't forget a designated space to house the cookbooks.

Visit model homes or kitchen showrooms to see the most up-to-date appliances and kitchen conveniences in action. Ask lots of questions.

The Bath as a Spa Retreat

american homeowners have been influenced by travel to Europe and the Orient, where bathing is a near-divine experience. They have brought those memories home and are converting them into bath palaces that are secluded and stress-free retreats. Slipping into a luscious chenille bathrobe and locking one's self in the bathroom is tantamount to taking a brief vacation to Bali.

As a result, the master bath has become luxury spa, a refuge for relaxation and rejuvenation as well as a necessary space for hygiene. The master bath today is a suite and often encompasses a full dressing room (with his and her walk-in closets), a home gym, a sauna and/or steam room and a lounging area with big plush chairs for reading.

A walled privacy garden that can be viewed from the shower or tub is becoming a key design element. Big windows and fancy drapes or blinds that can be controlled by a remote unit are also part of the total picture. A sound system for peaceful music and dimmers on all the lights are essentials.

Guidelines for Baths

Lighting. You'll want general overhead but also lights for makeup and maybe some gentle perimeter lighting for when you're soaking in the tub. Don't forget to maximize natural light. No windows? Consider a skylight.

Make sure you have enough outlets and that they are located in the right places. If you're left-handed and use a hair dryer every morning, an outlet on the left side of the counter makes sense.

Does water relax you? Then you'll want a big soaking tub, maybe with whirlpool jets.

Spend the most you can afford for luxury towels and quality sponges, soaps, shower gels, exfoliating grains, body lotions, etc. Luxury in the bath is all about pampering yourself.

Organize your sound system so that music can be piped into the bathrooms.

Consider a television housed in a niche, especially if part of your luxury bath is devoted to an exercise space. You'll probably want a phone, too.

Keep the major fixtures (tub, vanity, toilet) in tones of white or ivory. Save your infusion of color for accessories, window treatments, walls. It's easier and less costly to replace coral mini-blinds than a coral bathtub.

WHAT'S HOT IN KITCHENS

. The summer kitchen. A full but compact kitchen on the patio or pool deck. Some include stone pizza ovens.

. Dish cabinets 15 inches deep.

. Drawers with cutouts for utensils that fit neatly into the spaces, from zesters to corkscrews and more.

. Refrigerator and freezer drawers scattered throughout the kitchen for extra convenience. Viking makes a handy 24-inch-wide under-counter fridge meant to be a beverage center.

. Built-in coffee system, which grinds the beans, brews the coffee and fits sleekly into the cabinetry.

. The single-drawer dishwasher, raised so there's no bending over when you load it.

. Two dishwashers in the kitchen.

. Warming drawers.

. Foot pedal under the kitchen sink to control the hands-free faucet.

. For wall colors, sage or moss green is the new neutral and buttercream yellow is the new white.

. Counters set at varying heights depending upon their function and the height of the user.

. Limestone and slate countertops. Concrete is coming on strong. Corian's 12 new solid-surface countertop colors by the Italian firm of Ettore Scottsass are attracting younger buyers.

. Interior cabinet lights that go on when you open the door.

. Concrete floor that is scored to resemble tile and then acid washed with various stains to attain the desired color.

WHAT'S HOT IN BATHROOMS

. Modernistic, wall-mounted toilets and faucets.

. Toilet enclosed in a small room of its own within the master bath suite.

. Pedestal sinks.

. Freestanding wooden bath tubs, often of iroko, an African wood used in shipbuilding.

. Tiny, translucent and iridescent glass tiles for shower area.

. Soaking tubs extra deep and with whirlpool jets.

. Variable counter heights for the convenience of the user.

. The vessel basin like a glass or stone bowl placed on top of the counter. Not terribly practical, but a great choice for a powder room.

. Etched, frosted, rippled or other fancy glass treatments on shower doors.

. Serious wall art on bathroom walls.

. Mirrors on mirrors, as in hanging an ornately framed mirror on top of the bigger mirror above the vanity.

. Marble, marble everywhere. Onyx, too.

. Glass basins and countertops.

. Electric defogging devices for mirrors.

. Heated toilet seat.

. Air jet massage system in the whirlpool .

. Multiple showerheads.

. Big copper or nickel "rainforest" shower head attached to the ceiling of the shower room and raining jets of water straight down on the bather.

. Universal design, which means conveniences for older folks-grab bars, hand rails, higher toilets, hand- held showers, non-skid floors, no thresholds at doorways.