French Twist

Give a home office a soft touch by filling it with pretty storage containers and your favorite colors. A spare closet was fit with lighting, shelves, and a desktop to create a highly useful work area. Notice how the room's red toile wallpaper was continued into the closet.

Though all-white interiors are not everyone's cup of tea, rooms without color can communicate a sense of elegance and serenity. White in this space is interrupted only by an occasional plant or expanse of wood, and seems cool, calm, and collected.

Salvaged treasures from secondhand stores are placed with care within a variety of unlikely furniture neighbors. Fabrics of red checks, toile, mini-florals, stripes, and animal patterns work to create an unstructured mix of pattern.

Mixing things up is one way to get a look that's all you. Here, the owner combined French furniture and accessories with a color palette that is neutral and subdued. It all adds up to the look of stylish serenity with a mod to fabulous French elegance.

Vibrant wall color is the perfect foil for a display of blue-and-white transferware. Blue mohair seating and pillows made from antique French toile give the main seating area a real punch of color and interest. At the window, draperies are topped with swags and rosettes.

A love of European country antiques is reflected in this room that includes elements of both Country French and English Country. Paneled walls were painted white to bring a more casual feel to the space, and the mix of antiques gives it a classic lived-in look.

Measured use of collectibles, especially those that follow a motif, gives a kitchen personality. This space shows off roosters on ceramics, an iron pot rack, and in the colorful fabric used on the window valance. A high shelf over the cabinets offers another display ledge.

How can you show off a kitchen without closing it off? Opening the walls is a great answer. The fluted columns enclose this kitchen space while arched openings let the cook be a part of family and guest interaction in the adjoining room.

Replacing a standard doorway between the kitchen and family room with an 8-foot-wide archway makes the two rooms feel like one open space. Upholstery fabrics in the family room tie the look to the kitchen. The fabrics were chosen to be tough enough to withstand daily use.

Though tiny memory boards can be found ready-made, this large 54 x 48-inch version was custom created for this elegant showhouse space.

The hardworking island is 9-1/2 feet long and features a two-level speckled-granite countertop. The upper-level serving and eating bar is higher to accommodate bar stools, while the lower level includes the kitchen's main sink.

While island seating is a popular kitchen amenity, this island includes a furniture-look banquette for extra seating at a pedestal table. The banquette's middle-of-the-room location leaves clear routes to adjacent areas.