This schoolhouse-inspired dining room is so fun, with its floor-to-ceiling world map, vintage chairs, and purple (!) dining table. If this inspires you to paint your own dining table (or other piece of furniture) consider this tip from Jenny Brandt, the table's owner...

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Erin and Danny live in a 500-square-foot apartment in San Francisco, but that doesn't keep them from entertaining as many as 20 friends at once! They're able to do this in part because of their terrific kitchen, which is organized for maximum efficiency and storage. See more photos below: More

Our first house, a perfect 1927 bungalow, had an enormous yard, easily twice the area of the house. "We love the outdoors," we said to ourselves, envisioning croquet parties on the lawn, along with more athletic pursuits. And picnics! We would have picnics. As it happens, we do love the outdoors, but the maintenance? Not so much. The lawn overwhelmed us. Even the minimal upkeep of the mower was challenging. Our next house was twice as large, with less than half the lawn.  More

It's striking to see this antique 19th-century architect's table used as a dining table. What a beautiful, sturdy piece. This kitchen, with its green metal cabinets, definitely reads vintage, but I believe this table could work in a more traditional, farmhouse-style kitchen, as well as something super modern. The contrast would play nicely. More

We loved the warm, woody feeling of this Pacific Northwest kitchen. Love the look? Want to emulate some of it in your own kitchen? Here are sources to help you get the look. Fill in the blanks in the comments!

Warm Traditional Kitchen Sources

Architects: Emerick Architects
Cabinets: Custom by Treeform Woodworking, Clear Vertical Grain Oregon Fir
Cabinet Hardware: Linnea
Countertops: Honed Caesarstone
Dishes: Vietri
Faucets: ______________
Flooring: Oregon White Oak
Lighting: CP Lighting
Paint – Walls & Ceiling: Coastal Point by Miller
Range: Wolf
Refrigerator: ______________
Sink: Sonoma Cast Stone
Stools: ______________
Tile: ______________
Windows/Doors: ______________

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Kelle's Kenosha, Wisconsin kitchen is clean and fresh with small touches of grass green and pale pink — just like a Spring day! It's a respite from the dramatic patterns in the rest of the house, but still stays true to Kelle's self-described "classic with hints of vintage whimsy" style. See more photos below:

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For open kitchen layouts that blend into the entertaining and living areas (say, in a loft, for example) this idea seamlessly integrates the two: a kitchen island that's kitchen-ey on one side, and home design-focused on the other! 

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"Our friends feel like they're on vacation when they're here," say Jonah and Jodie in this recent Apartment Therapy House Tour. "The house has an 'enchanted cottage' kind of feel that makes people not want to leave." Their glamorous yet modern Hollywood aesthetic is evident in their kitchen, too — a favorite part of the home. "When we have parties, one thing never changes... the kitchen draws a crowd." See more photos below!

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While Clayton and Kate may love their classic Los Feliz Spanish charmer, they're not wild about the white tiled kitchen counters or the linoleum kitchen floor, which they call "the color of an overcast day." Nevertheless, they've managed to make the kitchen a charming, stylish place to sit and enjoy breakfast. (Thanks in no small part to the Eero Saarinen tulip table, vintage Czech chairs, and large sunny window!) See more photos below:

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Last we checked in with my kitchen renovation, we were wrestling IKEA cabinets and installing them with (ahem) sex bolts. (See all the posts about my kitchen renovation so far here.) Now I'd like to take a step back and talk about a process that should be sexy but is actually fraught with confusion, uncertainty, and a lack of resources: Buying kitchen appliances.

Read on to see how we navigated the overwhelming process of buying appliances, and to see what we picked out. I'll talk about how buying a range top can actually save you money, as well as our one amazing Craigslist find!

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