A dark, lonely kitchen unchanged for 40 years lacked natural light and connectivity. With the goal to revitalize the dated space working with limited square footage and the necessity to retain existing soffits and exposed ceiling beams, designers Alspaugh Kitchen + Bath and Castle Design transformed the kitchen design. To maximize the sense of space, the designers focused on blurring the boundary between the kitchen and its surrounding spaces. A U-shaped plan with an island for seating was the ideal solution.

After a hiatus in 2021 and 2022 while the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center was under construction, the Orchid Show will be held in the brand-new Emerson Conservatory.

For most of the year, the Garden’s permanent orchid collection lives in greenhouses, where they are cared for by horticulture staff. Then, each winter, they migrate to the Orchid Show, where visitors can see them while they are in bloom.

Winter months can make it difficult for gardeners to flex their green thumbs. Give your interiors a boost by propagating your indoor plants to encourage new growth and add greenery to gloomy interiors.

There are three ways to propagate a plant: cutting, dividing or using offsets (otherwise known as “pups”). Depending on the type of plant you have, certain techniques can be beneficial or harmful when it comes to sprouting new growth.

Before you begin, some basic items to have on hand include scissors, a sharp knife, new growing pots and potting soil.

Flow and functionality were top of the list for a young family embarking on a kitchen renovation. Anne Marie Boedges, president and designer at Anne Marie Design Studio, joined forces with the couple shortly after they took ownership of the home. The goal was to make the kitchen reflective of their personalities while keeping the design functional, warm and tasteful. “The only thing they didn’t want was a white-and-gray kitchen,” Boedges says.

Faced with an inconvenient layout, unused appliances and a lack of storage, a family of five turned to Julie Abner Interiors to help reimagine their outdated kitchen. With three young children, it was important to the couple to have an updated, livable space that exudes warmth and character.

When designing your kitchen, it can be difficult to determine how to optimize the space. The placement of pots, pans, utensils and pantry items can greatly affect your at-home cooking experience. Splitting your kitchen into designated work zones helps bypass some of the common frustrations faced by home cooks and can make clean-up even easier.

The Five Kitchen Zones