Interior design ideas: American kitchens - in pictures

This kitchen, in a 19th-century barn in upstate New York, may look like the work of highly paid architects, but it’s actually put together using Ikea cabinets interspersed with vintage pieces. The fridge, oven and dishwasher are from Ikea's Nutid range. For similar vintage Danish chairs try Sigmar, and for smoky lights, Sofie Refer’s pendant. The splashback is created from off-white Metro tiles. Photograph: Matthew Williams

Thanks to a knocked-through, raised ceiling, this narrow galley kitchen in Brooklyn, New York, feels a lot larger than it is. The increased space is filled with extra-tall storage and shelving, and the work surface on the right is narrower, with shallow bespoke cabinets underneath, including one housing an extra-small microwave. Counter tops are hard-wearing slate (find them at slateworktops.co.uk), which can take hot pans and spillages (a little olive oil or sanding makes any blemishes disappear). The original brick wall is painted white as a cheap splashback; walls and cabinets are also white to make the space feel larger. A glazed door leads to an outdoor eating deck. Photograph: Matthew Williams

This 1830s four-bedroom house in Connecticut is relatively untouched by modern living. In the kitchen, Farrow & Ball’s Folly Green paint lends an institutional, wartime air. Get the look with Formica counters, a vinyl floor and enamel accessories. Labour and Wait is a good source of functional kitchenware, Andy Thornton has similar vintage metal signs and try Trainspotters for industrial lights. Cath Kidston’s boats fabric is a good match for the curtains. Photograph: Matthew Williams

At this home in Los Angeles, patterned encaustic cement tiles on the floor and walls create an immersive effect (try Fired Earth’s Marrakech range), and an exposed brick wall and plywood tabletop balanced on trestles further soften the industrial feel of the cabinets and fridge. Shelving is stainless steel from a restaurant supply store, with dinnerware and glasses (all from Ikea) displayed on wooden trivets; counter tops are grey-veined marble (try carraramarble.co.uk). The Caravaggio P2 lights are from Skandium; find similar stools at Rockett St George.
Photographs taken from Remodelista, by Julie Carlson (Artisan Books, £25.99). Photograph: Matthew Williams