If you love the look of wood, let the design of this home show you how to enjoy lots of it, and still have balance and style. Designers at D-perception Ritz used laminates of different tones and wood grains to dress the cabinetry in this two-bedroom walk-up apartment.

 

A dark wood floor grounds the airy space, while the dramatic grain of the laminate on the cabinetry adds texture. Instead of one large panel, a design is created with metal strips to give the big structure a more streamlined contemporary feel (the lines also tell you where the openings for the cabinets are).

Here's a closer look at the cabinets. 

 

The kitchen space is framed with a similar laminate to that used for the living room cabinet. But the kitchen cabinets are clad in a darker wood tone, closer to that of the floor so that it recedes rather than stands out. The grain helps create surfaces with more depth. 

 

So the kitchen doesn't look too flat and boring, a sliding door, which has a surface pattern of raised timber strips, hide the entrance to the maid's room. The door is in a different. lighter tone of wood to brighten up the area.