Interior designer Carmen Christensen believes the ideal kitchen must be both practical and stylish and her own recently redesigned kitchen is a perfect example. The specialist kitchen designer is proud of the kitchen in her ranch-style house in Sarasota, which was designed in harmony with the living area. Her must haves, when it came to her own kitchen, included a big centre kitchen island and a stainless-steel French door-style refrigerator with freezer below. The sink includes a stylish hands-free faucet (the US word for tap.) Other features include a beautiful under-counter refrigerated wine unit, a stone floor, professional lighting design with dimmers and a combination of solid cabinet doors, glass doors and open shelving. Whenever I do beautiful and functional kitchens for clients, they generally remark that theyd like to see my kitchen, thinking that it must be some grand and glamorous thing, says Christensen. I would just laugh and think that if they saw my cramped and ugly kitchen theyd wonder how I could possibly be a success in the design business since 1990. But now my kitchen is something I can be proud of. Even though its relatively small, Ive maximized its potential and now I can easily have a big crowd over for parties and not worry about the flow of the rooms.