Kitchens- the room that can make or break a renting or buying decision, that magical place where guests seem to love to congregate even when you’ve set a beautiful table. We love our kitchens, they bring us so much joy (or not, if you live in New York City!) and they serve an important purpose, but so often we neglect this space, leaving it completely undesigned. At Rue, we’ve featured some incredible kitchens that not only have gorgeous tile and counter-tops but have just the right amount of personal touches to turn this room from purely functional to beautiful.

In this slideshow, we’ve shared a few of our favorite kitchens along with a few takeaways that can help you make your own cooking space a place of visual pleasure.