Home Design with Kevin Sharkey

1 Metal chairs, lamps, and side tables refine this sleek loft space. The glittering hue bounces off a eucalyptus wreath and high-lights the faux-bois table.

2 The sofa is upholstered in shades of silvery taupe and beige, and on the wall, crystal sconces and a silver frame further enhance the gleam.

3 Sparkly objects -- such as this mirror and chandelier -- look especially pretty against muted shades of gray.

4 The polished silver of a tea set, a chandelier, and table settings is quietly bolstered by the gray tones of a rug, the graphite sheen of upholstery, and the lustrous fringe on a tablecloth.

5 On the shelf of a mirrored mantelpiece, reflective mercury-glass lamps, vases, and other vessels provide a warm, luminous setting for the roses that bring the only touch of intense color.

6 On the shelf of a mirrored mantelpiece, reflective mercury-glass lamps, vases, and other vessels provide a warm, luminous setting for the roses that bring the only touch of intense color.

7 Of many mercury-glass forms, the vase is the most common. The infrequently seen flask-shaped vase, belonging to Martha, lacks the usual pedestal foot.

8 Attractive rounded forms include a gazing ball, compote, small match striker, large and small rose bowls, and a bowl with clear glass feet.

9 Curtain pins are often decorated; like doorknobs, they are sealed solely by their metal shafts, rather than by the usual cork or lead plugs.

10 Wood and ceramic bowls are finished with 18-karat yellow-gold leaf and 24-karat white-gold leaf, which actually create a softer effect than silver leaf.

11 Wood boxes are all finished with opalescent silver paint, which reveals the grain beneath, then topped with designs photocopied onto silver paper from old prints.

12 A pattern borrowed from American quilts, the "tumbling blocks" decorate the bottom of a sophisticated tray. It is executed in iridescent paint and silver paper.

13 The cabinet is a junk-store find that was sanded and painted, then lined with squares of silver tea paper. The sterling-silver and mercury-glass objects displayed in and on it stand out nicely from the burnished background.

14 The look of the silver appliances mixed with the while is what I love about this kitchen.

15 This Italian room from Desire To Inspire has several silver accents throughout the room.

16 The silver bases on the chairs adds subtle color.

17 The walls add so much glamour (another photograph taken from citified.blogspot).

18 From Citified.blogspot, I love the shimmer the couch provides this living space.

19 More white with shimmering accents.

20 The next few images were taken from Desire To Inspire. I love this side table that also functions as tray and dining cart.

21 This photograph from Desire To Inspire is from the inside of a Danish home. I love how the silver accents (the frame around the mirror and the candle sticks) add an edge to the white room.

1 Martha Stewart Living's creative director Eric Pike creates a serene retreat with a single quiet color and clever, space-saving solutions.

2 When he renovated his new apartment, Eric chose soothing shades of gray and made a decorative fireplace a focal point in the living room. The 19th-century French limestone piece was a gift from Martha Stewart.

3 Since the roof was raised in the back of the house during renovation, the living room -- and its windows -- gained height.

4 Space in the kitchen is tight, and Eric wanted to keep the counters as clear as possible. Cabinets, therefore, were designed to conceal appliances while keeping them handy; electrical outlets are hidden under the upper cabinets.

5 Perhaps the most contemporary room in the apartment, the bathroom is luxurious yet basic, with clean lines and an abundance of natural light provided by a skylight. Eric decided on a glass shower without a door to make the room feel as spacious as possible.

6 With its coffered ceiling, which conceals support beams, this room lacks the height of the rest of the apartment; the skylight, however, opens up the space.

7 A cupboard in the dining room organizes Wedgwood and French creamware.

8 Four shallow closets can be found through the doorway behind Eric's niece, Sophia.

9 Between the dining and living rooms, deep doorways allow for closets behind panels; these hold books, electronics, and kitchen supplies.

10 A television is over the living room mantel; an antiqued mirror lifts to reveal it.

11 In the kitchen, one wall houses a refrigerator and washer and dryer behind cabinet doors, as well as a toaster and coffeemaker in an appliance "garage" on a tray that pulls out so you can pour in water.

12 Eric wanted a low bed that wouldn't block light from the window; he and architect Richard Perry came up with this design, inspired by Jean-Michel Frank.

13 Above the bedroom's fireplace hangs a painting of Daniel Webster, a Massachusetts senator in the mid-1800s and an ancestor of Eric's.

14 The custom L-shaped desk was created to hide equipment while affording a view.

15 A linen closet, inconspicuous behind double doors leading into the bedroom, is just deep enough to hold sheets and other necessities.

16 An antique Swedish desk occupies a front corner of the bedroom; its many drawers keep mail out of sight. The desktop displays some of Eric's favorite possessions.

17 A stretch between the kitchen and living room in Alexis Stewart's apartment. Most of the metal furniture in the apartment, including this Depression-era desk and stools at the kitchen counter, have been painted with autobody paint for a hard, industrial-style finish.

18 An enormous bureau designed by the architect Gordon Bunshaft was divided in two; one half resides here in the living room.

19 The pale-gray cotton sheets in the master bedroom typify Alexis's idea of luxury: simple, pure, and easy to live with.

20 The dining table seats eight on Thonet chairs from the fifties. The table itself, a massive library table refinished with auto-body paint and a new linoleum top, seems to hover over the view south, toward the tip of Manhattan.

21 For the window treatments, Alexis wanted stacked pairs of shades -- one translucent and the other totally opaque -- operated by exposed mechanisms.

22 To enclose the staircase and balcony, the merest tracing of a handrail was constructed of anodized alumninum; the panels are filled in with especially clear, antireflective glass.

23 The bathroom counters are made of the same tinted plaster used in the kitchen. The tubs and sinks are undermounted, exposing the edge of the counter and making the surfaces easy to clean.

24 Not a single tile was cut in the construction of the master bathroom.

25 Alexis loves to cook and wanted her kitchen to feel accessible but not exposed to the living room. Tucked behind a wall, it is situated perfectly for her frequent culinary endeavors.

26 A cast-aluminum base lamp sits atop a low cabinet in the guest bedroom; in a nearby bookcase, Alexis stores her well-read collection of paperbacks.

27 A home office, the floor-to-ceiling bookcase, built from ecologically grown South American teak, was custom-made to fit the space.