By Lisa Mowry

Dana Lynch woke up in a panic one night, worried she was combining too many elements in the kitchen of the house she was building. “I realized I had specified a plaster wall, three different stones, four completely different cabinet materials and finishes, four different metals (not including the stainless appliances), and a wood floor and wall color,” she says. Expecting her husband, Bill, to object to the layered approach, she was surprised when he trusted her instinct. The happy end result: a sophisticated kitchen that mixes a lot of finishes but still seems soothing and organic—a metaphor for their home as a whole.