At first, Kari and Sybil Vitikainen's house leaned toward Pueblo style. Once Sybil mentioned that she wanted a Tuscan kitchen, however, things took on a more European slant. "We changed the style of the house to accommodate the kitchen," explains interior esigner Marieann Green-Seeger, ASID, IIDA. "We didn't want a Pueblo house with a Tuscan kitchen."

      Despite wide-open views to the patio, pool and golf course, the kitchen's red cabinets steal the show. "I saw this color in a catalog years ago," Sybil says. "I saved the picture, and when we started building this house I gave it to Downsview and had the color matched." Traditional touches come from crown molding and raised panels.

      Another of the kitchen's striking features is a gas fireplace. "I always wanted a fireplace in the kitchen. It's very European," explains Sybil, who would know, having been born in Ireland, raised in England and Scotland, and married to Kari, who is Finnish. "And I love this one because the ledge is wide enough to set a drink on." The fireplace is accented with the same brick pavers used on archways and other details throughout the house.

      The room's copper hood was created on site, brushed, then sprayed with Tilex (a household cleanser) to achieve a patina. Beneath it, on the cooktop's backsplash, is a tile mural of a bull. A seemingly unusual choice, it's a natural for Sybil, whose father was a cattle dealer. "I thought the bull would remind me of home," she says. And she's happy to have her bull securely in place, since it was involved in a minor design disaster.

      "I found this mural and thought Sybil would like it," Green-Seeger recalls. "I set it on the table to show her, and some of the tile fell off and broke. I wanted a new mural, but there were no more; the design had been discontinued.

      "The tile-setter lovingly pieced it back together," she says, pointing out barely discernible chips and cracks. The rest of the kitchen fell into place without incident. Included are a substantial granite island with freezer drawers and an ice-maker, an apron-front stone sink, Viking range, ASKO dishwasher and "enough lighting for Kari to do surgery," concludes Green-Seeger - TO