Professional ranges, Subzero fridges and granite countertops are still hot, but the 2007 kitchen is even more high-end, with fashion-statement faucets, secret storage compartments, dishwasher drawers and high-tech wine coolers.

    ``Our culture is based on our desire for beauty,'' said interior designer Meryl Santopietro. ``And that translates into our kitchens, too.''

    For almost 20 years, the Boston and Rhode Island-based designer has transformed countless interiors - from a tony beach-front condo and historic Beacon Hill brownstone to one of the oldest country clubs in the United States). And she knows that when it comes to kitchens, homeowners have a passion for perfection.

    ``It's the center of your home,'' she said. ``Everyone congregates there and it says so much about who you are as a person. That's why it's very important to people that their kitchen reflects their personalities.''

    According to the National Association for the Remodeling Industry, Americans will spend almost $300 billion on remodeling projects this year. And kitchens place a close second to bathrooms as the remodeling room of choice - even if takeout is the homeowner's major source of sustenance - according to Renovation Experts, a network of remodeling contractors.

    ``Because of all of the unbelievable options available today - from cabinetry to flooring to surfaces to doorknobs and faucets, you really can put your thumbprint on everything in the kitchen,'' said Alexis Contant, vice president/general manager of the Boston Design Center. ``You are allowed to be so beautifully creative without being offensive to the rest of your home.''

    Santopietro's latest kitchen remodel is part of her redesign for Judith Casey's pond-side condominium in Smithfield, R.I. The original kitchen, a closed-off space with an L-shaped layout, didn't do much for the airy ambience of the home.

    ``It didn't reflect Judith's personality,'' Santopietro said. ``She's always on the go and has a fresh approach to things. So I opened up the wall and brought the kitchen into the natural flow of the other rooms.''

    Santopietro chose a rare white granite for the countertops and backsplash, and continued the sleek look with white-gloss laminate cabinets from Germany.

    ``There's no hardware, just grooves to open and close the cabinets and drawers which have an automated soft-close feature, so fingers don't get caught,'' she said. ``Another must-have feature is the Magic Corner - when opened its hinge system brings those rarely-used back-of-the-cabinet items forward for easy access.''

    Santopietro chose high-end appliances - a Miele convection wall oven and microwave, Wolf gas range and a fully-integrated Subzero 700 series refrigerator - to complement the simplicity of the space.

    ``They have the illusion of pieces floating in space, so it doesn't feel kitchen-y,'' Santopietro said.

    The walls are painted in Sherwin Williams' Turkish Coffee shade for a ``dramatic flair,'' and the base of the center island features a zebra wood veneer.

    ``The white and chocolate are a fabulous combination,'' Santopietro said. ``The room needed a little drama.''

    The room's showpiece, however, is the Tara Classic faucet by Dornbacht.

    ``It's more like a sculpture than a faucet,'' Santopietro said.

    Casey, a floral designer for Stone Blossom in East Greenwich, R.I., said she's enjoying her renovated home.

    ``What's my favorite thing about the kitchen? The island with the sink,'' she said. ``It just makes the space flow out into the rest of the house and it's just beautiful.

    ``I've been here 20 years,'' she said. ``And I've never felt more comfortable.''