Critiquing Kitchen Design and Cabinetry

From Luxury Home Magazine: Phoenix 

As a blogger who's primary focus is that of all things kitchen and bath related, I get excited when I see a kitchen or a bath that has been carefully designed and executed with all the right design elements. Well, alright, maybe there are one or two things I would have done differently, but not by much. Overall I give this contemporary kitchen two thumbs up. Quiet elegance is what I call this. 


The home is located in Scottsdale Arizona. The neutral color palette and "tone on tone" scheme fits into it's overall desert surroundings. What I mean is that the design is not contrived. They did not impose a Tuscan- themed design in a contemporary home. The kitchen is fairly large and the use of two islands is a stroke of ingenuity. They stayed away from the mistake of using one monster sized island and instead divided the space into two islands. The interior island, approx 6 1/2' x 4' is the workhorse island and includes the main clean up sink and dishwasher. (I wish they didn't place that ridiculously over sized plant on the counter that blocks my view of the space). The opposite side of this island with 24" deep cabinets allows for plenty of storage. This is a dream kitchen for entertaining. Who wouldn't love this kitchen? 

The outer island is open to the living area and yet has a 42" pony wall that prevents your eye level view landing directly onto the kitchen counters. Smart idea when company is over. You don't want your guests focusing on the clutter in the kitchen. I like this, if I can hide clutter from view, I will do it. 

One of the most commonly overlooked elements in kitchen design is the ceiling. This kitchen added the drywall clad beams in the slightly  darker paint color. The addition of the beams adds an important element in the design. It prevents the large room from looking too generic and sterile. The one thing I see that I would have done differently is the placement of the microwave. Most kitchen designers have an opinion or two, or three about the microwave. If you are a tall person, let's say 6 feet tall or so, placing a microwave 54" above a finished floor is acceptable if you are this tall. But for the rest of us who are height challenged, 54" a.f.f. is too high up for comfort. Actually, 54" is the bottom of the wall cabinet. The bottom of the microwave starts at about 55 1/2" the center of the microwave winds up at about 60" tall. If the average height for women is 5'-6" tall, the center height of a  microwave at 60" is too high. You should never be pulling hot objects out in the direction of your face and above shoulder height. It is dangerous and can lead to severe burns if the container explodes in your hands as you are pulling it out. Argue with me if you insist, that you do not like a microwave lowered from the rest of the wall cabinets, but in the picture above, you can clearly see this microwave wall cabinet is located between two 24" deep appliances and could have been lowered 6" for the sake of comfort of shorter users, kids included. Actually, the microwave is usually a child's first introduction to helping out in the kitchen, why not make it more convenient for the young set?  

I also like the use of 24" stone floors. 12"or 13" tiles would have been the wrong scale for this room. I wish there were more pictures of this kitchen to show the cook top section but sorry, this is it. 

The irregularities in maple wood is more noticeable on medium to dark stains.

Here is another important factor in the design. The cabinets shown here are maple in a medium tone and it looks like they they might be finished with a brown glaze wiped into the surface grooves in the door panels. Maple stained darker becomes more ruddy, more blotchy in appearance. You may look at this sample door shown and reject it for the blotchy appearance on face value alone. I picked apart this kitchen above with red circles the way a homeowner would before giving the cabinets a fair chance before the kitchen is completed. The number one sales call a cabinet sales reps receives has to do with the perception of what a finished cabinet should look like. Avoid over analyzing your cabinets with a clear grid sheet by picking apart the highs and lows in the graining and mineral steaks that are naturally occurring features in wood. This is not the problem of the wood itself but the problem of the sales person not properly explaining to the customer the inherent characteristics found in the wood species they selected. There is nothing wrong with the maple wood shown in this example and it should not  be considered a flaw requiring all the doors to be replaced. My intent with this example is to show  that when the maple is viewed in perspective in a completed design, the ruddiness becomes less of a factor. Look back at the first picture. Your eye is not focusing on the blotchiness of the cabinets, your eye is looking at the overall beauty in this kitchen design. If you look hard enough and close enough, you will find flaws in anything. Anyone who holds a 10x magnifying mirror to their own face can testify to that! Oh lord do I know that! Yikes! 

Mineral streaks found in wood cabinets are beauty marks not flaws. 

The most beautiful women in the world have beauty marks. 

You should never expect perfection in wood graining just as you can never achieve true perfection in your own skin's pores. Before your cabinets were..."cabinets", before the lumber from which your cabinets were built, they were once upon a time trees in a forest. How much light the trees received, the natural elements in which the trees grew are a forever reminder that your cabinets were once a living, breathing part of our natural environment. The demarcations on your cabinets tell a story of your cabinets history or pedigree. These natural characteristics cannot be air brushed away, cannot be removed with lasers or bleach lightening agents. What should not be accepted are burn marks from over sanding, thumb prints in the stain, mars in the finish, and rough finishes are not acceptable and should be brought to the attention of your sales person for replacement. Mineral streaks and mineral flecks are naturally occurring in wood and should be considered beauty marks not flaws. If you can not accept this fact, you need to look at thermofoil and plastic laminate that will provide you more consistency and repeat pattern in graining. But then again, if this kitchen was done in either, I would not consider it as beautiful as it is, would you? 

When all is said and done, this kitchen is really a beautiful example in elegant simplicity. 

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Residential Kitchens can be Functional

There was a commentary from an author at another blog, Dog Walk Blog, citing that home kitchens are not functional; looking more like living rooms with furniture than places to prepare food. I am not certain if the author, Charlie, is (a) just being cheeky, (b) disagreeable in general, (c) was not part of the process when his kitchen was built, or (d) just irritated that it was his turn to cook breakfast. I'll assume (d). While I am in agreement with his opinion of HGTV's over saturation of also ran "me too" shows showing kitchen after kitchen topped with granite counters, I beg to disagree with his commentary that residential kitchens of today are not functional.  In fact, a properly designed kitchen, large or small, can be a super efficient hub of the home that would make even the most reticent morning person jump for joy at the prospect of making breakfast. It is all in the planning. In any event, I will respond to his critique on the functionality of residential kitchen design here in my blog.

There are volumes of books that discuss the history of the kitchen and it's relevance to domestic life, so I will not digress into that here. To the left and below are historical pictures from the great food blog, Gherkins & Tomatoes, a wonderful blog that covers topics on Cooks & Cooking throughout history. Suffice it to say that in America, kitchens have come full circle from the primitive all purpose "great room" where all family activities took place; and as Americans gained wealth, kitchens were relegated to the back of the house, closed off from the parlor where the family gathered, lived and entertained; up to today's standards where the kitchen has returned to it's roots as a "great room" where the family gathers, lives and entertains within the kitchen space and where cabinetry blends into the architecture of the home.


Kitchens have evolved as the new living room, but this does not make them any less functional because of the decorative cabinetry.  Looking back at the history of the kitchen, it's easy to see where the trend of kitchens looking more like living rooms started. Creating more comfortable spaces, innovating with useful tools to make kitchen chores easier is the one constant theme throughout our kitchen history.

 

Soho Loft designed by Paul Gleicher 

So let's examine the points in Charlies argument on why he believes today's kitchens are focused more on the "pretty" and not focused on the "functional":



Stainless Steel Counter tops Versus Granite Counter Tops: 

By all accounts stainless steel is a popular material in both residential and commercial kitchens. Hygienic and durable, no one can refute that stainless steel is the practical material of choice for sinks, appliances, ventilation, back splashes and counter surfaces. Gleaming bright and ultra modern, stainless steel counters can be a bold choice but also can be cold and noisy if used as the sole counter surface. I think most people would agree that counter surfaces are personal choices, an area to infuse their own personality into their kitchen. Restaurant kitchens with stainless steel surfaces are noisy because the sound bounces off of all the hard surfaces. Photo on the left French Laundry by Dave Anderson. If you look at counters in this restaurant kitchen on the left and in the video included further down, we can see that even the highly acclaimed French Laundry restaurant in Northern California has a work around solution for stainless counters, covering up most all the stainless steel prep surfaces with gleaming white plastic cutting boards at the line and white butcher paper at the plating area. The use of the plastic cutting boards are practical and butcher paper prevents plates from shifting while plating on the pass and cuts down the noise of plates on the stainless. I would also guess that the butcher paper also prevents the plates from cooling slightly less than if the plates were placed directly on the stainless surface. Would most homeowners be willing to do the same in a residential setting? I think not.

Cabinets:

Open shelves that predominate in a commercial kitchen can be a drawback in a residential kitchen. While commercial kitchens are typically equipped with heavy duty stainless steel work surfaces with open shelves below and open shelves above, commercial kitchens also employ a staff to keep these surfaces gleaming bright by scrubbing them down daily from top to bottom.  While a few open shelves at home require a moderate amount of maintenance to keep the dust and grease at bay, in today's busy lifestyle, who has the time to maintain all open shelves in a kitchen? Especially near the cooking area. If you have ever run your hand across your vent hood that you missed wiping down in the last week or more, I dare you to test it out and run your hand across the hood, feel the greasy dust on your hand and imagine a layer of that same grease on all your pots, dinner ware and glasses stored on open shelves.

Frankly, having open access to all shelves, upper and lower exposed, can look unsightly and cluttered in a residential kitchen. No one is that organized at home unless you are Martha-what's-her-name. Commercial kitchens maintain a lot of uniformity on the shelves, all white plates, all the same type of cookware, all the same type of utensils. Not so in our kitchens. We "inherit" cookware, have multiple types of dinnerware, mugs, glassware,  plastic ware, way too many slogan mugs from business partners and travel mugs and most of us want it covered up from view. Planning and plating by pulling your plate, prep bowls and serve ware out of a cabinet before you make the omelet is key in not getting aggravated in your kitchen. Installing roll out trays in base cabinets, editing out what you don't need in cabinets or do not use anymore will increase the function of your kitchen.

Interior cabinet lighting: Never search for that missing lid or favorite spice again with interior cabinet lighting.  Each time you open a door or cabinet drawer, light automatically illuminates the space so you can quickly find what you need. Picture on the left shows lighting switch from Richelieu. 



Electric Stoves:  Oh yes you can regulate heat with induction cooking, powered by electricity of course. Get ready for those perfect pancakes Charlie.

There will always be those who favor gas cooking, but induction cooking, which has been around for several years, should not be overlooked.   The following information and more can be researched at The Induction Site, the following is an excerpt. 

Here's why:

1. Instant adjustment. You can adjust the cooking heat instantly and with great precision.  This is what sets it apart from the typical electric coil which slowly starts to increase or decrease when adjusted.

2. No wasted heat.
With induction cooking, energy is supplied directly to the cooking vessel by the magnetic field; thus, almost all of the source energy gets transferred to that vessel. With gas or conventional electric cookers (including halogen), the energy is first converted to heat and only then directed to the cooking vessel--with a lot of that heat going to waste heating up your kitchen (and you) instead of heating up your food. (The striking image at the left shows how precisely focused heat generation is with induction--ice remains unmelted on an induction element that is boiling water!) As a comparison, 40%--less than half--of the energy in gas gets used to cook, whereas with induction 84% percent of the energy in the electricity used gets used to cook (and the rest is not waste heat as it is with gas). There are two important heat-related consequences of that fact:

3. Cooler kitchens:
Of course the cooking vessel and the food itself will radiate some of their heat into the cooking area--but compared to gas or other forms of electrically powered cooking, induction makes for a much cooler kitchen (recall the old saying: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."); and


4. A cool stove top:

That's right! The stovetop itself barely gets warm except directly under the cooking vessel (and that only from such heat as the cooking vessel bottom transfers). No more burned fingers, no more baked-on spills, no more danger with children around. (The photo at the left--more can be referenced at the Induction Site--shows, like the one shown here, how only the cooking vessel does the actual cooking.)


Ovens that make you bend down: 

I can't argue with this. Unless you have lots of help in the kitchen as show in this photo on the left, from another new favorite blog, (Taste with the Eyes),  placing an oven in a tall cabinet that makes it easy to reach and pull out hot food is ergonomically the best way to go. For others with very small kitchens, the sacrifice of eliminating a counter surface is not worth the trade off. For aging in place design, including a wall oven should be considered as a space planning priority. There are ovens with double doors that swing out but they tend to be on the pricey side. Again, another trade off that has to be weighed against the over all budget.

Pots & pans
Pots and pans should be accessible in roll out trays or drawers. I prefer drawers so that everything is within view with a single pull of the drawer. Hanging Pots and Pans above from a pot rack  means one of three things: (a) you can afford hired help to keep them all your pots and pans sparkling clean, (b) You ignore the dust and cob webs and only clean them before the holidays, (c) you don't cook and your pots and pans are hung from a pot rack just for show. Enough said.

Utensils and Knife Storage: definitely agree with Charlie on this point. Utensil storage should be visible and within arms reach in your cooking and prep area. Maintaining cleanliness for utensils kept out in the open is an easier task than maintaining dinnerware and pots and pans on an open shelf.  One of my favorite lines is RÖSLE.   The Open Kitchen is a genuine RÖSLE concept, lifting beautifully designed professional kitchen utensils from invisibility in back drawers and setting them out for both show and utility. The expandable system incorporates adaptable modules offering infinite possibilities for modifying and enhancing the work ambient as convenient.

Sinks
Your point is well taken. In the best of all worlds, it would be a bonus if all residential kitchens were big enough like it's commercial counterparts to house both a sink in the clean up zone for washing dishes and another sink to prep our food and wash our veggies. This is a matter of budget, remodeling logistics and size permitting.

I think there is no better time in kitchen design, where kitchens can be stylish and very functional. Any chef will tell you that the last thing they want to see after a long day in the kitchen is a utilitarian commercial kitchen at home. Everybody wants to warm it up and personalize it when it comes to their own kitchen.  

In summary I think the Rolling Stones summed it up best and you can use this logic in kitchen design too:

You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need,

Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh...

References:
Dog Walk Blog
How to get a Table at the French Laundry
www.gherkinstomatoes.com
Taste With the Eyes Blog
Richelieu
RÖSLE 
The Induction Site
Rolling Stones Song Lyrics

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Playing poker with your cabinet estimate: "How much is it gonna cost ?"

I am not a betting person but sometimes I wonder if I should take up poker since some client's like to play it with me. Poker it seems is a game of not revealing your cards and is a game of chance, skill and never revealing your moves.

The problem with playing poker in remodeling is that it just doesn't work this way if you want me to plan an estimate for you. "How much is it gonna cost me?" "How much do you want to spend?" I could bluff but that just wastes both your time and mine, doesn't it? You can't build your budget on a game of Texas Hold-em and I can't plan a design for you unless I know your budget, pardner. Case in point: You want to buy cabinets from me and you want to know how much it's gonna cost. You look at my corner 10 x 10 display and you ask how much would something like this cost in my kitchen? Well that's like asking how much is a bag of groceries!

Estimating is time intensive and if you really want to know the truth, if you think you are getting a deal with getting someone to come out and give you a "free estimate" you just lost the game. Anytime someone says it's a "free estimate" is playing poker with you. Chances are he is factoring his time into the cost of the project without revealing to you that the time to estimate, the drive time, the payroll expense to pay someone to layout the plans for your "free design" just upped the ante for him. He has to factor his time and labor into your cost. But not just your estimate, you are also paying for everyone else who asked for a free estimate with over all higher prices. Time is money, my friend, and no one is driving around town, spending time with each customer that calls for a free estimate and not building his costs into your estimate. If he isn't, he won't be in business  for long.

Do I want to play poker with clients? Nope, I am a straight shooter. I don't like gambling with my customer's time or money. I can provide you the option of a free estimate if you bring me your measurements and I can do a take off with preliminary numbers to get you in the ball park of price ranges. A free estimate won't be accurate to the penny because I have not verified the dimensions my self. It will remain a ballpark range within 10-15% until the dimensions can be verified and the details of your "wish list" versus "must have" list" clarified by you.

If you are not comfortable with measuring your own kitchen, I can do that for you but I charge a measure fee for my time to come out to your house and take accurate measurements of the space and you will get accurate pricing. This is rebated back to you when you purchase my cabinets, which is a fair deal. If you don't want to buy from me, you get a few rendered concept views and those are for you to keep.

All this makes sense until the customer who wants to have a Mexican Stand Off enters the picture. She wants a price, but won't bring in dimensions of the kitchen and she won't pay a measure fee for preliminary plans. She won't pay the fee because she doesn't know if she will like what she gets. It does not pay to play poker with a client because I cannot guess how much your kitchen is going to cost until we discuss what it is exactly you want in your kitchen and until I price it out. I cannot presume to know your taste and style without at least having a conversation with you. I have to see it or at the very least be provided pictures of kitchens you like and dimensions to estimate from.

Come on folks, this is like going to see your Cosmetic Surgeon and telling her you want your face to look younger but you are not willing to reveal what part of the face you want worked on and how much you want to spend. A brow lift, a facial peel, a face lift, remove the bags under your eyes, remove the jowels, it all adds up. What do you want to do?

Likewise you can't go to a Realtor and say "I want to buy a house" and escorted to several homes for sale without knowing what your price range is.  Kitchens, like houses, like cars, like anything you want to buy are available in several different prices ranges. If you cannot reveal honestly what your investment can be, your service provider will not be able to provide you the best service or the best value for the money without these basic facts to work from. Mostly, I want to provide my clients a project and a product they are satisfied with. To do this well, communication is essential and this is no place for a game of poker with your wants and needs.

Also, if a client tells me she doesn't need a design, she just needs to order cabinets, you can't place an order for cabinets without a plan. A plan involves a design, a design involves exact dimensions, dimensions require accuracy and if I am responsible for your order, I need to be the one measuring for those cabinets. I suppose you can simply go to your local big box store and place your order with the order takers, but then you are responsible for your dimensions. I prefer not to be an order taker.  

Getting an accurate design and paying a Professional Kitchen Designer will save you money in the long run. You can retain a Kitchen Designer to provide you a space plan so that you can get competitive bids from contractors or you may get a great price from that Kitchen Designer and buy from her. Whichever the case may be for you, working with a Kitchen Designer will add value to your project. Contractors will thank you for having detailed plans to bid from, as this saves them time knowing what the details are for your project in advance. There are too many details in cabinet design for a contractor to keep up with or even care about. Most contractors will advise clients to get their cabinets planned out and provide them a copy of the plans. A kitchen designer will be able to best advise on cabinetry, counter tops, lighting, flooring, best use of space layout, seating arrangements, appliances, storage solutions and so much more. Furthermore, an experienced designer that specializes in Kitchen Design will save you from the headaches of not pre-planning the details and not having the materials on the job when the contractor needs them. You can find a Professional Kitchen Designer by searching the National Kitchen and Bath Association website, NKBA.org.

How much is it going to cost? Moreover, how much will you save by retaining expert advice? 

photo credit1: http://flickr.com/photos/latitudes/66492870/in/set-1442169/
photo credit2:   Clint Eastwood, The Man With No Name

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Sneak Preview from Armstrong Cabinets

Everyone is gearing up for the Kitchen and Bath Show, held in Atlanta, Georgia May 1-3, where all the latest and most innovative kitchen and bath products will be previewed.

Here is a sneak preview from Armstrong cabinets. With functional and organized product introductions like the SalonCenter™, getting dressed and out the door in the morning just got easier. Many designers, including me, have been using similar ideas for their clients for years, but the difference was that it had to be designed, parts pulled together from after market vendors and custom built according to our exact specifications. Having to customize a cabinet always added to the cost. It is a good day when manufacturers are standardizing features that just make good sense at an affordable cost.

Read below for more information from Armstrong.

SalonCenter™ Brings Affordable Luxury to the Bath
LaundryCenter™ Organizes the Busiest Room in the House

New SalonCenter™ from Armstrong Cabinets provides convenient solutions for the bath by creating a luxurious spa-like bathroom loaded with built-in storage space. SalonCenter, a self contained pull out system, allows for organization of hair dryers, curling irons, and other vanity items. Imagine: His and hers preparation areas, makeup area with vanity stool and salon center pullouts that provide abundant storage for linens and supplies. Several other cabinet storage accessories not only complete the bath, but make it work as good as it looks.

The laundry room is the next big area for organization. Armstrong Cabinets provides an innovative solution – LaundryCenter™ -- that is modular, scalable and fits to the size of any laundry room.

Completely customizable, customers can choose from a pull-out cabinet insert with hangers to dry shirts, a clothing folding table as well as an ironing board pull-out, among others. A combination of these zoned organization solutions along with the appropriate layout of cabinets can redefine the laundry area to create a perfect balance of form and function.
“Efficient interior space design provides the storage, convenience and organization needed for any home and lifestyle. The trend in cabinets is not just exterior aesthetics, but personalized storage, whether in the kitchen, media room, mud room, laundry room or bath,” says Marketing Manager Tosha Diiorio. “Our Zoned Organization Solutions make life easier and more enjoyable.”
For more information, visit www.Armstrong.com/Cabinets or call 1-800-527-5903.

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What to expect in 2009: Price Increases

What buzzed across my fax machine this past week caused me to groan, "price increase from my cabinet manufacturers? Not again!"

The three things that are unavoidable are death, taxes, and price increases.

Several appliance manufacturers recently increased prices by a dramatic 20% due to the cost of raw goods, energy and production costs. If you got in on a sale before appliances went up this fall, good for you. I am telling all my clients who were holding out until after the holidays to order now while you can still buy cabinets at 2008 prices.

Why wait? Cost of goods inflation waits for no one.

If you were thinking of getting started in '09, start looking for end of year deals now.

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A trip to Kim's Kitchen Remodel

Over at Desire to Inspire blog author Kim Johnson is undergoing her own kitchen remodel. Kim admits "I am a complete kitchen reno virgin and am learning as I go."

Kim is allowing her readers to watch the progress with photos as the job progresses. Demo just begun. Come follow the progress at a special link called Kims Kitchen Remodel. I'll be watching from the peanut gallery. Come watch with me.

The cabinet line she selected is made by, Green Tea, asian inspired hand-built furniture styled cabinetry from reclaimed woods. Really beautiful pieces. I admire the beautiful unfitted hand worked antique appearance of these cabinets.

Since Kim admits to being a "remodel virgin", I offer this friendly advise to her and others who are new to the experience. Construction, a little like pregnancy, begins with joy and expectation, and almost always ends with joy and satisfaction. There will be a few points in between, however, when you may wonder "Whatever did I get myself into?" Recognizing this in advance may prove helpful in managing emotions.

My gift to you is a mood chart: a graphical representation of the changing moods during a typical design/build remodel project: Post it on your kitchen wall and remind yourself that high's and lows are to be expected, and remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Red Hot and Sizzle

What comes with the territory of designing kitchen and bath projects is the desire to punch it up with every new design. A new detail, a color, a new style. What makes a design special? A design aesthetic that carries all the way through. One that fits the style of the home. Proceed cautiously if your style leans towards the eclectic side. Learning to play up one style requires restraint. Restaint by carefully selecting materials that are in scale for the space, finishes that lend to the design, not detract from the overall effect. Adding too many elements or elements from a different theme makes for confusion.

Here are some of my favorite details from across the board. Inspired by color, asian elements, modern elements, and traditional elegance but never all at once. What do they all share? Restraint. Restraint, when balanced with the right balance of texture, scale, and tone is never boring. I love them all. Do you have a favorite?

From a favorite web site of mine: Green Tea Design. a Mizuya Island and Mizuya Counter with beautifully finished concrete countertops, a Maru Table, Dana Shelf, and some Antique Benches.

This sexy kitchen exudes style. It is a hip update to a 50's home. Designed by a fellow NKBA Member and friend, Ronni Fryman from Kitchen Places, Ventura, CA.

A balance mix of materials. Everyone loves a painted kitchen. This one exudes luscious elegance.
Flamed finished matte counters for the island with black distressed cabinets balances the bling of the chandelier and stately height of the white cabinets. This one, yours truly picked the colors and consulted on the layout for a friend of mine.

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Trends in Materials

I am being asked to speak at a seminar on Trends in Finish Materials for Kitchens and Baths.
Even though I have my own ideas I am more interested in hearing from you.
So, I thought I would pose the question to my blog buddies.

What are you interested in hearing about in finish materials for kitchens and baths?

• Do you want to hear more about back splash ideas and counter tops?
• Are you color challenged and looking for help coordinating floors, cabinets and counters?
• Do you want to hear about hard wood verses tile floors?
  
• Or, do you want to hear about alternate floor materials?
  

• Are you troubled with the terms and want to know more about them before you decide? Should you consider Stainless Steel, Vitreous China, Fire Clay, Cast Iron, Porcelain... how does one decide what is the best selection for your family?
  
• What finish selections are puzzling to you for your kitchen or bath remodel?
• Is cost playing a factor in what materials to choose?
  

I am interested in hearing what your questions are.
Thanks!
Laurie

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Small Space "Rejoice"

An idea who's time has come.
What to do with a home office/bedroom that is too small for both to coexist comfortably?

How about an improvement to the old Murphy Bed? It effortless. You have to see the video of this bed in action. Great innovation on an old idea!


No room for out of town guests? How about extra sleeping in the living room, behind the flat screen TV?

Europeans have known for years that bed frames made of bowed wooden slats outshine box springs in terms of comfort, support and durability. Zoom-Room™ has taken this concept one step further to create the ultimate design solution for convertible spaces.

Touch the wireless remote, and Zoom-Room’s premium latex mattress floats into the room. Supported by a German-designed and patented slatted frame, it simply glides down a vertical track hidden inside an elegant wood cabinet. Just 24” deep, Zoom-Room is undetectable, and unlike other wall beds, does not interfere with your flat screen TV, bookshelves – or whatever you have in front of it.

For more information visit: Zoom-Room

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Special Delivery: And I Don't Mean Cabinets

Last time I talked about Purchase Orders, I showed you a couple of my 3" ring binders from jobs in progress.

The crunch is on today. I just completed faxing my purchase orders through for a whole house full of cabinetry for one client. Went out to inspect a warranty replacement for another job, went to meet a contractor on another job and then hopped back on another long and detailed purchase order for another client. My deadline is tomorrow to fax the order, make sure it is perfect, items are finished, quantities are calculated correctly. TONS OF DETAILS TO GET IT RIGHT. The one hold up I had on this order was that my clients were not certain they chose the right color. As we waited for a new door sample to be over nighted, the clock is ticking on the construction schedule. We are supposed to be done by Thanksgiving. Anymore delays and we wont make our goal.

The door sample arrives and is gorgeous! Just in time, they have one day left to commit to the color. I am happy they loved the color, a dark Cherry Nutmeg Onyx Glaze.

I stayed late to prepare the change order documents. So when my client showed up with a fully prepared gourmet meal of Salmon and Asparagus Almondine with lovely steamed vegetable, I felt like I got a shot of B-Vitamins! Boy, what a treat! It was really a wonderful surprise and I think I will start scheduling my meetings with her closer to dinner time for now on or at least until tear out date! Just kidding! What a great cook my client is!

But seriously when a purchase order is ready for faxing, you hope to never get that call from a client asking to change the color. Once an order is in production, it is a huge ordeal to change it, not to mention costly. I am so glad we waited to get that sample! It took an additional week,
and as I have told other clients, don't stress yourself out by trying to get a remodel done in time for the holidays or (insert whatever major holiday or personal event) that is pressing down on a time commitment. Let the work be done in a timely manner. Trying to meet deadlines around a remodel is torture for you and the stress you will put on your contractor could result in poor workmanship.

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Kitchen-exchange: Did I get this right?

Kitchen-exchange: Did I get this right?
More conversations on "Do's and Dont's" for "Small Space Kitchen Design" over at the Kitchen Exchange Blog. In it, a homeowner, Mads (her blogging name), asks for a critique of her small 9' x 9' 1/2" kitchen she designed 100% by herself. Peggy Deras, CKD, gives some great insight on what went right and wrong in this remodel. Having been contacted by the homeowner myself for a critique, we exchanged a few emails back and forth as well. You can view my critique over there at Kitchen Exchange.

This is actually a lovely story of an American living in Italy. (Jealous)! Her tales of construction calls to mind another charming tale of an American living in Italy, Under the Tuscan Sun, with a not so charming experience remodeling the Italian way.

The house is in Genova about 2-3 hours from Florence. I discovered that Mads spent 5700 Euros for her remodel and another 3,000 Euros in labor. That's $12,263 US Dollars. But wait, before you buy your plain ticket, this wasn't exactly an easy remodel either. For those here in America who cry at having to wait 6-8 weeks for their remodel to be completed, you could be in for something much longer in Italy! It was a self-professed nightmare of an experience. For more info visit Post Reconstruction: A Tale of Life in Italy. Two walls were knocked down and rebuilt to expand the space (in Italy walls are still built with brick and limestone so it took almost 6 weeks for them to dry!!!). Mama Mia! She also had many problems with the workers who laid the mosaic tiles and floors but they did such a bad job she refused to pay them for that. You can see in some photos how bad the mosaic was put up.

But the good news is that Mads saved money through the ingenious sourcing of her tiles, fixtures and cabinets. A huge savings came about in that she did most of the work herself, including installing her cabinets and her hood. Bravo, woman! You are brave. What I want to know, where was "Dear Husband in all of this?" Did he help? Or was it easier to keep him out of the task?

She explains,

I was able to keep the costs low by doing the following

The mosaics are swimming pool tiles
Cost 225 euro for 16 square meters ($317 US dollars)

The floor tiles are from a company that deals with commercial clients, but I sweet talked them into an order by going directly to their factory. The color was so particular that I couldn't get any graniglia to match so I decided to have the counter tops tiled with the structured version of the floor tiles which were honed. I also ended up ordering 90% of the tiles for the rest of the house form them as well. I'm very happy with their product (http://www.ariostea-hightech.com/)

Interesting little fact. Italians don't like tile on their counter tops. Who knew? Mad continues to relate her tedious experience of finding someone to tile her counter tops. I thought I was viewing a gorgeous teak stained wood top! You fooled me, that is actually tiles on your counter top!

Now for you and I having your counter tops tiled is a normal thing. In Italy its like asking someone to ride their bicycle to the moon. I searched for six month during the reconstruction for someone to do this. I realized that I would have to do it myself. By the time I had decided to do the counters myself, all the drama of the tiles played out and then with some modification I would need of cabinets to make the washer hide behind a cabinet door and so on, I decided that no one would ever understand what I was talking about, so I'd have to do it myself. I went online and got all the info I needed and went to work.

In the end, I assembled and put up the upper cabinets. Modified most of the lower cabinets in one way or another to get them to fit with the washer, connected all the water and gas lines. Very dangerous trial and error process! I put up the hood and had the fun job of connecting the big flexible chrome tube thing that took me an absurdly long time.

I got an electrical sawing machine and cut the wood (with all those angles!) for the counter tops. I had a tiler come and put the tiles on the counters and do the part over the walls in Mosaics as out contractor was incompetent. The tiler also came back to do the bathroom. Anyway, at the end of the day, everything is a bit crooked, but no one really notices but me!

Mosaics 225 euro
Floor and counter tiles 750 euro
fridge 700 euro
washer 450 euro
dishwasher 450 euro
sink 250 euro
stove 700 euro
hood + option 750 euro
bar stools 200 euro (total)
Tap 130 euro (On Sale!)
Cabinets 1100 euro
Total 5700!

Check out the photo link for more photos of Mads remodeling.
She says:

If you do check out the photo album, I and other bloggers are taking input on the dining room which I don't like at all!

Mads, great story! Thanks for posting. I'll be right over to house sit while you are in France! Ahh, how nice.
Laurie ;-)

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Afraid of dark stained cabinets?

Never fear dark stained cabinets as long as you know how to balance light and dark together.
Take a look at some kitchens that have successfully incorporated dark stained cabinets.

This kitchen, is located at the Residences at Victory Park. at the posh W Hotel in Dallas, Texas. The project became personal when design architect, Eddie Abeyta, of the W Hotel & Residences at Victory Park chose to make a condo in the South Tower his home.

Notice the lightness from the light horizontal shape wall cabinets, the 24" high back painted glass back splash that reflects light. Not all of us can enjoy the soaring ceilings, but these ideas are transferable to a standard ht ceiling. I love the sculptural light over the table.

Dark-stained kitchen cabinetry pops against white paint and stainless steel. Eddie Abeyta's favorite piece at home is above the dining table, where Ingo Maurer's sculptural Oh Mei Ma Weiss pendant light casts a chic spotlight. (Photography by TERRI GLANGER / Dallas Morning News (MCT) )

We can take our cues for Residential Design from Public Spaces.


Notice the blend of light and dark in the restaurant, Craft, located at the W Hotel in Dallas Texas.

This kitchen is in a Terra Linda Eichler.
Notice the use of light wall cabinets that contrast against the dark base cabinets, high backsplashes, lots of glass, lots of stainless steel.

This kitchen is all dark cabinets against light floors, light counter surfaces and light walls. Minimalistic features keep this kitchen from feeling closed in. even if they warmed up the walls with a little bit more color, a warmer white perhaps, this would still feel bright. This is a comfortable modern kitchen.

This contemporary kitchen incorporates frosted glass horizontal bifold doors against the stained wall cabinet frame to keep things light. Again, notice the repetition of light-dark-light. Light floors, dark cabinets, light counters and splash.

Small spaces can use dark cabinets too. This is different. Notice the dark cabinets are on top! They work well, look at the inserts. They are a stainless mesh screen. Notice the repetition here from bottom to top: light/light/light/dark/dark/light. Light floors, light base cabinets, light counters, dark splash, dark wall cabinets, light ceiling. This kitchen is just so darn cute! It has great elements: beautiful wood tones, large slate tiles on the back splash make the space look bigger, bright off white counters. The counters would be too busy if it as a granite. The curve in the counter for a lap top is great. The blinds are wood and the tape is a contrasting fabric that blends with the cherry cabinets. No crown, no light rail. Simpler is better here. The stainless selection on the hood, cook top and sink are perfect. White or black would have been a bad note in this lyrical space. Whats wrong is the client kept the ratty old bow back spindle chair. This one needs to be banished in favor of a contemporary chair. So cute!


So far we have looked at Modern spaces. But traditional kitchens can also incorporate a little color ingenuity by combining colors in the design. The effect is welcoming. The lighter wood is Rustic Alder with a smoky-hued finish. Beautifully paired with a full-bodied finish on Lyptus to create a superb combination for this kitchen.

This transitional kitchen benefits from the flood of light coming in from the full walls of glass panels. The light honey blond of the floor and the light counter tops sets a beautiful counter point to the medium dark stain on the cabinets. I think this is one of my favorites yet!

This kitchen is beautiful but I would have suggested to the client they go a little further to complete the look. Something is a little off in this kitchen. Can you find it?
The refrigerator looks like they ran out of money and had to keep the old one. Folks, when you go this kind of expense, don't skimp on the appliances. I would have ordered a built in refrigerator and applied integrated panels on the doors. The space is narrow and I want to see that refrigerator blend in, not stick out like a mistake. Also, the dark molding at the top of the refrigerator isn't working either. It should match the white cabinets. The floor is maple natural and not the right tone. It is too light and contemporary looking. I would have gone with a shade or two darker and a wider plank. A hickory, cherry or oak floor would have looked better to complement the the traditional style of the kitchen.

Here is another one of my favorite kitchens. It has got all the elements, cleft stone walls in the back ground, a fireplace, painted cabinetry, stainless steel, dark wood tones, concrete, granite. Designed by Sandra Lutchens, this kitchen uses elements of oyster white as the primary cabinetry color. Anchored with a deep tone of Truffle on the island, paneling and trim, this kitchen is a dream. Notice the dark crown molding from the oven extending over the length of the range top wall. Great transition with shorter wall cabinets left and right of the hood. The island counter is a saturated coppery brown to match the island cabinets. Notice the dual sinks. Fabulous design!

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Editing Your Cabinet Purchase Order

It's been a busy week! I just got back from a four day training seminar given by my cabinet manufacturer back in Iowa. Before I left for training I had to make sure I had all the last minute details completed for my purchase orders I need to process for order cut off deadlines with two different manufacturers for three different clients! Ironically enough, My blogging buddies are posting on this very topic with some great comments on the purchase order process. On the east coast, Susan Serra's Blog, The Kitchen Designer has posted pictures of her purchase order process and talks about her method of taking the design to purchase order. Back on the West Coast, at the Kitchen Exchange, Peggy Deras has some cautionary information to share when clients modify the design to cut costs without consulting the designer to make sure the modification will still work in the plan. One minor change can have major implications. Your designer has gone to great lengths to make sure your design works. Making changes on the job with your contractor or when purchasing alternative appliances can impact your design. Make sure you consult your designer when you need to make changes.

The purchase order process is an intense process, and absolutely mandatory for a designer to check the acknowledgments. I will never forget a horror story I heard in design school from my drafting instructor. It has stuck with me ever since. The story goes that a designer in a large design firm was in charge of purchasing desks for a large suite of law offices that occupied two floors in a high rise downtown LA. Desks were ordered for the offices but the size of the desks were never verified with the finished built rooms. The desks arrived and were delivered to the 22 and 23 floors but the desks were too big. None of them fit the offices they were built for. That designer was quickly fired for costing the design firm thousands of dollars and I am sure a lesson she will never forget. The moral of the story: never order off a plan without checking the actual room dimensions.

Kitchen design demands that measurements are considered down to the fraction of the inch. Thus the purchase order is a critical time in planning to make sure a project will be installed without delays. Your designer should take great lengths to make sure every angle, height and depth have been factored into your cabinet order. Cabinet lead times may take 5 to 8 weeks so timing is of the essence. Customers and contractors expect projects to get underway by a certain date. It is my job to make sure that cabinets arrive on time. It is no doubt a stressful time for me when I have deadlines for several clients at once. If a client wants to rush this process, I may want that client to buy from someone else. The errors that will cost me money is not worth rushing your job. The time in between "plan approval" with the client and "cabinet delivery" is filled with at least two and sometimes three weeks of order editing, acknowledgment editing and scheduling. It equates to reams of paper with faxes back and forth between designer and manufacturer. Knowledge of cabinet manufactures specs will vary and the designer needs to be aware of the differences to prevent mistakes. My notebook tab that holds all my purchase order information for each cabinet order can wind up being over an 1 1/2" and sometimes 2" thick just for the acknowledgment paperwork between me and the manufacturer.

For each client, I maintain a binder specific for each project to keep all the information organized. Some projects may be just the kitchen while other projects may be a whole house full of cabinetry. The process is tedious and takes patience as the cabinet order is examined inside and out. Plan view and elevations are pulled out and scrutinized as the purchase order is prepared. The contract is checked against the drawings and from the drawings a purchase order is generated. Once the purchase order is printed each cabinet is checked from the drawings and goes through a through examination. The purchase order is checked to make sure the following details are examined:

1. Cabinet openings for appliances have to be checked against manufacturer spec sheets.

2. Manufacturer appliance spec sheets are notorious for being difficult to interpret. The dimensions are hard to interpret with the very small print, sometimes dimensions are missing. Phone calls have to be placed to appliance manufacturers if something is not clear. Clients need to know that changing appliances sizes after cabinets have been ordered can make for disappointment later when they discover the new appliance does not fit.
   

3. Does the door swing of the refrigerator clear the adjacent wall or an oven handle next to it?
4. Will the oven fit cut out size for the cabinet? Will the reveal for the doors above the oven need to be adjusted to avoid big gaps between oven and doors?
5. Will panels need to be ordered for refrigerator doors and dishwashers?
   
6. Did the client select the sink and will it fit in the sink base?
7. If it is an apron sink do the reveals on the doors need to be changed?
8. Are the exposed sides of cabinets finished or decorative end panels included?
   
9. Are the details at the bottom of bases specified? Wide bottom rails, recessed toe left or right, decorative valances? Toe kick lengths calculated?
   
10. Light rail and crown molding heights and projections calculated?Lengths calculated to allow for cuts? Check for scarfing, order longer lengths of molding to prevent this or change the design.
11. Cabinet interiors checked for which will receive finished interiors? Doors prepped for glass?
12. Hood sizes and venting requirements checked against appliance specs.?
    
13. Custom heights, depths or custom cabinets checked?
    
14. The interior accessories specified for the cabinets?
15. The cabinet hardware should be specified now to ensure it arrives on time with the cabinets.
    
16. Touch up materials, extra hinges, shelf clips, plastic door bumpers, tape edges?

Once the order is received by the manufacturer, they send back the acknowledgment and assign the order an so # for production. Custom cabinets will be drawn in CAD by the cabinet manufacturer. They will interpret my drawing and it is my job to check it to make sure their interpretation agrees with my drawing. This process may go back and forth to make sure the the custom cabinet is engineered as I envisioned it and approved by the manufacturer. Sometimes this process may take two, three or four faxes back and forth before it is confirmed. We maintain in our design showroom a simple tickler system to keep our orders easy to access and identify. "Orders Pending Acknowledgment" and "Orders Pending Delivery" stay in a tickler pocket on the wall by the fax machine to make it easy for the either me or my design associate to check each others orders.

Two sets of eyes. The acknowledgment not only is checked by myself , but by another associate designer so that another set of eyes views the drawings against the measure notes and the drawings against the purchase order to make sure nothing is overlooked. Many times a client has gone through their own extensive process of selecting and reselecting a color for their kitchen. To make sure there are no mistakes, It really makes sense to also put in another reminder call to my client while I am editing her order to verify a final time the color we signed off on is indeed what she wants. Homeowners buy a new kitchen maybe once in twenty years, so it in the best interest of your designer to show patience and know that it could be very easy for a client to be thinking she order Alma Late when in actuality she changed it to Alma Coffee. I like to give a color chip to my client, have her sign the back of the label, make a copy of it and keep this in her file as a final verification this is the color decided upon.

Behind the scenes of Kitchen Design is most definitely not glamorous or easy. There is a lot of preparation involved. Work comes home with me. I leave work at 6 and turn my computer on at home to continue designing or checking orders in a quiet place at home to fax back acknowledgments back to the manufacturer the next day. The thing to know about this process is that manufacturers will most typically provide only 48 hours to acknowledge an order. If an order is not acknowledged on time, changes to an order once in production can be very costly. The purchase order process is the part of a job that can make or break an installation. Pressure for your designer? You bet!

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