Kelly's Kitchen Sync

Homeowners, I need you!

Yes, this is for my book, but also for my new website coming this summer. (Didn’t know I was going to have a new website? Now you do. *grin*)

For those of you contemplating a kitchen and bath, I’ve got a couple of questions:

• If you’re just starting out, what do you want to know? What's overwhelming?

• For those already into the process, what do you wish you’d known at the beginning?

• For those of you who've finished, what do you wish you could tell your beginning self?

I’ve got a core go-to group that I’ve asked, and  now I want to ask you.  Some of their responses have been:

• Where do I start?
• Where can I get the most bang for my buck (and how do I compromise without damage?)
• How do I get past looks and hype to the reality?
• How do I get the Taj Mahal on a suburban budget?

Okay, I condensed the last one from about 15 identical responses and gave it my own twist. I think that title’s going in my book, right along with a chapter called “Faucet Wedgies, and Other Plumbing Mistakes.” 

Yeeeesss, I could have said something about how the restaurant-style sinks and faucets don’t always fit in a regular counter depth, but why? (If you think this is going to be a serious book, you might want to move along. I think we should have some amusement with our information, no?)

I’m finding my experience a hindrance: what I think everybody knows, they don’t. I’m too far along to see what you need. 

I'm going to leave this at the top of my blog for the next few weeks. Help, please.

A Reader Asks: Track pendants

“Do you have an equally informative post about track lighting (or the more modern name for these lights) that support pendants for use over a kitchen peninsula with seating? My contractor has already finished the ceiling and all I have is one fixture connection over the peninsula. I have not seen a multiple light single fixture pendant I liked. Thanks for your input, Barb”

(Credit: Juno Lighting)

Hi Barb,

Hmmm, that’s a tough one. California’s energy code restricts us from using some pendants (50% of our kitchen lighting must be low-efficacy or energy efficient.) Most of the multiple lights are 300-watt or use 100-watt ratings for each bulb -- and we can't buy 60-watt bulbs and explain it to the inspectors.

It’s strange that the manufacturers haven’t yet clued into the fact 100-watt bulbs are on the way out — in many countries, it’s already happened. For the U.S., that magic date will be January 2012. (Can you tell one of my clients and I just spent 4 million hours looking for multi-light pendants? We needed a 200-watt multi-light pendant. Try finding one with 3 bulbs that doesn't have a 100-watts per socket.)

But I digress -- what you’re looking for is a line-voltage track (You probably already knew that, this is for the other readers), and not a low-voltage track, which would require a transformer either on the track, the lights, or as a separate transformer. The latter is not what you want, given that your ceiling is already finished, as it might require opening up wall or ceiling. (Might not if you have an attic; not good if there’s a floor above—that involves placing the transformer somewhere else  in the kitchen. After the ceiling is in? Not fun.)

If you’re confused about the difference between low-voltage and line-voltage, The Lighter Side has a clearer explanation and lists some pros and cons.

My go-to resource is Lighting Universe – I’m not affiliated with them, but it’s a nice place to see all the lighting at once. And the caveat, "if the price looks too good to be true, it usually is", applies very strongly to lighting.

I might also suggest Alfa Lighting from the Juno Lighting group (again, no affiliation), and see if any of their line voltage tracks suit you.

In the meantime, if any readers have their own favorites and wish to share, would you care to help Barb out? Thank you.

Steampunk Sunday: Round and oval windows

If money was no object (and even if it wasn’t—I find I'm very good at overcoming my own objections), wouldn't a couple of circular and spherical windows work well in our steampunk homes? Just like many Victorian homes added them at the top of a stair landings, they add a focal point, and, if placed right, a picture frame for your view.

(Credit: Marvin Windows)

Imagine a sweet little alcove with a seat for reading, or a piece at the top of a stair.  The spokes could be brass or leaded, instead of wood, or even stained glass, which would fit in nicely if your neighbors are a bit too close and you want some privacy.

They’ve been around long before the Victorians—they were a feature in 17th century French and Italian architecture. (In French, they’re called an oeil-de-beouf, or bulls-eye).

(Château de Chenonceau, France)

 

 (Oval window from Palazzo Acerbi in Corso di Porta Romana in Milan, built at the beginning of 17th century. Picture by Giovani Dall'Orto.)

Here: if we’re going to get steampunk fantastical, I think there’s no better flight of fancy featuring circular windows than the Villa Montezuma, built in 1887, in San Diego, CA.

(Credit: Weird California)

Enjoy!

Yet another design element to think of...

...outlets and switchplates and how they’ll work on your new kitchen backsplash.

I bet that’s just right up on your to-do list for your kitchen design, isn’t it? *grin* 

I pulled the top stock photo because I’d originally thought that all the black squares on the backsplash were outlet covers and how it’d make a perfect post about keeping covers straight (you’d be surprised how many aren’t, especially in the new model and tract homes I see.)  But then I saw that the bigger squares were tile pieces, and the photo became a multi-purpose tool.

Pay attention in the planning stages

First off, let’s tackle the above “design.” When you’re designing your own kitchen, please don’t match the outlets to the decorative piece as shown above. They’re not the same size, it’s impossible to line them up, and they completely detract from the symmetry on the wall—as you can see. You want the outlets to be subtler than that, and perhaps to even blend in.

It’s a challenge to do on a budget – make them blend perfectly (unless we want to make that extra investment; many people don’t.)

I’ve designed dozens of kitchens where the covers do stand out…when one is actually looking at them. *grin* We don’t pay that much attention to them unless something brings them to our attention, like above, or they’re crooked and don’t fit.

Alternative solutions

If someone had been paying attention at the beginning, they might have been able to either:

• Add plug strips under the wall cabinets, such as Task Lighting’s plug strip (note: this is a more expensive option, and not suitable for everyone—let’s face it, it’s easier to plug in straight on the wall, but if you have an intricate pattern, like below, imagine a lovely, white outlet right in the middle of it. *shudder*)

(Credit: Task Lighting – it’s the silver bar tucked above the tile. I imagine the company chose stainless

and white so the bar would show up – they have a brown which would have blended with the cabinets.)

• Change the sizing of the tile deco (the black square) to either be more in proportion with the black outlets (if you must) or select a color for the outlets that blend more into the splash (and add one more deco piece at the end.)

One of our projects we’re working on now has 2x2 dots and the outlets are spaced between them – they don’t match, and the colors are subtle. The outlets should blend right in. When that happens, you have another option as well: they don’t have to line up at all, like so:

 

• Pay attention to the type of tile you’re using. If there are specialty tile, such as pencil liners, or embossed tile, an outlet stuck in the middle of them completely destroys the effect. Our awesome electrician (I know you’re reading this. Does this give me future credits?) and I spend a fair amount of time discussing outlet placement, such as we did below:

 

As a final alternative, if you can’t beat them, either make them a piece of art on their own (I might simplify the splash though):

(Credit: Switch hits. No, I wouldn’t use this in a kitchen, but it’s fun,

and it’s probably 5 p.m. somewhere…)

 Or have a specialty artist faux-finish them:

 (Credit: Lisa Tureson of Faux Creations. I don’t know Lisa personally—I  just found her on the Web.)

Final solutions

In the top photo, I might have suggested 3 options depending on budget:

• an ivory outlet
• an ivory outlet with a faux finished cover
• the angled strip plugs

And perhaps an outlet/switch placement that wouldn’t have fought with the deco piece.

 ~*~

If you liked this post, you might be interested in:

        

A little art for switchplate covers     Trends to watch: recharging stations

Stock plan, part 2: What to do with the desk?

So you remember our dissection of the stock plan yesterday. There were enough emails in my inbox this morning along this theme:  “Kelly, we like desks! How dare you and Paul make fun of them! Grrr!”  that I thought I'd do another post today.

(Okay, maybe they weren't quite that feisty, but work with me here. *grin* Also, don't be afraid to post a comment--I'm not the type of designer who grandly waves her hands and makes pronouncements.)

If you like a desk in your kitchen, have a desk. I believe in this kitchen, given the lack of storage and the poor layout, that a desk area with knee space is wasteful. Note I also say for this room. 

Here’s the reason why—wireless technology for all will eventually make it redundant to sit at a desk area where your back is to all the action (our hard-wiring makes us itchy when we can’t see who’s sneaking up on us.) Certainly where I design, wireless is the norm, which spawns the idea that the desk as computer seating is a waste of space.

To me, if you want a desk area in the kitchen, wouldn’t it be nice if it could be placed in front of a window or near a skylight, or somewhere where natural light and the beauty of the day makes it a joy to sit there? Or given the wireless, a nice window seat with storage nearby, like this:

(Credit: Martha Stewart)

If a busy family came to me, and said, “But we like the desk, Kelly! It’s our lifeline!”

Then I’d say, “Okay, as an option, let’s not think desk, let’s think communications center with a place for grocery lists, phone numbers, family appointments, and storage. Lots of storage.”

Like this:

(Credit: This Old House Photo: Laura Moss)

The counter is higher – 36” to 42” high– ergonomically friendly to lean on to dash off a quick note, or grab an envelope. And look at the storage under the counter that a chair might have taken up.

Depending on the family, I might go further and suggest a full-height furniture piece, with retractable doors like you see for tvs in many hotel rooms, or for contemporary, lift-up doors (or, if budget's no object, motorized lift-up doors.) Close the doors and the piles of paperwork from the local school fundraiser and Timmy’s dentist appointment vanish.

In a kitchen this small, we need to grab every spare inch of base storage we can get. And there’s a million more options hinging on the future homeowners who will one day live here.

What do you think?

Avoiding major trouble spots in a stock kitchen plan

Well, specifically, this plan. Ignore the soft focus – this is supposed to be an arty shot. I’ve seen hundreds of these in my career, right  up until I started specializing in remodeling. If you have this plan, are a new contractor, designer, or homeowner, maybe I should have titled this “It’s a Trick—Runnnnn!” 

Or something subtle like that.

There are more than 2 potential trouble-spots, but we’ll discuss them as we go along. (For those of you new to the blog, my middle names are “It Depends.” In other words, this is what I know; your mileage may vary.)

It looks good at first glance, right?

There are nice counters between all the appliances (also referred to as landing spaces), a big pantry, and some typical echoing of architectural angles for both cabinets and walls. There’s no indication of wall cabinets in this plan, but that's okay--most homeowners add them when they visit the cabinet showrooms.

Here’s what I see:

• 2 major “this is going to hurt” factors
• 1 “somewhat annoying” detail
• And 1 “what were they thinking?!?” outright flaw.

Can you spot what they are? 

(For those experienced ones in the audience, shhh. No yelling out the answers. *grin* )

I’ll give the rest of you a hint: everything depends on who you’ve picked to spot these details, and the appliances you select.

Here's another hint: I first saw this plan around the early 90s. O stock plan designers – do you really think that appliances and lifestyles have remained the same for 20 years?

I can barely keep up on a monthly basis anymore, and I’m not even talking which manufacturer is now making which brand name, and who’s outsourcing where. I’m talking basic design, an oxymoron in our business if I ever heard one.

The 2 “this is going to hurt” factors

1. How will we fully open the refrigerator door? 

Did you guess this? Good. Give yourself a point.

Most refrigerator doors do not swing open so that the face of the door lines up with the side of the refrigerator—no, it protrudes right over the framed pantry wall, like this:

The first thing that’s going to happen is a huge dent in your wall. Your refrigerator door will open, oh, about 15 degrees max. before you hear the crunching.

Purchasing an integrated refrigerator with a swing-pivot door (where the face of the door when opened will line up with the  side of the refrigerator) might work; just be careful not to swing the door wide or you’ll dent it against the wall. And co-ordinate with the family so both the pantry door and refrigerator door aren’t used at once.

This plan is a modification of an earlier plan and the back wall is bumped out to accommodate a 30” deep refrigerator. There should have been a filler between the refrigerator and the pantry the same size as the thickness of the door.

2. Haven’t handles gotten larger and deeper on some dishwashers?

Why yes, give yourself another point. There should be cabinet spaces, ears, fillers, extended stiles – whatever you want to call them—between the dishwasher and the sink cabinet. There’s a curved handle out there on one line of dishwashers that protrudes almost 3-1/2” from the face of the dishwasher. Imagine swinging open a full-height sink door. This is another crunch moment.

That’s why we leave some filler space in the angle—which has to take in the size and depth of the dishwasher door, its handle, and the style and construction of the sink cabinet.

I never design a kitchen this way. There should be at least one cabinet between the sink and the dishwasher. It leaves more room for a person to remain at the sink area when someone else wants to load the dishwasher, and … well, we’ll talk about the other later on.

The one “somewhat annoying” detail

We were having a recent discussion on Twitter about desks and their usefulness in a kitchen based on one of Paul Anater's latest posts on desks. Again, 20 years ago, this was the “I need to look up recipes or pour over my grocery list or dump mail” desk. Certainly most of the desks I see in the homes I remodel seem to be a great repository for the big dog food bags, but this could be a regional thing. I remove a lot of these desks in older homes.

So, let's look at the desk. Let's look at said desk in relation to the pantry door. Interior doors on a plan are typically drawn at a 90-degree angle from the wall, but it really swings 180-degrees unless you install a hinge-mounted door stop. I think a wall- or floor-mount wouldn't work well here, but maybe you have it and like it just fine.

Now imagine a chair in front of the desk. Or if you have younger children at the “Eeee, fling everything open with full force!” stage. This is a perfect illustration of the "it depends" factor. Might not even be an issue for a couple who never open the door fully anyway.

Did you get this one? Good. Give yourself another point.

The “what were they thinking?” flaw

Let’s have another look at the overall kitchen. Do you notice anything?

There aren't enough cabinets in this kitchen for a family of 4. There’s one corner lazy susan cabinet, a 6” condiment pullout to the left of the range, and one possible bank of drawers in this entire kitchen. Oh yes, and a desk. Hooray.

I have a small galley kitchen that has more storage than this one.

Sure, we could store a lot of items in the pantry, yet going back and forth opening that pantry door a couple hundred times a day isn't my idea of functional. And where does one store the cutlery?  If the answer is “between the refrigerator and range because there isn’t any other room and I’m not giving up my lazy susan for a blind corner cabinet”, then where do you put your pot-holders? Your spatulas? Sandwich bags and wrap? Knives?

I've written about over-appliancing the kitchen before.

So if you have a stock plan, ask yourself the following:

• How do the doors swing and/or open? (Why yes, this is a continuation of last week’s post on keeping your kitchen ding-free, which you can find here.)
• Can you cook your favorite dish here?  Imagining your way through a meal can pinpoint the above, even if you only cook pizza. After all, you have to figure out where the pot holders and paper towels will be…
• Do you need a desk?

If that lovely architectural angled wall for that hallway wasn’t bearing (and I didn't have the entire plan so who knows?), I might suggest losing it in favor of adding that bank of drawers I was talking about earlier between the sink and the dishwasher. That’s one idea. Another’s an island. There are quite a few ideas to do in this space, and each is a domino lining up in a row of others.

In the meantime, those of you with the most points, please trade your points in for some Easter chocolate. The points make it all non-caloric…honest. If you’re dubious, I understand. You can send it to me. 

My apologies to those of you that have this plan; I hope you had the better variation, and good people to help you. If not, perhaps you could share your story with the rest of us.

Steampunk Sunday ~ Door and Cabinetry Handles

Thought I might show you some fun cabinet and door hardware today. They have either an Edwardian or Art Nouveau flavor and would work well even if you're not considering a steampunk home.

 

Von Morris Corporation

Von Morris Corporation has a lovely Edwardian flavored line called “Weave.”  A touch of oil-rubbed brass, a bit of detail – one could add these to any number of earlier homes and they wouldn’t look out of place. The line includes a doorbell and gorgeous handrail supports. I love the color and shape - the weave adds a nice texture (and it wouldn't be a challenge to clean!)

Deadbolt from the “Weave Series”

Edgar Berebi

Edgar Berebi has quite a few lines of really interesting architectural handles.

(Here’s a hint: anything that says “architectural” in front of it, no matter what it is, is not cheap. It is, however, going to last for the lifetime of your home and beyond.)

If budget is tight, I’d order a couple, install them on the focal point cabinet, whether it's a pantry or a glass cabinet you see when you first walk into the room. They have just the right amount of bronze (and copper) to work in a steampunk home and makes me think of wind and zeppelins.

“Somerset” collection

 

Martin Pierce

If budget’s no object (she said, waving her hands grandly), then having a pair of Martin Pierce hand-made sculptures for your doors or cabinets might be the ticket. If I had the right home, I’d gladly shell over my money for a pair of these instead of an Ipad…*cough* or two or three *cough* (Hey, I’m a designer! What did you expect?)

 

“Hedgerow” series in bronze

Or, as my designer mother says, “If I amortize the value of these with the number of days I will spend looking at them in my lifetime, it’s a few dollars a day! Same price as a cup of coffee!” (Explains a lot, doesn’t it?)

There you go. Happy Sunday!

Keep your kitchen ding-free

I'm working on a book on insider tips for kitchen design (are you excited about it? I know I am!) and one of the items I’ve been pondering lately is how no one seems to pay attention to the door swings. I’m talking cabinet doors, refrigerator doors, microwave doors, doors between the kitchen and other rooms in the home—you get the idea.

Look, I even see it in showrooms – dings and gouges on refrigerator doors because someone forgot the counter was deeper than the built-in refrigerator and someone flung the refrigerator door open and, ouch.

Here’s the trick:

• Get a copy of your almost-final floor plan, a pencil, and a ruler that has circles or something you can indicate as swings.
• Lightly draw every door open – including dishwasher doors and oven/range doors (they’re approx. 21” deep.)

That’s right—we’re going to do a check BEFORE the kitchen is remodeled. If any door…

a) overlaps another

b) hits against a counter/hood fan/refrigerator, or

c)  doesn’t allow enough room against the wall for you to keep your hand on the cabinet knob and crack your knuckles against the wall, then you need to tweak the design

Change some hinges, or redesign where the appliances go. If the garage door swings against the cabinets, make sure there’s a door stop applied to the hinge.

Maybe this won't solve every ding, but this small exercise will not only give you a last-minute check, but will save you from killing your friends, your kids, or your significant other every time you see that dent in your new refrigerator door.

(Who ever sees the dent first is allowed to use the “not me!” defense.)

 Can you see why I bumped out the refrigerator cabinet on this design? Imagine swinging the refrigerator doors wide. Look at the nice counter which dies into the side panel so the left refrigerator door won't hit it. Also look at the cabinet knobs on the pantry on the right—wouldn’t they have made 2 fine dents?

There are other variations in design if you don’t like the stepped-out look; this is just one solution.

Steampunk Sunday: The New Victorians?

(Photo credit: HB via Strange Closets)

 A quick link today, as I'm running today.

Here's Tate Gunnerson of Strange Closets'  lovely post on steampunk design as a growing trend that I somehow missed in January. (His post, I mean, not the trend.) What I find interesting is that he discovered the January 2010 issue of House Beautiful featured what they call both The New Victorians, and, brace for it, steampunkian.

Ew. Steampunkian. Double ew. I’m also thinking that what they’re pointing out as New Victorian is really more Goth-flavored, but I think he’s nailed why steampunk is even coming into mainstream. Your thoughts?

In the meantime, head over to Tate’s blog. He has some nice links for our Steampunk Sunday. Have a lovely one!

This isn't kitchen design--this is travesty

Our company provides cabinetry in addition to our design/build practice. People bring drawings in, either their own or from other companies. Our lovely and talented design assistant takes care of this division; I only step in when I hear her moaning.

This was the example this week of a drawing from a big box store:

Now, I know I live in the world of experienced designers, architects, and contractors. I also don’t expect everyone to have the knowledge I do. But basic kitchen design rules for safety and ergonomics should still apply.

This isn’t kitchen design; this is poorly-trained, cabinet box sales.

Firstly, the regular height wall cabinet should not extend over the range. That’s plain dangerous. And what’s the deal with the offset higher wall cabinet? Maybe they’re not installing a hood fan (there’s no code that says you have to, but the room sure gets messy and greasy after a few years without one), but this…is horrible.

Secondly, which you wouldn’t know – there’s plenty of space to relocate that pantry elsewhere in the kitchen. The counter between the range and the pantry is 9” wide – sure, enough room to move a frying pan on the stove and not have the handle hit the pantry, or as a landing space for a spatula or spoon on the counter, but not much else. Keep this figure in mind: the average pot diameter without handles is 10”.

When someone says they’re a kitchen designer, ask their credentials, experience, and training. I think that the big box stores have a lot to answer for if this is the type of quality that’s coming out of the kitchen departments.

We will be redesigning this. If the client wants the kitchen this way, we’ll thank them for thinking of us, but we will refuse this project. Hopefully we can educate them even if they don't choose us.

I’m still shaking my head.