Kelly's Kitchen Sync

A Reader Asks: Design help with a small project?

“If you have already addressed this topic in a previous post, forgive me and point me to the right post. I tried to find one but failed. 

I live north of Atlanta and am in the process of planning a kitchen remodel.  Problem, we have a very small budget 20-25K MAX firm.  I know I would benefit from the services of a kitchen design professional, but most of the ones I have been able to locate are aimed at the high end customer or find my budget insulting. I cannot spend $15k on cabinets before 3k for installation, sorry.    

I also can’t afford the stealth problems you describe and feel like I am out on a limb as my own designer/contractor lining up subs, picking materials, etc. I have put a lot of time into speaking with independent cabinet makers etc. but they design for cabinetry not the big picture. What is a homeowner to do?  How does one locate a  certified kitchen designer that you can pay either by the hour or for specific design input without getting tied to using their custom cabinet maker etc.  Once I find one, how does one proceed?” –Marjorie

I sent Marjorie an email but thought some of you might be helped by it as well. (This has been edited slightly from my late  night reply.)

Yes, that can be frustrating and I certainly understand your feelings. You're actually my perfect reader for my upcoming book where I provide insider tips for what you're talking about, but unfortunately it'll probably be out after you finish your kitchen.

It might be beneficial to have a freelance designer, but if I may suggest, don't get one to hand-hold the entire project as it'll eat too much into the budget. Do your research first, get your layout, figure out some basic colors, and appliances. Don't buy anything yet or get too locked into the details.

When you've got something you're reasonably happy with (or two or three options), THEN look for a designer to look over what has been done and get his or her advice. Pay for an hour or two of consulting time. Most designers charge anywhere from $ 50.00 - 150.00 per hour (and more.) It will still be worth it. Someone with experience can glance at your project and tell you immediately what's good and what needs to be corrected. If they discover even one mistake, it’ll save you far more in time and materials than their fee. Plus, doing it this way will keep the help within the budget.

Either look on the professional websites - NKBA "locate a professional" or scour the net. A lot of designers I know are offering free-lance consulting – and you may even start with my blog list.

Also, Marjorie? I forgot to add in the email that if someone finds your budget “insulting”, you walk away without a second thought. Anybody who sticks their noses up deserve to choke the next time it rains. The professionals I know will let you know how they conduct business--without sneering--and If they have time, might offer a helpful suggestion or two along the way.

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Hopefully, some of you designers, and especially you free-lancers, will chime in. Let the readers know how it works in the internet era!

Steampunk Sunday: Links!

Thought I might send you off today with a few links to some very good steampunk design sites (partly because I’m currently under deadline, but mostly because I really like these sites.)

First off, a bit of over-the-top design, Three Rings Design gaming studio in San Francisco. This is an older article from Gizmodo, so old that most people in steampunk’ll be scratching their heads and saying, “You’re just talking about that now?”  but for the interior designers in the crowd who haven’t yet seen it, it’s still fun to look at. 

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The divine Ms. Sara, over at The Steampunk Home, has been blogging about steampunk design for much longer than I have. Where she might be an especially great read is for those of you who’ve been reading about the influences, and then want to see actual products and designs. Just to give you a taste, in the past month she’s talked about everything from the Massachusetts Victorian steampunk home, which will be having a tour this May, to steampunk gaming tables.

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If you’re more into the All!Steampunk!Allthetime!, and you’re only one of 4 readers left who doesn’t know of The Brass Goggles, then have a look. This site’s been on my radar almost since it began (where’d the time go?) and while it focuses more on the world of steampunk, it’s always interesting to check out items like the conceptualization of a steampunk iPad.  Why?

Why not?

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day, I was going to do a completely different post, until I was given a last-minute opportunity to ask home safety expert John Drengenberg, the Consumer Safety Director at Underwriter Laboratories (UL), to talk about what to do with used  compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

(Note: the video's unedited for the first part, so you get to see what happens when John didn’t get my whole blog name in. Just ignore the first twenty seconds.)

Here’s what he had to say:

For other tips on health and safety in your home, check out Underwriters Laboratories website: Safety at Home. There’s a twitter feed there linking to all things green and friendly for Earth Day, as well as other practical advice.

***

By the way, this is also the day that the EPA's RRP law (Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule) goes into effect. For those of you with pre-1978 homes wanting to consider a remodel or renovation country-wide, the EPA has determined that lead paint is a harmful presence in your home (especially for pregnant women and children), and due care should be taken in its removal, and has chosen 1978 as the cut-off date for assuming the presence of lead in your home.  All remodels of pre-1978 homes will now require you to use EPA-certified contractors. (Unless, of course, you have your home tested and it proves lead-free.) 

As, with any new law, there are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings. In my opinion, the EPA has not done a very good job in getting this out to consumers and industries. I've known about this rule for 2 years, but the certification training came a bit late, and most people still aren't aware.

My construction compatriot, Sean Lintow, of SLS Construction, breaks down the ramifications very well in his blog, while there is a wealth of information over at the construction forum, Remodel Crazy, where you'll see how the professional contractors have spent a lot of time separating fact from fiction. Be safe, be informed.

You can find EPA-certified firms in your area by checking on the EPA website:

Locate Certified Renovation Firms

Happy Earth Day!

Steampunk Sunday: Pressed Metal Ceiling Tiles

(An old photo of Jenks Candy Bar in Albany, Oregon with pressed tin ceilings.)

In our on-going search for items for the steampunk home, I thought we might consider replications of the old pressed tin ceiling tiles. Pressed tin was mass-produced in the late 1800s, and meant as a cheaper alternative to the time-consuming and expensive plasterwork found in fancy European homes. The style eventually fell out of favor around the 1905-1910, yet never truly disappeared.

Tin was the metal of choice 100 years ago because of its cheap cost and availability, but it also rusted, especially in homes that didn't have the waterproof construction methods we have today. Now, of course, the tiles can be manufactured in different metals and colors, and easily available from dozens of suppliers. (It's also marketed as "the new traditional", which makes me laugh.)

(For steampunk, I might have added some posts on that raised bar, and latticed transoms to divide the two nook and kitchen.)

Here's a fine example: Armstrong’s line, Metallaire. It has a few designs and shapes, like the Copper Wreath pattern above, but you'll find several more companies if you do a quick search for “pressed tin ceilings” or “tin ceiling panels.”

Due to a huge reduction in light reflectance (light doesn’t bounce off as well as it does on a painted ceiling, which makes the room darker), you might use this sparingly in a 8’ height ceiling. Add some painted beams around the room, or only use it in one section--say, only one part of the kitchen, but not the nook. It works well in homes with 9’ ceilings and higher, but it's still  dark, as you can see above.

The following photos are a few of the more traditional--sorry, I mean, new traditional--patterns which haven't changed much over time:

     

(Some very traditional examples from the Chelsea Decorative Metal Company in Houston, TX)

       

(More examples from Classic Ceilings in Fullerton, CA)

If your kitchen has 8' ceilings, or you're concerned with the light levels, there’s an easy fix: use the lighter colored metals, paint them, or search for pre-painted finishes. Have a look at the tiles below, again from Chelsea Decorative Metal, which are available in something they call “Plantation Charm” (although I might snag the other, “Gothic Gold”, for an evil laboratory  library. Wouldn't you?)

   

(Plantation Charm, on left, with Gothic Gold, on right)

Before you decide you want to work with it, consider how you're going to install the lighting. Placing recessed can lighting in pressed metal takes some mathematical skills when dealing with such intricate designs, especially if you don’t have the nice circular wreath pattern we have above.

(My special super talent is finding the ceiling joists without ever opening up the ceiling. How? I draw up my lighting plan. Hit most of the joists every single time. The crew claims they don’t ever need stud-finders—they’ll get me to whip up a lighting plan and then they’ll know. Ha. Ha. :-P) 

Sure, it’s not difficult to place the can in the center of the tin, but you also have to avoid the ceiling joists,  which means placing the panels will be critical. This is where the ceiling might be designed with some sort of sheetrock or wood coffer combination.

(Acoustic Ceiling Products via Arts and Crafts Home – the lighting could be placed on the sheetrock, or the cherry crosspieces could be made larger for can placement. The metal tiles would be placed in each square. Make the squares the right size and you won’t need to cut the metal.)

The tiles also aren't that easy to work with, especially if you need to cut them, and you're a metal-working novice. The panels bend and flex and are also lethally sharp once cut--something to keep in mind as you're planning your ceiling details.

Here’s something to get you started – I found this photo from Urban Revivals, LLC, in Maryland, and thought it was a very good example. Their website needs an update, but I couldn’t resist some of their work. This is what I mean by light and dark. Whether the dark area is a beam or the colors are switched, adding this level of interest could be…fun. Not inexpensive, but fun.

I’m showing mostly the 12” x 12” tiles (although they may come in 12” x 24” sheets), but there are many other sizes as well. Happy hunting!

Are you a tub or shower person?

This isn’t the bathroom I’ll talk about below. I think I could have fit the entire bathroom in this tub/shower area alone. 

This is the equivalent of “which way do you hang the toilet paper?” *grin* I get feisty opinions all around. 

If you’re in a household with family members who like both, or have a tub/shower combination, then this isn’t really for you. This is for people with master baths which contain separate tubs, usually the big Roman bath versions, and separate showers.

Here’s what led to today’s post:

I met an older couple in the showroom a month ago. Their upstairs master bath held a tiny shower (the kind you crack your elbows on the walls when you shampoo your hair), and a huge oval tub. The shower needed work as it had the typical 30-year-old mildew under the silicone, and the old aluminum shower enclosure; the tub was pristine. There were no windows in the space, but they did have a gorgeous large skylight.

“How often do you use the tub?" The answer was pretty obvious, but I wanted to be sure.

She shrugged. “Never. We don’t take baths.”

Turns out they had lived in this home for 20 years with this unused tub before deciding to remodel.

“So what would you like to do?” I asked.

“Gut it and replace everything.”

Which, to them, meant replacing the tub too.

“I’ve got a radical idea for you both,” I said. “Why don’t you eliminate the tub? Then we’ve got a couple of options – the space for the tub can be new closet space or we can relocate the shower to where the tub was and really give you a gorgeous shower.”  (There were no windows in the tub area.)

She paused. “Oh, but you have to have a tub.”

“Are you going to ever use it?

“No.”

“Are you planning on selling anytime soon?”

“No, this is our last home.”

“Then if you’re really concerned about it, we can cap the plumbing for the tub, keep the shower in the same place, and then the next people have the option. But I’d like you think about the value of spending anywhere from $ 2,000.00 – $ 10,000.00 on an item you’re never going to use.”

If you’re going to stay in your home for the next 10-15 years and beyond, why keep something “for the next people” and sacrifice valuable real estate space, money, and function for them? We don’t even treat our own families that well sometimes!

But it was a bit radical for them because she had been contemplating a new tub, and she said, more than a couple of times, “Oh no, we can’t take out the tub!”

A couple of weeks later, I was called out to see them. Their plans, they told me, included shifting the shower to the existing tub location, and using the tiny shower spot for closet space. (What they hadn’t decided was on using our firm, but oh well—can’t win them all. It’s still a bit satisfying knowing I helped them reach a space that will be much better for them.)

Think about your needs, not anyone else's, especially in a home that will be yours for a substantial portion of your life. And if you’re still arguing whether you’re both tub and shower people, then stick to both…and decide how to make them best for you, not simply selecting a jetted tub even when secretly you hate jets.

So which are you? Tub or shower? Or both? Would you consider doing what I proposed above, given the long-term criterion?

Steampunk Sunday: The Art of Donovan

(Thin White Duke)

Art Donovan is a steampunk artist based in New York, whose work I've been following for awhile now. Well, I didn't really know who I was following, but I kept admiring these steampunk clocks appearing in various spots on the web.

Art is fancy in the world of steampunk home design and has his own design studio where some of his artwork was just featured in the Steampunk Art + Design held at the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford in the UK.

(Edited to add: Art was the curator of the Steampunk Exhibition as well. The blog for it is here, even though the exhibit ended on Feb. 21st.)

I noted in an earlier post that I'd found one of his works in HomePortfolio and have since discovered more, which is what you'll see when you click on the photos. (The description tags are a hoot: “ Artisan, Contemporary, Hip, Period, Rustic,Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Gothic, Retro, Shabby Chic” – way to capture everything, Mr. Tag Person. *scratches head*)

  (Art Donovan)

His lamps are a combination of steampunk Deco and turn-of-the-century, as evidenced below, and you can find many of his pieces on his original blog, Art Donovan. Steampunk Art, which languished last year while he was busy with Donovan Designs but being clever the way I am (okay, a quick web search), I found his newer blog, Donovan.

  (Oxford Station Wall Lamp)

 Many of his pieces are one-of-a-kind or limited quantities. There’s something about the combination of curves and linearity I quite like. This one reminds me of the old kerosene lamps my grandparents used to have, with the metal mesh around the flame. I had forgotten all about it until I saw this – although the finial feels Art Deco.

  (Parrish Carriage III)

Some of them go waay out there, which are kind of fun, so have a good look through the links and see what you like. Be sure to check out the few pieces he has at his “Number 1 of 1” blog of design creations. He doesn’t post frequently, but it’s always interesting when he does.

Here’s my very favorite. I’ll take two, please. For the future conservatory with the Victorian tile flooring.

(La Luna)

In the meantime, enjoy!

A Reader Asks: Need refrigerator help!

Help! I have the same problem as your post on refrigerator hinges here. Old refrigerator fit; new one doesn't. Are there any high-end type refrigerators made today that are 68 1/2" max high; counter depth; 35 1/2" wide? – Irene

Hi Irene,

I didn’t have my coffee yet, so I read “high-end” and 35-1/2 wide and thought, “Sure – KitchenAid has one that’s 35” wide, 83-3/8”…oh wait…you need only 68-1/2” high, not 83. Oops.”

I can’t think of anything at the moment and many of them that I know are 35-3/4", so I'm putting this out for my intrepid readers.

Thoughts?

Kelly

The Magazine Factor

(Mick de Guilio kitchen via Alicia B.)

I’ve been noticing an interesting trend the past couple of years: homeowners sharing magazine photos of their favorite kitchens, etc.

Nothing wrong with that. I do the same thing. But unlike homeowners, I think these photos set expectations too high for the rest of us.

Now granted, I do some pretty fancy work, thanks largely in part to clients who are fortunate to have both money and vision. But I’ve also been in the field where my designs (and budgets) were pretty basic. I’ve designed kitchens where the budget was $ 6,000.00 for cabinets, and others were $ 85,000.00 (Yes, just cabinets.) The first needs a competent installer to make sure everything is installed plumb and square; the second needs a craftsman. (And lots of hours.)

(Mick de Guilio sink via Alicia B.)

As Alicia B., who used to work with Mick de Guilio, says in her blog, Alicia B. Designs:  “They have amazing lighting, and are very grand and top of the line everything. Designer Mick de Giulio used to work as a craftsman so everyone of his kitchens is different and amazingly constructed.”

See the repetition? Top of the line. Craftsman.

These two factors cost money. Lots of money. Not only that, they take hundreds of hours of design and installation work, carried out by people who are at the top of their game, our own industry equivalents of superstars with entire teams behind them devoted to making these visions happen.   

Heck, there are some of those designs in the magazines that I wouldn’t even touch without some help and talent.

I guess what I’m saying, is that if you want to have a kitchen that looks like these, be prepared to pay for the talent to make it happen.

Yes, there are some of you DIY-ers who will proudly tell me (and show me) the beautiful magazine quality rooms you did. In which case, let me ask you, how many hours did you spend making it happen? And if we gave your labor a monetary figure, how much would that work into? Because I know some of you have spent hundreds of hours. (I'll leave you to calculate the value.)

Yes, it’s lovely, wonderful design, and we should all take away something we can use. However, asking for your home to look the same without the budget and talent is the  equivalent of wondering why the filet mignon at the local family restaurant doesn’t taste like the one at The French Laundry.

Not that there aren’t some very fine designers and craftspeople in all ranges. Just something to keep in mind as we look over all this great eye candy.

And that’s my 2 cents for the day.

Steampunk Sunday: Cabinet door inserts

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

I’m mired today in writing and website details, so this will be short, but I wanted to give you a quick thought for a steampunk room. Instead of glass for cabinet doors, why not consider copper, or tin, or another element? I’m not talking only kitchens – this could be in the living room or library or even powder room.

Excuse the poor photo quality, but here’s something crafted by a local metal craftsman for our showroom. The stamping was selected from an Art Deco pattern book, and he sized it, stamped it and add the patina. But here’s the wonderful note on inserting this type of panel – it still hides everything behind the doors, unlike glass.

If that is something you might like to try, you have two options: order your doors prepped for glass (the door is designed to accept a panel), or remove the center panel of your existing cabinet door(s).

Note: if you’ve never done it, don’t blithely start hacking. You need to check that the door will have a front flange for the new insert to rest in, or you’ll have to rout out the back to make this happen. If you have no idea what I just said, you may want to research on how to make a center panel ready for an insert first.

If you have no local craftspeople (How sad! I will munch on the bunny ears off my chocolate bunny to commiserate with you. What?  Everyone commiserates in their own way...), then look for metal inserts online.

Here--to start you off:

 From Frigo Designs – Georgia pattern. Available in copper, stainless and brass 

If you want to really add a flavor of late Victorian/Art Nouveau, do some online searching on “repoussé”  panels (the art of hammering out the design from the back of the panel.)

 Panel by Arthur Heygot Mackmurdo, 1885 via The Victorian Web

A final thought – different metals react chemically to the harsh cleaning agents of today, so check to see the cleaning requirements of the metals you select.

Happy hunting!