Kelly's Kitchen Sync

A Reader Asks: Glass2 or Carrera Marble?

Dear Kelly,

Thank you for the opportunity to pick your brain about the latest kitchen design trends. I am writing to  you because of my interest in a product that my "tile guy" suggested as a lower maintenance choice than the Carrera marble that I wanted. I want to use it for countertops and backsplash and have an electrician light the cabinets from underneath. However, I do not want my kitchen to look too ultra modern. Have you ever seen this product used? what is your opinion of it?

http://www.glass2.com/
Missy

Hi Missy --

Thanks for an opener that made me grin. This is such a new product that I haven't even used it yet! I know it debuted at both our big Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and Coverings this year.

Knowing the properties of both glass and marble, I agree with your tradesperson that it would definitely be less maintenance and less chance of etching or water stains like Carrera marble, but I don't have enough knowledge of the homes in Louisiana to say if it fits with other homes, and if it’d affect resale, if the thoughts of resale sit in your mind. If you’re in an area that embraces both green and new, I’d say you’re golden.

(Glacier White)

I don't think it'd make the kitchen too modern at all – some of the whites look soft enough to blend in like the Carrera. It looks like a thick panel more than a counter, so you’d be sacrificing a thicker counter edge detail, if that was important to you. Backlighting is a trend that has come from the commercial world – bars and restaurants – although I remember when we were backlighting onyx tops in the ‘80s, so it has been around for awhile. Is it possible to see the colors backlit in a showroom somewhere?

Looking over the specifications, I think installation will be the key, more so if there are a lot of cuts required in the kitchen or if the counter lengths are longer than the slabs. Are the cuts made on- or off-site? Cutting glass with a wet saw takes some skill (if the blade isn’t sharp enough, the glass will chip.) The site will have to be very clean as the glass can’t be set on anything that could scratch it before installation. Then buffing the cut edges smooth also takes some skill.

Here are my questions: Has it been used in your area? Are you able to see an installation in place? What experience does your installer have in setting it? Are they comfortable working with glass?

Because here’s the thing: I’m torn because I think a lit top, backsplash or anything else will look absolutely stunning, but I’m a cautious sort. When any product makes its debut, I prefer to give it some breathing room, which is a roundabout way of saying I don’t want to be the test guinea pig. I like to hear from others what they like and don’t like. (Yes, I haven’t bought an IPad yet for the same reason.) Both the strengths and flaws of a product emerge in the first couple of years as its baby goes out into the real world and/or if the company is new.

Not that I’m saying anything about this product – they’ve gone through some very rigorous (and expensive!) testing, both for strength and being environmentally responsible – and it looks very promising. This is just me.

To other readers, both pros and consumers: if anyone has used Glass² yet, any insights? 

Iconic Inspiration: the details

(Click on image to go to site)

I promised back when Kitchens.com published their Iconic Inspirations with one of my kitchen designs that I would delve a bit deeper into my design reasoning (and products).

Looks like that might be today. *grin*

When you’re a designer in a no-holds-barred design challenge, you never know how much to specify. You design like you would prep a room for a photo shoot – you bring a full carload of props, but in reality, you know you’re only going to use 1/2 of them. Same thing applies for editorial selection:  there’s only so much web page/magazine space.

In this case, there were a few items that I wanted to share which didn’t get into the piece and that I thought you might like to see:

Shelves/Pot Racks:  These came about because Paul has a pot rack now, and likes it. The only challenge I see with pot racks when you’re not a basketball player is that commercial-style pots and pans are heavy. Any time you lift your elbow above your shoulder, you’ve lost some of your strength (and sometimes balance) and having a pot land on your head isn't my idea of fun. I wanted to find a way to keep the concept but make the pots reachable. These commercial style shelves from Rogar on either side of the hood did the trick. This one shows two shelves but it was styled to show how it'd be used. You'll find the single shelf when you click on the link above or the photo.

Herb pot holders:  What didn’t get into the piece is that Paul wanted a place for his herbs – oregano, rosemary – somewhere in the kitchen. The raised section under the window was meant to be a custom sheet metal container with holes large enough for 6” terracotta pots  to fit into. The herbs would get the best of the light and the pots could be removed and replaced as necessary. (The cabinet below was open for cutting boards and trays.)

 

Sink: Contemporary is sleek, but that doesn’t mean flat. Native Trails has this great angular single-bowl sink called Zuma that I fell in love with for this design.

 

Bar Stools: It’s always so tough to find bar stools, isn’t it? (I’m picturing all you readers who’ve done it nodding your heads.) I wanted something cool and slick that you’d see in a rock star lounge (because, you know, that’s where I can usually be found. Excuse me while I go and remove my tongue from my cheek.) These Lumisource Viva bar stools did the trick. I’m always concerned about comfort with these flat wood chairs, but the foot rest helps distribute a person’s weight.

 

Suspension Light: Last but not least, the light over the island is a 2” x 60” Philippe Starck creation from FLOS with LED lighting for energy efficiency. One of the tricks with LED lighting is that the light doesn’t spread like fluorescent – it concentrates on the area directly below it – which in this case is perfect for sink area, and for keeping the rest of the area low-light and intimate during dinner parties. There’s so much going on in this room that I didn’t want the lighting to be a focal point, but I liked the ripple echo with the cabinet handles.

That’s what inspired me. What do you think? Like them, hate them?

Upcoming challenge of HGTV's Design Star: Kitchens

I have only been watching on the sidelines (okay, peeking periodically through my fingers) at this year’s HGTV's Design Star. The one I’ve been dreading waiting for is the kitchens, airing this Sunday.

Some of you might remember 2009’s fiasco, which riled both me and Susan Serra of The Kitchen Designer so much, we took on the challenge ourselves, and discussed what had gone wrong (Designers installing counters, which is so 7 shades of wrong I can’t even say it without flinching), and how to fix them.

  This was the 2009 design for the project I tackled. Oh, nonono, this wasn’t the before, this was the after.

 

This was my after. 

Based on this year’s efforts, I’m really not sure I should be watching on Sunday. Could you please watch and report back?  My television is counting on your safety efforts.

Thank you.

Steampunk Sunday: Alphonse Mucha

Zodiac, 1896

It was the 150th anniversary of the birth of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha this week, so I’d be remiss in not at least covering the man who created such a style in his art as to be instantly identifiable a century and a half later.

What does this have to do with steampunk? Think posters, tiles, and the actual colors of the art – much of it was a very rigid adherence to certain tones which would fit well in a steampunk via Art Nouveau-flavored home.

Today’s website and game designers, fantasy artists, (check this artist of Digitial Nouveau over at Deviant Art),  and Japanese cartoons draw from Mucha’s influence.  Even if you don’t know his name, most of you might recognize his art. He was considered a modernist of his time, but when he applied to the Prague Academy of Fine Arts in 1878, he was turned down with “find a professional where you’ll be more useful.” 

Back then, advertising was done by painting and posters. Alphonse found a job as a scene painter, and eventually with the help of a patron, entered and studied at the Munich Academy of Art in 1883. It’s a little known fact that when he moved to Paris (and where the bulk of his work was done), he shared his studio with Paul Gauguin.

By the mid-1890s, he was getting popular, designing his first poster for Sarah Bernhardt (who, at the time was labeled “the most famous actress the world has ever known”). From the strength of that poster, he moved on to design all her posters, as well as stage and costume designs.

Gismonda,Sarah Bernhardt, 1894

By the 1900s, he was widely known, and respected (although there were those who still dismissed his work). By 1907, he was teaching in art schools in the U.S. In 1939, he was one of the first to be arrested by the Gestapo when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. Suffering from pneumonia, he was questioned and released, but it proved too much for him and he died in Prague that same year. Despite the Nazis banning a public funeral, 100,000 Czechs still attended.

Although most well-known for his posters, he was also an artist of other mediums, and a bit frustrated that he was always so well-known for his Art Nouveau commercial art instead of his, you know, his Ahrt. Check out this drawing of a dining room and table runner.

There is a 150th anniversary exhibits in Prague and Italy this year. The official Alphonse Mucha website has the details.

A Reader Asks: Drawers won't open

Hi Kelly,

We just bought a beautiful house in Austin Texas and the previous owners did some kitchen cabinet ‘overhaul’ by painting the existing cabinets and I believe removing a trash compacter.  Unfortunately the compacter was in the corner and they replaced it with a standard base cabinet with a drawer – and you guessed it – neither cabinet drawer in the corner can open now because the knobs hit.  This type of thing drives me up the wall so I am willing to do just about anything short of ripping out the entire kitchen and putting in all new cabinets.  Have you ever come up against this problem and were you able to find a reasonable fix?

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,

Bruce 

Hi Bruce -

You’re not the only one it drives up the wall. One of the biggest mistakes in the industry is not leaving enough clearance in the corners. I don’t know the style of your cabinets – framed or frameless – but it might not make much difference in this case.

Here are some options, with the easiest first and working down:

1) Remove one handle on one drawer and fit the second one with a European contemporary handle on the top of the drawer like this one. You’ll only be able to install it on one drawer, or you’ll end up with the same scenario. It also might not work depending on the thickness of both drawers – my hope is that you purchase one and place it on middle of the drawer and see if second drawer will slide through. You might need to raise the back plate higher to compensate for the opposite drawer opening, but see what works for you.

Berenson Hardware: Bravo Collection 1052-4BPN-P

 

2) Find a flush handle if the one above is too contemporary. You could also look at recessed pulls that look like the ones on an office file cabinet, but they sometimes require special routing.

Deltana Flush Cabinet Ring Pull: DEL-FRP175U15

3) If you’re a DIY-er and have a router, there might be enough thickness to the drawer to route a finger-groove on the top or underside of one or both drawers, and eliminate the knobs. This won’t work if the drawers are inset. (Warning: the grooves are harsh to fingernails.)

(via The Router Workshop)

 

4) Replace the cabinet that filled in the trash compactor opening with a full-height door cabinet.

Hope that helps!

Gas burners: How high is too high?

 

I’ve noticed a disquieting trend where ranges and tops, which once had 15,000-18,000 BTUs per burner, are gradually featuring products with 30,000 BTU burners.

30,000 is a staggering measure of heat.

Let me digress for a moment. I’m a voracious reader of chef/restaurant cookbooks – can’t get enough of cooking in the trenches, where every dinner is viewed as a battle to victory. When you read enough of these, you sense a common theme: burns.

“We're burned and cut all the time. So, chefs probably have a pretty high pain threshold," says chef Nicole Gossling of Bolsa. "Chefs just get down and dirty." (Dallas Observer, May 6th, 2010.)

Not something the cooking shows describe in great detail, but most chefs describe the scars as typical war wounds. These are the professionals who talk about getting hurt, not the average consumer.

Now back to our residential ranges: Careless cooking in homes is the number one cause of fire. These aren’t ranges you set your food on and walk away. They’re instant 3rd-degree-burn hot, and it only takes a less than a minute for your oil to start smoking.

Here’s another thought: I was in a forum where a young professional was discussing how she regretted her pro-style range in her new kitchen after she had children. Our family lifestyles are such that we live, eat, and play in our kitchens -- quite a different scenario from restaurant cooking. Should there more educational disclaimers on restaurant-style ranges?

For the foodie and serious cook who understand this serious heat, fine. For the consumer who’s after “bigger, stronger, faster”, I wonder: how high will one day be too high?

Steampunk Sunday: The metalwork of Joseph Mross

Oh, I’ve got such a good link for both steampunk aficionados and lovers of metalwork.

Joseph Mross of Archive Designs is based in Eugene, Oregon. His background is similar to mine – design/build experience, arts training, works with parent -- before diverging wildly into all the artistic talent and skilled metalwork craftsmanship I could never aspire to (mainly due to the fact we want the world to be safe.)

I came across their website late this week, drooled admired the photo of the hood on their web page and thought, “Oh, that would make such an excellent steampunk hood!” only to discover on their front webpage that “… harmonious blending of influences from Arts & Crafts, Rustic, Modern and Steampunk have earned Archive Designs a reputation as one of the leading custom hand-crafted metal design/fabrication studios in the U.S.A.”

There are indeed some gorgeous works of art here – not only hoods, but fireplace surrounds and screens and sinks. The repoussé works would be perfect for a number of steampunk applications.

Since I wasn’t able to acquire approval to use any of the photos before this weekend, I doubt very much they’ll mind if I provide the various links. 

In the meantime, I’m going back to look at this hood again. Enjoy!

Why is microwave design so far behind?

Waaay back in the 1980s, my mother bought our first microwave. It was going to take over conventional ovens, or so they said, so the the first sizes were almost as large. (Fun fact: Toshiba introduced the first microwave oven in Japan in 1959. Right up until the late ‘80s, you still said both words together: microwaveoven.)

Over the years, manufacturers realized microwaves wouldn’t ever replace the ovens and, in fact, all they were actually used for (once we got over our fear of radiation) was 1) popcorn 2) melting butter 3) heating and reheating, and 4) defrosting. 

So they shrunk in size, yet never enough for kitchen designers. While the really tiny ones are out there and might be used in small pockets of the continent, they’re not really used in conventional kitchen design.

The new microwave standards of 24" x  16” –18” deep for microwaves (18” are typically a hybrid of microwave and convection) either hogs the counter or makes it impossible to work in front when it’s on a shelf. Also at that size, one is wasting valuable storage space behind it in a 24” deep tall cabinet.

There is only one that I (and apparently other designers) specify as a matter of course  – it’s 12” deep, still has a turntable, and a decent amount of power. Did I mention 12” deep? And it can be hung from a wall cabinet too by the virtue of hanging brackets. Or placed on a shelf allow one to work on the counter in front of it.

One microwave that catches the lion's share of the designers.

We've mentioned it to other manufacturer's for years now (as well as complai-- vigorously suggested that microwaves should be available in both left and right hinging). Oh well. But I digress (yet again.)

But here’s the real question that I've always wondered about – we know what the majority of microwaves are used for on an everyday basis -- why does there need to be a keypad of options equivalent to a launch station? True, they are getting sleeker, like the Wolf E-series drawer microwave:

  (Photo credit: Wolf/Sub-Zero)

Give me a sensor defrost and reheat, an “on” and an “off” and I’m done (so to speak.)  What about you?

Steampunk Sunday: Dining Room Inspirations

Sometimes I think the re-introduction of Art Nouveau is the sole reason I like steampunk, but then there are other design elements that fall right into my love of the Edwardian period. And really, the only difference between them all is that steampunk plays off the idea of an alternate reality where steam became the game changer instead of our own electricity.

In any case, here’s some of the decor I might use if I was pulling, say, a steampunk dining room together:

R.A.M. Lighting’s Lionsgate series

Pottery Barn “Graham” Bar & Hutch

If the home had the higher ceilings, I would also consider a Lincrusta embossed dado (Dado: The lower portion of the wall of a room, decorated differently from the upper section, as with panels)…

…which can be painted.

I’d also think mahogany for the dining table and chairs, such as this antique set (via an old auction link from Hap Moore Antique Auctions in Maine)

This, obviously, is a mash of style they might have never combined in the 1900s. If you want to stick closer to the true period styling, you could pop over to Bricks and Brass for historical detailing of Victorian/Edwardian dining rooms.

House Beautiful - Kitchen of the Year

The nice p.r. folks for House Beautiful let me know that their Kitchen of the Year, which is being constructed as we speak in the middle of New York's Rockefeller Plaza, will be finished by July 19th. This year, it will feature a “California-inspired” design by Jeff Lewis, star of Bravo’s Flipping Out.

This is the 3rd year that House Beautiful has featured a Kitchen of the Year.

I’m not so sure which amuses me more: the video on the website of Newell Turner, the editor-in-chief of House Beautiful mentioning contemporary kitchens the same way one might talk about discovering a new species, or that the kitchen is labeled California-inspired. Sure...California via New Zealand via South Africa via Italy. Works for me!

Designers. We always have an opinion. *laughs at self*

In any case, if you’re in New York, it might be worth checking out. For those of you who’ll ask: Yes, Jeff Lewis will be on-site. Details can be found at House Beautiful's website.