Kelly's Kitchen Sync

Steampunk Sunday: Push-buttons and switch plates

I have to admit there’s something about the old homes with the push-button switches -- you know the ones? One button to open the current and the other shut it off?

While technically on the border of what we consider steampunk, they were (and still are) in homes from the 1920s-onwards. Guess what I found some while prodding around the ‘Net?

Push-button switch from Rejuvenation Hardware

For older homes, this is great…unless your local codes don’t allow them. Almost everything in California needs a dimmer switch or high-efficacy or an occupancy sensor depending on the room; however, if you wanted that look for your steampunk home, you could add them where the switch is wired to an outlet.*

But then I found dimmer switches…

 Rotary dimmer with mother-of-pearl inlay via House of Antique Hardware (the embossed lettering on the black part reads “Illuminator”)

…which made me happy.  (It doesn’t take much, really.)

In a steampunk home (or even an older restoration), I’d specify a different cover plates – something that fit in with the concept that everything within viewing should be beautiful.

                                                               

Victorian and Art Nouveau cover plates, both push-button and Decora, via House of Antique Hardware

 I mean, if you’re going to have these:

 

60-watt squirrel-cage Tungsten via Rejuvenation

Why not go all the way?

 

*One caveat – make sure the switches are UL-listed for safety. Some of the original switches were a bit of a fire-hazard, to say the least, and you’ll run into code issues if you try to use any that aren’t rated. 

Cabinet hardware that's in for spring

Okay, enough with the practical from the last month. It’s time for some pretty.

Atlas Homewares out of southern California sent me a shiny press release of their new decorative hardware collections that are just in time for spring (because we are so done with winter, right?)

Check out these fun new collections.

 

Raspberry Chic

I'm not in love with pinks but I find this grouping of raspberry tones both fun and cheery ~

Left: Lefleur Knob (Yes, French-speakers. It should technically be Lafleur), Top: Ballerina Knob, Right: Plié Knob

 

Whimsical patterns

The brown and black knob below was the one that caught my eye. With all of our dark cabinets, I think it’d be a gorgeous paired with a dark chocolate cabinet in almost any room.

 Left: Zebra Brown Striped Glass Knob, Top Left: Bordeaux Handle, Top Right: Florette Horn Knob Right: Bordeaux Knob

 

Bedazzled

For those of you who like a little bling, here is some sparkle to chase away the winter blahs. I immediately pictured an contemporary bathroom in whites and browns with tall mirrors and sleek showers.

Left: Crystal Collection (handle above, knob below), Right: Eclipse Knob

 

 You can find all the collections at Atlas Homewares.

In which Kelly plays a designer version of "Holmes on Homes"

This weekend, I saw a couple who have given all the indications that they are working with an allegedly licensed contractor who is going to cut corners…and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Here’s a kitchen photo that’s similar in size and layout to the kitchen drawings they brought in (theirs was wider and a bit longer to accommodate the refrigerator). 

The home is from 1947. For $ 15,000.00, the contractor was going to:

• reface the cabinet doors
• install a new granite counte
• replace the flooring with wood
• add “some nice lighting”
• replace the sink and appliances (I doubt their quote included these)

Here’s why my Spidey sense was tingling:

a) They hadn't been informed by their contractor about the EPA lead law.

“Federal law requires contractors that disturb painted surfaces in homes, child care facilities and schools, built before 1978 to be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination."

They also hadn't received a Renovate Right pamphlet, which is required by law: “Federal law requires that individuals receive certain information before renovating more than six square feet of painted surfaces in a room for interior projects or more than twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects or window replacement or demolition in housing, child care facilities and schools built before 1978.”

Now, he could be doing everything in his power to keep the sheetrock (or lath and plaster) from being disturbed, but in an older home like this, unless there's been some electrical upgrading done previously, it's very challenging to keep the removal under 6 square feet. Since my middle names are "it depends", I'm reserving judgement for now.

b) They weren't aware that 1947 was a great year for asbestos-lined floor tiles, which should never be removed without abatement. Removal of this type of flooring is a common mistake with younger, enthusiastic DIY-ers who discover too late that they’re releasing asbestos fibers into their home:  “RESILIENT FLOOR TILES (vinyl asbestos, asphalt, and rubber), the backing on VINYL SHEET FLOORING, and ADHESIVES used for installing floor tile. Sanding tiles can release fibers. So may scraping or sanding the backing of sheet flooring during removal.”   Some homes between 1930-1950 also had asbestos in their insulation.

Leaving it in place is the best option, but the clients knew nothing about whether their flooring might have any issues nor was anything discussed.

c) They didn't know what electrical work was included - or what was needed to bring the kitchen up to code, which is usually the addition of 2 small-appliance circuits and separated dedicated circuits for dishwashers, disposals, and microwaves at the minimum. In California, our Title 24 Energy code requires that at least 50% of the lighting must be high-efficacy, or 40 lumens per watt, which means LED or fluorescent lighting.

Those are only 3 items that a 1947 home triggers for me before I start designing. These nice folks not only hadn’t been informed by any of this, but they didn’t want to hear it either.

“Everything’s included,” they assured us.

Their two boys are both under 12 and the family isn't planning on leaving the home during the remodel.

This is one of the reasons I grit my teeth. And it's not only homeowners. I've heard more than a few designers say dismissively, “Oh, that contractor was too expensive. I found someone cheaper" and they know nothing of these laws either. 

Given the parameters above, do you think I’m too cautious and that the kitchen could be done for $ 15,000.00?  Keep in mind that a permit in my city runs about $ 1,000.00 for projects like this…

Spot the kitchen errors #3

Since all of us seem to be having fun with this (or at least I am!), I thought we’d continue.

Remember the “A Reader Asks” post that I did a few weeks back, "Can I vary the sizes of cabinet handles in my kitchen?" 

I suggested not to use more than three handles.I also suggested avoiding multiple sizes or looks extremely busy.

Um… I forgot to mention shapes. *brightly* So…I think we can see how these handles have dominated the cabinets. (The long ones are pea pods, right? Not slugs? Okay, just checking.)

While charming as a decoration, I might have recommended backing off on using every knob in this line. While I’ve seen some eclectic kitchens that are simply delightful, there’s something about this that isn’t working.

I’m not going to ask what the problems are today. Instead, let’s delve in to the reasoning for the positioning of the slug pea pod handle on the sink door. To someone in my business, it’s a dead giveaway that whoever installed these cabinets was new to installing.

Why? Because these frameless style cabinets must have a minimum of 1-1/2” of space each way between the angle and both sides. The cabinet material that is used to separate the cabinets in the corner are sticks of the same material called fillers.

Without it, the handle for the sink door can’t be installed on the frame and there is a potential for that door on the hinge side to bind or rub against whichever drawers it’s next to. As it stands now, it’s impossible for the handle to be installed on the side frame (called a stile). It would prevent the middle drawer on the far left from opening.

And that’s why the handle is positioned in the center panel. The second mistake was that someone thought lining up the slugs handles in a row would prevent them from eating the mushroom would give the area symmetry, but I say it looks odd.*

What do you think?**

 

*Why isn't the counter green? Seems the obvious choice with the garden theme....

**Here's what they did well: 15” of space (the bank of 4 drawers) between the sink and dishwasher. As a design option, much better than pushing the dishwasher next to the corner and cutting off all access to the sink when the dishwasher is opened. (Plus the sink door couldn’t open until the dishwasher door closed.) Now there’s not only room to stand at the sink, but drawer space for the win.

On trends and fashion and working with contractors...

I’d like to apologize to all of you in the past month who have emailed me with some great ideas and questions. Due to the day job and the final preparations for the book, I’ve been a bit swamped.

In the meantime, I’ve participate in not one, but two interviews this week on discussions to what I’m seeing for kitchen and bath trends to whether home design is following fashion. They’re here and here, if you’re so inclined. My thanks to Andrew of Integrity Windows and Leah Thayer of Daily 5 Remodel for asking me.

Okay, off and running today. Stay dry and warm!

Spot the kitchen errors #2 - the answers

Well, aren't you all quick to the draw?

My post yesterday asked you to find two mistakes in this stock kitchen (amongst others). They were:

1) The soffit doesn't angle in the corner with the wall cabinet. Soffits, at least on the West Coast, once provided a two-fold purpose - to hide electrical and plumbing, and to save money on the upper wall cabinets. Most people think there was a third reason: so we didn't have to dust.

However, typically a cabinet person used to provide a soffit layout for the contractor so the crew knew where to frame out the ceiling.

When I see this lack of detail in a new home, I immediately start wondering what other details the builders skipped.

2) See the handle on the angle cabinet? There is no way the cabinet next to it can open its door without striking against that handle. Insta-dent. There should have been about a 2" filler (or another style of handle) in that corner. Or, they could have made it really easy and designed the angled door with a right-hinge instead of a left. Would have set the handle on the left...and there wouldn't be an issue.

As a designer, I might have added a 170-degree pair of hinges on the wall cabinet to the left of the sink so one didn't play weave-and-dodge around the right door. (Standard hinging is 110-degrees so the door swings open right in your face and no further. You can't move to the left to see inside because the peninsula is in the way.)

What I'm especially impressed with is how many of you noted the narrow-ness of that u-shape, and how the appliance doors would make it aggravating for more than one person to work in that kitchen. You're right. The design incorporated a 12" bar overhang for stools, and left the actual working kitchen cramped.

Again, it all depends on the people in the kitchen. This might have been adequate for a single person, but two or more?  Not even close. I'd be hiding the knives and the really heavy frying pans. Just saying.

Spot the kitchen errors #2

…spot that kitchen design mistake!

This layout is similar to an earlier post where we discovered some exciting design mistakes except this design features a peninsula instead of an island.

Ignore the fact that the colors bear no relation to one another. Here’s what they did right:

• selected a faucet that won’t cause a user to pinch their knuckles against the window sill.
• left enough counter space between the refrigerator and range (unlike the design from the last post).
• the refrigerator looks like it protrudes at least 34” deep, however the cabinet and paneling are deep enough to give a  built-in look.
• I’m giving them this one – see the base cabinet between the refrigerator and range? I’m assuming it’s a bank of drawers which would be the only way to go. A cabinet with a door would never open fully – it’d strike against either one of the appliances.

However, there’s a glaring error – at least to me. Can you spot it?*

 

*Actually there are two.

Bring on the inspiration

If you asked me what the break-out trend this year was, I’d say, “Nothing and everything.” Every item and detail seems super custom these days -- tiles, fabrics, furniture, floor inlays, lighting…

I sometimes wonder if we can keep up. It's all well and good to see pretty items and another thing entirely to understand how they're installed. Glass tiles aren’t the easiest things in the world. Appliances have never stopped changing as long as I've been in the business. Some lighting fixtures take half-a-morning to assemble. Cork flooring needs 3 days to acclimatize to a room. Specifications are books long these days instead of a page.

Bah, don’t mind me. I’m grumpy and tired and have been putting in some killer hours lately. That's why I started with the title and little else but fading energy and blurry eyes from quadruple-checking plans.

So, let's grab a little bit of inspiration - I'll start:

 (They make this look so clean and glamorous – as long as we don’t look at the perfectly average street…)

Not your inspiration?

Well, it might be if I told you that in a few months I'll be covering all the latest and greatest kitchen and bath products, designs, and ideas for you at the big Kitchen and Bath Industry Show on April 26-28.

I'm heading to the largest kitchen and bath industry show in North America which attracts all the manufacturers you know and many you might not ever hear of. 500 of them will be there, along with about 30,000 of my closest professional friends and colleagues. I’ve my media clearance ready to go and I can’t wait.

We call it KBIS (KayBiz). Click on the logo to go to the website

Oh, look. I’m feeling perkier already. Let's start tantalizing you with one of the product offerings:

Fleurco, the makers of Kinetic hardware systems for shower doors, will be debuting two new rolling systems at KBIS this year. This is the manufacturer who came up with the smooth-as-silk gliding and top roller  system. A finger touch will move a 100-200 pound door.

  Look, ma - 2 doors in one -- shower and water closet.

So here’s my question: since it’s only open to trade professionals, what do you think you'd like to see. Is it bathroom sinks? Cabinets? The newest induction cook tops and ranges? A new counter surface? What goodies can I show you?

Let me know.

Website address, part 2

Because Kelly is a better designer than a website master (she hopes), she inadvertently gave you her website address without the www. in Saturday's post.

While she's gone back and fixed the link, please help her from writing in third person by changing your links to http://www.kellyskitchensync.com or by clicking the link here.

Thank you.

Steampunk Sunday: Decorative Stair Risers

One of the details we play with in a steampunk home is the turn-of-the-century (1900s) textures and ideas. It was a time of design and mass manufacturing exploration. There was also the belief that structural elements should not only be functional but inspire us with their beauty.

With that in mind, if I were designing a steampunk home, one of the elements I would concentrate on is the stairs, specifically the risers -- the horizontal portion -- of the stair.

The idea for this post today came through a late-night browsing of California Pottery and Tile Works, one of my favorite places for Malibu or Casa California style tiles. Check out this Art Nouveau-inspired detail:

Art Nouveau risers and bullnose tile treads (Photo: California Pottery and Tile Works)

 

Isn’t it striking? Simple, yet beautiful and a lovely way of adding detail to an area most people never think about. I promptly went off into dreams of tall foyers with lovely stylized railings and a repetition of the same tile as a ceiling treatment. (Well, there’s no budget in imagination, is there?)

A closer view 

 Of course, if you have a sulky teenager thumping the vacuum cleaner up the stairs, this might not be the material for you. And while the tile tread or the horizontal top piece is lovely, it can also be painful for little ones. Instead I might exchange the tile on the top for a lovely rich wood tread to pick up the etching in the tile, like we see here on a typical California Pottery and Tile Works photo:

 Early southern California tile design was heavily influenced by Spanish tile makers from Catalina (Photo: California Pottery and Tile Works)

 Does it inspire you to think of the possibilities for your own steampunk home?