Kelly's Kitchen Sync

Countdown to KBIS: Element Designs

Last year at KBIS 2010, Element Designs was a Silver Award Winner for Best New Kitchen Product for  their "°eluma Illuminated Shelving, DecoSplash & DecoPanel” which are LED-lighted shelving and paneling:

Using tempered glass, LED and low-voltage (12v) power, these are a residential version of what we’ve been seeing in commercial applications in restaurants and hotels. Shelving is tempered safety glass or acrylic.LED options are daylight (6500K), warm white (3500K) and RGB color changing LED.

If you can’t visualize how this could be helpful or decorative, have a look at this:

 

This year, I note on their website that their "°eluma Illuminated door” is “coming soon” which I am hopeful will be for this year’s KBIS.

You’ll find Element Designs at booth C4978.

A Reader Asks: Paula Deen's oven?

Hi,  I am looking at Paula Deen's cooking show and am finishing up the selection of the ovens in my being built house-waited over 12 years for this to happen! I cannot figure out if she has an American Range French door 36" wall oven-can you tell me?

I am trying to make a decision between Fagor, American Range and Blue Star.  Any suggestions? It will not be my only oven just my only gas oven.  I will also have a Gaggenau Steam Oven and a Wall oven.  Thanks,  Nancy

 

American Range 30” French door oven 

Hi Nancy,

The nice folks at the Paula Dean Show have confirmed that the oven Paula uses on her show is indeed an American Range.

I think when you’re talking that level of oven, either American Range or Blue Star will be good (I don’t have experience with Fagor – if others do, please chime in.)

For these types of ovens, I might check the length of the pre-heat times as they can be somewhat long. These aren’t your basic residential ovens. At 30,000 BTUs, they’re closer to commercial ovens (e.g. the doors can get pretty hot) so I might be cautious in where they were placed in the kitchen with regards to traffic flow. 

Good luck!

Design Advances: How far we've come...

It really is amazing that in three generations, we’ve come from kitchens that required:

• ice deliveries for refrigeration
• larders -- pantries built against shaded outside walls with vents to the outside. The last one I saw had two screened vents, positioned low and high on an outside wall
• root cellars – for storage of vegetables (and my grandmother’s homemade root beer – yum! So miss that.)
• hand pumps for sinks
• milk doors – A tiny door on the exterior of homes and apartments where the milk was placed by the milkman (Yes, Virginia, there really were milk deliveries too.) You can still find them in older apartments if you know what you’re looking for.
• phone niches – when phones were clunky, wired, and needed to stay in one place.

 

My grandmother cooked on a wood-burning stove like this in a ranch my great-grandfather had bought from homesteaders. (Her stove was better maintained.) That appliance had been cranking out meals since the early 1900s.

Note the water reservoir on the side for heating water. The top open area actually had a door so items could stay warm. She also had two holders on the back wall  (there’s one in this photo on the left with the percolating coffee pot). It kept the coffee warm when the oven was too hot to keep the pot on the burner. The wood used to be stacked to the left side and that stove kept the kitchen toasty all the time.

It’s a lifetime ago but I have some fond memories of some incredible pancakes and warmed home-made syrup off that stove…

 

 

 

 Now I’m trying to figure out how wireless technology is going to affect our kitchens for the next decade. What I’m keeping eyes and ears out for:

• counter areas where one can power the small appliances without using a cord or plug. Small appliance will take current from what is designed into the counter top.
• wifi integration – where appliances send their own info. to the repair specialist when something breaks down, or your refrigerator or super wine cooler notes what you’ve removed from the appliance and makes a note of it.
• wireless switches – already here, and they work on a RF (radio-frequency). That would be Lutron Maestro, if you’re interested.

Now if only we could simply announce our dinner preferences from the car and have dinner waiting for us when we pulled in the driveway…or will the house simply co-ordinate take-out for us?

Countdown to KBIS: Electric Mirrors

Note the t.v. screen at the bottom of the mirror

Here’s another one I spotted tucked into one of the smaller booths: Electric Mirrors services the commercial industry – specifically luxury hotels, yet they’re going to be at KBIS this year. Based out of Washington State, they provide not only lighted mirrors, but mirror t.v.s and a combination of both, as you can see above. (And with waterproof remotes, naturally.)

It’ll be interesting to see how they’ve adapted the display with wireless and what recessing is required for the LCD screen (always a challenge over a sink where plumbing stacks might be located.)

So why am I’m interested in checking them out? Well, a lot of my clients travel for business. Guess where they stay at? Luxury hotels around the world.

And guess what they ask for when they want to do a bathroom? Almost everything they saw in the luxury hotel. If your clients are the same, you’ll find Electric Mirrors in booth C6190.

The website for Electric Mirrors is here.

A Reader Asks: Hood and pendants

 Kelly, found you on the web and was hoping you would be willing to help with your thoughts on my dilemma.

We have been gathering up products for an impending kitchen remodel which was to include a island with a 36" range and an overhead hood (I do a lot of cooking and a lot of canning), we have since completely jumped gears and found a different house we would like to buy but since it is very old, out of date, no rooms large enough, etc., etc.

We thought we could just take all of our accumulated goods and use them in this new house instead. One problem is that the kitchen is not large enough (or traffic pattern is not concussive to) an island, so we were mapping out a peninsula instead. We had and are still mapping out a eating counter/bar adjacent the range (with its overhead hood) but would like to include pendant lighting over the bar counter, how do we make this work with the hood?

Hope you are willing to give some advice as I am not a designer and am at a loss for how to make this aesthetically work.

Thank you in advance for any guidance on this matter. – Deanna

 

Hi Deanna,

There’s not enough information here for me to actually help (and unfortunately I don’t have enough time), but  I’ve kept your email because you’re not alone in this. There are challenges with eating bars, hoods, and pendants, which I covered in an earlier post here –but thought I might point out the key points:

• What are the heights of the cooks and the height of your ceiling? 
• What are the scale and proportion of your pendants?
• What is the scale of your hood?

Simply put, all of these details can look very crowded with an 8-foot ceiling height and tall homeowners (I call it the “hood earring effect” as shown below). For someone who cooks and cans, you’ll need a good powerful fan as well. Like the picture below, the challenge with a powerful hood is that it’s big which means that most pendants look puny by comparison, but we don’t have the luxury of scale that 9-foot and 10-foot ceilings provide.

8' ceiling, tall homeowner and voila - hood earrings

I might suggest for you to consider hiring a designer for an hour or two of time to help you piece this together. Your dilemma isn’t an easy one.

Steampunk Sunday: Feet of brass (or iron)

In another episode of “If someone asked me to design a steampunk kitchen…”, I came across the idea of replacing wood furniture feet that we see on islands and furniture pieces in the kitchen with metal. I thought I was so clever until I saw this:

This furniture piece has rather ornate cast metal variety which is exactly how I would tie in the Victorian/Georgian look to our steampunk design. (A more rounded version is called a “bun foot.” You don’t know how I fought against titling this, “Buns of Steel.”)

Victorians were very fond of cast metals, as all sorts of intricate molds could be made and the results were truly beautiful. It appeared around 1835-1855 depending on the sources, and almost all the patio furniture design you see today is reproduction pieces from that time period. Unlike today, though, Victorians had many of these pieces indoors, from iron beds to parlor tables to claw-footed tubs to piano stools.

Not a reproduction but an original 19th century seat. (Credit: Americanclassical.com)

While we don’t have to get that ornate, in looking for furniture feet online, I discovered some sofa feet that would be a nice look to some heavy antique brass lions’ feet. Victorians took the idea of feet literally, and there are several piano stools around the country that had claw-and-ball bird's foot (which wouldn’t work for a base cabinet, but now I’m picturing how I would use them to hold a small wall cabinet on a counter).

  Reproduction claw-and-ball foot (Credit:Van Dykes Restorers)

One caveat – these couldn’t hold up the furniture of today. I would use them as a decorative element, with the toekick set back. It’d be the toekick that would carry the weight.

Look for “antique reproduction furniture feet” or “reproduction cast feet.” For an island, you’d need something that is approximately 3”-4” wide x 4” tall. I’d actually be more apt to look for antique furniture feet – there seems to be a lot out there and they’re not pricey.

What do you think? Would you use them?

Countdown to KBIS: Native Trails

Native Trails “Zuma” apron sink

 So here’s another upcoming KBIS exhibitor that I’m looking forward to seeing: Native Trails, out of San Luis Obispo, California, manufactures hammered sinks from copper and brushed nickel.

According to one of their press releases, “Naomi Neilson Howard, the Founder and CEO of Native Trails, started the company with a dream to partner the stunning copper craftsmanship she found in her travels through Mexico with contemporary design and sustainable business practices.”

I’m hoping they’ll have something new to debut for the show, like they did with the Zuma sink above, which I adore.

 

Farmhouse Duet Pro in Antique

Little known facts:

• Copper is a natural antimicrobial material. It’s said to inhibit the growth of some bacteria and improve the quality of water (which is why a copper tub could be attractive to some.)
• These sinks aren’t lacquered or sealed, which means they will acquire a patina in areas with high mineral content in the water. That also means anything acidic left in the sink, such as lemon, could leave a mark. Even with that said, it’s easier to maintain than you might think as the sink will re-patina itself over a matter of time.
• Let me repeat that: it re-patinas itself.
• Although I’d still hesitate using the copper sink in an area of extremely hard water if you were selective about your finish because that degree of re-patina is a bit excessive.
• The hammered metal doesn’t show the streaks and scratches (or fingerprints) like a standard smooth finish.

They’ll be at Booth #C4896 for those of you attending.

A Reader Asks: Diagonal soffit okay?

Kelly…I have soffits that we have decided to leave in place because: #1 there are pipes and electric in there and #2 we thought of demo-ing them and hiding behind lots of filler and molding but realized it's cheaper and simpler and sturdier to cover the existing soffit with 1/4 " skin and do simpler molding. 

That said, when I saw your illustration of the  corner soffit not matching the diagonal  wall cabinet, I am having the opposite dilemma. 

I hate the diagonal wall because I am 5' 2" and find it hard to reach into the corner of the counter to retrieve a food processor or whatever. I have requested, but not yet ordered, an L shaped or easy reach corner cabinet or a blind depending on the brand.  My soffit is on the diagonal! 

Depending on what is hidden in that exact spot will determine how that area is configured with skins and molding.  But not until demo time.  So what to order for that spot? – Francine

 

Hi Francine -

In the perfect world, if we look at all the beautiful photographed kitchens in magazines and online, it’s easy to believe that everyone skipped through roses sipping nectar during the entire remodel. They didn't, but most had the monetary luxury of saying, “So what if there are  electrical and pipes? Let’s move them."

Your dilemma is a common example and in some ways, easier than the angled cabinet under the square soffit.  While the soffit doesn’t follow the lines of the corner wall cabinet, it at least covers it so the poor cabinet and crown mold isn’t left hanging out in mid-air. So if it can't be redesigned, well, it is what it is.

I know exactly what you mean by the diagonal corner. I’m 5’4” and while a diagonal wall cabinet does indeed place some items closer to me, the other objects behind them are simply out of reach and involve me taking all the items out of the front simply to reach the back.

The very back of that corner is tough for us to reach no matter what kind of cabinet it is. I prefer an L-shape with a piano hinge more than a blind corner for ease of reach and, if having a corner means the rest of the wall cabinets beside them end up 12" or smaller, then I’ll sometimes sacrifice that corner completely in order to have decent size cabinets with adjustable shelves (because diagonal corners don't have adjustable shelves).

I might suggest ordering the amount of skin it would take if the soffit could be changed to a square because that shape will take up more skin than the diagonal. That way you’re covered (so to speak) no matter what happens during the demolition.

(For the rest of you who aren’t up to kitchen speak, a “skin” is a 1/8”-1/4” sheet of plywood, stained to match the cabinets and usually ordered with the cabinets.)

Botched DIY

If you think there’s a lot of complaints and frustration in bad contractor stories, I thought you’d like to see the other side – the frustration of contractors at DIY projects gone wrong. Whether they’re handled by well-meaning but inexperienced homeowners tackling projects that are too complicated, or “weekend contractors” skimping corners, there are a lot of mistakes and costly do-overs that you never see...but we do.

Leah Thayer at Daily 5 Remodel posted a report from the U.K. that botched DIY projects cost U.K. homeowners nearly £540 million a month -- that's $856 million a month, or $10.3 billion a year and asked North American contractors and trades for their stories.

She asked the question:

“What types of projects do you most often see where homeowners (or incompetent contractors) get into trouble? Share a story of when your company was called in to undo the damage.”

The link with some surprising answers is here.

Countdown to KBIS: Hafele's LOOX Lighting System

So our big Kitchen and Bath Industry Show is coming up April in Las Vegas this year, as I mentioned in an earlier post).

One of the reasons those of us in the kitchen and bath industry look forward to this is because so many manufacturers debut new lines and products – a sneak peek before the products are announced to the world (and, well, did I mention, it’s in Las Vegas? Every designer so visit Las Vegas at least once.)

As we lead up to the event, I’ve been jotting what you’d like to see when I cover the show. So far, I’m to check out if there’ll be any new induction/range combinations, let you know about anything new and exciting in countertops, and simple report on anything new.

In the weeks leading up to the show, I thought I’d feature some of the exhibitors that I’m making notes to visit. And yes, we make notes – this show is football fields huge and unless one pre-plans, it’s impossible to see everything. We bring good walking shoes and plenty of bandages and pain medication. (You think I’m kidding.)

This week it’s Häfele’s new  Loox LED Lighting System. As their website states,

“There are now over 500 providers of LED products on the market, but the products have not been thought out for the application or ease of use.  Currently many transformers have to be wired, switches have to be wired and some lighting solutions require wiring or soldering. Loox LED system from Häfele solve these problems by bring a universal, world wide power system where switches, lights and drivers are plug and play and provide solutions for the furniture cabinet industry.”

It’s the “plug and play” application intrigues me. While I do specialize in kitchens, I also work with entire house remodels and with living in the Bay Area, I sometimes need to jog to keep up with my cutting-edge IT clients. The LED application fits in perfectly with California’s Title 24 lighting requirements. So I’m hoping if the display will be as uniformly lit as this photo. (For those of you attending the show, the Häfele booth will be C5438, sandwiched between Rohl and Moen.)

For the rest of my readers, what do you think? Intriguing or not so much? Let me know in the comments!

Edited to add: I want to be perfectly clear on the comments below. One of my commenters, George, mentioned he had a system to design and order LOOX. He will be at KBIS -- see comments below.