Kitchen Sync

A quick note on dinnerware

(Photo: Wikipedia)

If you’re planning your kitchen and looking for a space for Grandma’s dinnerware, make sure you measure the dinner plates first. Some of the older plates were bigger than they are today and won’t fit in a standard 12” deep wall cabinet.

Same goes for chargers.  (That’s the red decorative plate in the above picture. They vary around 13".) Many semi-custom and custom cabinet lines can be ordered up to 15" deep.

While we’re at it, Thanksgiving is coming up -- if you want to actually use Grandma’s dinnerware, Emily Post shows us how. 

Unfortunately, there is nothing in Emily Post’s etiquette on the proper way to throw a tantrum when you realize you spent a fortune on your new kitchen and your dishes won’t fit, so please ~ measure your heirloom dinnerware first.

Thank you.

How many design books did you buy…

…for your kitchen remodel?

I know I have quite a few more readers than what my RSS feed suggests – I’ve talked with several of you, whether we’ve e-mailed, or you’ve sent me links to your DIY projects.

We designers are guilty of buying quite a few books ourselves.  *cough* I buy them for inspiration and for  new design tricks I haven’t yet tried myself.  My clients are magazine buyers – they walk in with stacks of them, or with some of the picturesque design books in order to show me what they want.

If you don’t mind me asking,

• how many did you buy? (or were they all magazines?) Any favorites?
• were they useful or not?
• what didn’t they have that you wished they did?

Please let me know in the comments.

Let's talk zones

So you might remember me stirring the pot a while back with a post on killing the work triangle. If you didn't see it, have a look. I'll wait here and drink my coffee.

Back? Okay. In the comments, I'd promised to talk about them one day, more specifically with my fellow designer Paul Anater of Kitchen and Residential Design. Schedules never seem to work out and then we both took on a fair amount of work. (Plus some people, who are not me, take a LOT of vacations.)

Basically, the concept of zones takes into account there's more than one person in the kitchen at a time, and that the kitchens of today have far more large and small appliances than the 1940s range, refrigerator, sink, and mixer.

Staying to the concept of a work triangle in a larger kitchen with multiple cooks congests the traffic flow and pathways. Give a person the ability to work in one area without much moving around and you have a zone.

I'd get more into it but I discovered last night that the great folks over at Kitchens.com beat me to it and did a wonderful post called Zone Design.

(Credit: Kitchens.com)

One of the notes I'll bring to the table is that I think zones are fluid and can be adapted based on lifestyles and family preferences. There can also be additional zones, such as:

• a homework zone - perhaps a seating area at the island with drawers for pencils and paper.
• a snack zone - with a microwave, warming drawer and beverage refrigerator -- all tucked out of the way of the main cook's working area.

This is perhaps one of the reasons mainstream media has been slow (like a decade slow) in embracing it. - it's not a "one-size-fits-all" adaptation like a work triangle.

Somewhere in my readings, I remember seeing a kitchen that had a snack zone filled with candy containers and/or ice cream sundae fixings. Doesn't that sound dangerous?

Now if I could only get my brain to stop thinking about it. Must be time for brunch...

Two Designers Tackle Episode 2 of HGTV Design Star

A few weeks ago, Susan Serra of The Kitchen Designer posted her disquiet with Episode 2 -  Dueling Kitchens from HGTV’s Design Star. The post is here.

Out in the blogosphere, it stirred up a bit of controversy amongst professional designers, as you’ll see in the comments. The problem wasn’t with the Design Stars themselves, but rather the slant of the show and the final results.  Before you know it, one of the Design Star challengers, Jason Champion, chimed in with his two cents.

In the fallout, a stellar opportunity to let everybody shine through good design didn’t happen.

What happens when two designers get together

So in one of our discussion, one of us said, “Why don’t we show our readers the kitchen designer aspect and what it could have been?” and a flurry of tweets, emails, and phone calls later, a whole lot of work on our days off was born. 

We decided to each design one of the kitchens: the Warm Modern for me and the Moroccan for Susan. Before we start, let me just say that Susan came up with a gorgeous design for the Moroccan.

It’s always fun sharing ideas with other designers, especially someone as talented as Susan. With a couple of careful placements, she added pieces more in keeping with the thematic richness, and actually lessened the heaviness of the room. That’s not easy.  (Translation: I wish I’d thought of it.) I bet if she hadn't been so busy, she could have put together some material selections that would've made your jaw drop.

But first, since you’re here (or if you came over from Susan’s blog), welcome to the re-design tour of  the HGTV's Design Star Warm Modern kitchen. Grab yer coffee; this is a lengthy post.

Canada Day: West Coast kitchen style

In hono(u)r of Canada Day, I thought I might show you some of the kitchen designs from the Canadian West Coast.

From my blogroll, Arne Salvesen,CKD of useful spaces and Paradigm Kitchen Design in Vancouver, B.C.:

     

(Photos: Paradigm Kitchen Design)

• refrigerators are hidden behind panels or smaller widths
• sound speakers in the ceiling are important
• low emission standards for cabinets that meet European E1 standards (best rating with zero off-gassing. There are no similar standards in the U.S.)
• use of glass - glass tile, glass tops, glass pendants - as environmentally friendly material)

Also from Vancouver: the V6B Design Group

Pendant lighting and an island hood

I promise to get into zones as soon as I have a bit more time to lay the concept out clearly, but I wanted to get back to a bit of design.

This came up yesterday and I thought it might be useful. I'm working on an island design with a peninsula hood fan and a couple of pendants.

Where to store those small appliances

Trudeau 19-pc. Raclette with Grill

Check out the left-hand column: I've got an informal poll on the number of small appliances we all own (and sometimes don't always confess to!) I'm curious what you all have out there: I come from a mother who believes anyone who doesn't own a Mixmaster and a waffle-maker to be a sorely deprived individual. *grin*

Everyone has at least one small appliance: the microwave is one. Other basics can range anywhere from the simple (toaster and coffee-pot) to the hard core (pasta makers and steam ovens) to the "I'm tempted and I don't even know how I'd use it" items (like the grill above - the modern replacement for the old fondue pot! *grin*)

The "how many small appliances" poll has since been removed. Final totals:

    2-3:       0%

    4-6:      14%

    6-9:      71%

   10+:      15%

We have a lot of small appliances! Yes, they're a bear to store; especially if you have no counter and less storage. Anything in the bottom of a base cabinet will find you on your hands and knees fishing it out. Sorry. Lost interest, especially when dealing with any joint or muscle challenges.

Retro-fitting rollouts or drawers to a 24" deep base cabinet is a welcome solution, but here's my favorite: shallow pantries. If you're remodeling, see if your cabinetry line (or cabinet maker) can install a 12" or 15" deep tall pantry or two.

Why?

How much kitchen space is required for a cooktop and oven?

Kelly -

Is there a definitive line, either counter length or kitchen sq. footage, between when a kitchen has enough space for a wall oven/cooktop set-up and when it's best to go with a range? I currently have a wall oven and cooktop but I'm starting to wonder if perhaps a range might work better in my space. I'd hate to give up the convenience of separate units if I don't need to but I'm not sure how to figure that out. I've researched but all I seem to find is the "enough space" or "personal preference" parameters, which doesn't help point me in one direction or another.

Lisa

Yes, there is.

The NKBA has guidelines for placements here.  What's not explained are the reasons behind these guidelines which might be helpful for you as you plan.

If you don't have time to look at the guidelines, basically for the range vs. cooktop/oven break down to this:

 

(Photo credit: NKBA)

A kitchen for a family of 4 with all the goodies and 3 prep areas requires 158" countertop space (not including corners.) If we separate the cooktop and wall oven, we lose 30" of the available countertop space in the above kitchen and are now below minimum space requirements.

"But Kelly," you say. "We see this all the time! We can just put the refrigerators next to ovens. How can you say this is wrong?"

Why semi-gloss paint is used in kitchens

I've periodically posted about kitchen history and how we continue to design kitchens because "that's the way it's always been."

So, having visited my latest 1960s kitchen, let's talk about my pet peeve: glossy paint in the kitchen.

Wait. I should backtrack: if the kitchen is separated from the rest of the home, the gloss is fine. However, the plan I saw this week is a common theme here: an open plan where the kitchen and nook and perhaps the family room are all one room. The painting solution is that the gloss stops at the end of the cabinets, leaving a clear delineation between the semi-gloss finish in the kitchen and the matte finish in the rest of the home.

The reasoning goes something like this: "There's grease in the kitchen! The semi-gloss makes the walls easier to wipe down."

It may, but it wasn't the original reason.

Dishwasher vs. Floor - avoiding a common mistake.

I was somewhat startled to note that I've passed the 90-post mark this week. When I first started this blog, I was a bit concerned I'd have nothing to talk about, but almost 1-1/2 years later, I haven't slowed down yet. *grin*

Here's a tip for you: partial remodels can be as much work as a full remodel.  Or at least takes as much pre-thought to design.

Let's say you decide not to replace your old 1970s cabinets, but the horrible white vinyl floor has got.to.go. You've always wanted tile and pick this wonderful warm terracotta-colored porcelain. Or a beautiful wood floor.  Either way, you can't wait, right?

Those of you who follow this blog on a regular basis know me by now; there's always a catch.