Tips for Creating a Minimalist Kitchen

For years my husband and I have thought about the day when we'd be able to live small in a big way.  That means less stuff and more meaningful moments, experiences and adventures.  

The suburban life has its advantages and I will certainly miss having the big kids :) around as well as my morning walk route and garage studio.  That said, we're trading it in for simplicity, morning coffee and sunset wine on the water.  Yes, we're selling the house and moving back to my chick pad on the intracoastal which will now be a sanctuary for two, plus one kitty.  My musings brought me to Minimalism, a very inspired documentary about how two guys made it happen in their lives. Check it out on Netflix. Downsizing and moving is kind of like a mandatory form of minimalism, it's the only way.  Scary? Yes, but also exciting and since kitchens is what I do I began exploring the idea of what makes the Minimalist Kitchen. Here are thoughts to get you started if the idea inspires you too.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."-  William Morris

These words by William Morris are the perfect place to begin when considering the Minimalist Kitchen.  The concept is, of course, not new.  Morris was a nineteenth century British designer, writer and social activist who espoused this principle and his advice is the perfect way to begin the journey to the Minimalist Kitchen.  Consider every single item in your kitchen in due course, i.e. not necessarily all at once but methodically and thoroughly.  If you're not sure, one way to decipher usefulness is to take note of the items you use every day, week, month and only on holidays.  Items used only once a year don't need to be stored in the kitchen if space is tight and if it's been more than a year why are you holding space for it? The kitchen remodeling process is very helpful in this regard. You're forced to empty all your cabinets then, as you live out of boxes during the process, you quickly become familiar with the items you really depend on.  Chances are there are less than you thought.  Usefulness is huge BUT remember the beauty too.  This means if you LOVE something you get to keep it!

Consider Multi-Use Appliances

These appliances offer versatility and save space for things you love.

My daughter's boyfriend got us this rice cooker for Christmas and we have never looked back.  Not only is it a convenient rice cooker but it's also a slow cooker and a steamer! You can even hard boil eggs with it. In my house it earns its space in the kitchen. The Aroma Professional Rice Cooker comes in a variety of sizes too.

If your cooking goals are loftier there are many luxury appliances that combine convection, steam or microwave technologies into one appliance.  This Bosch Benchmark combo oven features steam on the top and regular convection on the bottom.  You can also get a microwave on the top if you prefer. These are just a couple of examples but you get the point, yes?

Ditch the Duplicates

Do you really know how many you have? I certainly was surprised to see I had so many funnels!  Speaking of duplicates, when I move we're having one big set of dishes that we love and use everyday.  That is all and I give you permission to do that too.  If you have little ones you will have to strike the right balance between beauty, durability and price.  I love the variety of suggestions here.  If you must have a set of separate dishes for the holidays remember they can be stored outside the kitchen if space is tight.

Detach & Re-Charge

One nifty feature I've been working into most of my design lately is a charging station.  Give yourself and your devices time to re-charge.  This charging station gives you a safe place to store devices off the counter top and out of sight.  A few hours of detachment can work wonders.  It's a de-clutter strategy for your kitchen and your mind right in line with the Minimalist perspective.  See some of the options at  Docking Drawer Try it!

  Organize Your Recipes Digitally

I don't know about you but I have a lot of cook books and most of them I don't use.  There are so many easy ways to organize and save your favorite recipes on line.  I usually use Pinterest or AllRecipes.com to curate my collection . If you're not too internet savvy just take a photo on your phone or tablet.  It's as easy as that.  Definitely keep cookbooks with sentimental value such as the ones with grandma's hand written notes.  I actually wish I had some of those!

The goal for me is less stuff.  The payoff is saving money, easy cleaning, maintaining what I have,  knowing where everything is when I want it and having more time and resources to travel and enjoy the relationships and experiences in my life.  As The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus say  "Love people and use things because the opposite never works."  

Stay tuned for my downsizing moving adventures in the months to come and let me know how I can help you craft  your own Minimalist Kitchen.

Design Tips Inspired by The French Chef

Julia Child was a pioneer in the world of haute cuisine at a time when celebrity "chefdom" was a decidedly manly occupation.  She didn’t care.  The kitchen was her natural habitat and she had her own ways of making it work for her whether she was whipping up a soufflé or flaming a creme brûlée.    Child is credited with bringing French cuisine to America in the 1960s and was host of The French Chef on PBS which aired from 1963-1973.   Interestingly, she did not learn to cook until she met her husband Paul Child, an American diplomat with a refined palate. Julia also worked for the government during WWII as a research assistant in the Secret Intelligence division of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). It was in this capacity that she created her first recipe which was for shark repellent! It worked and is still in use today.  After the war the couple settled in Paris where Paul worked for the US Foreign Service and Julia attended the renowned Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.  She had fallen in love with French cuisine.  Julia stood 6’2”, never had any children and left this world in 2004, two days shy of her 92nd birthday.  She was quoted as saying, “with enough butter, anything is good”.  Apparently her health was none the worse for it.  Julia’s real life kitchen was donated, moved and reassembled in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2001. The layout was devised by Julia and her husband and customized to her cooking needs, including higher counter tops to accommodate her height. Pots and cooking utensils are all placed exactly as they were in her home.   Today Julia would be utterly amazed at the advancements in appliances, materials and new storage options. Although her kitchen goes back 50 years she had ideas and practices that are very relevant today.  Here is what I think today’s kitchen would look like through the eyes of The French Chef.  Organization and Easy AccessJulia was known for her handy and efficient peg board system.  Companies like Rev-A-Shelf have taken this concept and expanded it so that it doesn’t have to be on the wall.  Moving pegs allow these inserts to be customized.  This is especially handy for dish storage in new kitchens that feature fewer upper cabinets.  A "Julia kitchen" includes a place for everything and everything in it’s place. To Make the Cut You Must Have Great KnivesA self-proclaimed knife freak, Julia collected them all her life and never met one that was sharp enough for her! Check out this delightful anecdote from the New England Historical Society and you'll see what I mean.  I agree that there is nothing more frustrating in the kitchen than dull knife. The winner in my book is J.A. Henckels International 8" Classic Chef's Knife in terms of quality and value for the money.Having a great knife is half of the equation, now we have to store them.  Julia preferred to house them on a magnet attached to the wall.  Today she would love this railing system by Clever Storage that allows you to take advantage of the space between upper and lower cabinets.  It's safe, attractive and accessible.  Win!  The Mother Ship of RangesJulia used a 1950s six burner used commercial gas range by Garland.  This company is still in business so you can get a modern version today but I’m betting Julia would fall for the TriFuel range by Tecnogas Superiore for its state of the art versatility.  In fact, it was just announced Product Innovator Award winner for 2016 by Kitchen & Bath Business Magazine.  It features dual gas burners plus four induction zones and an electric griddle. Below are dual gas ovens equipped with two convection fans and a broiler.  The Beauty of Butcher BlockThe French Chef was fond of her extra high maple counter tops for food preparation.  You may not want an entire kitchen with wood tops but, if you can, it's great to have a section of it for food prep.  Wood butcher block counters are a natural eco-friendly choice, absorb noise, are gentle on dishes and can be refinished.  In addition to this, wood has inherent antibacterial qualities and can add a beautiful warmth to your kitchen. If you're going to use your counter for food prep it should have an oiled finish which does need to be maintained.   Last but not least never enter the kitchen without a sense of humor and adventure Child was never without it!  She said, “in cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude!”-If you'd like to experience cooking like a French chef  you can stay at what was once Julia and Paul's part-time residence in Provence, France courtesy of Airbnb.

Open Shelves Add Function and Style

Open shelves, especially floating shelves happen to be all the rage at the moment, should you or shouldn’t you?  I often hear concerns about neatness.  Do we really want to see it all? Maybe we do.  Open shelves can greatly increase efficiency in the kitchen. Having our most used dishes, utensils and ingredients displayed and at our finger tips is very tempting!  This is how the chefs do it and there is even a term for it in French. Mise en place is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place", as in set up. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients and items that a cook will require for preparing the menu items of the day. We can also apply this concept in our own kitchens. Here's an interesting story I came across on NPR about Mise en place. Listen and you will discover the perfect French pronunciation!Usually storage space in the kitchen is too dear to squander on an area strictly for show so I urge you to incorporate an open shelf  or open cabinet only if it will be useful as well as visually interesting.  When you get right down to it, kitchens are comprised of boxes and row after row of doors can get pretty boring.  I like to add some variety with open shelves and glass doors.That said, if you do have a collection that you love to gaze upon and showcase , open shelves are perfect is hard to reach areas such as high up or on the far side of a peninsulaThis client is a talented potter.  What better way to show off her work?  Easy to get to for dusting when you’re on the other side of the peninsula but this area is not really accessible when you’re on the working side of the kitchen.http://www.shelterness.com/pictures/open-shelves-on-a-kitchen-30.jpeg

The Perfectly Practical Microwave Drawer

Every designer has a trademark.  One of mine definitely is the microwave drawer.  Why? It's safe, easy to use and very unobtrusive.  Yes, a microwave drawer will cost you a bit more than the over-the-range type but it's oh so worth it!A little known fact is that all microwave drawers happen to be made by Sharp.  Don't tell anyone I told you but whether you're springing for Wolf or Dacor they all come from the same place.  The only difference is the exteriors which are made to match the collections by various brands.Microwave drawers come in 24" or 30" wide and are built into a base or tall cabinet.  An island can also be the perfect location.  Typically you end up with a nice big drawer below which is perfect for storing microwavable cookware.The ergonomics of lifting on to the counter top, out of a drawer, as opposed to reaching 4 1/2 feet up over a hot burner to access the contents is so much more safe and efficient.I would rather look at this instead of a microwave any day.There are so many details involved in designing a new kitchen and bringing it to reality, so when it comes to budget you have to pick your battles.  If space allows, the microwave drawer is a great investment and the safest option for any age.

Locker Up! Storage, Style and Savings

The more we crowd our environments with "stuff" the more we need to find a place to put all of it!  Pair that with a very real need to recycle and reuse (to keep the new "stuff" to a minimum) and you can see that the concept of "used lockers" can be very relevant.

Aside from being cost effective, they can be a very creative storage option.  Buyusedlockers.com is the place to go if you want to know more, so that's just what I did.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Chance Cook who had some reavealing and insightful things to say about the business of using used lockers.  All photos are from their Pinterest page and there are more pics here.

AK:  BuyUsedLockers inhabits a very unique niche in the market.  How did it come about? 

Chance Cook: "BuyUsedLockers is part of a larger, family-owned business named Jorgenson Industrial Companies.  Jorgenson Industrial Companies has many divisions specializing in machine tools and material handling—one of which is a very successful division named SchoolLockers.com.  Several years ago after doing a very large install of brand new lockers here in Salt Lake City, Utah, the owner purchased the used lockers he was removing that were heading out to be sold as scrap metal.  Instead he bought them.  After looking on the Internet late one evening, he found there was a huge need out there across the country by people looking to buy used lockers over brand new lockers.  He quickly assembled a business model, began buying used lockers from just about everywhere, and built a website that specialized that focused on buying and selling just used lockers."

 

AK: Who is your customer and are you noticing any clear trends?

Chance Cook: BuyUsedLockers.com finds our customer base ranges from someone looking for a DIY project in their home (such as a mudroom or laundry application for locker storage) to any other client that would need new lockers for their business facility. Savings over new lockers can be upwards of 40%.

There are in fact trends with many of the home applications as well.  Currently we find that for home applications, people are looking for the really cool aged, vintage lockers for their studio apartments, mud rooms and just about every other corner of a home.  Most of these are being done as a Do It Yourself (DIY) décor project.  Look around on eclectic boutique shops and especially Pinterest and you’ll see that all things vintage are commanding high prices as people are enjoying that retro, vintage and rustic look for their homes.

AK: What is the best way for homeowners to incorporate your product into a residential design?

Chance Cook:  Of course color is the best way to incorporate our product into a home.  A vintage locker that you paint and age works as a great way to add accent colors along with storage into your home.  If you go onto our Pinterest page you can see the many, wonderful ways that normal, everyday people have done this in their own homes.  By using a vintage locker, you can add that awesome hint of color you are looking for to further accentuate an accent wall, or even add the sole accent color a home’s otherwise neutral color scheme.

The ideas and ways to incorporate a used locker into a residence are as endless as the imagination desires.  People have turned lockers into tables, rolling storage units, laundry hamper storage cabinets, mud rooms,  dressers and so forth.  Plus the additional storage capacity makes them perfect for any room of the house where any other piece of furniture can be set up.  We even see people who have added chalkboards to the locker’s exterior doors to make ‘quote boards’ and ‘dream walls’ for the home, and I have even seen resourceful people take the doors off sections of the lockers and turn them into chic bookcases for living rooms and dens. It's anything you can dream up.

AK: What do we need to know about sizes to work lockers into a design plan?

Chance Cook:  That is the great part about using used lockers in your home.  Most people think lockers only come in the tall, single tier style they used in high school.  But little do they know there are MANY styles and designs to choose from!  Box lockers for instance are essentially small cubbies that can stand upright or even come as a bridge; with two locker columns as bases and then a horizontal locker across the top.  This currently popular style further adds to maximize a garage or mud room’s limited storage and design.  There are 2-tier, 3-tier and many other styles and all have shelves which you can easily adjust, remove or add all depending on your needs.

AK:  How about color, can they be painted as needed?

Chance Cook:  Any locker can be stripped, sanded and painted any new color you would like.  It is surprisingly easy and since lockers are built from quality, cold rolled steel, you don’t have to worry about breaking or harming the locker!  Our BuyUsedLockers.com blog has many detailed and helpful tutorials on how to paint a used locker and a list of supplies you will need, but suffice it to state that painting a locker is just like painting something like a metal vase or rustic home décor items that are made from metal and need a new paint job, aging or just refinishing.

AK:  How much can one expect to invest per lineal foot?

Chance Cook:  There are many many variables. The closest I can get,  depending on the style,  it could be anywhere between $45.00 to $200.00 per linear foot.

Thank you so much to Chance and the folks at buyusedlockers.com for taking the time to visit with me at Artful Kitchens.  If you are rocking the "used locker look" I'd love to see it!

A New Way to Organize Your Kitchen

Technology is a great thing but what about the inevitable "cord spaghetti"?  There is a very cool solution for that. Check out this little video by Adorne.  They've got you covered for all types of under cabinet magic including lights, outlets, music and more.  High function with a lovely aesthetic.