Blanco Makes a Splash!

For the last few years I have been honored to be a member of the Blanco Design Council.  This means I’m on the main line when it comes to inside information about their products. BLANCO, of course, is the German manufacturer of finely crafted sinks and faucets.  Their SILGRANIT II sinks are a particular favorite of mine and you should definitely know about them if you’re considering a kitchen remodel.  If you don’t know about SILGRANIT II, see my previous post here.   As a kick off to KBIS2013,  I got to see the newest BLANCO happenings  in New Orleans with a Cajun-styled experience called The Kitchen Unmasked.  This joint venture featuring Blanco, Poggenpohl and Silestone was held at the beautiful Nordic Kitchens showroom and was one of our stops on the Modenus Blog Tour.

The latest SILGRANIT II color, Cinder, is all the rage.  It’s a stormy striking combo of dark gray with some black and rich brown thrown into the mix.  I think it’s the perfect color to go with all the new luscious shades of gray we’re seeing.  It’s on trend yet neutral at the same time. The new SILGRANIT II series of sinks also includes HYGIENIC+PLUS^™ a patented formula that acts as a shield against dirt and bacteria. Independent laboratory tests confirm that the unique built-in hygiene protection reduces bacterial growth by an average of 98%.My favorite addition to the SILGRANIT II collection is the Modex sink (at top).  The next kitchen I design for myself (hoping) will have this sink.  I love it.  It adds a bit of architecture to the kitchen!  Modex features a unique 3” profile that sits on the counter and includes a large integrated cutting board.  It’s not just a sink, but a workstation.Speaking of work, did you know your faucet is the most abused item in your kitchen?  BLANCO's well known German engineering ensures that you have a product that will stand up to the test.  BLANCO also launched a new line of water saving faucets including Grace II, Alta, Highland and Napa. “Our latest collection of faucets offer livable style,” stated Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “When we say livable style, we are referencing style that leads trends while integrating into any kitchen design. At the same time, we are talking about the faucets’ functionality. We engineer BLANCO faucets to last, to use less water, to provide unmatched cleaning and to be as easy to use as they are to maintain.” I’ve had a blast telling you about all the products I learned about on the Modenus Blog Tour.  A big thank you to Veronika Miller and her team at Modenus as well as all the fabulous sponsors including Blanco, Poggenpohl, Cosentino, National Kitchen & Bath Association, Kitchen & Bath Industry Show 2013, Mr. Steam, TOTO and Du Verre Hardware.   It truly was a most memorable and enjoyable experience to see New Orleans in this way.  To me, the best part of all was the people, both meeting the sweet good- natured, perservering locals as well as enjoying the community of those who I’m honored to call my peers.  I hope you’ve enjoyed following along and have learned a thing or two in the process that will help you know what to look for when shopping for kitchen and bath products. Click here to see ALL my photos and commentary from Blog Tour NOLA!     

Poggenpohl, Ultimate Form and Function

Whether your in the market for a new kitchen or you're in the business of selling kitchens one of the first questions that comes up is, “what’s your style?” Are you traditional, transitional or contemporary?  If the answer is contemporary, the elements to look for include seamless integration, totally efficient function and clean sleek lines.  These happen to be the standards at Poggenpohl, founded over 120 years ago as the first German kitchen brand and now  the best known kitchen brand in the world – present in more than 70 countries around the globe.  Poggenpohl can show you what true European contemporary design is all about.Today they continue to think outside the box (pun intended) to offer some of the   most cutting edge cabinetry in the industry.          

Behind the scenes storage is also a Poggenpohl hallmark.  A wide range of  available drawer inserts can be customized to your needs.  These kitchens are not designed, they’re engineered!  This includes not only cabinets but thin counter tops, offered in glass or stone, and even integrated glass front cooking appliances!  One can be sure that their kitchens are as pleasurable to look at as they are to work in.  I also love that although the elements are integrated they seem to also stand alone as individual sculptural statements.  (Spoken like a true kitchen designer channeling her inner artist.)A modern European kitchen utilizes the easy to reach back splash area under the upper cabinets.  Other elements to notice include horizontal graining, mid-height cabinetry and a mix of texture and materials. I enjoyed learning about Poggenpohl and their design philosophy as a part of the Modenus Blog Tour New Orleans.Next up:  We’re gonna get steamy at KFL!  Adding luxury and health benefits to your bathing experience with Mr. Steam

KITCHEN ALA-MOD

The Frankfurt Kitchen 1926 Wikipedia

So where were we?  As I recall, we were examining the roots of the heart of the home (Click on Part I here.) to see just how we got from our origins to where we are now.  Today I will show you the first MOD(ERN) kitchen.

Although cooking made it to the indoors pretty quickly, water pipes in cities were not commonly laid until the end of the 19th century. Open shelves were the original go-to storage and coal fired stoves ruled. Cupboards, or cabinets, were first used by the upper classes to protect contents from dust, steam and smoke.  The middle class kitchen was were the family lived with the living rooms and studies saved for special times.  Sound familiar?

The first standardizations for the kitchen came from the German brand Poggenphol (est. 1892).  In case you ever wondered, this is where we got the ergonomically pleasing counter top height of 36".  These new guidelines were the result of time-motion studies  known at Taylorism.  As women increasingly found the need to aquire factory jobs, the need for efficiency in the kitchen increased and the Frankfurt Kitchen was born in 1926. I guess you could call its creator, Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky the first kitchen designer!  The design was influenced by railway dining cars of the day with two main objectives, to save precious time and make modern convenience affordable to the masses. These two priorities still endure so we'll keep them.  What can we chuck?  Maybe the closed-in tight quarters and the limited counter space?

The pre-historic Chemex Coffee Maker also on show at the MOMA

Margarete's Creation on Exhibit at the MOMA

Check out this exhibit which opened September 15th at the MOMA in NYC.  This examination of modern food prep is called Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen. spanning the last century of Western cookery -- from the architecture of the kitchen itself to the introduction of newer and stranger gadgets, like Chemex coffee pots and even Tupperware!  The show runs until March 11, 2011, and yes I'm already planning another jaunt to the B.A.!!