LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY DRAWERS

Last weekend was a wet one so I had a good opportunity to tackle something that has been bothering me daily, one of my kitchen drawers!  I LOVE drawers, don’t get me wrong.  As a designer I hear a lot of clients enthusiastically request roll out drawers.  It’s almost become a status symbol in the home improvement community.  I say not so fast.  I would take a bank of drawers any day over a cabinet with doors and roll outs.Think of it.  You can open most drawers with one hand.  The roll out alternative requires you to open two doors all the way then slide out the roll out, not very efficient ergonomics.  There is also an aesthetic component.  A bank of drawers can be a nice visual break from a sea of doors.   Anyway, I digress.We have this one nice bank of drawers 30” wide in my kitchen.  It’s supposed to house plastic containers and stuff like that.  Well with a family of four, including two teenagers, lately it has gotten ridiculous.  Believe me when I tell  you all this was in one drawer.      

Who knew we had so many funnels??

It only took minutes to empty, sort and re pack.  A few broken pieces and odd lids went into the recycle basket and here’s what we’ve got now, a clean drawer WHERE I CAN FIND EVERYTHING!  Drawers are the best, honestly.    

STOCK CABINETS IN CUSTOM SPACES

 Sometimes I’m called upon to do the impossible, or almost.  It's easy for a home owner to blow the budget when purchasing a new residence or fixing up an old one.  Trust me, everything always costs more than you think it will!  If you're starting out remember to pad that budget.  Sometimes I’ll get a perfect storm consisting of a very custom architectural arrangement and a homeowner who chooses to spend a minimal amount.  That means custom cabinetry is out.  No fear!  I had a situation recently in which this exact thing happened.  In fact I often have to make stock cabinets work to meet the budget.  It’s sort of like a puzzle, a cabinet box rubiks cube, if you will.   There are three basic components to a cabinet job and they all have to be friends with each other.  They are:1)      Design2)      Product3)      InstallationIn this case I had to come up with a design for a wet bar in this area utilizing stock sized cabinets and then,  most importantly, our professional installer had to make it work which did require some fancy bladework. Here’s how we solved this one.We utilized two 30” high 12” by 12” upper cabinets as bases (on the bottom)  in order to avoid the nasty angles in the back.  These cabinets are fine at 12” deep as they will be used to store liquor bottles.  (You definitely don’t need to be losing your booze in the backside of an oddly shaped cabinet!) We used a 24” wide sink base cabinet to accommodate the bar sink and since there is no room for drawers in the layout we’re adding a roll out shelf on the bottom underneath the plumbing.The top is where it gets tricky.  We used a standard glass door cabinet over the sink, raised a bit to lend a little more spaciousness over the sink.  Our installer altered the two upper cabinets on either side to accommodate those angles and I ordered an extra panel of interior cabinet material to finish the remade interior.  Crown moulding and moulding under the uppers to conceal undercabinet lights finish off the traditional look.  Yes, in this case the installation is a bit more expensive than normal but the savings from using stock cabinetry more than made up for it. One thing I  say is that there is always a solution and this is a prime example.  We had to give up a little space by going stock but  custom base cabinets would have been an awkward shape and I'm not sure the benefit would have been worth the extra cost.  The example you see here included cabinets, assembly, delivery, the remaking of the upper cabinets, installation and glass.  The price was $3,400. Counter tops, lighting and plumbing fixtures were by others.

BALANCE,HGTV BUDGETS AND WHERE TO PUT THE DISHWASHER

There are certain misconceptions in our industry that I see over and over again.  Today I thought I'd take the opportunity to educate and illuminate.  Sometimes you can come up with a much more interesting design if you are not limited by these "urban legends of kitchen design".  As they say "free your mind"!  Think again, leave the box, so to speak.  Here are three big ones to start the ball rolling.
SYMMETRY, WHAT GOES RIGHT MUST GO LEFT? NO!
Not true.  Giving up symmetry doesn’t mean you have to give up balance.  In fact sometimes a balanced asymmetrical wall is  more visually interesting.  It’s okay not to have a mirror image. Sometimes you have to get creative with balance due to the constraints of the architecture your working with.  Check out the following samples from my inspiration stash.
WHY ISN'T IT THE SAME PRICE AS HGTV? Some of my peers have already addressed this but it bears repeating.  Any kitchen budget that I have ever seen on HGTV is completely unrealistic.  Where they obtain these figures is a mystery to me.  Think about it.  They can pretty much say what they want  and they don't even have to be held accountable!  The end result is you, the viewer, are left with a false impression and a budget that lies woefully short.  Please understand that a kitchen remodel is all about details and every kitchen is different.  It also takes a lot longer than half an hour in real life! I must confess that I do love how Candice Olsen seems to pull her design choices  out of her a_ _ , all beautifully coordinated!  Not to mention what she can do with a Sharpie!
THE DISHWASHER ALWAYS GOES ON THE LEFT, OR RIGHT?
This is one issue for which there is no hard fast rule.  Some people think it's a certain way because that's what they've always had or that it's based on your dominant hand.  None of this is true.  Dishwasher location depends on two things which are the space you have and what's comfortable for  the way you work.  The dishwasher is the second most important component of the clean up zone in your kitchen, the main player being your sink.  Except  in rare space challenged cases, these should always be next door to each other.  The third component of the clean-up triad is your garbage receptacle.  If space allows you to include a cabinet with pull out trash/recycle bins it should ideally be located on the other side of the sink, the sink always  in between the dishwasher and the trash.  Think about it, you stand at the sink, scrape your plates, rinse if necessary (but not too much) and load the dishwasher.  It can be right to left or left to right, whatever feels right for you.

 

Dishwasher on the right in this case with sink in the middle and pull out trash on
the left.
If you have your own questions about what is correct, or not, shoot me an email and I will give you my take.

BALIZA, A NEW TWIST ON TRADITION

I grew up in South Florida, never more than minutes away from the beach.  The lighthouse is not only a symbol of tradition, where in days gone by it was a way shower and lifesaver for those at sea, but for me it also stands for Dad.  My dad taught me how to swim, snorkel and generally love the ocean when I was a wee girl.  As a Navy veteran who spent many days at sea, you could say he became a connoisseur of lighthouses.  Today he makes them with his hands and if you're lucky enough to be a friend or relative you will have one gracing your yard with its soft illumination.Well apparently I'm not the only one thinking about lighthouses.  On a trip to Portugal Judd Lord, Director of Industrial Design at Brizo, found the inspiration for the Baliza faucet.  You guessed it, lighthouses!   To him the lighthouse exemplifies all that is timeless and traditional.  I love the idea of using a familiar object in a new and innovative way.Check out this video to see what Baliza is all about. Now I'm going to the beach!

IT'S ALL CREATIVE

One thing I discovered during my Bosch Blanco Bloggers' Retreat is that creativity cannot be contained.  It spills out of the box in all sorts of interesting ways.  It was a great experience.  It's exciting and inspiring to learn about all the products, both the history and origins, as well as the very latest technologies.  Most of all, I loved hearing about  the design process and how these products come into being.  I enjoyed interacting, not only with the creatives at Bosch and Blanco, but also with my peers.  Whenever I could, I asked them about their typical days, how they work and what they do in their off time.  What I found is that there is no off time for a creative.  I should know that, right?  I discovered an editor who loves to knit, a kitchen designer who's passion is ballroom dancing and a much admired kitchen blogger who loves to photograph roses.  She confesses to having literally thousands of rose photos lurking in her hard drive!  The creative process is also a big part of what I learned about during our two days at the BSH Design Center in Irvine, California.The process of developing new products begins with colored pencils and adventurous minds.  The team at Bosch endeavors to achieve just the right combination of precision German engineering and the latest technology to address the needs of the consumer.Sometimes these needs are apparent but often they can be situations (observed and researched) that we may not even be aware of!  This is what makes the folks at Blanco and Bosch such a great team. They have a similar approach which understands that everything's connected in our world and it all informs what we need to function comfortably and efficiently in our homes.  Kudos to them and thanks for the memories!