That's right. Today I'm back in the BA (big apple but you should know that). If you recall, I was here only 6 months ago during fashion week courtesy of Brizo Faucets. Click here for a journey 6 months back in time. Wouldn't you know it, the amazing exhibit Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen at MOMA opened within days of my departure necessitating a return trip before it closes on March 11th. Some savvy bloggers wrote about it on the front end so I'm going to wrap it up for you and send it out with a bang. I'll be there on Sunday. Tomorrow I'll be visiting the new super slick Scavolini showroom in Soho. I hear it's not to be missed so I will also be bringing you the latest in Italian kitchen design from this progressive cabinet manufacturer. Now if you know me, you'll know I have to fit in a little art and guess what's happening this weekend? Yes that's right, the Armory Art Show. 
NEWSFLASH!!! You can now subscribe to Kitchens for Living on your Kindle! Check it out here.If you're paying attention you'll notice yet another badge on my sidebar. I am now officially an "expert" at EzineArticles.com with one published article and loads more to come, as soon as I have time. More from New York tomorrow.PS. If there's anything you think I should check out while I'm there drop me a comment and I'll try to squeeze it in. Cheers! 
SHOW SOME SKIN IN YOUR KITCHEN
Don't get excited. Skins are what we sometimes call wood veneers, or super thin sheets of material used to cover cabinet doors or panels instead of using solid wood. As clean lines and contemporary styling continues to increase in popularity, surfaces themselves become the ornamentation and focal interest in a kitchen. The use of interesting wood grain veneers which are both beautiful and unique, is an excellent way to make a simple slab door stand out.
Many of my clients are surprised to learn that this is can actually be a more expensive option compared to a solid wood door. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that these veneers, or skins, are often made from exotic wood and secondly this can be a labor intensive process, thus the increased cost. The advantage being you can "control" the wood grain, so to speak, creating patterns that match up with each other. So if the unexpected randomness of natural wood grain makes your pits sweat this could be a good alternative for you.Another option if exotic wood veneers are too rich for your blood is something called "engineered wood veneers". These are man made skins that replicate the exotics using not-so-exotic woods. The material cost is a lot less and in many cases it's hard to tell the difference.
If you still love more traditional styling, veneers can still be useful for you. A traditional 5 piece door benenfits greatly from a center panel that is veneer rather than solid wood. The reason is that the veneer is applied to a dense MDF substrate that will not expand and contract the way solid wood does, thus the center panel will not ever swell cracking open the seams or shrink resulting in a lose rattling center panel.One of my favorite traditional doors made here at Brendan Donovan Furniture & Cabinet Co. is this Sapele Mahogany door with a Rosewood veneer center panel.Another way to get the look without blowing your budget is to mix it up. Just use the veneer on, for example, your upper cabinet doors. The more intricate the graining the stronger the statement. In other words, a little goes a long way. Too much and it becomes busy and you lose the concept of focal point.
If your kitchen design involves round radius shapes it's going to involve wood veneer which can be bent and moulded to conform as needed. Another beautiful effect can be achieved through the use of marketry, or inlay. In researching this post I came across the amazing work of Juli Morsella. Talk about adding a little art to your kitchen! In addition, Juli is committed to using reclaimed woods, eco-friendly materials and she donates 10% of her earnings to environmental causes.
If you're interested in using wood veneers (or not) for your kitchen I would love to hear from you! Congrats to Amy Parrag of Eye See Pretty. She is the winner of the Orgaline drawer organizer giveaway!
TIPS TO AVOID KITCHEN REMODEL RIPPOFFS
Seems like the consumer is a little leery lately. Everyone's radar is on high alert looking to avoid the big RIPOFF. I can only speak for myself but I'm confident that I am in the majority. All we kitchen and bath industry professionals want is to make you happy. Do we have to eat? Yes, and so do all the hard working people that make your life possible. That said, I do understand where you're coming from. After all, I am a consumer too. With that in mind I have come up with a cheat sheet for you. Run through these 5 tips as a prelude to your decision making and you should be able to trust once again. Oh and remember there is a difference between cheap and value for the money. I know cheap is tempting but it isn't cheap anymore if you have to replace a product that doesn't make the cut.
1. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER- Today there is no excuse not to educate yourself before you go shopping. There is a wide array of media at your disposal. Use the internet and talk to people! Yes, people, in person (ok can be online too). Talk to the experts. Read blogs. Ask questions and talk to other consumers. One of the best ways to feel good about your choices is to know other people who have made them before you and been happy. No, you can never know for sure but the more knowledge you have the more equipped you are to make the right selection for yourself.
2. RESEARCH-This goes hand in hand with #1 but it is really the next step. Once you have defined the scope of your project you will be ready to select specific products such as appliances, counter tops, cabinets etc. that fit into the big picture. Research the choices. What are other people saying? How long has a company been in business? The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Consumer Reports and the Better Business Bureau are good national and local resources and can indicate if you're headed in the right direction.
3. TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE- Take a little time to find out what your style is. Who wants to spend a butt-load of money on something they're going to hate looking at? The best way to find what floats your boat is to do something I call "kitchen scrap booking". Time to have fun. Collect images from magazines, catalogs and the internet. These don't even have to be photos of kitchens. They should be anything that appeals to you, a style, product or just a general ambiance. In this way you will begin to see the patterns and perhaps even discover some things you never consciously knew! For example you may find that 7 of 10 photos contain white cabinetry but maybe you never considered that. Getting what you love is good value. It just takes a little vision.
4. LET THE PROFESSIONALS DO THEIR JOB- A WORD OF CAUTION: Don't get carried away here. You've all heard "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". It's true. Never succumb to thinking you know it ALL. That's why there are people who have studied and spend a large part of their waking lives becoming certified experts so they can get paid to help you. Use them.
5. COMMUNICATE FOR GOD SAKES! Once you've got some semblance of a plan in your head it's time to take it (along with your scrapbook) to the magician professional who can make it happen for you. This is not about money. You have to buy your products somewhere and that place should have a professional on hand to take your vision and translate it into your dream. That's all we do folks. It is my experience that the best projects are really good collaborations between client and designer. Getting what you want equates to good value for money invested. The NKBA is a good source for qualified professionals in your area. Many of us are also willing to work on a consultation basis, so ask!
SILGRANIT SETS THE STAGE
If the kitchen is the "heart of the home" then certainly the sink is the heart of the kitchen. Think of how many things happen in and around your kitchen sink. We wash dishes, we clean and prep veggies, we wash hands and even tiny babies in our sinks. One of the best kept secrets in the "sink world" is the Silgranit sink by Blanco. The use of granite as a sink material is not a new one and was used hundreds of years ago. Silgranit, however, is a new breed and is a mixture of 20% acrylic (yes just like the fake finger nail material) and 80% ground up granite.
On my recent trip to Toronto I had the pleasure of visiting the only plant in North America manufacturing granite composite sinks. Blanco, a privately owned firm based in Germany is the leader in this technology possessing 6 of 7 patents on the process. Our gracious hosts at Blanco walked us through the process from mixing the acrylic with granite sand, forming and heat setting the mixture on nickel sink molds. The result is a Silgranit sink that is indestructable. I kid you not.
We were taken into a quality control lab where they had a WHITE Silgrant sink stained with tea, ketchup, mustard, red juice and red wine, all the worst offenders, right? One wipe of the sponge (no soap) and rinse with water and the sink was once again pristine! The sink could not be scratched either. A couple of us went at it rather vigorously with a fork. The metal shavings of the fork were left on the surface and were easily wiped off with a sponge. How about dents, you ask? No dents either, a steel ball dropped into the sink had no effect. Hot pots won't burn the surface either. These sinks also come in 7 different colors. Anthracite black is the most popular followed by my favorite, Cafe Brown. Blanco unveiled their newest color offering, Truffle, at the Interior Design Show 2011.
It's a taupe-grey color and they made sure we wouldn't forget that by supplying us with a matching EYE SHADOW! How cool is that? Are there any downsides to this Silgranit stuff? My research tells me that grout and maybe hard water could create a film, just as on any surface. There are solutions ranging from vinegar and baking soda to the handy dandy Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I can hear you thinking "so how much is this magical space age sink gonna set me back?" Most models are available in the $500-$1,000 range from plumbing retailers such as Next Plumbing (See listing on LOCAL RESOURCES page) in West Palm Beach. FaucetDirect.com has them available in the $300-$400 range.
Don’t forget to enter your chance to win a free Orgaline drawer organizer by leaving a comment on any post between now and February 15th! Click here to read January 14th post for details
STEP ONE, ORGANIZE YOUR KITCHEN
Happy new year! Thank you for showing up here at Kitchens for Living where my new year's resolution is to continue to bring you the latest in products, trends and kitchen related (mostly) tidbits as they cross my path as a professional kitchen designer. Whether you are planning a new kitchen, thinking about planning a new kitchen (someday) or just want to make the one you have better you're in the right place. I am here to help as little or as much as you want!
Do you feel like these babies? Quite often we come to the conclusion that we need help when we realize how powerless and out of control our lives have become. Well, guess what? This happens in the kitchen too. Do you want to have more time, less stress? Organizing what you have in your kitchen is definitely a step in the right direction. Here's how you can start.
DOWNSIZE
One of the number one trends for 2011 is downsizing in all aspects. This includes not only your waistline but your schedule, your closet and yes, your kitchen. Gone are the "McMansion" days. Today we are learning about living smaller with quality instead of quantity. The smaller the space the more each element counts and the more organization matters. The Intuitive Kitchen philosophy agrees with 19th century creative William Morris who said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
One of my favorite books about downsizing, prioritizing and organizing your life is Susan Susanka's The Not so Big Life. She uses the metaphor of a house and its architecture and interior to show us a different way of looking at how we live. She's actually written a whole series on this theme but this is the one I know.
SITUATE WHAT YOU HAVE
Now that you're down to the nitty gritty, the point is to store it so we can see it. This is necessary for the items we use on a daily basis. There is also what I call remote storage, or the hard to reach or up high areas which are ideal for storing seasonal items. The biggest organizational day to day kitchen challenges are pots and pans, especially the lids, (according to my clients), spices, tupperware and cutlery. Today we'll start with solutions for pots and pans.
POTS & PANS
Seriously, you can easily get into a fight with your kitchen cabinets over pots. I like to store mine in a deep drawer. I keep the flat pans under the range but I love tray dividers or vertical partitions for storing cookie sheets, pizza pans, cutting boards and serving platters. This type of cabinet can be located over a wall oven or better yet it's the best solution for a small base cabinet.
If you thought the space over your windows was wasted, think again. An over-the window-hanging-pot-rack can be convenient adding visual interest at the same time.
Now a word about those lids. They do make door racks to hold them but my favorite solution is this nifty chrome rack that fits in an upper cabinet or in a deep drawer. It's great for the lids or other items and you can get one at organize-it.com for $9.99
So now you have some idea how to stash your pot pots for easy access. Next post we'll organize your herb spices and cutlery. ALSO COMING UP IS A GIVEAWAY! Yes Kitchens for Living is going to give one lucky winner some kitchen love!! (I'm not really a pot head. It was just funny so I had to run with it.)
SPIRAL WINE CELLARS?
I received an email from one of my fave clients the other day. She is contemplating a dream kitchen for 2011 (Maybe you should too!) Anyway she sent me some of these amazing photos. Check out this dreamy spiral-trapdoor-otherworldly-cool wine cellar! Was this an internet hoax, an urban legend, I wondered?
NO! It's for real and you can check out the UK firm that builds them here. The appeal is not only novelty but efficient design. The concept was designed in 1978 by a Frenchman (of course). It's not a basement, as I first thought, but an actual hole in the ground!
It's not only space efficient but it's Green as well. They claim the temperature stays constant at 55 degrees. Ok, so it's probably still only a dream for us in Florida. If you dug that deep under my kitchen you'd have an undersea wine cellar. Now there's an idea!