Kitchen Design 101
Feb 24th
In 1998 I found a jewel of a property, on a jewel of an island. I had the incredible pleasure of designing and building a house just the way I wanted. Sounds glamorous, but building a house has broken up more marriages and caused a few heart attacks when you can’t find your contractor and he has your money.
That being said, designing and building a house is the most creative thing I have ever done. Since I am a closeted architect, who studied Finance, I hand drew all the plans in such detail that I even included the furniture.
The heart of every house is without a doubt the kitchen, even if your man is trying to tell you otherwise. After all, you have to keep up his strength with food. Not to mention the kids.
So, I spent one year thinking about exactly how to set up the kitchen. What bugs me most is that in some kitchens, even large ones, two people can’t cook and clean at the same time. For me that is vital, having two areas that can be worked in simultaneously, without tripping over each other and possibly spilling the wine! That way when you are finished cooking, say for a dinner party, your kitchen is clean.
Now you don’t have to have a large kitchen to accomplish this goal. It just depends on how you set it up. There are of course professional kitchen designers, but I enjoyed doing it myself, and who knows my cooking and entertaining habits better than I do?
So this is how I did it. I measured the size of the kitchen and drew it in edging tape on the floor of my Manhattan apartment, and then I decided where the plumbing was going to be placed. Of course if it’s a reno, you may be restricted by existing plumbing.
Then I laid out the stove, sinks, dishwasher etc., of course to scale. I stood in my pretend kitchen and I pretended to cook, just to test and see if my setup would work. You know when the stove is just out of reaching range from the prep area, or when dishwasher is open and you can’t open the fridge?
The most annoying for me is actually at my dad’s house where at 5′5” I can’t reach the cupboards where the dishes are kept when the dishwasher is open. In order to get to them I have to take all the dishes out, put them on the counter, close the dishwasher and then put the plates, cups and glasses away. That takes twice as long! At my mom’s former home, before I got her into a great condo, the kitchen design was down right dangerous. If the dishwasher is open, and you didn’t realize it, you would literally fall right over it. Thankfully my mom was good at long jump in her school days because it saved her possible broken bones.
So if you play in your pretend Betty Crocker kitchen for a while, you will find these glaring problems before you spend a year’s salary on a new kitchen. Plus it’s a lot of fun!
Olga Alexandra Viteznikova
Kitchen Design Styles
Nov 23rd
A kitchen’s primary focus is no longer only to perform cooking tasks. It is a room that brings family or individuals together. It should not just be considered as a room that is used for the basic essentials, but as a room that is filled with love, creativity and the desire to make genuine cuisine. In a room that contains the majority of your larger furniture that tends to take up a lot of space, you should design or redecorate your kitchen keeping in mind these 5 main schemes. First off, the brand name and warranty of an appliance is very important. When making a major investment on an appliance that you know you will be using every day, you want to make sure that it is a reliable brand with a good warranty attached.
Second, you want to make sure that wherever you plan to put your appliances, there is no place for clean lines to show, which brings me to my third point. To avoid clean lines, invest in built-n appliances; this also gives you more space without any bulky objects sticking out.The fourth element is to not position your appliances in any awkward corners that would draw the human eye. Finally, coordinating your colours is very important. If you decide to go with a stainless steel appliance, it is important that the rest of your appliances follow that pattern.
Cabinetry – To give a different look to your kitchen you can put in different types of cabinetry in it, so not all of the cabinets will solely be solid wood. If you want a more contemporary chic look; mix your cabinets with glass, wood, or frosted glass. This will give your cabinets a different look and add texture to your room by providing variety within. Also, when it comes to cabinets, you are better off purchasing cabinets that pull out to allow for more storage space. Types of wood to choose for your kitchen can be oak, maple, cherry, pine etc. Oak is said to be the strongest and toughest type of wood, however the most popular choices when it comes to wood and cabinets are cherry and maple. Pine wood is not as popular because it is known to be a soft type of wood that is more inclined to leave scratches or dents.
Counter tops – Counter tops are very important because they are the most dominant part of your kitchen. They are also important because each type of countertop has a varying life expectancy due to its surroundings. The main types of countertops are Soapstone, Laminate, and Granite. Laminate is the least expensive route to go, it comes in different colours and is easy to maintain. However, if it is exposed to any type of heat, the laminate material will ruin and it is also prone to get scratched and stained. So, yes, it is affordable but very hard to maintain. Soapstone is the next cost efficient suggestion. It has a rich smooth look, however, if the soapstone does get a crack in it, it is impossible to fix. Finally, the most expensive type of counter top is Granite. Granite has a sophisticated look to it and it comes in different colours. It is a tough type of material that cannot easily be scratched or cracked. However, using such chemicals like cleaning products on granite can ruin the surface.
Colour – Colour in a kitchen is very important, however it is always hard to choose which colour is best suited for a kitchen as opposed to picking out a colour for another room. You don’t want to mismatch your colour schemes because it can ruin the décor of your whole house. It has been said that painting a kitchen a certain colour will have a specific meaning. For example, painting your kitchen yellow tends to make people feel happier, whereas a shade of red can increase your appetite. The most popular kitchen colours of 2009 were the shades of beige, peach, yellow, and brown. White has always been a popular colour and still remains to be one, but with white comes problems with keeping it that colour.
Back Splash – A back splash is not mandatory but can be used to add a special touch to your kitchen. There are different types of styles and methods for creating a back splash. You can use large tiles to give it a bold statement, or you can use tiny metallic tiles to give it an extra sparkle. Also, another type of back splash you can do is by using the same type of counter top material. So, if you are using granite for you counter top you can consolidate the granite for your back splash as well.
- Theresa Sebastiano
