Kitchen and Bath Industry Show

Kitchen and bath designers descended upon New Orleans last month to check out trends and down beignets and sazeracs.  Since I've never been to New Orleans and always up for a write-off business vacation, I dragged my husband and 23 year old daughter to the Big Easy.  He's in construction and she has an architecture degree so it wasn't like they weren't interested.  The show never disappoints and I always end up with a bag full of promo pens and bottle openers.  New Orleans did not disappoint either -- music, dancing, food, and happy people everywhere.  

At KBIS, everything seemed to be "floating" -- vanities and toilets hanging on walls.  It looks good and definitely makes it easier to clean a floor.  The toilet support makes me nervous.  I was surprised to see that Formica is regaining popularity.  They are celebrating 100 yrs in business, and released new colors -- many bright prints and exotic woodgrain prints.  Faucet and toilet companies dominated the floor space.  Nobody wants to touch anything anymore and you don't have to. At least in the bathroom.  Touchless faucets and touchless toilets.  The lid will lift upon your entering the room.  If you are male, just slide your foot in front of the blue dot and the other lid will rise.  Then they both softly close when you leave.  You may not even need to touch the toilet paper, as it serves as a bidet and even blows you dry.  The toilets have self cleaning modes.   I like the whole touchless thing, but that luxury comes with a price tag of $6000.   Looks like I'll be buying toilet paper for awhile.

                                 KOHLER NUMI TOILET

Bathroom design is a small part of my business and the most memorable products at the show were toilets and shower heads.  It's amazing how many forms a water stream can take before hitting your body.  I was mesmerized by the helix shape flow.  Some of the body sprays looked painful.  The formerly inefficient rainfall showerheads have been improved with air injection into the stream.   Toilets seem to be at maximum efficiency with .8 gallon flushes and dual flushing options.  Most companies seemed to stress environmental responsibility. 

Kitchen and bath products are constantly evolving.  Keeping up with new products and trends is a big portion of a designer's job.  It's not so tough when it takes you to places like New Orleans.  Next year KBIS is in Vegas! 



  

Finally MY kitchen

I better have the perfect kitchen.  Not one mistake.  The pressure being a kitchen designer, designing your own kitchen.  Plus I love to cook and so does my husband and daughter (when she's around).  I sent my appliance wish list to a supplier for a quote.  I know what to expect.  My husband doesn't.  I must have a single door, bottom freezer, built in refrigerator.  My husband hates to clean stainless steel (it's his job) so it's going to be either a color or a glass door.  Hmm, that narrows it down to a Viking or SubZero.  There's $8000.  He may want to deal with stainless for a few thousand less.  I want the Blue Star 36" range top because it has 22K BTU burners and the Blue Star split door oven. I really don't care much about dishwashers as long as it's quiet.  The hood insert also needs to be quiet and powerful to handle those 22K BTU burners.

Now for the design, which I've revised a dozen times and may revise again.  The drawing above is the latest.  My kitchen is long and narrow.  Only 12' wide so my island width must stay at 3ft or less. You can't see it in the drawing, but there are 5 windows on the opposite wall.  I have a clean up station against the wall with a sink and DW and trash bin cabinet.  I really wanted the $6000 KWC Waterstation for my prep sink on the island, but I cost effectively am going to use 2 cheaper sinks and piggy back them so 2 people can prep food at the same time.  Oh, and face each other too.  I hate facing a wall, so I've designed my kitchen so most of the activity takes place on the island. The higher wood countertop will be seating.  The thing on the wall is not a picture, it's a TV.
The deep cabinetry to the right of the oven is where I am going to hide ALL of my small appliances -- mixer, cuisinart, blender, coffee maker, juicer, toaster.  I hope it all fits, but one thing is for sure, there will be NOTHING on my countertops.  Well, maybe the coffee maker, cause it releases a lot of steam and I don't want to ruin the inside of a cabinet.   There are 24" pullout pantries flanking the refrigerator.  I will probably put a Sharp microwave drawer under the oven .  

I am pretty sure the flooring will be a very very light wood, widest planks I can afford.  The cabinetry is going to be frameless dark stained bamboo, Tribecca by Forevermark.  I distribute it and can get it at a good price (to offset the outrageous appliance bill).   The countertops will wrap down the sides of the cabinets and will be a quartz material that looks like concrete.  The bar table will be wood and will match the hood facade. I may attach a suspended shelf to the side of the hood which will float above the island.  Or a really cool light fixture.  This project won't be done until March so I have plenty of time to find cool light fixtures.

You probably are thinking, where's the wine refrigerator?  Fortunately I have included a wet bar near the dining room and will put a Summit 24" dual temperature wine refrigerator there.   This house has a roof deck and is 3 stories, so since I won't want to run down to the kitchen to get drinks I am also buying a beverage center for the 3rd floor.  Cha ching.  Hopefully that's it for appliances.  Unless I plan an outdoor cooking space.  My Weber grill will have to do. 

Finally My Own Kitchen!
After 17 years of designing other people's kitchens, I am going to design my own.  I have been planning this in my head for years but it is real now and I will probably be my own worst customer.   I've always envisioned a super large kitchen and planned on knocking down as many walls as possible to achieve this.  Well, the new house is a row house and only 17' wide and 50' long and narrows to 12' in the back where the kitchen goes.  There are no walls to knock down so my kitchen will be 12' x 25'.  This means I will have one extremely long island.  One bonus is that the back wall is 4 windows so I will be facing windows while working at the island and also facing anyone that happens to be sitting at the island. But those 4 windows face a brick wall.  I plan on replacing 1 window with a door and building a 4ft x 12ft deck.  I need some outdoor space.  I insist on 42" walk spaces around the island so I will be stuck with a 3ft deep island, so it will have to be long, really long, like 18-20 ft. long.   

Since most time is spent prepping food, I will definitely have a prep sink on the island.  Maybe even a clean up sink too.  I believe in the station approach to kitchen design -- the work triangle is just so yesterday.   So clean up and prepping will take place on the island.  My dilemma is whether to also cook on the island.  I love the Wolf cooking modules.  Single units are the way to go, so you don't have to reach behind a pot to stir something in another pot.  Cooking on the island means you better have a good looking hood above it (or a downdraft) as it will become a focal point.

Instead of the cooking modules maybe I'll get a 60" stove and put it on the back wall.  Though I hate to be facing a wall when I'm doing anything.  Oh, I am definitely going to be my own worst customer!

So what's left for the back wall?  Well, refrigeration, pantry storage and I small appliance storage plus a coffee center.  I have way too many small appliances -- KitchenAid mixer, 2 juicers, blender, food processor, ice cream maker, waffle maker, and a quesadilla maker that I going to throw away.  My husband called a moratorium on buying any more single use appliances anyway and really, the Bodum juicer is pretty but I don't use it.  But I do want all of those things behind doors.  They are all pretty but I don't want clutter. I will keep all of my Le Creuset pots in view, they are really pretty colors and I use them constantly.

The layout may end up to be the easiest part.  Materials/finishes are another story.  Every time I do a white kitchen, I want white.  Everytime I do a black kitchen I want black. Granite countertops or concrete. Traditional or contemporary.  I am so wishy washy.   One thing that I don't believe in is that you need to stay with period of the house.  I like the juxtaposition of old and new. It's interesting and your house doesn't end up looking like a theater set.

Wall Cabinet Depth

I don’t have doors on my wall cabinets.  Thank goodness I don’t.  My dishes would never fit behind doors.  They stick out about an inch. 

There is nothing standard about the size of a plate, but wall cabinets have a standard outside depth of 12”.  Interior depth will vary depending on the manufacturer but the average interior depth is 10 ½”.  My new plates are 11 ¼” in diameter.  

This isn’t a new issue.  My clients have been complaining about this for years.  I’ve sent suggestions to my stock cabinet companies.  I increase the depth on wall cabinets that are built by my custom cabinetmaker. An extra inch or two still leaves you enough headroom to work at the counter.

 Another solution is to store dishes in base cabinet drawers.  There are many inserts for drawers to organize dishes.  But sometimes it’s hard to change someone’s attitude about where dishes belong.  One thing is for sure, they will most likely not fit in a wall cabinet.

 Blum’s Orga-line plate holder

Island or Peninsula?

Ideally you would have both an island and a peninsula.    It’s nice to have a workspace that isn’t  facing a wall.  Since a majority of food prep time is spent cleaning and chopping, it is also convenient to have a prep sink  at this location.  But nobody wants to spend all this prep time facing a wall.  Hence the island or peninsula.  

Islands allow a traffic flow in the kitchen.   You can walk around the island and stay out of the cook’s way. Two people can work at the island.  It is a great landing area for things going from one side of the kitchen to the other. 

Peninsula’s delineate the kitchen from the adjoining space, creating a visual break between rooms but still keeping an open feel.  They allow you interact with the people on the other side of the room with the added benefit of keeping them out of your workspace.

Whether you opt for an island or a peninsula, it is important to have enough room to maneuver around them.  The minimum space required is 36”  but that is truly a minimum requirement.  Dishwasher doors  and oven doors will open but 2 people in the kitchen will definitely be bumping butts.   42” to 45” is the most comfortable walkspace .  Anything over 48” creates too large of a “drip zone.”

Peninsula’s tend to create a large center space in the kitchen. This is where a prep sink comes in handy because each side has two distinct work zones.    Prepping and cooking on one side and cleanup on the other.  My next blog will go into detail about the zone approach to kitchen design. 

Seating areas on islands/peninsulas can be at the same level or raised up 6” higher which is bar height.   A higher top area also becomes a great leaning space as 42” is perfect elbow height.  I find that most people prefer to lean vs. sit.  Higher tops are also a good place to stage food.  If extra storage is needed you can opt for cabinetry in lieu of seating.  You can go 6” lower and have a countertop area 30” high (which is table height).  This height is ideal for rolling dough.  

I am fortunate to have both an island and peninsula.  Unfortunately my walkway is only 36” so it’s a squeeze.  If I had to give one up,  without hesitation it would be the peninsula.  But  I would miss it.  I want to have my cake and eat it too.   Even if it means constantly bumping butts with whoever’s in the kitchen with me.