French Kitchens - Chalets in the Alps

Today is Bastille Day, commemmorating the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. Of course, on this national holiday, always falling in the midst of the Tour de France, it is traditionally the day upon which French riders will make a special effort to take a stage victory for France! 

And, so, it is appropriate to show some kitchens from France today, and I think I have a treat for you! Since the Tour is entering the treacherous and stunningly beautiful French alps, let's take a look at some French country kitchens in some luxury chalets, oui?  Images from the Oxford Ski Company, specialists in luxury ski vacations. I'm there...I just need to learn how to ski, just a detail! I hear tomorrow the route for the Tour is even more grueling in the mountains of France. I'm watching, are you?

As you can see in the first image, many of these chalets will accommodate from 10 to 20 people, or more. Some have 8-10 bedrooms, hot tubs, indoor pools, and of course, locations with amazing views of the Alps. Pretty good kitchens too!

Custom Kitchen Cabinets - What You Need To Know, Part 1

Choosing your cabinetry is a huge decision. It's so permanent, isn't it? So many choices too! Since the cabinetry is often one of the largest parts of the kitchen remodeling budget, I'll be doing a series of informational posts on selecting your cabinetry. Today's post will be a simple explanation of custom cabinetry. Is it right for you? We'll see.

The phrase "custom cabinets," or "custom cabinetry" can be quite confusing. In fact, it means different things to different people! Do you want custom kitchen cabinets? Will they last longer? Will you pay much more? Is it worth the money? Here is some insight, and answers to common questions, to help make your decision making a little bit easier. These questions and more will be addressed in future posts. For now, let's begin at the beginning with a description of custom cabinetry and what makes it appealing to some.

What is this image?? It's an image of custom cabinetry integrating seamlessly with surrounding millwork.

What is custom cabinetry?

Custom cabinetry can be defined as cabinets which are made to order, first and foremost. Whether by an individual at a shop or a factory, the cabinetry is not pre made, taken off a shelf, and delivered. They are not manufactured until an order is placed. This is one definition.

How else is custom cabinetry defined? 

Custom cabinetry can also be defined as cabinetry which allows customizations, such as changes in cabinet sizes, wood species, and finish. True custom factories will also produce anything that can be built! The designer draws it, and the factory builds it, end of story.   

Why should I consider custom cabinetry? 

You should consider custom cabinetry if:

• in the course of the kitchen design process, you discover that you want specific, and customized, design solutions that may not be widely available in the less costly, more middle quality cabinet lines

• you want to make the most of every fraction of an inch, engineering your cabinetry to fit as opposed to working with standard sizes
  

• you'd like to create a cabinet finish that is yours alone, or you feel you need to tweak an existing standard finish sample to get the look you want

• you appreciate, desire to own, and can justify the extra expense of a high quality product, the construction and useful features of which will be enjoyable to use and experience every day

• you appreciate the more distinctive wood species and fiishes that come with custom cabinetry, you want something special and/or innovative
  

• you will remain in this home for the very long term and desire a product that has top quality construction and a top quality finish

From my experience as a professional kitchen designer, any or all of these points noted above, are the compelling reasons why my clients choose custom cabinetry. My job, as I see it, is to point out the differences among the cabinet lines that I represent, and let the appropriate product "speak to" my clients and then we go from there.

 
In future posts, I will cover middle quality cabinetry, also known as semi-custom, sellers of cabinetry, differences between types of cabientry, cost issues, and much more. Stay tuned! So much more to come.

Kitchen Dining Inspiration

I happened to see that a blog I frequent (A LOT), An Eye for an I:nterior featured this post of mine, an interesting kitchen design, and I immediately noticed the table and chairs that Jen was putting together, and I'd love to chat about it.

As you notice, the table is raw, rustic, natural, and the chairs are modern, smooth, and white. The thread that they have in common are simple lines.

But, the real interest is found in their differences. I really love this look, and I encourage my readers to go beyond their comfort zone and experiment! Pairing together "rustic" and "modern" makes them each POP, a wonderful study of contrasting style and theme.  Another nice contrast is the juxtaposition of straight lines and curved lines. Each element looks strong and important. It also brings to mind my cousin's kitchen in her summer house in Denmark in terms of the rustic/modern combination.

Just thought I'd take a quick opportunity to share this concept.

Thanks, Jen, for the inspiration! 

Kitchen Remodeling Perspective

Next time anyone connected to a kitchen remodel is super stressed, remember this link, below. In order to understand the whole thing, please click on the link in the post "enormous concrete Virgin." Funny story.

How can I tie this into kitchen remodeling? For one thing, I, too, can get carried away with worry, concern, all sorts of emotions in the course of doing my job. I mean, issues with deadlines, clients, tradespeople, allied professionals, delays, suppliers...there are many opportunities for me to get undone, and the same goes for my clients.

I've been reading this blog I have linked to, checking it most days of the week since mid December. It's helped me have a healthy and more serene perspective on life than I had, previous to finding it. It actually has had a profound impact on me, to tell the truth. It also propelled me, after having been far too lax, to go on a campaign to get every test and go to every doctor that I could think of beginning this past January to get all of the appropriate information on my current state of health. It's all been great news! This blog I speak of is an incredible read. The writing is intelligent and very special.

So, next time you really get undone about something, give yourself a reality check. Emotions can come hard and fast in the world of remodeling. Stop everything and get your perspective back. Sure, some issues are important and irritating and unjust, but there are more important things to get nuts about. There really are.  It's just about redirecting emotions which can potentially do damage to fragile relationships. In remodeling, that's pretty important for all sides to remember. Once these relationships are damaged, it's difficult to backtrack and do repair work.

I'll even add one more life changing (truly) event that happened, coincidentally, a week prior to finding this blog I mentioned. I went to Norway as a guest to an event surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize. In seeing the Bangladesh people who were invited to attend the presentation of the Peace Prize as recipients of the micro loans the Prize was based on, people who lived in huts on dirt roads and have never been out of their village, let alone, to Norway, I thought of my lifestyle, and the words came to my mind "....and I'm stressed?" In front of me was another world, which abruptly removed me from my comfortable world. I learned about life in another world, I saw people from many nations come together, and my own perspective changed dramatically. I shook hands with a Banladeshi woman in her full, beautiful, dress, our eyes locked, and I was just transformed to a different, changed, reality.

Have patience, and all these pesky remodeling issues will work out. Patience, trust, effective communication, and perspective, and you'll survive your remodeling with flying colors and even dare I say, enjoyment!

Do you know what one of the most important pieces to survival of a remodeling experience is? For anyone and everyone connected to it? Humor! That's right! Find it, you'll be glad you did.  

This post was not planned, but I really wanted to share that linked post with you when I checked the blog today. Enjoy your day!

Kitchen Design - Tuscan Style!

I sold a kitchen to my client, Grace, today. We've been working together since January. Lots of stops and starts, beginning with Asian design and ending up with a Tuscan themed design!

Here are a few very simplistic images of what we're planning. They have not been embellished with wall and backsplash details, they are just simple line drawings. I'd like to point a few things out to you.

Floorplan

See the orange dots? That delineates, or transitions, the working part of the kitchen from the dining/furniture area of the kitchen. This is by design so that there is a frame of reference across the width of the room, and the length for that matter.

Grace wanted an expanded work area, and she also wanted to interact with her guests, AND, she needed to seat five people within the space. See the large window parallel to the table? It's a very large window, and very low, so the cooktop had to veer off at that angle, which actually works quite well. 

I don't love the configuration of the window seat. I had wanted to angle that back in the direction of the cooktop, but Grace objected. I may push that again, or we'll review that as it comes together as we can add to that at the time. That remains to be seen.

I see I forgot to add the doorway at the bottom of the floorplan. There will be a wide doorway into the kitchen from the foyer, positioned more away from the table than toward it.

We were going to have a large stone hood above the cooktop but today Grace decided against that. We'll do a downdraft instead.

Sink Wall 

Note the open shelving to the right of the window for interest rather than the cabinet-cabinet effect. I didn't want to put cabinetry every possible place. The eye needs to wander and rest on something of interest. So, to the left of the window, Grace will put something decorative in that wall area. Oh, forget the dishwasher, it won't look like that, it will look like a framed door/drawer combination, which will actually be a panel, much more seamless of a look.

Refrigerator Wall

Note the "built in" section where the wall cabinets are positioned to the right of the refrigerator. This surround will probably be faux painted or stuccoed. Again, this is for interest, something different. I think it works in that area. That theme is continued elsewhere, as you will see.

Opposite Wall 

The line of transition, the orange dots I spoke about earlier begins after the arch. This arched area will be, oh, maybe 15-18" deep, maybe less. The TV is in the wall cabinet sitting on the countertop. Then we have a few shelves. The top of the arch, the whole upper arch section, maybe stuccoed and fauxed in some manner. Perhaps we will do mosaic tiles in the center section below the arch, something simple, as decorative items on the shelves will take center stage. Below the countertop are three horizontal areas above the base cabinetry which will be faux painted in a decorative design of some sort.

To the right of the arched area is a wine refrigerator, again, sort of "built in". Above that is another built in cabinet which will most likely project forward about 18", probably more than the arched area. Then we have wrap around shelving, see the floorplan on the upper section, and around the corner is a buffet piece which serves the dining room. And, the microwave and warming drawer are to the right of the wine refrigerator.

Again, lots of possibilities for faux painting, tile, etc. I'll do a post in the near future about the colors we're using. I think you'll really love what we're doing, can't wait to show you. For now, Grace has the samples as she shops for whatever she's shopping for, probably tile. I'll be involved in that too.

One more thing...we purposely wanted the upper left side of this wall (upper left in the floorplan) sort of open, as Grace wanted more of a connection to the family room beyond, and previously there were tall pieces blocking any view. We are widening the doorway to the left of the refrigerator. To the right of the microwave is the entrance into the dining room. See where the towel rack is? That is the side of the buffet piece, but it's actually a short wall, as that is part of the "built in" surrounding the cabinetry.

That's it for the moment! 

 

The Kitchen Designer on the Desire To Inspire Blog!

It's really great to be featured on the wonderful interior design blog, Desire To Inspire! Thanks Kim & Jo! I'm honored, truly, because these gals showcase really fantastic interior design, found world wide, in many different styles. It's a source I go to, to get inspiration, ideas, and information. I have often felt that Kim and Jo have a little bit of a kitchen fixation (in a good way!) as it is not unusual to find kitchens among their collections of interiors on any given day. I'm always thrilled to see these kitchen images. 

It's actually helpful to see the kitchens in these interior design collections, as one can see the kitchen design within the context of the entire home. But even beyond helpful, it is a valuable resource, and one of the very few blogs which includes different parts of the home, which one can learn from, in addition to just enjoying the view, a nice enough activity! Again, thank you!

Le Tour - Belgian Kitchens Today and Yesterday

Today Le Tour de France goes through Belgium, through beautiful Flanders, amongst chateaus, canals, and wonderful little villages. Unfortunately, there was rainy weather and a huge crash! Watching the peloton is really something awesome.

While I won't be updating you on the tour every day (I promise) I do feel compelled to give a bit of a showcase of Belgium by virtue of, what else, Belgian kitchens! Now, it's not the easiest thing to do to find Belgian kitchen design, so we have a mix of the very old Belgian kitchen by Belgian painters, and the uber-cool and awesome new kitchens, found in Design Addict.

The first image is called "A Maid In The Kitchen" by David Emile Joseph de Noter. I don't think the maid is doing her job, do you?  She looks awfully depressed!

Next up is a kitchen by Suzon Inber & Associates at www.inger.be  

Let's take a look at another kitchen from Suzon Inber & Associates.

And one more ancient kitchen. I think they had issues in those days. What a mess! This  was painted by Joachim Antonisz Uytaewael, 1605.

Here is an interesting explanation of this painting from lepg.org:"Another erotic kitchen scene, with the cook spitting a chicken in the center of the picture (apparently a suggestive activity to the 16th century mind). She is wearing the same type of clothing as the woman in the van Ryck kitchen scene, only her partlet is more decently done up. There are two men in the picture. they are wearing trunk hose, gathered to just above the knee. In both cases their nether hose (stockings) are falling down. I think this was probably pretty typical for working men.  The stockings come just above the knee normally and are gartered, usually just below the knee, but since elastic hadn't yet been invented, it would not be untypical for the socks to still end up coming down around your ankles all the time. This scene has wonderful details of redware, cooking utensils, and orange carrots. Most carrots at the time were white." 

Take a look at that site, there's some very interesting kitchen scenes and analysis of the paintings.

An iPhone For Every Kitchen Project?

Yes, I succumbed, followed the crowd, became an iPhone fangirl, and all the rest, I admit it! But, oh, it's soooooooo sweet! Needing a new phone, I researched for a month before the iPhone's release, hardly even considering the iPhone in the equation, discarding it early on as a contender, as I was focused on Blackberrys, the Nokia N95 (with an incredible camera, but alas had some dealbreakers) and other smart phones. I was democratic in my comparisons. That said, I ultimately decided to purchase the iPhone, and it has already made my life and my work easier, and isn't that the test?

Here's why I bought the iPhone, but please note, in general, how important some of these features can be, whether one is a designer or a client. It's a tool!

The large screen

In the end, this was my number one reason for purchasing the iPhone, end of story. I am so done with small screens! The experience of using a large screen (important when having a smart phone) enhances the usefulness of the device by a huge margin in comparison to other devices. I mean, otherwise, what's the point? I want the biggest screen I can get, and this is it (at least from what I researched).

Images - Great for Designers' & Clients' Purposes

The iPhone is ALL about images. Let me clarify that. Kitchen Design is MUCH about images, therefore, how a device handles images, to me, is huge. The camera is 2 megapixels, better quality than most other camera phones (except the Blackberry Curve, also 2 mp), not as good as the N95, with an astonishing 5 mp camera. But, it's definitely good enough.

It's good enough for clients to take quick shots (again, with a large screen as a handy tool) in a showroom (ask permission first!), at a detail from a friend's house, at the granite yard, to remember whatever details you want to remember on the spot.  And, the image can be quickly and easily emailed to anyone, meaning your designer! I don't know how I lived without a camera in my previous smart phones before! A tip when using the camera: hold very still and make sure you have enough light. That's really all you need to know.

Besides the camera capabilities, I quickly loaded nearly 200 images into the iPhone from my computer, of kitchens, built ins, and custom furniture pieces, and it took up a negligible amount of space in the phone's storage capacity. I'll add many more. I've already shown details, and whole kitchens, easily seen on the large screen, to clients at meetings in their home. The iPhone turned sideways, makes the images even larger, if they are horizontal images. AND, to make it even more crazy, the images are organized into albums that I can quickly and eaisly select!  The images are viewable in a meaningful way.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Taking additional images at a client's home that I may have missed with my camera the first time around, taking pictures of images from a book or magazine that they are showing me, of an architect's floorplan before I get my copy of it, is invaluable.  For so many purposes, a quick snapshot tells a story far better than words can.

Appointments

This really makes me happy. There are TWO alerts you can set. I set one alert the day before, the second alert two hours before the appointment. I'm covered! 

Internet

While not super fast, to be able to enlarge text and images, and situate a page sideways, is far more valuable than any other device out there for that reason alone.  

Google Maps

If you don't have gps in your car and you need to get to my design studio, again, you're covered. Google maps has already saved me from being late to an appointment after a detour in the road changed my route.

Email

I have 4 email accounts loaded, and the large text and fast scrolling is delightful to use, mostly, due to the large screen. A vast improvement over my previous pda.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the features that I'm enjoying using. Sure, it's not perfect. There is not one phone that is, that I've found. But, for my profession, where images are so important, it's so much and more! It's an elegant device, and it definitely exceeded my expectations. The images shown are from my design studio and have been (very) quickly enhanced to show the possibilities, as I never NOT tweak an image straight from the camera. All right, they're just ok, but it gets the job (an important job) done.

Oh, please take a look at this absolutely over the top, hysterical video on the iPhone from the New York Times technology critic, the adorable David Pogue. 

Kitchens on Le Tour De France!

The first stage of the 94th Tour de France began today in London, for the first time ever. They say one million spectators lined the streets to take in the start of Le Tour, the route going from London to Canterbury, 203 kilometers. 189 of the world's best cyclists are now on their way toward 20 stages in all, through villages, mountains, long flats, and ultimately, of course, into Paris (wait till you see the luxury Paris kitchens I already have lined up!)

I have a personal interest in the Tour. My son is a bike racer and aspires to great cycling accomplishments! We frequently attend races around our region. I'll be watching the Tour every day. I must say, the producers of the tour tv footage frequently include amazing views of the French countryside and villages. Turn it on for an hour, you'll see what I mean. It is a fabulous tour of France. Those aerial views are crazy!

So, in honor of the first stage of Le Tour, beginning in London, here is a collection of kitchens from England, in England's distinctive, and really wonderful, traditional styling. Images from Kitchens Bathrooms and Bedrooms magazines. More images will follow, coming from my binder of clippings I have accummulated for some time. More coverage of the tour, and of regional French kitchens will follow from time to time over the next three weeks of the Tour. If it's Monday, it must be Belgium - tomorrow's Stage 2! Enjoy!