Alan and Diane's Kitchen Cabinet Mistake

Had brunch last weekend at the home of my cousins Alan and Diane, and decided to share their "one mistake" with you. The beautifully etched inset glass panels in their new custom cabinets had an ugly green background that was unsightly every time a cabinet door was left open. The solution: They found a wood veneer to match their cabinets, cut it to the right size and inset it over the glass panels on the inside of each cabinet door. The trick was finding a special adhesive that would not show through the glass. Problem solved! Best, Joan

The One Mistake We Made™

It's always fun to talk about design successes, but I thought it might also be fun (and informative!) for us to share some of the pitfalls and potholes we’ve fallen into on our personal design journeys. I call it “The One Mistake We Made…”™ because in every project I tour, even the happiest homeowners invariably point to something they wish they had done differently.

It's certainly happened to me in every design project in my house. I'm the one who built a crawl space instead of a full basement in our vacation house (when the full basement would have cost so little more) – an error I'm reminded of every time my husband bangs his head on the crawl space ceiling. In my design talks, I use this example to make the point that every problem has a solution, and it always gets a laugh when I show a slide of my husband wearing a helmet when he goes into the crawl space. But the real lesson is: Even though you can’t think of everything when you’re designing a new home or doing a remodeling, try hard to think of things can be done then. Often they may be much more costly, or even impossible to achieve, later on.

In addition to asking you for your stories, I'm asking some of the world's leading experts architects and designers to share some of the more interesting mistakes people make in designing kitchens, bedrooms and baths, outdoor living spaces, and gathering rooms (the topics of my first four books). Here's the question I posed:

"When a renovation or new building is completed homeowners often find themselves wishing they had made just one more improvement, or found a better way to deal with an old design issue. In your experience what is an interesting, noteworthy, funny, tragic, absurd, or simply common mistake that people make in designing? Please be as specific as possible."

The first response came from Scott Himmel, the well-known Chicago architect whose gorgeous work is featured my books. Scott had a few points to make:

First, in structuring your budget, keep in mind that the lowest bid is not always the best bid, and can sometimes lead to an unhappy result when the quality of the work is not up to par.

Second, if you do have to cut to meet your budget, try not to eliminate those last few design items or details that tend to really take the design to another level.

Third, on a completely different track, "clients do not understand the importance of 'background' pieces in a design as well as foreground pieces. Just like in a play, where every character cannot be the main character and tell a good story, not every piece in a room should be a 'showstopper.' Balance is all important. (This really is the motto of his partner, Bill Schumacher)."

Scott Himmel, Architect P.C.
360 N. Michigan Ave., #1100
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 332-3323 x11

For San Francisco-based architect Andre Rothblatt, whose beautiful work is also in my books, the most common mistake is failing to collaborate with the design experts you've chosen (a trap that made especially often by clients who are successful in their fields and used to making their own decisions). I can certainly attest that, throughout my design travels, I've heard countless stories of the fabulous designs that have emerged when homeowners have learned to collaborate with their design teams.

Andre Rothblatt,
AIA2 Henry Adams Street,
Suite 460San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 626-5112 (415) 626-5111 fax
www.AndreRothblattArchitecture.com

Well, I thought that might get things going. What things would you have done differently in your new-build or renovation? Please write.

Sincerely, Joan

News: Catching my Eye at K/BIS 2006

Chicago, April 26, 2006

I just had the pleasure of spending three days at the fabulous Kitchen and Bath Industry Show held April 21-23 at Chicago’s vast McCormick Place. It’s not possible to report on all the wonderful things I saw, but I wanted to tell you about some of the exciting products and ideas that caught my eye. (I also urge you to see the HGTV special on this show.)

Although the show was teeming with new ideas, certain themes were very evident:

Kitchens

1. Full suites of appliances. Manufacturers are rounding out their offerings of kitchen appliances in order to provide full suites appliances to the homeowner who yearns for a unified look. With this goal in mind, a number of manufacturers, including Gaggenau and Bosch are offering refrigeration for the first time.
   
   
   • I was particularly taken by Gaggenau’s gorgeous entry into this area (due out in October) with elegant and refined stainless modular refrigerator and freezer “columns.” With stainless interiors, including motorized floating glass shelves that move up and down with the touch of a button and drawers that can be set at different temperatures (such as 32° for fish, 33° for meat and 35° for veggies), these exquisite units are completely recessed, and vent into the room. The refrigerator and freezers components can be placed together, or separated by wall or cabinetry, in a variety of functional and beautiful combinations. What a thrilling complement to their line of other kitchen products, including their built-in, fully automated coffee machines, washers and dryers, dishwashers, cooktops, and range hoods. (Gaggenau is sending me images of these products that I’ll be posting soon.)
   
   
   • By the way, for a professional stainless look in outdoor refrigeration, I was also impressed by the True Professional series of highly functional refrigeration units on wheels that bring commercial quality and styling to the home.
   
   
2. Space-saving appliances. Lots of companies are focusing on the demand for efficient, spacing-saving, and ventless appliances for apartments, lofts and secondary kitchens. Examples include:
   
   
   • The Haier Also 18”- wide dishwasher. (And while you’re at it, check out their handsome die cast commercial quality toaster),
     
     
   • Bosch’s ventless dryer (which even has a feature that allows you to add an additive that water-proofs your clothes),
     
     
   • Miehle’s ventless dryer that releases significantly less moisture into your room (9% moisture as opposed to the usual 25-30%), and
     
     
   • Sharp’s microwave drawers.
   
   
3. Larger appliances too! Some manufacturers are presenting homeowners with the option of larger-scale appliances, such as 30”, and even 36”, dishwashers to accommodate entertaining in a big way (eliminating the need for two dishwashers. Dacor’s 30” model and Electrolux’s 36” dishwasher are impressive offerings in this arena.
   
   
4. Better and faster cooking. Another key theme was technological innovation focused on meeting the complex lifestyles of today’s consumers, in particular their desire for speed and efficiency in cooking without compromising quality.
   
   
   • An exciting new entrant is Turbo Chef, who introduced a residential version of its renown professional super-speed oven that boasts restaurant-like results in no time flat. I was treated to a wonderful hands-on demo meal of rack of lamb, fish, and vegetables by Chicago’s renowned chef, Charlie Trotter, who’s been using this technology for years in his world-famous restaurant. Programmed with a multitude of recipes – and programmable with your own recipes as well as new ones you can download from Turbo-Chef’s web site – you’ll be able to prepare a succulent rack of lamp in 7 minutes (normally 40 minutes including browning, searing and basting plus 10 minutes “resting time”) and puff pastry in just 2 ½ minutes. (Charlie mentioned that he believes this technology represents the future for bread-making and delicate pastries.) Able to accommodate any kind of cookware, self-cleaning, and made from high-grade commercial components, you can boil, bake, roast, air crisp, air broil – and even make cakes, pizzas and soufflés! At a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $7,500 for the two-oven unit (the bottom unit is a conventional oven), this is a significant investment, though a less expensive single unit is expected to hit the market soon. The first of these units will be available to consumers in early Fall.
     
     
   • Electrolux’s exceptional dual-fuel (gas and electric) range sports a handsome professional look with fully extendible easy-glide racks, illuminated controls that appear with the wave of your hand, an extra quiet fan, and optional matching modular hood elements. It also has a device that mixes room air with heated oven air to eliminate that blast of heat when the oven door is opened. (Their magnificent high-end line of Moltini Franco cooking centers (complete with wok and induction cooking features) is quite beautiful, but not for the faint of budget.
     
     
   • Sharp’s super-heated steam/thermal oven is another fine example. Billed as a healthier way to cook food, one steam generator heats the water to normal steam (212°) while a second generator super-heats it to 550°. At this temperature it’s unstable, so when it hits the food it’s instantly converted into heat and moisture, browning and also melting (and draining) away fat. The ¾–cup water holder is enough for all applications in the built in memory of recipes, but you can experiment with your own recipes, and the unit will track your water usage.
   
   
5. Easier maintenance.
   
   
   • Manufacturers such as Electolux are paying lots of attention to capturing the beautiful look of stainless without the fingerprints! So is Bosch, with a vinyl product that has the look of stainless steel. Miehle’s sandblasted stainless cooktop is another entrant.
     
     
   • In-Sink-Erator weighed in with its new, fully redesigned disposal unit, the results of extensive research. In-Sink-Erator went all over the world asking homeowners what they wanted in a disposer. The answer: one that grinds up anything (including celery and potato skins) and that’s also quieter. The result is a disposer that does just that’s 60% quieter and will, according to In-Sink-Erator, grind anything – even eggshells, banana peels, and celery. The one thing it won’t grind is shark skin, so if your heart is set on whipping up that sharkskin soufflé at your next dinner party, you’ll just have to make other arrangements for disposing of the leftovers.
     
     
   • LG presented a dryer with built-in steam generator that steams the wrinkles out of cotton blends, polyester, and its refrigerator that eliminates the need for unsightly refrigerator magnets with it’s built in calendar, recipe-book, photo-storage unit and weather-channel, and also sports a cable TV screen.
     
     
   • And in a fascinating development in the merger of science and nature for to benefit today’s kitchens, DuPont is supplementing its line of engineered stone by venturing into the natural materials, by selling a line of granites treated with a proprietary DuPont sealant, enabling DuPont to provide a 10-year limited warranty, and allowing it to maintain its hue and protect against water- and oil-based stains. The product will be sold at Lowes.

Baths

1. Sensual luxury. Kohler continues to excite and inspire, supplementing its line of WaterTile body sprays shower with its new and exciting WaterTile Rain overhead showing panel, all of which can be operated with a digital control module that allows you to transform your bath into a spa or a rain forest. Kohler also displayed their amazing options for chroma-therapy that can turn your bath water into the azure blue Mediterranean Sea, coordinate it with your décor, or provide you with a lightshow to entertain or sooth you at the end of a long day. And their Ann Sacks line of natural and synthetic tiles continues to inspire (especially a particularly beautiful matte black finish marble that caught my eye).
   
   
2. Affordable luxury. Companies are also attempting to bring the look and feel of luxury to homeowners at a more affordable price. Danze’s “affordable luxury line” of faucetry is really worth checking out.
   
   
3. Helping out the environment. Lots of manufacturers are working hard to make their products sensitive to the environment. Gerber’s high-efficiency line of toilets is a great example.
   
   
4. Pint-sized products. A number of baby- and child-size products, such as Baby Tub made by My Trading Company in the K/BIS New Ideas Pavillion and Gerber’s kids bathroom suite, deservedly drew lots of attention at the show.
   
   
5. Safety. Companies were clearly focused on blending safety with style in the bathroom. Moen, for example, is quite proud of its new fastening system, that permits grab bars to be mounted on drywall, tile, fiberglass, marble, and tub surrounds, and its outdoor hot-and-cold water faucet with a feature that prevents accidental scalding.

Of course, for me, one of the great highlights of K/BIS has always been the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Design Idea Center, and this year was no exception.There were five model living spaces, each sponsored by one of Meredith Corporation’s wonderful shelter magazines (Kitchen and Bath Ideas, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Home, Midwest Living, and Traditional Home). The themes for these beautiful model spaces – collaborations by great designers and manufacturers of great products – were Start of Day, After-School, the “Knitchen”, Intimate Gatherings, and Relax and Rejuvenate.

Well, that’s all from this year’s K/BIS. Its always thrilling to see how companies are competing – not only with other companies but with themselves as well – to create the very best in design and innovation to make our kitchens and baths as beautiful and functional as possible.

So until next time, remember to Do Something Beautiful for Yourself®.

Sincerely, Joan