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What's New:
A few weeks ago, Kathy Price-Robinson, a writer, knowledgeable on many and varied remodeling topics, asked me for comments on how to get the look, for less, of Lance Armstrong’s kitchen.
I proceeded to write paragraphs (and paragraphs) on elements that I observed that one could replicate fairly easily. I’m thrilled to have been quoted in AOL for this feature, but, unfortunately, many of my paragraphs did not make the cut. There were some good points!
BUILT IN BANQUETTE
One could buy short stock refrigerator cabinets that are 24″ in depth, mount the pieces on a platform of studs, put a sturdy top on top of them, and wa-laa you have storage and seating. Those cabinets should be somewhere between 12-15″ tall depending on the structure below and above the cabinets and the height desired for the bench. Take a look at this earlier post I did on banquette seating.
 COUNTERTOPS
There are GORGEOUS laminate countertops now that truly look identical to granite or other stone except for the touch. They are worth a serious look. Alternatively, in one of my own kitchens, years ago, I used granite tile and wood trim which is an excellent [...]
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Just a little blog housekeeping to do and to turn you on (do people still say that?) to a few things you may want to take a look at.
First, you’ll see a new look for this blog. It’s actually an update that I did myself. I may continue tweaking a bit here and there, but I needed a change, and to do a big change requires time that I just do not have right now to work with a professional graphic designer. So, much like organizing the kitchen, my new post on the really great blog, Hatch, here’s a small update. I’m open to constructive suggestions too!
NOTE: There is a new share button at the end of every post. Please share!  I’d love for you to share my posts wherever and with whomever you feel it is relevant for. Sharing is a good thing.
INTERIOR DESIGN CHAT – LIVE ON TWITTER – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 8-9pm
My great new interior designer friend, Wanda S. Horton, from North Carolina, came up with this very cool and fun idea to have a live chat, open to any questions at all on interior design (including kitchens) on [...]
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What do fashion in clothing, faucets/fittings and kitchen design have in common? The design and marketing teams behind Brizo, Delta’s high end brand, having aligned itself with Jason Wu, designer of Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown (one of the most watched fashion designers in recent years) enjoy a relationship that seems to fit like a glove piece of couture.
I had the opportunity to learn about and examine Brizo’s existing line of products a few days ago. Brizo invited a small group of us kitchen/bath bloggers (listed on my colleague Ann Porter’s blog) to New York City to see their collection of existing products and to take a sneak peek at new products to be introduced this year. Part of this two day event included attendance at Jason Wu’s Fall 2010 collection, part of New York Fashion Week (insert 90 exclamation points here!)
 I’ll just say this before I get back to the subject at hand. To attend this Jason Wu show was an incredible privilege. It is an experience, simply, like no other I have had, and living near the city, I’ve attended my share of events in many fabulous venues, sometimes with celebrities in [...]
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Here are a few things that you maybe interested in from my travels around the web recently!
Thom Filicia & Me
First, my interview for Amana with Thom Filicia on kitchen trends. An interviewer asked questions of Thom and me on a variety of topics. I don’t think there is anything that I disagreed with in Thom’s answers. He is quite passionate about the importance of the kitchen in today’s homes. See 2010 Trends
Here are some recent ideabooks I put together and share some tips, on Houzz:
Where To Put The Microwave? 14 Tips
Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»
Home Design and Decorating Ideas:
Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·
Find Home Improvement Professionals- For Example:
Los Angeles Architect · Boston Interior Designer · Chicago Contractor · San Francisco Landscaping ·
Let There Be Light! Kitchen Window Ideas
Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»
Home Designs and Pictures:
Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·
Find Home Improvement [...]
(click here to continue reading ››)
Here are a few things that you maybe interested in from my travels around the web recently!
Thom Filicia & Me
First, my interview for Amana with Thom Filicia on kitchen trends. An interviewer asked questions of Thom and me on a variety of topics. I don’t think there is anything that I disagreed with in Thom’s answers. He is quite passionate about the importance of the kitchen in today’s homes. See 2010 Trends
Here are some recent ideabooks I put together and share some tips, on Houzz:
Where To Put The Microwave? 14 Tips
Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»
Home Design and Decorating Ideas:
Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·
Find Home Improvement Professionals- For Example:
Los Angeles Architect · Boston Interior Designer · Chicago Contractor · San Francisco Landscaping ·
Let There Be Light! Kitchen Window Ideas
Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»
Home Designs and Pictures:
Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·
Find Home Improvement [...]
(click here to continue reading ››)
Here are a few things that you maybe interested in from my travels around the web recently!
Thom Filicia & Me
First, my interview for Amana with Thom Filicia on kitchen trends. An interviewer asked questions of Thom and me on a variety of topics. I don’t think there is anything that I disagreed with in Thom’s answers. He is quite passionate about the importance of the kitchen in today’s homes. See 2010 Trends
Here are some recent ideabooks I put together and share some tips, on Houzz:
Where To Put The Microwave? 14 Tips
Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»
Home Design and Decorating Ideas:
Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·
Find Home Improvement Professionals- For Example:
Los Angeles Architect · Boston Interior Designer · Chicago Contractor · San Francisco Landscaping ·
Let There Be Light! Kitchen Window Ideas
Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»
Home Designs and Pictures:
Kitchen Design · Bathroom Design · Living Room Design · Bedroom Design · Dining Room Design · Patio Design · Landscaping Design ·
Find Home Improvement [...]
(click here to continue reading ››)
It’s three years today since I made my first entry in this blog!
 Holding a favorite Scandinavian plate in my kitchen from the island of BornholmMy initial thinking was that I finally had an outlet to talk about, really, to share, my 20+ years of experience as a business owner and Certified Kitchen Designer in nearly ALL types of kitchen design…super luxe high end to builders’ condos, all different styles and themes, and kitchens in shades of (environmentally) green. I have lots of experience to draw from, knowledge gained from many sources, hopefully presented with a helpful perspective.
KITCHEN THERAPY VIA BLOGGING
Always an intense student of human behavior (including my own ongoing navel-gazing) as well as being fascinated by the WHYS behind my clients’ design decisions, in part, to make sure their decisions are authentic/organic to their needs and/or desires, much of this blog has been dedicated to highlighting potential pitfalls in the decision making process of designing one’s kitchen.
Many people do a kitchen once in their lives. If not once, then at most, only a few times more. The decisions made NEED to be as right as they can be at those moments in the design process. It’s [...]
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About a month ago, I was asked to review the Delta Pilar Faucet with Touch20 technology and provided the product by Delta. I knew this might be a perfect product for my son Independent Product Analyst to test in my apartment in Manhattan Independent Product Testing Laboratory.
Review aside, do you know what the chances are to get your college kid to return an email, let alone write about a piece of his life on his mom’s blog? Reading his review (it was sent to me at 3 am-no surprise there) gave me much insight into features, benefits, and new, learned, behaviors surrounding this faucet technology. Without further ado, here is my son’s manifesto comprehensive review (as well as evidence of where my college dollars have gone these past nearly four years-graduation in May 2010!) I think you will enjoy reading this as much as I did. I asked for a paragraph or two, but I couldn’t edit it, it’s too good!
We are a pair living in New York City, and we love to cook, which is a byproduct of our statuses as near-starving college students. Therefore, the kitchen is a very important place to us. It’s a small space, typical of kitchens found [...]
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A little bit of shop talk here, but I’m happy to share news of this new kitchen design software and technology that I am using.
I’m excited to debut and share information on my new kitchen software with you. It’s called AutoKitchen and it’s truly state of the art! The AutoKitchen representative, knowing that I am a working designer, offered to provide me with a copy of AutoKitchen software to review and to use in my practice, gratis. I already was using design software, but having recently upgraded my software and being disappointed in the quality of the renderings at the highest level of detail, I thought it a good time to take a look at all the competitors in this narrow field of kitchen design software for professional designers.
As with any product I review (in 3 years, this is my 3rd review) and as is a typical policy for many bloggers, it has to meet my own personal standards as a useful product with qualities that I feel have merit. Otherwise, I decline to review the product, which I have done once after using a particular product and twice in the case of books.
In this [...]
(click here to continue reading ››)
A little bit of shop talk here, but I’m excited to share news of this new kitchen design software and technology that I am using.
I’m excited to debut and share my new kitchen software with you. It’s called AutoKitchen and it’s truly state of the art! The AutoKitchen representative, knowing that I am a working designer, offered to provide me with a copy of AutoKitchen software to review and to use in my practice, gratis. I already was using design software, but having recently upgraded my software and being disappointed in the quality of the renderings at the highest level of detail, I thought it a good time to take a look at AutoKitchen.
As with any product I review (in 3 years, this is the 3rd) it has to meet my own personal standards as a useful product with qualities that I feel have merit. Otherwise, I decline to review the product, which I have done once after using a particular product.
In this case, the graphics (crazy photo realism) were noticeably better than my existing program. I didn’t “need” a new program. I was not looking for another program. I had just recently upgraded my [...]
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Electrolux Kitchen Stories
I want to show you kitchen stories – 89 of them to be exact, courtesy of Electrolux, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. SO…these 89 people with stories are all “kitchen stars”, but Electrolux needs just one more to reach 90 – will that be you?
I’m crazy about this concept and find it absolutely fascinating looking at all these (real) kitchen stories from all over the world! You can be the 90th kitchen star! To enter, you must have an Electrolux appliance, even a small countertop or small vacuum appliance is ok. I don’t love that requirement, but I DO love the kitchen stories! Enter or not, the kitchen stories are there to enjoy.
Susan’s in the Houzz
I just started writing/editing ideabooks for Houzz on kitchen design. I certainly knew of Houzz but due to my busy world, did not focus on the site in depth until I was asked to take a look at it and to add my expertise on kitchen design as a regular ideabook (love that name) contributor.
I think I may be addicted. I have no time to be addicted, and you may not either, but, the [...]
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I’d like to share this piece with you that I wrote for Decorati.com on kitchen trends for 2010 and beyond. I spent much time in December contemplating where I feel we are now, and some “whys” too. I’ve thought about where I think we (many of us) are headed, for those of us who are contemplating changes in the way we live in our kitchens. Maybe these thoughts will ring true for you.
I’d probably add one or two more things. I want to expand on my feeling about many of us wanting as much permanence or longevity in our design and products as we can get. I think that the recent recession, “The Big Recession” as I’m hearing it called, has truly been a wake-up call. I feel that there is a maturity, a sensible way of thinking, that has evolved. Where we can afford it, I feel we want quality.
I feel that we want performance from the products we select over the long term. I definitely see that new clients seem to be more involved in the design process, more serious, and dedicated. They/you understand that this new kitchen truly may be a one time purchase, and it [...]
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Here’s an interesting email that I just received this weekend:
 Subject: Grass Cloth Wallpaper in the KitchenMessage: Hello,
I’m toying with the idea of putting grass cloth wallpaper in my kitchen (but not behind any counter space or the stove) and was wondering your thoughts about this idea. A kitchen designer we meet with suggested against it because it would retain smells from food prep. This will be in my kitchen that is not heavily used…maybe one meal every other week. Would you recommend grass cloth wallpaper in the kitchen? People put fabric curtains up and sometimes have fabric covered furniture in the kitchen and would seem to be the same.
Thanks, Amanda
This is a great question, Amanda. As our kitchens become ever more integrated with surrounding living areas and/or decor, it’s time to think about this question! I’ve been a strong advocate for some years of using soft fabrics, wall coverings that we love, as well as artwork, in the kitchen.
These decorative elements sometimes come with a “price to pay” for their inclusion in the kitchen. In my own kitchen, I have a sofa as well as good artwork, so I have lived with this issue.
 Here’s the answer [...]
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Go here tomorrow, from 5:50 pm EST:
Watch live streaming video from 2010 at livestream.com
2009 was my best year and my not-so-great year for various reasons. The best part of 2009 was the birth of my first grandchild, Chloe, a bundle of joy from my precious daughter, Kelly. Everyone can just stop having babies now, ok? Chloe has broken the mold for the most perfect baby ever. Done!
The not-so-great year was because, well, who wants to talk about that when we’re ringing out the old and ringing in the new? In FACT, I’d say looking at 2010, I can tell you that some VERY wonderful things are going to happen in my world, a couple of which will be big surprises when I share them with you – that’s all I’ll say!
I have great excitement, hope, and positive expectations for 2010. I feel poised more than ever before to contribute positively to my industry, an industry I truly love working in every day, and to all of my readers who look to me for insight and information on all things kitchen design-related. My passion for the work that I do in its [...]
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We still have one more huge holiday to go this week, but for those who are just fresh from hosting visiting family and friends in your home or for those who endured challenging kitchen floorplans (sounds like a therapy session topic) tell me the following about functioning or visiting in your kitchen, or any kitchen you were in over the holidays:
 what did you love?
what did you hate?
what must you change?
what worked surprisingly well?
what was a mistake?
what was frustrating?
what was the best idea?
These questions are purposely very open ended. Pick your kitchen issue (whatever it is-traffic, appliance placement, dish storage, etc. etc. and expand as you wish.)
Answer any question or questions you like, tell me all about your likes/dislikes, and add more answers over this weeks’ experiences and New Years’ weekend as well.
Image of Ina Garten’s kitchen from House Beautiful.
         [...]
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I received this email yesterday and thought it interesting to respond here…
I live in Canada and am looking for a direction to get into a specific field like kitchen and house design. I have always wanted to get into design/arts, something obviously more creative. Can you tell me what you like, dislike, would do differently….I need some words of wisdom for my future direction. I am over 50 but do not see that as a roadblock, in fact I am looking at how to create an exciting future for myself by making good decisions now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks, D
 Hi D! Of course, your age is not a roadblock, but I’d also want you to set out a clear plan. First, I’d like you to think about this: what does an “exciting future” as you note, look like to you? What does success look like? Please visualize what that truly means and that will be one important piece, a guide to your future and to the path you might want to take. How much time are you willing to take for education? How much control over your destiny do you want (work for yourself or someone else?) [...]
(click here to continue reading ››)
I received this email yesterday and thought it interesting to respond here…
I live in Canada and am looking for a direction to get into a specific field like kitchen and house design. I have always wanted to get into design/arts, something obviously more creative. Can you tell me what you like, dislike, would do differently….I need some words of wisdom for my future direction. I am over 50 but do not see that as a roadblock, in fact I am looking at how to create an exciting future for myself by making good decisions now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks, D
Hi D! Of course, your age is not a roadblock, but I’d also want you to set out a clear plan. First, I’d like you to think about this: what does an “exciting future” as you note, look like to you? What does success look like? Please visualize what that truly means and that will be one important piece, a guide to your future and to the path you might want to take. How much time are you willing to take for education? How much control over your destiny do you want (work for yourself or someone else?) [...]
(click here to continue reading ››)
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