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What's New:
 “I never thought of myself as a designer.” So says Jeff Lewis, host of “Flipping Out” and designer of House Beautiful’s Kitchen Of The Year 2010, unveiled on Monday, July 19, at Rockefeller Center. Jeff, and his team set out to create a kitchen that reflected his personal aesthetic – a warm, modern kitchen with super clean lines, sleek surfaces and most of all, a minimalist and most importantly, easy to clean, design.
“I really thought of myself living here,” Jeff says. Jeff’s lifestyle is one of often serving drinks and hors d’oeuvres before going out to dinner with friends, or taking in sushi, and when catering an event at home, having someone there to clean up immediately as the kitchen gets messy. The kitchen in his own home is wide open to the living area, and Jeff must have his kitchen “always stellar” as when he entertains, “everyone ends up in the kitchen.”
FLICKR SLIDE SHOW - 9 million pictures!
Jeff talked about it being a challenge to design a contemporary space that is warm. I don’t agree with that as a professional kitchen designer, but it brings up a great issue. Do you see this kitchen as [...]
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As a random feature, I’d like to show you a kitchen that would be interesting to talk about. In this case, it’s a modern kitchen.
It’s always interesting to dissect the foundation and other elements that make up the framework of the design. There are several ways to “see” this kitchen. Images by the ridiculously beautiful magazine, Rum.
Below: Let’s look at the largest view of the space. It’s very strong, isn’t it? Both the wood and the white, to me, are equally strong. This modern kitchen is striking in its simplicity with its super clean lines. Yet the texture of the wood makes a very striking…yet quiet…statement. It’s strong, but sort of offers a feeling of security. An exciting mix of contrast on traditionally opposite planes (white used horizontally, wood used vertically) the white, larger in proportion and supplemented by furnishings, indeed serves as a paradoxical foundation.
Below: THIS shot of this kitchen is a wow, no question about it. Can we achieve any more of a minimalist design? The shot itself is stunning. The wood texture and color radiates warmth and elegance. Clearly, the design is art…a functional and living sculpture.
Below: Well, the modern kitchen [...]
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This will be a little piece on random tales and my personal observations of fathers…and kitchens and a bit more. I’ll tell you what it won’t be. It won’t be, even on this Father’s Day, pure praise for perfect fathers. You can find that in lots of places.
 Viking Ship Made by My Father on Display at a Museum in Seattle-he often worked with driftwoodMy father (born in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a flaming narcissist and I say that not with bitterness, no, but with affection, truly. The man was a charmer. And, most of my life, I ate it up and pined for more. I idolized him. He was a little funny looking, but made up for it with a passion for life. He was a free spirit…yet a straight laced entrepreneur who built a business that designed and manufactured a few parts (among other things) for Apollo 11 which went to the moon. He was a government defense contractor. He drove a cadillac, drank scotch, smoked a pipe (had a collection) and wore fancy suits. We lived in a Danish modern home. Some years later, I guess in his 40s, he lost the business. I [...]
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I like Nate Berkus’ style – I’m definitely a fan! Style is the word that comes to mind when I see interiors that have been touched by his creative hand.
 I often see a philosophy of Nate’s work which expresses “tradition with an edge.” Nate’s “edges” are awesome…cool color stories, tradition meets modern, texture meets soft, pattern dominates to unify, among so many more design concepts that delight, and always, for some reason, just feels right! Nate’s infectious enthusiasm for design translates into an ease, a gracious informality that’s easy to live with. I mean, I see him on Oprah, and before I know it, I’m smiling. He’s seems to be such a happy guy! Creating interiors with a happy disposition definitely shines through one’s work.
I’d love to see Nate do more kitchens, and I’d love to collaborate with him! Here’s Nate’s kitchen in his Chicago apartment.
It flows. I love the black window trim. The turquoise is a great color and just flows into a collection of clean, solid, elements, sort of a framework for the room. And, those chairs and table…LOVE.
 And Nate’s Manhattan apartment….this kitchen I love! I’m [...]
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Seven nights in Paris…it’s taken me so long to begin this post because I just don’t know where to start! How about I start with adjectives? Paris was:
incredible, amazing, beautiful, sexy, charming, colorful, historic, elegant, modern, rustic, delicious…and I’ll add another “incredible!”
The view from our apartment below over the Seine:
My husband and I stayed for 7 nights. We rented a luxury apartment overlooking the Seine, decorated in blacks, reds, and browns. It was TRES chic! Ok…the luxury part? My husband received a trip from his employer for many years of service and truth be told, we could have made several nice trips out of the gift and stayed at decent places. Instead, we made one small trip and then, um, decided to BLOW the rest of the travel $$ after airfare, on a fabulous apartment. Yeah….we’re glad we did. Sometimes you just have to blow the money, you know?
Which brings up an interesting subject. I never feel a need to stay within bounds of whatever I perceive my “class” to be (don’t we all have a perception?)…which changes depending on my mood. Could I afford to stay in that apartment for an extended period of time? [...]
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 Image captured on my recent trip to Paris!As sometimes happens with my blog, I might seemingly disappear for a bit. And, I guess I actually do, at least in terms of regular blog writing. And, I always regret that, while at the same time I am planning post after post as events transpire, only to get involved with something else before I put fingers to the keyboard. Thus, the regret!
Right now, and for some time, I have been juggling some very exciting balls, all in the air (ok, the blog ball dropped!) I am currently working on:
designing kitchens for clients
running the business and all that entails
participating in short design consultations for clients
keeping my hand in Twitter, my personal facebook profile and my professional Facebook page (“like” me!)
working closely with Angela Min, who has been part of my business since the spring (she’s awesome, classically trained in Interior Design with a masters degree in ID, and you will be hearing from Angela on this blog and elsewhere!)
working on my new product line, Bornholm, to be launched this summer and all THAT entails (a lot!)
attending industry events
blogging for Sears, Decorati, Divine Caroline, K+BB
interacting with members of the media [...]
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 Hello visitors from Oprah.com! Angela Min, interior designer, and I, certified kitchen designer, welcome you! Angela and I are a design team, focused on our specialized areas of residential design. You will soon find Angela’s insights on design in this blog, her first post to be seen within days.
Angela and I both offer design consulting services, from one hour phone consultations (see the right sidebar) to full turnkey design services. It’s just amazing what can be accomplished during this hour as we get our clients focused and work through one creative idea after another, whatever the client’s budget. Good design does not have to be expensive! And, we work as a design team on projects too! Thank you, Oprah.com visitors, for visiting, and please leave a comment! Topic suggestions? Let us know.
It’s a good time at this point to also make mention of my daughter, Kelly Donovan. Kelly, my buddy, friend, daughter and all around super smart and savvy gal, will also be joining us on The Kitchen Designer blog to share her unique insights on living in no less than five small urban kitchens (in New York City). Kelly is [...]
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I meant to formally introduce/announce this fantastic project before now, but at this moment, I want to enlist your help in making a decision on the interior of an inspiring house that I am working on. First, a bit about the project…
Leslie Hoffman, Executive Director of Earth Pledge is taking innovative green building and reuse philosophies to a new level with her current project, and personal residence, a modern beach house on bucolic Shelter Island, nestled between the twin forks of eastern Long Island. The project, named GimmeShelter, brings together a team of passionate green building professionals, led by Leslie’s decades long commitment to sustainable living. The products used in this home represent the latest green technology, information on which Leslie is particularly eager to share in an effort to inform and educate. The GimmeShelter project introduces a new dimension of community to a single residential home, supporting new thinking in indoor/outdoor living. I will talk much more about this project in the coming weeks and months. I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of this project. It’s pretty awesome.
I went out to the site to meet Leslie (in a huge nor’easter-60mph [...]
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As I write this post the day before, I can tell you that it will be my pleasure to speak to the listeners of the Morning Living show on Martha Stewart Living radio on Tuesday, March 16. See this before the 16th? Tune in tomorrow to hear my tips on pitfalls to avoid in the kitchen design process.
Following is a further collection of my tips to hold disaster at bay as you plan your kitchen design!
 1. Identify a trend: I think many of us are aware that trends are something that we see repeatedly in the marketplace. If that is the case, it is most likely that the trend could have a year attached to it down the road as the hot item of that year. When planning a kitchen, made to last for a couple of decades, take care in identifying trends. Planning several trends into your kitchen design will date the kitchen sooner than later!
2. When selecting paint colors for your kitchen, always buy small sample bottles of about 3 to 5 different shades. In my experience it is impossible to select a shade from a little paint chip. You’ll need to paint [...]
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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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