Wallpaper

Kitchen Odors On Soft Coverings – What To Do/How To Deal

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 [...]

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Woodworking Woes

Here’s an email message I received:

From: Tracy

Subject: kitchen banquette

Message: My woodworker was supposed to make my kitchen banquette 17″ high and it ended up being 18.5″. Now with my 3″ cushions, the seating comes in at 21.5″. It looks attractive, but it’s higher than I would have liked. I paid a decent buck for the custom banquette and cushions. What do you advise?

Tracy, there are multiple issues in this short email.

First, does your woodworker acknowledge that there is a mistake? It’s understandable that you did not measure it until he was done because, of course, you trust him.

Second, I’m not sure that that 1 1/2″ will make much of a difference. I mean, with these numbers, yes, the lower the better. But, I think it will still feel high. As a comparison, I normally (depending on the cushion) set the height of my banquettes somewhere between 14 and 15″, usually around 14-14 1/2″, anticipating a 4-5″ thick cushion. For a 3″ cushion, I’d probably size it somewhere around 15 1/2-16″ high.

Third, this matters if he is not acknowledging an error. Do you have documentation on how high the banquette was [...]

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On AMC’s Mad Men, attention to detail includes appliances in the Drapers’ kitchen

Much has been written about the painstaking detail that goes into every costume, set decoration, and cocktail on Mad Men, the hit drama on AMC about the advertising industry in the early 1960s.

We’ll leave it to the fashion scribes to decide whether the lapels on Don Draper’s suit and the furniture at the Sterling Cooper ad agency were appropriate in the season-three premiere on Sunday, August 16.

What we’re interested in are the appliances you see on the show. From that admittedly narrow perspective, a standout image from the premiere had to be the electric cooktop that Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is seen standing over in the opening sequence as he warms some milk for his pregnant wife, Betty (January Jones). The photo, courtesy of AMC, shows the Drapers’ kitchen.

The way the camera lingers over the glowing-red coils, the appliance definitely conjures a specific place in time. (As do those knotty-pine cabinets and the plaid wallpaper in the [...]

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Kitchen Walls

Now you’ve chosen the design of your kitchen cabinets and worktops, the next thing is to choose the materials and the colors of your walls.

The most common materials for the kitchen walls are paint, wallpaper and tiles.

Paint

Paint is the cheapest and fastest way to transform the feeling of your kitchen, however, you need to have good surfaces to paint on (i.e. no holes or cracks which will show through the paint).

If your walls aren’t smooth enough, then you can line the walls with lining paper first (a special kind of wallpaper), and paint on top of that. There are also many decorative and faux paint finishes that look good in the kitchen (and which you can do yourself). Talk to your designer about this.

Regular wallpaper is a more expensive option than paint but it can give just a little more character as it comes in a large variety of patterns as well as colors. When you use wallpapers and paints for your kitchen walls make sure these are specially made for the kitchen as these will be more resistant to humidity and will be easy to clean.

[...]

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Kitchen Cabinet Guide

You May Also Be Interested In:

Kitchen Odors On Soft Coverings – What To Do/How To Deal

Woodworking Woes

On AMC’s Mad Men, attention to detail includes appliances in the Drapers’ kitchen

Kitchen Walls

Paint

Wallpaper

You May Also Like:

Kitchen Articles

Archives

Kitchen Cabinet Guide

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You May Also Be Interested In:

Kitchen Odors On Soft Coverings – What To Do/How To Deal

Woodworking Woes

On AMC’s Mad Men, attention to detail includes appliances in the Drapers’ kitchen

Kitchen Walls

Paint

Wallpaper

You May Also Like:

Kitchen Articles

Archives