Kitchen 2020: your new kitchen design, renovations, remodeling, lifestyles and more

The coolest refrigerator in the world

These refrigerators from Gaggenau are the iPods of fridges. Sleek, white (and stainless), beautifully integrated into the cabinetry, what can I say? These things are the future of kitchen appliances, a whole new design approach.
Check out The Modular Column Refrigerators from Gaggenau. Sweet.

Glass Tiles are hot!

Glass tiles have been around since the heyday of ancient Rome but I'm guessing they've never been as hot as they are today. We all like sparkly things and glass tile is the ultimate in kitchen bling. Check out this photo gallery for a lot of ideas. Using glass tiles as a backsplash is a great way to create depth, a reflective wall in  an otherwise dim area and add a shot of color. Combined with LED undercabinet lighting, the tiles create a great look, especially at night.
Other uses include counters (they are quite durable) especially in non-food prep areas like seating areas (we're not crazy about tile in food prep areas because the grout can be hard to keep clean) and accent areas like the faces of islands.
Glass tiles require specialized installation because of their transparency- you don't want to see some ugly adhesive under your beautiful tile. Most professional tile installers can handle it. There is detailed info on installation here.

How to tile a backsplash, version 2

One of our most popular articles here is about tile backsplashes. We took a look around for more information on how to tile a backsplash and found this decent article courtesy of Lowes Home Improvement.  Tile is not a typical do-it-yourself project but a simple backsplash can be a great way to learn the basics of tile because it does not require the complex preparation that most tile jobs require. This is because backsplashes don't have standing water on them, nor are they carrying loads like a counter that can crack if the substrate isn't rock solid.
One of the great things about doing tile is what happens when you grout the tile and do the final step of cleaning the finished product. It's very satisfying to see a messy-looking job turn into a beautifully finished tile wall almost instantly.

Euro Kitchen Review: Systems Design from Bulthaup

Ever wonder why the European kitchens seen in glossy magazine ads seem so far beyond American design? We're starting a series to examine why this is the case and why they are the innovators in everything from appliances to materials.
Systems Design means that the kitchen is viewed as a holistic machine for cooking, socializing, dining and enjoying life. It should be viewed as a coherent design in which all the elements: materials, appliances, finishes, functions- all work together seamlessly. All too often our kitchens here in the US are a funky mixture of styles with reproduction Victorian kitchens filled with gleaming stainless appliances or kitschy country kitchens made with exotic hardwoods. Bulthaup offers a good example of a holistic approach to kitchen design. It's not cheap but it's also not a hodge-podge that's going to look dated in a few years as trends change. Good design should be timeless.

Problem Finders vs. Problem Solvers: How to double the cost of your new kitchen

My brother recently spent 20 hours working on a kitchen design after extensive feedback from the client (wife side of couple) where they looked at how the kitchen is used (it's a vacation home and they entertain a lot of visitors), its size limitations (it's small), budget, materials, appliances etc. As a designer you take this information away, along with detailed measurements, and come back with draft design options. These are shared and discussed and a final version begins to take shape.
This is the point where having a third party jump in can mean significant cost increases and that's what's taking place. The spouse, who does not cook, starts to get into the details, after the design process is complete.
There are two kinds of people you typically run into during any kind of design process:

• Problem Finders
• Problem Solvers

Problem finders are critics who see their role as the keeper of the quality and/or the keeper of the vision. Unfortunately they often are only capable of finding problems not solving them. When they are unable to stop you have a problem because an entire design process can come to a screeching halt as more and more issues are 'uncovered'.
Problem solvers are those who identify a potential problem and offer up potential solutions. Where they differ from the finders is that they can prioritize problems and then solve the real ones and let the other ones go- after all this is not nuclear powerplant design. A poor hardware selection won't blow the planet up.
In my brother's case an entire redesign done detail by detail derailed the original budget and timeline significantly as more and more 'problems' were found. This is where you start spending money you had not planned on: Hardware is upgraded, materials are found to be insufficiently immortal, appliance specifications become consequential (the refrigerator needs to have its compressor in a remote location- boom, add $4000), etc.
If you suspect this might happen with your project then make sure you engage any potential problem finders from day one so they understand how and why choices are being made. If they come in after the fact you may find yourself back to the drawing board just when you thought you were done.

Wall Paper Removal 101

Once, long ago on a far away planet....I was a painter, specifically an interior house painter and sometime wallpaper hanger. Now I'm an advertising executive and an author, yet I cannot bring myself to hire a painter. That being the case (logical or not), I found myself this weekend beginning a kitchen remodeling project on our house and the first step was wallpaper removal.
I'm going to go on the record: I don't care for wallpaper and I positively hate the idea of using it in kitchens. I know this will not make me popular with the country kitchen crowd (I don't care for kitschy kitchens either) with their endless parade of ducks and sheaves of hay, stenciling, etc., but before you hit the back button please understand that there is logic behind my dislike of kitchen wallpaper: Kitchens are harsher environments than most other areas of a house with steam, heat, water, grease, etc., none of which help the cause of wallcoverings. So I happily set out to remove the French country kitchen wallpaper with its endless fleur de lis and peeling corners.

This time around I got lucky- it was vinyl and peeled off handily. The remaining glue was washed off with warm water and a dash of white vinegar, allowed to dry and sanded to remove the last bits. However there are many occasions where removing wallpaper is not that easy.

If you have the misfortune to be removing mylar (a kind of plastic), flock or layers of wallpaper glued on too thoroughly you may be facing the dreaded putty knife removal: one little strip at a time. Here's some tips that can make a big difference:

• Score the paper through to the wall surface. You can buy a tool for this that won't destroy the wall (important for drywall which can get damaged if scratched) or just use the corner edge of your putty knife
• Get a pump sprayer from a garden store. Fill with hot water and add wallpaper remover (from the paint store). If you don't have it you can use a cup of white vinegar to 2 gallons of water.
• Here's the trick. spray all the paper until soaked (put towels or drop cloths along the floor). Don't touch the wallpaper. Now do it again- soak it.
• When the wallpaper starts to peel off by itself take your putty knife and start sliding the paper off. This should require no effort- if it does you need more water.
• The key is to get the paper totally soaked through to the glue. You want the glue to dissolve and release the paper. That's why you scrape coverings that are waterproof like vinyl and mylar- to help the water reach the glue.

Most people don't use enough water and end up doing a lot more work. Once you've got the paper and glue off (a wide drywall knife works great for getting all of it), sponge down the wall and let it dry. Give it a light sand and prime it with interior primer. Don't use normal paint, primer is formulated to create a bond between paint and funky surfaces. Be sure to have the primer tinted to the same color as the paint you plan to use to save yourself a coat.
If you plan to use wallpaper again use primer designed to go under paper. It will make the job go a lot easier and your paper will stay put a lot longer.

That's it. Have fun and don't hold back on the hot water!

Kitchen Q&A: Carol Smith's Range Choice Dliemma

Q:
Carol writes:
I have looked at them all.  Such a good selection to choose from I am stumped.  Consumer Report has such negative things to say about the professional range that I am starting to ask questions as to what do they really know about cooking. I want a professional range for many reasons other than looks.  We are building a new house and of course I love the look and would be proud to show.  But bottom line I do want a range and oven that will perform with out having to call the service man out.  I love the Viking Range but Consumer Reports says it is prone to problems. What do professional chefs prefer in their home if they were selecting for their at home kitchen.  Would they choose a regular Sears Brand because it is more affordable and less likely to have a service call? Believe me I have had plenty of service calls on products Consumer Report has highly recommended.   Consumer Report doesn’t really say what the problems are with the Viking Pro Range but they just say they are more likely to have problems.  Do you know any one with a Viking, Wolf, Thermadore, Electrolux, or Dacor that has said they would never buy another professional range.  Just curious.  The people that has put them in their home kitchens how do they feel about cooking on them.  Are they always broken. Have you had any one write positive statements other than a professional chef about pro range investment to their new kitchen update.  Please give a clue if you can.  I don’t want to make a serious mistake.  I have had a Jenn-Air for the past 16 years that was already 10 years old when I moved into my home and it still was working perfectly when we sold our home.  Jenn-Air was another range that was not highly rated by Consumer Report.  I have never spoke to a Jenn- Air owner that had any complaints.  Thank you.

A:
Huge question Carol. Consumer Reports is very focused on reliability and Viking has had problems with that, however I think you need to consider why they are so critical of restaurant-style ranges in general. First, the heat and energy requirements are often way beyond what any homeowner needs. A twenty-thousand BTU burner is almost equivalent to the burner in a gas furnace used to heat an entire house. Heat is destructive to the materials around it which is why these high heat ranges are made of super-durable materials like cast iron, stainless steel and enameled cast iron. Heat also needs to go somewhere after it does its job and this means serious ventilation. These factors all mean that, unless you truly are restaurant style cook (cook for large numbers of people frequently), you don't need a restaurant-style range.
That being said, I know you love the look of these ranges- who doesn't? If that's the case, find models that are made of similar materials: cast iron, stainless, etc. Our old Jenn-aire appears to be stainless but much of the trim is plated and it is coming off. The grates are stamped steel and they have warped from the heat so pots don't sit flat. These are common complaints with these ranges. We have heard the same regarding Dacor, in fact a local dealer stopped carrying them because of numerous quality issues. Thermador and KitchenAid offer some nice choices as does Wolf. Viking, though they appear to be a brand that once made restaurant equipment and branched into home appliances, is in fact a company started to build restaurant-style appliances, back in the eighties when the trend started.
Check the materials for durability and think about how you will use the range. Plan on buying a quality ventilation system.
Finally I have a good friend who is a highly respected chef. When I asked him the range question he said:

" Give me a hot plate, a garbage can and a flat surface near running water and I'll make you anything you want- it's not the range that makes the cook."

He gets the final word.

European Kitchen Design

Take a look at these Italian kitchens and you'll understand why we are such big fans of Euro- kitchen styles. Richard designs and builds many kitchens each year and he is very tired of American kitchens that have to fit the trend of the minute, be it country style, arts and crafts or an abundance of red oak. We encourage you to look beyond US tastes to find some of the most innovative approaches to designing your kitchen.
One way to expand your idea gathering is to buy some European design magazines from your local Barnes and Noble or Borders. Even if they may not be in English you'll pick up ideas from the pictures. Make sure you check out design in the UK too- they often combine traditional and contemporary design in really innovative ways.
If you take these ideas to your cabinetry source and push, you can have more options without necessarily paying more. Similar styles are available here- you just don't see them because the big box retailers focus on what the (uninformed) majority are asking for.