November 1, 2009
Posted by Amanda Clarke, July 31, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Our cabinetry is set to arrive today, and installation is scheduled for tomorrow. If all goes according to plan, in a few days, we'll be moving forward with countertop fabrication. In the course of designing our kitchen, our choice for countertop materials was complicated. Since we use our kitchen so often, picking a durable, practical material was important, but so was aesthetics. Besides, this is the center of our home.
Inspired by apothecary shops and old-school laboratories, we initially wanted materials like white marble and soap stone. Both can withstand the heat of a hot pot (though suppliers recommend trivets and cutting boards to further protect the countertop materials), and properly finished, they also provide a cool, smooth surface for rolling dough or tempering chocolate.
The dark gray soapstone would make for a sober, utilitarian look, providing an attractive contrast to the soft wood tones of our cabinetry. The creamy marble would impart natural warmth and texture since the luminous surface can reflect light, allowing our kitchen space, hemmed in by cabinetry, to feel brighter and more open. So what did we pick? Marble and soapstone each had pros and cons, plus there was granite, stainless steel, and an "engineered stone" called CaesarStone to explore.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, June 19, 2008 at 1:00 PM
The hall floor, before and after renovation.
Physical work on our new kitchen began about two and a half weeks ago and has been moving along. Our new tile floor is down and looking lovely, demolition is done, our stove hood ductwork is in place, most of the plumbing is completed, and electrical work is in progress.
Leveling the Ceiling and Floor
There have, however, been a few minor snags. These have mainly resulted from the fact that none of the surfaces in our kitchen or its adjoining hallway are level, square or even smooth. When measured from a level line struck around the perimeter of the room, the height of our ceiling varied by about two inches—a significant variation in a 10 x 10-foot space. Because our cabinetry had been designed to come very close to the ceiling, it was imperative that the ceiling be leveled as much as possible. Our contractor set about doing so, using furring strips that were individually shimmed—relative to the hills and valleys of the ceiling—to provide level points of attachment for new sheetrock.
Then the tile guys, faced with a floor of similar irregularity, did the best they could to level the floor without floating it (essentially, pouring a thin, level layer of concrete), which would have resulted in an undesirable step up into the kitchen and the loss of a precious inch or so of overall room height. And these same intrepid tile guys are probably still cursing us for specifying a one-tile-wide contrasting border about 5-inches in from the walls all the way around the undulating perimeters of the space.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, May 8, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Permits nearly in hand, contractors lined up, cabinets on schedule, appliances ordered—we are finally about a week or two away from beginning the actual construction on our new kitchen. With that in mind, this past weekend was a whirlwind of last-minute decision making and ordering and the realization of a potential snafu: tile.
The Tile Design
Though we had selected cabinetry and appliances with decidedly clean, modern designs, much of our initial design inspiration had come from the aesthetics of old apothecary shops and the pre-war details of our building. Thus, we had decided early on that we wanted to use small hexagonal tiles Though the majority of the floor was to be tiled in one color, we were going to incorporate a band in a complementary color, around the perimeter of our kitchen and the adjoining hallway, to echo similar bands in the hardwood floors throughout our apartment.
The Tile Type
In several stores we’d found sample boards from two companies displaying just the type of tile we were looking for, in a range of colors. These were unglazed "color body porcelain" tiles, meaning that they were colored throughout, not just coated with color, as is the case with glazed ceramic tiles. We liked the idea of the unglazed, matte finish to reduce glare, provide some slip resistance and to add a subtle warmth and texture, and our research assured us that the rate of absorption for porcelain tile was so low that we’d have to let something like red wine or tomato sauce sit on the floor for quite a while before it left a stain. Also, because these tiles are colored through, chips and scratches only reveal more of the same color, making them virtually undetectable. So it seemed, we’d found a great functional and aesthetic fit.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, April 24, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Last week, in the midst of an all-too-short, all-too-ambitious itinerary amongst various points in northern Italy, I managed to spend one full day wandering around stylish Milan, checking out stores, scouting for interesting kitchen and tableware. Though my abbreviated stay made it impossible to visit all of the promising shops on my list during business hours (which are generally much shorter in Italy than here, owing to the one- to three-hour midday prandial break, and, often, earlier closing hours), I did manage to make it to a few noteworthy establishments.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, March 27, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Windowsills cluttered with scraggly little herbs may soon be a thing of the past as designers develop new ways of integrating plant life into the kitchen.
The AeroGarden brings “NASA-tested, aeroponic technology” to the kitchen counter. Occupying about the same space as a bread maker (the original version) or a blender (in the case of the newer, smaller model), the soil-free system allows you to grow herbs, salad greens and vegetables with minimal effort. “Planting” is accomplished by simply inserting pre-sown proprietary seed pods called Bio-Domes, and from then on a computer controls the light, moisture and nutrient levels during growth, as well as providing alerts when it’s time to add more water or nutrients. The systems are pricey and the range of plants available is a bit limited, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. And, having killed just about every plant I’ve ever owned, edible or otherwise, there’s something very appealing about the product’s guarantees for success.
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