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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Posted by Amanda Clarke, March 20, 2008 at 3:00 PM
A few pieces from ceramic artist Whitney Smith's collection.
My sense of impending spring began a few weeks ago when I awoke to a mourning dove’s lonely call. Just barely March, it seemed far too early then to raise much excitement, but the signs have become irrefutable – budding trees, blooming crocuses, a run of rainy 50-degree days, more bird song – and I am now, despite a certain measure of disbelief, firmly in the throes of spring fever.
For those of you thus afflicted, and for the others who are still soldiering through winter, I bring you this round-up of items embodying the effervescence of spring.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, March 6, 2008 at 10:30 AM
An example of kitchen cabinetry from Veneta Cucine.
It has been more than a month since my last post about our kitchen renovation, and unless one counts an evening of hasty plaster removal, the physical work has yet to begin. Nonetheless, we’ve made progress.
As we had more or less expected, the lynch pin of the project, effecting overall scheduling, design and budget, has been the kitchen cabinetry.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, February 28, 2008 at 2:00 PM
In the last few years, with demand for environmentally friendly, natural materials on the rise, much attention has been paid in this regard to bamboo. Making its way into evermore applications—especially in the kitchen—bamboo has been used in cutting boards, countertops, serving ware, disposable tableware and flatware, and much more. But while it is a beautiful, sustainable, durable and versatile substance, we need not live by bamboo alone, particularly when there’s cork.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, February 21, 2008 at 10:30 AM
This Monday the James Beard Foundation Greens is hosting a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. Mind you, the deed was not officially done until December 5th of 1933, with the ratification of the 21st amendment, but by golly, if the James Beard Foundation has sanctioned the early celebration of this momentous occasion, who am I to quibble? Nobody, that’s who, and thus, I will be eagerly joining in the festivities on Monday evening. So, it is in the spirit of this event, with free flowing libations in mind, that I decided to introduce you to some of my very favorite drinking companions: bottoms up shot glasses.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, January 24, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Way back in September, I wrote about my future kitchen renovation, and at long last, we’re moving forward. Our architects are working on drawings with the intention of going to the Department of Buildings for permits and soliciting contractors for bids within the next month. If all goes well, construction will begin in March, and we’ll be enjoying our fabulous new kitchen some time in the early summer.
That leaves us with, well, not a lot of time (especially considering lead times of several weeks between ordering and receiving appliances and custom cabinetry) to make all the decisions that we’d been putting off in a neat little pile to deal with at some nebulous point in the future. And, ahem, maybe it’s less a tidy pile and more a sprawling wasteland, clouded by half-remembered ideas, through which the light of a thousand poorly organized website bookmarks cast a dim glow on bottomless pools of business cards, brochures and magazine clippings. Right. So, we have our work cut out for us, but we’re determined to make progress—one decision at a time.
Here are a few that we’ve made rather recently:
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, January 11, 2008 at 10:00 AM
My husband and I went to Lisbon for the first time (hopefully not the last) recently. Knowing virtually nothing about the city or, for that matter, Portuguese history and culture at large, we chose the destination on the basis of some vague recollections of positive things heard, the fact that we hadn't been there before and, in light of the trip's brevity, that it wasn't too far away.
Having arrived in this place with so little knowledge, nearly every turn presented a revelation, some new facet of the city's character. Charmingly archaic streetcars traversed some of the narrowest, steepest streets we'd ever seen. A generous smattering of beautifully refined Art Nouveau edifices rivaling those of Paris stood cheek-by-jowl with homey stucco facades enlivened by fields of vividly painted tiles.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, November 29, 2007 at 3:45 PM
I’ve recently had the pleasure of spending some time in the production kitchen of Brooklyn-based chocolatier CocoaVino, observing firsthand the care and attention given to every detail by proprietors Alisha Lumea and Avril Pendergast-Fischer. In addition to creating their unique and delectable chocolate bonbons and confections—all handcrafted to exacting standards—the duo also designs the company’s graphics and packaging, right down to the special box inserts that hold the bonbons snuggly in place.
This year, they’ve taken things even further, designing and making a small lot of beautiful cups for sipping their new hot chocolate mix. Individually sculpted by Ms. Pendergast-Fischer to resemble sections of white birch branch (complementing the birch-bark motif on the hot chocolate box), the charming shot-sized ceramic cups are as well-suited to serving rich hot chocolate as they are to any other manor of delicious winter tipple. And they’d make lovely holiday table accents, too—holding sprigs of holly or candy sticks.
The mugs are available as part of a gift set, which also includes half a pound of CocoaVino’s new cardamom-spiked Hyggelig Hot Chocolate, at cocoavino.com.
About the author: Amanda Clarke is a recovering restaurant pastry chef with a background in architecture. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes, tests, and develops recipes and works on freelance food-styling gigs between walkings and feedings of her two dogs and husband.
Posted by Amanda Clarke, November 1, 2007 at 11:15 AM
Lidded eggplant teacups can be perfectly repurposed to serve soup—while also keeping it warm.
In the midst of planning and executing a Thanksgiving feast, few of us have the time or even the space for elaborate table decorations. And with a meal that tends to consist of so many textures, colors, shapes, and sizes, there’s little need for extensive embellishment, anyway—usually just a few small flourishes are all it takes to elevate the most basic table setting to the occasion.
Here are three of my favorite time- and space-friendly picks for adding detail and dimension to this year’s Thanksgiving table.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, October 4, 2007 at 3:00 PM
Halloween is fast approaching, and laboratory vessels like test tubes and beakers make great substitutions for the standard orange and black Solo cups, adding a little weird-science flare to whatever potion you might be serving. But lab ware, with its heat- and shatter-resistance and various shapes, can be a versatile addition to the kitchen and dining room well beyond the holiday. When integrated with simple tableware, porcelain and glass laboratory items add graceful points of visual interest to formal tables, but when arranged en masse in the kitchen, they impart an air of no-nonsense utility.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, September 27, 2007 at 3:55 PM
A few years ago, my husband and I bought the apartment next door with the intention of joining the two to make one large apartment with a new kitchen at its core.
Since then, we’ve been saving up to do it right, and it appears as though this winter we will finally be moving forward on our plans. So, over the coming months, interspersed with standard posts about kitchen gadgetry, tableware, and one-off design ideas, I will be sharing with you the trials and tribulations of planning, sourcing, and construction, as well as the general thought processes behind our choices for everything from flooring to lighting.
Although our apartment is blessedly large by New York City standards, at 10 feet square, the room that will become our kitchen is fairly “cozy” (to put it in brokerese). Because of this, much of our cursory planning has focused on using the space to its utmost while avoiding heft and clutter.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, September 20, 2007 at 10:30 AM
On a recent trip to a local Sur La Table, I discovered the Oxo Good Grips Corn Stripper, which is neither an exotic dancer from Iowa nor a tool used for foot care. Rather, it is, of course, a gadget devoted to cutting corn kernels from corn cobs. I was hesitant to dive in. First of all, historically, I have not been an advocate of Good Grips products, with their bulky, awkward knobs and handles, pandering to kitchen neophytes who are threatened either by kitchen tools in general or by the imagined fatigue, calluses, and finger dents that the occasional use of kitchen tools might cause. Secondly, I have a kitchen full of gadgets that never get used—crank-action apple peelers, mushroom brushes, garlic presses and peelers, and so on—which either entirely fail to do the job for which they were intended or don’t do it well enough to necessitate their retrieval and assembly.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, September 13, 2007 at 12:45 PM
Fashion plates: A creamer from Esther Derkx, a Cj O'Neill plate, a cup from Joanna Meroz's Crackery collection.
Most of us have at least a few pieces of cracked, chipped, and mismatched tableware that haven’t seen a table in years, languishing in some dark upper cupboard, evidence of life past. But some gifted designers are proving that new life can be coaxed out of such old pieces, yielding functional, provocative works of art, worthy of any table.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, September 6, 2007 at 1:14 PM
Tile, linoleum, hardwood, and laminate—these are the options that immediately come to mind for kitchen flooring. But what about rubber?
Rubber flooring already has a presence in residential kitchens in the UK and Australia, but in the States, the material is probably most familiar in a public or commercial context: on stairs and in gyms, bank vestibules and bus aisles. Rubber is used in those instances for its durability, slip-resistance, and ease of care, all of which are key characteristics for kitchen flooring. Also, because it is less rigid than other options, rubber flooring is more shock absorbent, a benefit to your feet and, perhaps, the occasional dropped drinking glass.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, August 30, 2007 at 3:30 PM
Editor's note: Before we jump into this next post, I'd like to introduce Amanda Clarke, who will be joining us each week with a post on design for the kitchen. Welcome, Amanda! —Adam
Whether you’ll be celebrating this Labor Day at the beach, the park, or in the backyard, here are a few ideas to give this weekend’s meals a dose of style with a nod to the environment.
Disposable plates and platters made of bamboo, a readily renewable resource, are sturdy and attractive alternatives to classic paper, plastic and Styrofoam. The plates are chemical- and preservative-free and biodegrade in 4 to 6 months.
The Mangia! flatware set is a stylish and reusable alternative to the flimsy, disposable plastic silverware that are the standard at picnics and barbecues. A fork and spoon, elegantly formed from single sheets of brushed stainless steel, slip in and out of the handle of a serrated knife, sharp enough to slice through steak with ease. Snuggly nested together, the set is capped by a reusable plastic clamshell that keeps the utensils clean and prevents accidental cuts and jabs. For an outlay of $14 a set, you can look forward to a lifetime of civilized outdoor dining, free of errant tines and awkwardly hacked and severed bites.
Mangia! flatware can be purchased directly through the company’s website, zelco.com. You can find bamboo tableware at many local specialty kitchenware and gourmet stores, or you can visit bambuhome.com for a list of national retailers.
About the author: Amanda Clarke is a recovering restaurant pastry chef with a background in architecture. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes, tests, and develops recipes and works on freelance food-styling gigs between walkings and feedings of her two dogs and husband.
