Take-Home Ideas from the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show

Moorea and I are still digesting all the wonderful new products we saw and design ideas we learned about at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in New Orleans last month.  Some of my favorites are:

• Design for aging in place – planning for comfort and ease at home into your golden years
• Beautiful closets that make the most of storage space and provide easy access
• Flexible design for counters:  movable extensions to add counter space or seating, reveal a sink or cooking surface when needed
• Trough-style second sinks that can be used for cold buffet service or beverages on ice when entertaining.  May contain a removable herb garden insert when not in use.   Has a fitted cover for more work space when needed. See example here.
• How to mitigate noise and reflectivity from a multitude of popular hard surfaces in the home (hardwood floors, smooth walls and ceilings, tiles, shiny flat-screens, etc.)
• Utility of two dishwashers:  a busy family can take clean dishes from one and be loading the other.  Timed to run after 8pm during non-peak hours, your one-year energy savings could pay for the second dishwasher!
• Use of low-energy-consuming LED lighting in drawers and base cabinets – finding what’s in the back just became easy

To learn more about any of these topics or discuss your own ideas, please call Moorea at 949-429-6422!

New HGTV Star?

On Sunday, April 21, 2013 Moorea auditioned for HGTV!  They had a booth at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in New Orleans and are looking for fresh faces and ideas for shows.  Moorea did a fantastic job with her 15-minute, on-camera interview; informative, articulate, and poised (says her mom.)  She spoke about her passion for creating beautiful kitchens in any style that work well for pleasurable cooking and entertaining.  She noted that people who can’t prepare a sit-down, four-course meal for twelve in two hours shouldn’t be kitchen designers because understanding work flow and ease in a kitchen is fundamental to good design.  Her charm came through when she told a story about working with an architect ten years ago who was dismissive about her ideas because she looked “really young.” ; )  The best part was when the interviewer asked if she had an idea for a new HGTV show.  Moorea said she envisions  “HGTV meets the Food Network”:  a kitchen is redesigned with cooking in mind and then the homeowners cook with the designer to show how the kitchen functions superbly for a dinner party with their favorite friends.  As we left the booth, an HGTV staffer from the wings called out, “You did GREAT!”

WE’RE MOVING UP!

Kitcheneering‘s boutique showroom is moving half a block towards the ocean to 160 Avenida Victoria in San Clemente, California as of May 15, 2013.  This newer, larger space with two designated parking spaces will make it easier for clients to visit us. Please come by to see and feel cabinet samples, tile, knobs and pulls as you visualize your perfect home!

“Perfectly Personalized”

Moorea’s new article, Perfectly Personalized, is featured in the current issue of STUDIOS magazine special issue for Spring 2013, organization & inspiration section (page 16-19).  Her challenge was to design a perfect studio space using nothing but furniture and furnishings from IKEA!  Imaginary gift card in hand, she visited her local IKEA to determine what would meet her needs given the variety of crafting projects she enjoys doing.  Explore with her the process of doing this for your own perfectly personalized space.  To help you visualize, the article includes product photos courtesy of IKEA and illustrations of the finished space by Evelyn Hernandez.  Or go to IKEA with your own imaginary gift card!

The magazine can be purchased at craft and home improvement stores and is available online at www.clothpaperscissors.com.

Chef’s Secret – It’s the Burners!

Chef’s Secret – It’s the Burners!

How do you select the best cooktop or range top?  Look for the following:

• Large (high BTU) burners in front (this is where you’ll saute’)
• Space around the burners adequate for 13-inch pans and pots (large pasta or soup pot in back and saute’ or simmer pans in front)
• Knobs in front or on the sides (so you don’t have to reach across hot pans to adjust the heat)
• Gas burners that generate 15,000 BTUs or higher (one BTU is the amount of heat to raise a pint of water one degree)
• Electric burners that generate 4,000 watts (equivalent to about 15,000 BTUs)

Have you heard of the heat “recovery ratio”?  It’s how long it takes boiling water to return to a boil after you add pasta or vegetables. More importantly, it’s how long it takes for oil to return to optimum temperature after you add chicken or meat to brown.  If the recovery ratio is long, your chicken dries inside and absorbs grease outside while it turns golden.  The end result looks similar but the quality is inferior.  It’s all about the burners.  Heat is a chef’s secret ingredient!

For more Moorea’s book on buying the right appliances, KITCHENAPPLIANCES 101 (What Works, What Doesn’t and Why) please click here.

Moorea selected to present for “Voices of the Industry” at KBIS

Moorea was selected to be one of the “Voices of the Industry” at the international Kitchen & Bath Industry Show!

Fri, Apr 19, 2013 – 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM, Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Trends in Kitchen Design-Adjacent Spaces

Presentation Description:

Mudrooms – Laundry Rooms – Pantries – Craft Centers – Desks. If you aren’t designing these kitchen-adjacent spaces, you are missing out on an important revenue stream for your business. Busy homeowners need room for managing life’s chores. Today’s clients often choose great-room style open concept kitchen-dining-living areas. For all the advantages of an open floor plan, there is an often-overlooked downside: when you mix the public and private spaces in a home, there is more pressure to keep the space neat. By combining a cramped mudroom, claustrophobic laundry room, and too-separate office into a chore-oriented service center, the space is not only more comfortable but also more versatile. At the end of this session you will be able to identify sales strategies to expand kitchen-remodel and new-construction projects to include adjacent spaces.  We will discuss how kitchen design best practices can be applied to other work areas to increase sales.

Deeper Counter Space = Functionality

Deeper Counter Space = Functionality

Standard base cabinets for kitchens are 24-inches deep and, with overhang, counter tops are typically about 25 inches.  If small appliances are kept on the counter, this further narrows available the two-feet deep work space. 

Cooking is easiest when everything needed is easy to see and easy to reach. When there isn’t enough horizontal space for this, we start to work vertically – we stack.  Containers and pots and bowls and food are stacked on top of each other, or placed on top of the refrigerator, range,  sink – anywhere we can find space.  Does this sound painfully familiar? 

Solution – 30-inch deep counter tops!

This is easily done by installing standard base cabinets six inches from the wall (called “furring out”) and topping with a 30-inch counter.  The gap is covered by a 30-inch-wide side panel.  You’ll be amazed at how much more space you have with six inches more depth along the length of your counters!  Your coffee maker, toaster, food processor, canisters or display treasures can stay on the counter — and you still have about 18-inches of depth for your work space.  In addition, you can make your wall cabinets 15-inches deep (instead of the standard 12-inches).  This allows you to store even over-sized dinner plates and–wonder of wonders–platters! in a a wall cabinet.  

Winter 2012 STUDIOS magazine article: Innovative Solutions for Studio Space, by Moorea Hoffman

I am pleased to announce the publication of another magazine article! You can find STUDIOS magazine, available in stores through 2/18/2013. The article, pages 10-15, includes photos of six great examples of spaces adjacent to the kitchen that combine the functions of laundry room, pantry, office, walk-in closet, mudroom, homework area – even craft space. Side bar columns are “Connect the Spaces, “Combining Spaces – By the Numbers”, and “Mom’s Headquarters”. I hope you will be inspired by this informative article about real families’ flexible, functional solutions to daily tasks are done in their homes.

To purchase your copy of Studios Magazine, click here.

6 Wrong Ways to Incorporate a Kitchen Prep Sink

Kitcheneering is excited to announce that our owner, Moorea Hoffman, is a contributing author for Cultivate!

Cultivate is an online resource for kitchen inspiration.  Their inspiration gallery features kitchen photos from their community of designers, architects, and manufacturers, in addition to their own selected collection of kitchen environments. The Cultivate community is invited to explore the many design alternatives as a way to discover their own point of view. Our Kitchen Articles section contains a knowledge base of topical articles that help orient homeowners to what they should consider when planning a kitchen remodel. Cultivate members are also invited to connect with designers and other trade professionals as they begin planning their own projects. Cultivate is produced and managed by Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Read her first article: 6 Wrong Ways to Incorporate a Kitchen Prep Sink

Why I hate Microwave Hoods

• They are terrible ventilation—absolutely useless at the task of getting smoke and bad smells out of the kitchen.
• They create traffic problems—just look at breakfast (what should be a simple meal). Husband is scrambling eggs. Wife wants to reheat her coffee. A tussle ensues and in the time it takes the husband to step aside and wait for the wife to finish, the eggs are overcooked and rubbery.
• In order to be reachable, it has to be installed low—making it so low that if you have a tall pot on the back burner you can’t see into it and may even have to move it forward to stir.
• It is always gross and sticky from cooking residues (that it can’t vent!)

With all these problems, the benefits of saving space and money seem dubious at best. I’d rather put the microwave in the right place (near the refrigerator) and buy a hood that works.