Traditional Kitchen with French Bistro Flair

I'm excited to share this recent kitchen remodel!

Starting with the floor plans... the clients initially were interested in a "pull & replace" scenario (pulling existing items out and putting new back in the same spot).   But because walk-in pantries are often not the best use of space, we convinced them to consider an alternative layout that reduced the pantry closet size.  The outcome:  a larger kitchen with more organized pantry storage and a bigger island.

Here's the Before:

And the After:

Aside from the layout change, we also updated the look.  After exploring several different styles, the clients settled a sort of french bistro theme with white cabinetry accented by pale yellow and a provincial blue.

Here's the kitchen before: 

And here's the kitchen now:   

We integrated antique / matte brass finishes, fireclay sinks, glass tile backsplash, and the new Pental Calacatta quartz countertops to complete the look.

  

We incorporated these tiles into the backsplash - they tell a personal story about the client and their pharmacy background.

And the final finishing touch was the new upholstery fabric for their dining set.  We found the perfect fabric from Robert Allen that coordinated with the colors and perfectly accentuated the lines of the dining chairs.

Cabinetry by Swirl Woodcraft

Countertops by Klein's Custom Countertops

Appliances & Plumbing from Mountainland Design

Upholstery by Sharp Upholstery

Backsplash tile from Arizona Tile

My New Appreciation for Jenn-Air Appliances

Last week I had the chance to visit the World of Whirlpool in Chicago with a group put together by Mountain Land Design.  The focus was Jenn-Air Appliances, and by the end of 2 days, full of food and more food, we all came out with a better understanding of Jenn-Air appliances and where they fit in the luxury appliance market.  I'll confess - I didn't specify Jenn-Air much before.  I wasn't really sure where they fit in, and couldn't help associating them with the early downdraft models that I despised (particularly because I have one in my own home).  This trip changed my entire perception of their products.

The World of Whirlpool is in the top floors of this building (view from the Architectural Boat Tour we took earlier in the day)

We saw (and tasted) demonstrations of most of their appliance line.  A few things that really stood out to me are listed below:

Coffee Maker (not going to be released until early 2014)

• Made by DeLonghi, a company long-established and well-known for its quality coffee makers
• Easier to clean than other built-in coffee makers
• The price point can't be beat.

Steam Oven

• Keeping pace with other steam ovens on the market (also at a great price point.)
• Only requires a 15-amp circuit (others require 20)

Convection Ovens

• Dual Fan True convection - where "true" means there's a 3rd heating element behind the fan that redistributes the air temperature evenly

Dawnita & Chef Ann

Pro-Style Cooktop 

• Highest burner up to 20,000 BTU's
• Lowest burner potential 500 BTU's
• And my favorite - the SKILLET!  The chrome-infused stainless steel skillet means no seasoning needed to prevent sticking AND it's easy to clean!  We each made our own omelets on this skillet and were surprised how well it worked.  

Induction Cooktop

• Sensor Boil feature beeps when water is boiling, beeps again when it's time to add the food, and beeps a 3rd time when it's going to reduce to a rolling boil.  
• 2 Bridge elements (where others only have 1)
• Most powerful induction cooktop in the industry!

Ventilation

• Probably the most eye-opening part of this trip:  The ventilation.  I must confess, for years I've been saying that downdraft ventilation was a last-resort, as it wasn't going to work as well as standard ventilation due to the physics of hot air rising.  I was proven wrong.  While downdraft ventilation of the past may have been inadequate, that's changed with more recent re-engineering.  After a few demonstrations, I was amazed at how well these vents performed.  
• We witnessed first-hand the amazing new Accolade telescoping downdraft, which I posted a video of on instagram:  

A few more photos from our trip:

Mark & I were in charge of prepping the apples for apple crisp, which we later ate with homemade ice cream for dessert.

Cocktails in the clock tower:

 

Lunch courses:

 

Thanks to Jenn-Air and Mountain Land Design for a great trip!

Dwell on Design - Best Impressions

Last week I had the chance to visit Los Angeles for the ASID Leadership Conference, in conjunction with Dwell on Design (that's me on the far right).

While the conference was filled with ASID seminars preparing us for our leadership roles within our chapters (I'll be President of the ASID Intermountain Chapter starting in October), we also had some time to wander the show floor for design inspiration.

I had so much to see in a short amount of time, but I thought I would post some of the things that stood out most to me, whether it was for their great design or their colorful imagery.

1.  Miele's limited edition white appliances.  I heard rumors of their new white appliances on twitter, and was thrilled to see them in person.

2.  Miele's flush-mount gas cooktop

3.  Wet Style's tub made of WETMAR BIO - an eco-friendly thermo-insulating material made primarily from a mix of soy and mineral stone. 

4.  Shared booth by WhyrHymer and Semi-Handmade.  WhyrHymer showcased some great custom light fixtures / works of art, and Semi-Handmade showed off their custom door fronts designed to fit on ikea cabinet boxes.  I met John online a few years ago when I came across his product and posted about it here.  It was great to meet him in person and to see how well his business plan is working!

5.  House Fifty Two.  Aside from being an attractive booth full of geometric pattern and pops of color, I met Erin Adams, the designer, and got to see her passion and excitement first hand.  Their products include coordinating wallpaper, tile, and fabrics.  But when I say coordinating, I mean they complemented each other nicely without being identical "matchy-matchy" patterns.

6.  Stikwood.  This product has SO many possibilities!  It's essentially a peel & stick wood.  That's it.  Just peel and stick.  But it's real wood - not a fake wood-look imposter.  The photo below shows part of their newer reclaimed flooring series.  They've converted their own industrial scraps into a really cool geometric pattern suitable for flooring or walls.

7.  Range hoods keep evolving into decorative fixtures, as shown in the Sphera hoods from Best by Broan.

8.  Dacor's new WineStation, designed for residential use.  This unit will keep opened bottles of wine fresh and ready for up to 60 days.

9.  Hansgrohe - I simply just love the modern-yet-classic lines of this Axor faucet.

10.  JC Penney is stepping it up with new lines from Jonathan Adler and Michael Graves! (sorry about the blurry photo)

11.  I lost the contact info for this company, but these mountain hooks are begging to be placed in a Park City home.  And their custom storage units in materials such as chocolate bamboo deserve a good home too!  (I will post their info once I find it.)

12.  If you read my blog, you know that I'm obsessed with outlet and switch cover options . Lutron did not disappoint.

13.  Walker Zanger tile never ceases to amaze me.  They were a sponsor of our ASID Leadership Conference, and I love my new notebook with the tagline "What will you create?"  As noted in the speech given by their rep, they are a company dedicated celebrating and inspiring all designers, which is evident in their social media sites.

Healthy Kitchens

image source

How many of you have already given up on your New Year's resolutions?   I'm not typically one for resolutions, but I was definitely feeling that a detox was in order after the holidays, so my husband and I decided to do a 3-day juice cleanse.  And this got me thinking about how to encourage better health in kitchen design. Not only does this apply to your own physical health, but also your psychological health and the health of the environment.

I've come up with a whole list of things that contribute to a healthy kitchen:

Healthy Appliances

via Breville

There are plenty of countertop appliances that encourage healthier eating.  For example, we purchased this juicer from Breville and have used it everyday since.  Whether it's a juicer or another specific appliance, evaluate your own habits and make sure you think about whether you'll actually use the appliance before you invest the money (and countertop/storage space).

image via Sub-Zero/Wolf

For built-in appliances, steam ovens are the way to go.  Not only do they cook foods faster, but cooking with steam also allows optimum retention of vitamins and nutrients.  AND you typically don't need to add oils or fats during the cooking process.

image via Sub-Zero/Wolf

Eating healthy means buying more produce, and needing storage for more produce.  Refrigerator drawers right at your prep surface make veggie storage ultra convenient.

Healthy Aesthetic

Aesthetics can impact how healthy you feel.   A crisp white kitchen with subtle (not overpowering) citrus tones can make you feel healthier and more cheerful.

Natural Kitchen

Nature plays a role too.  Any way you can bring the outdoors into your kitchen will impact your health.  The easiest ways to do this are through natural lighting and indoor plants.

Healthy Pans

Many people are concerned about Teflon non-stick coatings, which can release toxic fumes when overheated.  (The chemical is polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE).  Many new non-stick surfaces are being introduced, including this set recently launched by West Elm Market in partnership with GreenPan.

image via West Elm

Composting:

image source

Composting is a great use for all those leftover healthy food scraps, and is an environmentally-friendly option compared to garbage disposals or landfills.  I did an entire post about working composting into kitchen design, using anything from countertop containers to full composting built-in units.  (See here for a good article about landfills vs. garbage disposals vs. composting).