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!

The Modern Chair Design Showdown

I'm excited to be one of the jury members for the Modern Chair Design Showdown happening next month at Mod a-go-go.  Please spread the word and encourage people to submit a project - I want to be overwhelmed with the number of chairs I have to judge!

From the website:  "When it comes to Design, Utah is home to a host of raw talent.  Local furniture designers are moving into the national spotlight, while countless others have yet to be discovered.  In order to fuel innovation, define the Utah furniture design scene, and to catalyze interaction between designers, manufacturers, craftsmen and new clients, Mod-a-go-go is pleased to announce The Modern Chair: a Design Showdown in 3 Dimensions. The competition brings together both novices and professionals with the challenge of designing the perfect chair."

More information here.

And if you haven't had the chance to stop by Mod a-go-go yet, do it soon!  They have a great collection of mid-century and eclectic pieces - you'll definitely want to leave with something.

Basement Bathroom After Photos

I finally had the opportunity to take some photos of a basement bathroom project.

We started with a VERY small, cramped bathroom.  Look how little leg room there was between the toilet & tub!

The adjacent space gave us the flexibility to move a wall to add some space to the bathroom.  By moving the wall, we had room for a slightly larger tub, while still leaving adequate leg room in front of the toilet.  By moving the bathroom door, we also now had more space for a larger vanity.

My client moved to Utah from California, and loved the idea of a beach-themed color scheme.  Because we were working with a small space, we muted the colors - a light soft mix of grays, blues, and whites.  We added texture through tile patterns and a custom weathered-look vanity.

Small bathrooms don't have a lot of room for extra design elements, so something both functional and aesthetic is key.  This double recessed niche provides storage for shampoos and soaps, while also adding a dramatic design element to the tile surround.

Details such as a seamless tub, wire-brushed wood, cabinet hardware, edge treatments, and countertop lines really stand out in a small space, so choosing the right materials was important.  

Sources:

Vanity - Hallmark Custom Cabinetry 

Countertop - Caesarstone

Floor & Tub Field Tile - Contempo Tile

Accent Tile - Dal Tile Stone Medley

Faucets & Accessories - Moen 

Tub - Mirabelle

Contractor - Sundberg Building & Design Inc.

It's Official - I'm NCIDQ Certified!

I found out I passed over a month ago, but it's wasn't actually real until today, when I received this certificate in the mail.  Those of you who know me know that I devoted countless days and hours studying for this exam, since last Summer.  I missed out on so many things during this time - it was a big sacrifice.  

But it was all worth it.

What does NCIDQ mean?  It's the "National Council for Interior Design Qualification".  And per the documentation they sent us to use for announcements and press releases:

Passage of the Examination and earning the NCIDQ credential signifies that Nicole Zeigler has met the standards for education, experience and examination for interior designers in North America.  A minimum of six years of combined education and experience is required before being eligible to take the practice-based Examination.  The NCIDQ Examination is a rigorous, three-part examination requiring examinees to demonstrate competence in a wide variety of aspects that affect the safety of the interior environment.  The Examination covers programming, schematic design, design development, contract documents, contract administration and professional practice, among many other related topics such as codes, sustainability and universal design.

"NCIDQ has long been the standard to identify those interior designers who are uniquely qualified to protect the public's health, safety, and welfare," explains Kim Ciesynski, 2013 NCIDQ President.  "The NCIDQ Certificate is the mark of a professional, and this credential is what every user of a space should look for when choosing or working with an interior designer."

The Council for Interior Design Qualification is an organization of regulatory boards and provincial associations in the United States and Canada whose core purpose is to protect the health, life safety and welfare of the public by establishing standards of competence in the practice of interior design.  More information about the organization may be found at www.ncidq.org.

Considering there are less than 150 NCIDQ certificate holders in the entire state of Utah, I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment, and am already enjoying applying everything I've learned and relearned from my studies to my design practice.

Blogger19 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Tour

photo provided by Brizo

I typically post about interior design and the design industry.  However, this deserves an exception.  Last week, Brizo Faucet brought all the Blogger19 alumni (those of us who attended Fashion Week with Brizo in the past) to Memphis for a Blogger19 reunion.  Brizo planned and paid for this entire trip.  You'd expect that this would therefore be an event full of Brizo promoting, right?  However, the main focus of this trip was the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  Brizo has seen a bump in product awareness since starting their Blogger19 events, and this time they wanted to promote the mission of St Jude and it's founder, Danny Thomas.

Nearly 80 bloggers from the Blogger19 group.  Photo courtesy of Brizo.  

(First time this tall girl has ever been in the front row of a photo!)

We spent a day touring the St. Jude facilities, meeting patients, and hearing first-hand accounts from a St. Jude family.  I know I can speak for everyone when I say that this was an amazing eye-opening experience, both heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time.

A few of the points that really struck me:

• It costs $ 1.8 million to operate St. Jude every day.
• Families of patients will not pay a dime.
• And if a family does have insurance, St. Jude will take over that paperwork and handle the costs so the family doesn't have to deal with that stress.
• St. Jude is a research hospital, and they willingly travel the world sharing their findings, in hopes that more patients and families will benefit worldwide.
• St. Jude keeps the patients involved in everything.  Reception desks are kid-height, and doctors share treatment options and test results with the patients at the same time as the parents, so the kids don't feel excluded.

One of the more touching parts of the day was the "Design and Decorate with Brizo" portion, where we all had the chance to do various activities with the kids at St. Jude.  (All photos below provided by Brizo.)

Coloring:

Decorating Tiles: 

Designing a dollhouse room: 

Posing with props for a photo shoot: 

This really was an amazing experience, and I will proudly support St. Jude!  Special thanks to Brizo for opening my eyes to this organization.

Memphis Bound

On Tuesday I'm heading to Memphis, courtesy of Brizo Faucets.  Brizo has decided to bring all the alumni of the past "Blogger19" groups to Memphis for a reunion.  This is going to be 2 fun-filled days that will include a tour of their Jackson manufacturing facility, product technology training, a tour of St. Jude Children's Hospital, a celebration dinner event honoring the relationship between Brizo and St. Jude, and so much more.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the Blogger19 friends I met last February when Brizo sent me to New York for Fashion Week, and to meeting the other alumni as well!

To see who's going, and to follow what they're tweeting, check out this site:

http://www.brizo.com/theblogger19/index.htm

Plumen Light Bulbs

I loved the idea of Plumen CFL bulbs the moment I saw them.  And then I bought some for a great price on fab.com, even though I didn't yet have anywhere to put them.  Soon after the purchase, our ugly dining room track light (don't judge - it came with the house) broke and gave me a new opportunity.  I got to design our new dining room lighting around the light bulbs.  

I wanted to show off the bulbs, but I wanted something a little more finished than just the bare exposed bulbs.  The Industrial Glass Pendant from West Elm was just what I needed (at a great price too).

My handy husband relocated the wiring so we could hang the 2 pendants exactly where I wanted them.  My camera doesn't show them well when lit, but I love the sculptural look and the new dimension they add to our dining room.  This is the view when you first walk into our home (okay, in reality the dogs are usually jumping and barking and spinning in circles), so it was important to make a good first impression: