So we were awarded kitchen remodeler of the year for the Raleigh area. Cool! Apparently only 5% of companies qualify, so we’re pretty proud of ourselves! *polishes nails on sweater*
And not just because one needs a double scotch to withstand the kitchen experience. (Though that helps on occasion, when guests won’t leave, I’m sure.)
I’m currently designing a kitchen for a family of 4. One of their requests was to have a zone dedicated to preparing their drinks at meals. It will have its own smaller bar style sink, & is adjacent to the fridge & glass cabinets. Ideally there would be a second under-counter 2 drawer fridge, with nothing but beverages.
That way, the cook can focus on the meal prep zone, consisting of larger sink, cutting board & cooktop. The drink prep traffic is separated from the food prep, so the little ones can get their own without being underfoot.
Here’s a nice example (in our case, the fridge would be where the work station is in this pic) of a drink prep station from Harrell Remodeling over on Houzz:
If money were no object, what would be the perfect gift? Whether it’s for yourself or for somebody else, what thing would you give that you won’t or can’t give now?
But if I had a swooshy wand…The ultimate gift is one I wouldn’t give, but I would take. & I’d take it from all of humanity on this planet. It would return all of us to our kidlike view of the world & other people as fresh slates & with no judgement. What’s the thing I would take? Prejudice.
If we didn’t make assumptions about things & people before we actually looked & listened to them, we’d be more open minded to working together. We’d get more done, because we’d be focused on the task at hand, not whether we like who we’re working with.
And there wouldn’t be as much greed, from people making assumptions about what money can do for them.
I’d fix the economy. And have some pumpkin pie. And a bonfire. And make every corporation that produces anything make it in a closed loop process where there is no waste so we can save this poor planet.
Common ThreadsAlmost without exception, our clients:
We’ve traded books, shared the design process with the curious of all ages, treated their animals as family members, & integrated their product choices in with our design.
We’ve enabled them to participate in the remaking of their kitchen however much or little they wanted.
One client we had saved all the cardboard packaging from her flat packed cabinet shipment – not a small amount, at about 135 boxes.
She used it for biodegradable weed control under the mulch in their entire yard. They’d planted the whole thing in edible plants & fruit bearing trees & bushes. Did you know that there are such things as yellow raspberries?
Those same people also had a worm bin in their kitchen which they used to compost table scraps into highly enriched fertilizer for their yard & garden. It had no smell whatsoever, unless you count clean topsoil odor as a smell.
Another client had switched her whole family’s diet over to natural unprocessed foods. That included real butter, grass fed beef, whole grain breads & seasonal fruits and vegetables like figs, strawberries, squash & potatoes.
She loaned me a book called Real Food, which also convinced me to go the real food route.
Yup – it takes two to Tango. In short, our clients are cool, interesting people. They make our job fun & they appreciate our talents. What more could we ask for?
Ok, more of the same for 2011, please!
Let’s Blog Off: You’re given an island. The only thing to consider is once you move there, you can’t leave. Who and what would you bring? What are the rules?
Plan B
Ok I can’t deal with being stuck anywhere forever. So you know what? I wouldn’t move there. I’d make it my escape pod for vacations, & a wildlife conservatory. It’d have a single story off the grid solar & wind powered shipping container complex of maybe 4 structures max. It’d have:
I’d let scientists & artists have retreats there as long as they were zero impact & contributed to the flourishing of all its natural systems.
I had trouble with this blogoff post. Who wouldn’t want a wide open vacation forever? Apparently, me!
Other than that – I’d be a periodic visitor, & try to leave it better than it was when I got there.
I love the big bold shapes & color combos of these Marimekko aprons from Pieni Melooni.
And while I’m at it, I really like Becky’s posts over at Houzz! I identify with & appreciate her visual taste – no fear of white space, & simple color & texture combinations. At first glance, many appear more complicated than they actually are. Like the aprons above: the large concentric ovals are balanced out by the limited 3 or 4 color palettes.
I can over analyze a plate of beans, too.
Paul Anater has set up shop on Houzz, & it is every bit as entertaining & wonderfully visual as his home site.
Recently he posted about the return of the kitchen table, & the roles it plays, all of which hold true for our table:
In my case, ours also doubled as a paint helper, since I dragged it all over our living space to paint the ceilings. It was the perfect length for me, the paint tray and the paint roller extension. With 14′ ceilings, I needed all the help I could get.
Back to Paul’s post. He’s got a nice array of table shots, but I have to say my favorite is the one below. It looks like an inviting place to sit down & talk to the cook.
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