Well, you could, but…

You wouldn’t be able to open the drawers. Which is great if you don’t want to store anything. It doesn’t matter how old or new the construction is: walls are rarely perfectly square.   & the floor’s not level, either.  But that’s beside the point.

Scenarios #1 and #2 are the most likely conditions existing in a corner where cabinets need to go. Either the end wall is the obstacle for drawer or door operation, or trim around a cased opening is.

& if you hit the jackpot with the Perfect Universe, congratulate yourself & have a beer!

Whattya mean, ‘Comments Off’?!!

Yeah.

So I haven’t had time to figure out what’s causing the commenting feature on our blog to be functional for some posts & set to Off for others.  It’s not me. & it’s also not you.  It’s it.

So if you have a note to share & the freaking Comments are Off, feel free to shoot an email or tweet my way.

*editor’s note: I think I fixed it! shhhh *

Taking a page from UPS

In The World is Flat, Friedman brings to light several eye opening cases of business evolution. One of which is how UPS has developed new revenue streams & efficiencies by embedding its services within other businesses.

That Papa John’s truck you see around town & on the interstates? That’s not a Papa John’s employee – it’s a UPS guy who has been trained by the Papa John’s company to haul their supplies.

And that Toshiba laptop you sent off to be repaired under warranty doesn’t go all the way back to Toshiba. It goes to a local facility where UPS employees who’ve been trained by Toshiba fix them up. & that was UPS’s idea to save transport costs.

Win-win hits home

Habitat for Humanity here in Wake County has a service to offer to those doing kitchen renovations. Their team will come in, remove existing cabinets & fixtures carefully, & unwanted appliances.

They’ll also disconnect utilities & leave the place clean & ready for the reno team. They’re insured & licensed.

We demo’d a kitchen this week & used Habitat’s decon service. It saved the homeowner money, give them a tax write off for the donation, & saved the contractor time & resources.  For $300! What’s not to love?

Dept. of Useless Design

Some design features that have been practiced a long time I don’t mind using – IF they have a good reason. Like toe kicks on cabinets, for example. Your toes need a place to go when you’re standing close to a cabinet. Fine. I can live with that. I can even live with cabinets that have no toe kick & are just open underneath.

What really makes me crazy is the long standing tradition of a 4″ backsplash.

What is that? Did someone standing around just say, hey let’s plop this extra piece of material along the back of the counter for no reason? Did they not care that they were consuming almost an inch of countertop real estate? Were they partners in crime with the same people who invented wallpaper?

Does not exist.

I have news, people. Splashes – as in water – are going to go where they damn well want to. There is no invisible barrier at that 4″ mark above the counter which magically prevents any splatter above it.

If the logic is to use an unnecessarily large piece of material to close the gap between the countertop & the wall, then it serves that purpose well. But it’s a waste of material, a dated aesthetic, and there are better ways to seal the joint.

Simple is good.

• First, scribe the countertop to the wall against which it butts for an exact fit to any irregularities in the wall surface. If your contractor can’t do that, fire them immediately & get a competent one.
• Second, caulk is our friend.  It seals gaps. Which should be minimal if you didn’t have to fire  your contractor.
• Third, treat the whole wall that the countertop butts cleanly to as the backsplash. Run *that* material down to the countertop surface.

Viola. Now you have the sealant at the wall, plus you have the backsplash material down to the countertop and another sealant at that joint.

And it doesn’t look like crapwork from 1973.

#letsblogoff: a bi-weekly pitch-it-out, see-what-comes-back exercise for thoughtful bloggers. This edition is fittingly February.

Confession

This is the longest I’ve waited to submit a blogoff post.  I logged in here kicking & screaming, like it was homework due in an hour.  I’d chucked out idea after idea, & decided maybe this one was just not for me & I should sit it out?

It’s all about the happy.

And the happy is all about forgetting time.  So if you’ve forgotten time, you’re happy. & most likely doing something you love.

Things that make me forget time:

• designing
• pulling the best out of people
• walking with the dogs in the woods
• making things

Here’s to rule breaking.