Designing kitchen - 'cool' ideas.

amother

Slateblue

Tue, Jul 09 2019, 8:31 am

amother [ Mustard ] wrote:

I'm also designing a small kitchen now and Slateblue, I would love pictures!

I don't like white cabinets because I don't like cleaning them, but since the kitchen is small, I am thinking of doing white on top and a darker color on bottom.

I am trying to decide between a walnut color or a gray.

I'm doing formica cabinets with a gray caeserstone counter.

If you are doing formica cabinets, I personally wouldn't get walnut because then it is a fake looking wood cabinet.

Formica/laminate cabinets can be beautiful but I think they work best if you use them "honestly" and not try to use them to imitate a natural material like wood or stone.

Walnut cabinets are absolutely gorgeous now and are enjoying a style revival because mid century modern decor popular. I have seen pictures of some gorgeous kitchens with walnut slab doors and white solid surface counters.

Be careful if you do go with gray because in general gray tends to be cool so it doesn't look good when mixed with warm tones. Walnut is a warm tone. You want to make sure that all of the elements of your kitchen complement each other.

familyfirst

Wed, Oct 30 2019, 3:14 pm

Doing our kitchen over iyh and wondering if anyone can chime in on the quartz vs granite counter decision.
Contractor seems to be pushing quartz- more trendy etc. granite seems more forgiving of hot pots and pans and there are some awesome granites that can add so much personality and color.

Please chime in. Really value your input!

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Oct 30 2019, 3:26 pm

I prefer granite. Engineered quartz contains fillers such as acrylic and is not heat-proof. And granite can be kashered (regarding whether engineered quartz can be kashered, ask your LOR).

Be careful not to confuse engineered quartz with quartzite. Quartzite is solid stone. Engineered quartz is stone mush combined with fillers and pigments. Hard quartzites are extremely tough, tougher than most granites. Soft quartzites (aka dolomitic quartzites) are not as hard and can etch or scratch.

Amarante

Wed, Oct 30 2019, 3:54 pm

Neither granite nor quartz should be used without a protective trivet of some kind for a hot pot. While it is true that granite won't scorch, all stones can crack from thermal stress if a hot pan is placed on them. It won't necessarily happen but it CAN and so best practice is to just use a trivet or other protection for a hot pan.

Quartz is considered much trendier than granite now especially in terms of the kind of granite choices that are less expensive - the speckled brown Baltic or the Uba Tuba or whatever. There are some granites that are less cliched looking.

All counter surfaces have their pros and cons. While Rubber Ducky is correct that quartz is a manufactured stone, it is quite durable and not as "bad" as her description and many people love it.

In terms of maintenance, there are some granites which are virtually maintenance free and other granites which can stain and need to be sealed periodically.

Rubber Ducky is correct regarding quartzite but it is most typically used when people love the look of marble but don't want the upkeep. It is more expensive than most materials and often a stoyeyard will label something as quartzite which isn't.

There are some other interesting surfaces that provide carefree maintenance including several types of slab porcelain like Dekton. These mimic the look of other surfaces including marble but provide theoretical maintenance free life. These aren't cheap and need skilled installers..

amother

Mauve

Wed, Oct 30 2019, 7:12 pm

aussie2 wrote:

pot filler faucet (faucet over your gas range to help you fill up big pots more easily)

They have s/t in israel that I haven't really seen in the u.s.- cabinets above the sink which are really draining racks. You can put your washed dishes in there to drip dry into the sink. I wish I had this now!

Many ppl enjoy enclosed garbages.

I love the draining thing that they have in Israel! You close those cabinets and noone sees them? Do I remember correctly? Huge space saver!

amother

Beige

Wed, Oct 30 2019, 8:20 pm

amother [ Pearl ] wrote:

Something really cool I heard about - a slightly inclined chute or maybe a conveyer belt from your driveway or garage to the kitchen.

In my old hometown when you checked out at the grocery there was a belt opposite the checkout. It wasn't rubber like the checkout counter, it was rows of metal wheels or maybe gears.

Your grocery bags were put into a heavy box (metal rims) with a number, and you got a ticket with that number. The box made its way down the belt to the parking lot (maybe a flight or half a flight down) where you handed your attendant your card & he located your box and put your bags into your trunk. (I begged our local heimishe store to do this when he built. But nowadays some stores will just have a worker bring your things to your car.)

I envision some similar arrangement of metal wheels. I am not sure how this person did it, but she takes her groceries out of the car, puts them in the chute or belt, and then arrive inside her kitchen. You'd need someone pretty clever to implement this but think of the shlepping you'd save!

Star Market! It was so much fun to go there!