Kelly's Kitchen Sync

Bosch and BLANCO Retreat

Thanks to the magic of scheduling, as you read this I’m jetting off to southern California for the next two days -- this time to visit the nice folks from Bosch and BLANCO in Irvine, California.  (That’d be an hour-and-a-half flight from Northern California to Southern, for those of you who are reading from afar.)

 

This time is  for a special sneak peek of the new Bosch Experience and Design Center as well – so new, you won’t find anything online about it yet other than posts from the other invited pros.

I keep inadvertently spelling this as a “Re-tweet” which seems appropriate – fellow members of the BLANCO Design Council will be there as well as many of the design folks I know personally or online (and feel like I do!)

So over the next two days, the focus will be on “European Design for the Modern Kitchen” along with the following:

• A panel discussion moderated by Dwell Contributing Editor, Erika Heet
• Journey with the Bosch industrial design team through the process of appliance creation.
• Cooking (of course)!  German technology + induction  + convection = the next wave.
• Meeting the design and brand teams from both Bosch and Blanco and seeing the latest products.

The opportunity for meeting the industrial designers, the manufacturers, and the hard-working folks behind the products is always one of the high points of these meetings.

Can't wait to show you when I get back.

Pot racks: Yes or No?

In a commercial kitchen, where pans are flying in and out, I say, “yes”…where the entire commercial kitchen is stainless, I say “yes”.

Residential kitchens? Not entirely sold, especially in a smaller kitchen with only 8’ ceilings. Or if the person reaching for that triple-stainless bottomed roaster needs to stand on tiptoes.

I think they look better in a kitchen that is set-up as more commercial, and look better against the wall than over the island. I even prefer Julia Child’s method of hanging pots on hooks on the wall.  I would also think that if you were in the kitchen preparing all day, it (and a kitchen helper) would make some sort of sense.

But for those of us who cook on the weekends and evenings between our day jobs, my question to you is, do you like them? If so, why?

Color in your home: not for resale?

There’s an interesting article in the Washington Post, “Kitchens Becoming More Colorful as Owners Forget About Resale”

For the record, I agree. I'm seeing color in backsplashes, in lighting, furniture, and artwork. Strong, bold, vivid color.

TIRED OF PLAYING IT SAFE?

I’ve noted this particularly in the last few recessions that people want to “play it safe”. Neutral colors, neutral patterns. Somber even. This time, beige and brown tones came back, so did variations of gray.

Now, in some areas, the economy is improving. Brighter outlook, brighter colors. More patterns, more textures. Which is a good thing – there’s nothing so bland as “playing it safe” and “pleasing everyone”. We all know how that works out.

Are we all going to rush out and pick the color of the year?  *cough* Some people are bolder than me. Or maybe everything that is old is new again. In Color Trends 2012 via Kitchens.com, I first saw this orange as a kitchen cabinet color in…wait for it…1979.

 (Photo credit: Kitchens.com)

For some, this would be the perfect color. I will say that having designed cabinets out of all sorts of colors over the years – blue, green, black, gray, yellow (yes, bright eye-watering yellow), I’m all for a more muted viewpoint. Or as my designer mother says, “Keep the big-ticket items neutral so that you can change items around them.”

COLOR DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LOUD

It’s not that we can’t like browns and beiges (Heh, in looking around my place, I’m a lover of warm-toned mahogany with cream and green, so there you go. Trend-setter extraordinaire!) But there is tone-on-tone, textures, and a few other tricks designers use to get details interesting, like designer Cheryl Kees Clendenon’s coastal design:

(Photo credit: Cheryl Kees Celendon: Coastal Kitchen with a Twist!)

Perfect example of breaking my mother's rule, yet with a versatile, soft color.

The only thing I disagree with in the news article -- homes with color can indeed sell.

Pros, what are you seeing in your neck of the woods?

Homeowners, what colors are you thinking of adding to your home?