Working designer tells all!
Posts tagged caesarstone
Pretty much the best sink ever
Apr 11th
Ok, so I know….some rolling of the eyes is happening…maybe a heavy sigh or two…but really, think about it….when you are redoing your kitchen…the sink might not be the first decision you make..but certainly becomes an important one when you begin cooking and cleaning!
Last week one of my clients was saying really nice things about his new kitchen on faceboook…thanks Scott!..( no pix yet..waiting to redo the adjacent laundry room!) and he commented that I had not blogged about about one of his favorite features of the new design his Blanco Siigranit sink. And he is right. And shame on me because I love it too. So, here you go!
SILGRANIT II is an enhanced blend of 80 percent natural granite and 20 percent acrylic resin (with ceramic components) making it easy to clean and scratch resistant and a terrific alternative to stainless steel. If your design will work with one of their 6 colors ( newest being Biscotti…a great neutral) then this is a sink you really must consider. There are 21 shapes to choose from and the price points are oh so very reasonable! (roughly list prices from $329 to $949).
My favorite would be the Blanco Performa. I love one bowl sinks and this sink is perfect and love the shape.
Blanco Performa
And the newest color, biscotti promises to add another lighter color to the mix. Currently there are 6 colors: antrhacite, white, biscuit,metallic gray, and biscotti.
In this last project we used Caesarstone Organic White countertops and gorgeous Artistic Tile for the backsplash in a style called “Carbono” and color is “taupe”. The custom cabinetry is a dark stained walnut. Gorgeous.
Caesarstone Organic White
Artistic Tile "Carbono" Taupe
Dark stained walnut
So we opted for the metallic gray color of silgranit which is perfect complement to the organic white and it even picks up some of the gray in the stone.
Why does my client say this is one of his favorite features of his new kitchen? Well, besides the fact that it looks really awesome and is the perfect choice for the modern, clean design…. it also shows no water spots. Nope, not a one. It is amazing. Couple this feature with it being heat resistant up to 536 degrees, completely non porous,and is scratch and stain resistant…
well, what is their not to like?
You can read more about Blanco sinks in this post written by Paul Anater at Kitchen and Residential Design or can get more info from Blanco by Design.
A Budget Mid-Century Modern Remodel in Kitchen Trends Magazine!
Jan 30th
Oh yeah, don’t think I am not excited! Kitchen Trends Magazine is a primo magazine for a designer to be in so I consider myself very lucky!
(click on the link to take you to the actual magazine pix)
It is a great kitchen for a lot of reasons, most of which have to do with the small budget and the smaller space. The clients are young working professionals and they were adding onto the house in the back for a master bath/bedroom addition. (note to self and to readers:This bath will be in next issue of Bathroom Trends…so they say! With magazines…you believe it when you see it!) This addition took most of the budget but we were able to get creative with the costs. For the record: The table and chairs that the mag prominently displayed were temporary left overs and we all hated it.
There was no great place to position the cooktop. The wall where the Ref/ovens/pantry is located is not as long as it seems. The pantry really is only 16 in deep due to obstructions behind it. And this area is right where the door from carport is located so not so great for a cooking area.
I wanted to keep from closing in the space so we designed a “table” to be home to the Jennair cooktop. The cool thing is this “table” is not made of stainless as it looks to be but Chemetal laminate. Savings Cha Ching! We wrapped it around a plywood substrate and chased the wires into the corner cabinet where we were able to put the electrical. Since the house was on a slab, this kept us from having to trench concrete. Savings Cha-Ching!
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Chemetal laminate legs and apron.A Futuro Hood is a great selection for modern design.
Chemetal laminate legs and apron.A Futuro Hood is a great selection for modern design.
We also encountered issues with getting new wiring to the hood, light in kitchen and the very cool and quite affordable George Kovacs aluminum pendant over the table. We ended up chasing wires along side the existing beams and then covering them. This was contractor’s idea and I thought it worked very well! Savings Cha Ching!
The countertop is Caesarstone blizzard and the backsplash is Artistic Tile \”Shimmer\” We exhausted the budget by this point and could not do the full splash originally discussed. But thanks to the wonderful talent of our tile guy John Hale/Flat Rock Tile, we were able to install the 12×24 shimmer in a vertical pattern to minimize the cuts for the most seamless look. And it worked great….at a substantial savings over the full splash of blizzard. Savings Cha Ching!
The tile goes behind the floating shelves as well.
The cabinets also have an aluminum toekick and are crafted from walnut. We applied a dark stain for almost an eggplant black hue. This works well with the purple walls the homeowner said was a “must”. But the darker cabinetry, simple white on the tops and the minimal backsplash really help the bold colors hit the high notes.
The other wall consists of a nice pantry with pullouts, Refrigerator, microwave, oven and a large but shallow dish pantry for all their “stuffs” ….That was a problem with limited wall space for any upper storage. This great pantry space houses almost all of their day to day dishware, bakeware and serving pieces thus leaving the 4 upper cabinets for glassware.
The utility walll.
Granted the dark cabinets/light counter combo could be considered played out. (we finished this job in mid 2008) But, the truth is the design fit the feel of the retro modern house, played well with the modern aesthetic the young couple favored, and most importantly fit into their pocketbook with some room to spare for the oh-so-cool light fixtures! We utilized existing where we could…dishwasher, moldings, and faucet. Savings Cha Ching!
Truth or Dare:
I would take one more dark coffee bean kitchen over the oh-so-overdone “smokers haze with a glaze” kitchen any day. To those of you who do not know me yet, that means the yellowy white painted cabinets with “chocolate” glaze that were so popular a few (dozen) years ago.
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A bit much for me. I keep expecting a curtain to drop from the tray ceiling soffit and someone to step out and take a bow. I wonder if they have to pack a sack lunch to get from the sink to the refrig to avoid going hungry on the trek?
