$20k House Project
This is a project that evolved out of the Rural Studio project in which a professor from Auburn took a team to architecture students into the country to build a socially responsible house. The project now takes that focus and shifts it somewhat into a focus on the community.
Check out this video about one of the original projects:
The new project’s blog can be found here. This is such a neat project that simply boils down design into its fundamentals and our motivations behind why we do what we do.
For further consideration:
Rural Studio 2011’s Joanne’s House
WSJ Profiles latest Rural Studio $20K House
Mick de Guilo’s 11 Things Every Kitchen Should Have
Christine Pittel writes for House Beautiful about the 11 Essential Things Every Kitchen Should Have according to designer Mick de Guilo. Its a nice whimsical list that is worth investigating further. De Guilio makes design interesting by pairing disparate materials in a cohesive manner. So, it is interesting to consider what he deems are the essentials of a good kitchen design.
His first three essentials are natural light, comfort, and visual texture. Natural light is by far one of the most underrated elements to producing an inviting kitchen. With the right natural light treatment you can dramatically alter the way a kitchen is perceived. To add a level of comfort he suggests incorporating soft seating, a TV, or a fireplace. Some element that relaxes the overall feel of the kitchen as a cold and solely functional setting. Lastly he likes to use a mixture woods, materials, patterns to personalize the space.
Stainless Steel is his fourth must. He enjoys it’s “organic quality” as it ages over time. I disagree somewhat with this essential. Though stainless steel can be a nice addition to the right kitchen, it is not always the right choice for some kitchens. In fact, I find stainless steel to add a clinical quality to some kitchens.
Essentials five and six are the island and a great sink. Islands are fairly common in today’s kitchens, and is almost worthy of it’s own blog post! In fact, according to a National Home Builders Association survey 80% of home buyers consider a kitchen island desirable or essential. Sinks are part of the work triangle and as such are definitely key components in a kitchen. A great sink that is functional, well-placed, aesthetically pleasing, and durable is essential.
Essentials seven and eight are integrated refrigeration and high-performance appliances. These will accent any well thought out kitchen. I agree that placing panels on integrated refrigeration can help to hide that unseemly huge box. This is especially true in today’s age of size matters most attitude towards refrigeration.
The last three essentials: a hook, a kitchen designer, and ice cream are truly a requirement in a great kitchen design!
For further consideration:
Kitchens have become home centerpieces
Top 10 Modern Kitchen Design Trends
Kitchen Cabinet Trends Marry Style, Function
Matthew Quinn’s 25 Top Kitchen Tips
Matthew Quinn, of Design Galleria Kitchen and Bath Studio in Atlanta, gives 25 tips on Kitchen Design. I especially like tip # 14 that confronts the differences between functionality and aesthetics when choosing a range, wall oven, or both. A well designed kitchen doesn’t need to always be a trade off between the two. Sometimes beauty and use can sit nicely side by side and accentuate each other!
Check out the whole listing of tips in the the article here.
How to Test and Reseal Granite Countertops
The topic of resealing granite comes up quite a bit it since granite is such a popular surfacing material. Granite is a naturally porous material and must be sealed when it is installed and throughout the life of the product. The question is when and how to do it again! With traditional products the time to reseal will vary. There are also now products that are warrantied for a longer period of time or even life against staining.
Here is a post from OneProjectCloser about testing and resealing granite.
Whirlpool Latin America teams up with FINEP
Check out what Whirlpool is doing in conjunction with financing from the Brazilian government. This kitchen design is all about inclusion, functionality, aesthetic appeal, and maximizing space! Look at how the center platform moves and adjusts to different tasks. Laundry, cooking, food storage, water filtration. Wow! Oh … and it looks to be modular.
Add Rope Lighting under Toekick on Vanity Cabinets
Lifehacker posts about adding rope lighting underneath the toekick of your vanity cabinets in order to never stub your toes again. This can give a pretty neat effect. I’ve used this technique to decent ends before underneath toekicks as well as above crown moldings, inside cabinetry, and behind panels. It really softens the light, and would beat the heck out of night lights.
You will want to be somewhat careful as to where the rope lighting will be placed and its relationship to the potential for contact with water.
FREE Tutorials on 20-20 Design v8.1 CAD software for kitchen design
20-20 Technologies has made the tutorials for 20-20 Design v8.1 free to the public now that the v9 has been released. This is free training for anyone interested, and I couldn’t see why anyone would not take advantage of it if they are still using the old version. Even someone who has taken the classes before could use a little refresher every now and then.
Check them out here.
Kitchen Safety
I recently ran across this article on Demesne and thought it a worthy read. We should be aware of kitchen safety from conception of a kitchen layout and design to daily use of a kitchen. There are so many dangers from cooking (burns and scalding) to prep (cutting) to storage (food safety). HowStufWorks hosts this article on kitchen dangers.
Kitchen safety starts with good kitchen design such as proper clearances around cooking centers, positioning a visible fire extinguisher near a doorway, maintaining clearances for work aisles, keeping the work triangle out of major traffic flow patterns, etc.
How to Build a Pub Table and Stools
I’ve been flirting around with the idea of building a dining room table and chairs to match. While researching that project I came along this series from Lowe’s Shop Class hosted by Keith Flippen. It seems to be a fairly straight forward project that would be easy to tackle.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Maybe soon I will have some pictures to post!
How to Shorten Blinds
Windows come in all shapes and sizes. Blinds do not unless special ordered. However, if you can locate the correct width or have it cut down to size in store, then shortening most blinds is an easy task to undertake. It requires a few tools, a little time, and just a bit of patience!
Check out this video on how to shorten fauxwood blinds. It also applies to most mini blinds and real wood blind installations as well.
If you were thinking something more along the lines of a roll up blind in fabric or a shade check this out:
How to shorten fabric/vinyl blinds