Three wishes for Gold Notes’ next 12 months

I’ve had great fun working on Gold Notes these past three years, and sharing “threesomes” with you throughout this July anniversary month. This post marks my 150th -- woo hoo!

I’ve especially enjoyed and appreciated the many guest posts by friends from across the blogosphere. Thank you, Arne Salvesen, Becky Shankle, Allan Dallatorre, La Jolla Mom, Debbie Schaeffer and Bob Borson.

I’ll continue working on Gold Notes going forward, keeping as close to my regular weekly posting schedule as possible and bringing you as much timely design information as I can. That is sometimes a challenge, given other demands on my time and achieving that rare work/life balance we all aspire to. (Thank heavens for Blogger's scheduling feature, which I only figured out how to use this season!)

My first wish for Gold Notes’ next year is including even more guest posts. Regular readers already know my Sensible Style point of view. I think it benefits all of us to get insights from others with knowledge beyond my scope.

For example, last month I brought you a terrific guest post on outdoor kitchens by the pros at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. This was not an advertisement for their brand – Gold Notes hasn’t accepted advertising to date – but great suggestions from a leading industry source. My own experience with outdoor kitchens is limited. Theirs certainly isn’t, so we all gain from the info.

In Gold Notes' past three years of publishing, I've also brought you lighting tips from Vicky Lodge, technology insight from David Van Wert, appliance expertise by Julie Warner and so many more! Thank you all!!!


My second wish for Gold Notes’ next year is to increase my readership. It’s already grown considerably since its launch in July 2008 and I thank you for that. I’d like to grow it even more in the next 12 months, which is where you come in. Please let me know what types of posts you’d like to see here, or send me questions you’d like me to answer online. If you value the information I’m including, please also share it with anyone you know who would also benefit from reading it, or share it on the social networking sites you use, linked below. Thank you.


My third wish, and this may be beyond 2012, given other commitments on my calendar -- including a kitchen idea book I'm writing for Taunton -- I’d like to see my Sensible Style series, launched in partnership with Kitchens.com in 2009, collected into a book. I would include added-value content, like bathroom information not currently online, useful checklists and industry resources, that I believe will be of value to those seeking to update their homes in these challenging times.

Thank you, contributors and readers alike, for helping make Gold Notes a regular read for design enthusiasts.

Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS
JAMIE GOLDBERG KITCHEN AND BATH DESIGN
San Diego, CA

Guest post by Becky Shankle: Three reasons not to buy an Ikea kitchen

Gold Notes' three-year-anniversary continues! Because of this special celebration, you're getting three posts a week throughout July. This is the latest, and the second of two IKEA-themed guest posts.

Last time, I shared Becky Shankle's insights on three IKEA kitchen benefits. This time, I'm sharing her IKEA concerns. Let me add an important caveat here: If you use an IKEA-savvy firm like Becky's Eco-Modernism, you can potentially overcome the negatives she shares here. Here then are Becky's thoughts on the matter:


RTA translates into time and labor

IKEA invented the flat packing (RTA, or ready-to-assemble) concept. It’s a way to significantly cut transportation costs since an un-assembled box takes up less space than an assembled one. That savings gets passed to the customer, but so does the responsibility of putting it all together.


Customer service

It’s hard to get a human on the phone, much less one in the kitchen department. Chances are very high that you will be unable to have an ongoing conversation with the same kitchen planner who helps you in the store. Either their schedule doesn’t line up with yours, or they’re busy with another customer at the store. Or they’ve moved on to another job – turnover is also a problem.

[On a related non-customer-friendly note], IKEA has a tendency to switch out vendors in the middle of production runs. Which is great if they get a better deal, but far from great if something needs replacing during an installation. More often than not, the new supplier’s product is not an exact match to the old supplier’s product.


Kitchen planner software

I’ve been a CAD designer for 25 years. I’m used to 100 percent accuracy of every fraction of an inch when I design. IKEA’s planner software leaves a lot to be desired. If I have trouble with it, I can’t imagine the hair pulling going on with people who have no CAD or 3D experience. Big learning curve, there.

Designed and installed by Becky Shankle and Eco-Modernism

Final thoughts

All that being said, for the money, IKEA cabinets are a great choice. We design and install with them every day. Having done custom work prior, they get the thumbs up for speed, durability and style. Everything else in the plus column is icing on the cake.

***

Be sure to check out Becky's first guest post: Three reasons to buy an Ikea kitchen.

Guest post by Becky Shankle: Three reasons to buy an Ikea kitchen

Being that Gold Notes celebrates its third anniversary this month, I’m running three posts a week, not just one, throughout July. This one was contributed by one of my favorite Twitter “tweeps,” @ecomod, aka Becky Shankle.

I met Becky about three months too late. I had an architect client last winter who really wanted IKEA kitchens for the condo building he designed. He just didn’t want the hassle that comes with managing all the parts and pieces and having them assembled on site. Becky would have been the perfect resource for that project.

Becky’s kitchen design and installation company, Eco-Modernism, makes IKEA work for her clients around the country. She knows how to design in, assemble, install and, when necessary, modify these popular cabinets. Being as hands-on smart as she is with IKEA, I asked Becky to write a guest post for Gold Notes readers on the pros and cons of an IKEA kitchen. Here are her insights in the first of two guest posts. This one focuses on the pros, rather than the cons.


Frameless/Euro style cabinet construction

Frameless construction uses less resources. There is no face frame on the front of the box, which means there are also no obstructions to visually scanning cabinet contents, or accessing them.

No face frame equals less materials and less labor to build. Most cabinets have full overlay doors these days, which means you can’t see the frame. Why spend money where it won’t be seen?



Shelves can also span the full cabinet depth, instead of stopping short because of the face frame. Three-quarters of an inch doesn’t sound like much, but multiply it by 24 inches and that’s a loss of 18 square inches of precious storage area per shelf. Multiply that by three shelves and it’s a whopping 54 square inches [four and a half feet].

Under cabinet task lights can span more than one box, because the cabinet bottoms are flush. This means you can get a single longer light in lieu of two or more separate fixtures. Less wiring equals less labor to hookup.


Hardware

Not the pretty stuff on the outside. The robust, beefy stuff on the inside. Like concealed hinges, drawer slides and soft closures. IKEA uses Blum Tandembox Plus drawer slides with Blumotion closers. That means you can load up 50 kg (90ish pounds) in a drawer and it won’t pinch your fingers or wake up the neighbors when it closes.

Swinging doors have Blum’s soft closers also. And unlike a custom shop, these bells come standard on every box; there is no upcharge per hinge or drawer.


Financials

The average kitchen that comes from IKEA is about 14 boxes and retails for about $3600 to $4000 and installation. That includes all the cabinets, toe kicks, light skirts, cover panels, fillers and hardware. An identical kitchen from Lowe’s with similar construction is $16,000 installed.

Modern cabinet style lovers can have the look and functionality of much higher-end product lines like Poggenpohl and Scavolini at a fraction of the cost and delivery time. IKEA usually delivers in less than 10 days.

Good stuff: IKEA kitchen by Becky Shankle and Eco-Modernism

IKEA warranties their cabinets for 25 years. That’s enough time for avocado green and harvest gold to come back in style. In other words, most kitchens get a face lift every couple of decades, on average. [So this warranty comes pretty close to many higher-priced manufacturer's lifetime warranties for cabinets costing much less. Many discount manufacturers only offer five-year warranties. JG]

***

Next up: Three reasons not to buy an Ikea kitchen