Four Favorite American Design Ideals

Tomorrow, our nation celebrates its 236th birthday and the ideals of freedom and democracy on which the United States of America were founded. Happy Birthday, USA! 


This whole month, I’m celebrating Gold Notes’ fourth birthday. Today marks its 202th post. For my Independence Day-inspired Four Favorites, I thought I’d honor those American ideals that elevate kitchen and bath design. 


Innovation 


The Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights were two of the most innovative documents ever created for the governance of people. They were liberating and inspiring. Innovation continues to liberate and inspire. Microwave ovens and dishwashers have added dramatically to the convenience of kitchen work. The development of induction cooktops and application-rich smart phones and tablets take innovation even further. 

Amana debuts the first microwave oven
Photo Courtesy of Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation

Quality 


Made in America has always meant well-constructed products designed to last a lifetime. It still does, and this provides a valuable counterpoint to flimsy imports that offer style but no substance. You see these imports imitating American designs on discount shelves and web sites everywhere. There’s no savings in buying something you’ll have to pay to remove and replace in a year or two when it fails. 

High quality Waterstone Faucets are made in America
Photo Courtesy of  Waterstone

Individuality 


The rugged individual has always been an American archetype. Symbolized by the cowboy above all, it’s this celebration of one person’s ability to define his or her own destiny that has become the embodiment of our freedom. 


This individualism has inspired the founding of companies like Vent-A-Hood, Apple Computer, Sub-Zero Wolf, Thermador, Viking, GE and so many others that have enriched our homes and lives. Their founders believed there was a home on the range for their idea. They were right. 

Vent-A-Hood invented the kitchen ventilation hood
Photo Courtesy of  Vent-A-Hood

Compassion 


Americans are a compassionate people. We’ve donated millions to tsunami relief in Asia, earthquake relief in Haiti and hurricane and tornado support to our own neighbors. Our military leads medical missions around the world and the Peace Corps continues its invaluable work abroad. 


When Katrina hit New Orleans and the surrounding area, I was working for The Home Depot as a Tampa, FL-based kitchen designer. I was so proud of our company for getting supplies into the hurricane-ravaged area when FEMA couldn’t, and for sending teams to the affected areas to help out. They also paid employees for food replacements when they went without power and lost the contents of their refrigerators and freezers. I will always remember that about my former employer. 

Home Depot volunteers getting ready to help tornado survivors in Joplin, MO
Photo Courtesy of The Home Depot

Happy Fourth of July, Gold Notes readers!

Four Favorite Products I Can't Specify Down South - Nick Lovelady of Cupboards

I first met Nick Lovelady, kitchen designer and blogger extraordinaire on Twitter through his hilarious, tongue-in-cheek @cupboards tweets.  We actually met in person for the first time at last year's Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and saw each other again a few weeks ago at a Bosch-Blanco blogger event.  Nick is another Blogger 19 buddy, one of the 2.0 folks, as I call them, who went to Brizo's Fashion Week program after we OGs (original gangsters!) attended in February 2010.  


I couldn't resist asking this adorable 'Bama boy to write about Four Favorite Products he can't specify in the South and was absolutely tickled when he said yes.  Nick gets it when I share that my Central Florida clientele considered Shaker modern.  I'm thrilled to have his wit and wisdom as my second Four Favorites guest poster this week.   Here you go, y'all!
 

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Big thanks to Jamie for asking me to chime in on some design aspects that we just don’t see that much in the rather rural Southern United States. Historically, kitchen design in the South has been largely traditional. Designers who have a flare for the ultra-modern, (which we’ll talk about), and lots of color and funky elements may not find an eager group of potential clients down in our neck of the woods. BUT that doesn’t mean that we don’t like that stuff! Here are four kitchen elements I’d love to specify sometime soon in the South. 


Super Modern Cabinetry


In all of my years of kitchen design, I’ve completed ONE slab door kitchen and have one in the hopper right now. Both were still very traditional and matte. I want some gloss! 

Photo from Home Dsgn: Interior Design and Inspirational Homes 

Glass Counters


Glass counters completely mesmorize me. Maybe I’m distracted by shiny things. Glass counters have come a long way in recent years and have now become a viable option for both counter and backsplash material. My customers typically think it’s too modern and are apprehensive to take the plunge. 

Photo from ThinkGlass

Black Cabinets


This one is a bit perplexing. Black cabinets can fit in easily to the typical traditional styling of many Southern homes. Black has become a neutral and allows homeowners TONS of options when it comes to accessories and other kitchen elements. 

Photo from Apartment Therapy

Wild Ventilation  


Why not have the vent hood be the conversation piece in the kitchen… Better yet, it’s like art! I love the wild curves and colors available in ventilation right now, (especially those from Best, like shown).  In addition to being pretty awesome looking, they function exceptionally well. 

Photo from Best 

So there you have it, a quick round of products I’d love to see gain some momentum here in the heart of Dixie. 

Thanks again, Jamie, for letting me sit in! 

Three appliances on my wish list

Here's another "Threesome," in honor of Gold Notes' third anniversary this month. Throughout July, I'm bringing you three posts a week, each featuring a trio of information.

This one is about my own place. I’d like to update the kitchen in the townhome I purchased last November. Strictly speaking, Chez J's kitchen is just fine. Since the place was built in 2006 and I’m only the second owner, things are new and in pretty good shape. They’re just not in Jamie shape! The one non-functioning item that needed to be changed was a pull-out faucet that wouldn't swivel. Thankfully, it's gone now! I wrote about this in my first home update post a few months ago.

I also added a tilt-out tray in front of the sink to store scrubbers and scrapers, a double pull-out for trash and recycling, and drawer organizers for spices, cutlery and utensils. There are many more things I'd like to do, including swap out some of the appliances. Here are the changes I'd like to make in that regard.

I’ve never been a fan of over-the-range microwaves, especially above gas cooktops. I’d like to ditch them both, in favor of a dedicated vent hood and induction range. Here’s the range hood I’d like to get, which may not even require changing the cabinet above. As I wrote last March after returning from Vent-A-Hood training in Dallas, I believe their Magic Lung system to be the best on the market. This Nouveau Pro, which will be considerably quieter than the fan on the current micro, will be a big improvement, and should hook up to the current vent, as well.




I would love an induction range with a warming drawer. (I could save myself some money and go with an induction cooktop, leaving the single oven in place below, but then I wouldn’t get the warming drawer!) Right now, there aren’t many on the market. Hopefully, by the time my to-do list rolls around to this project, I’ll have more choices. If I were to buy one today, I’d go for this Kenmore Elite 4500.




Since I’ll be swapping out my current microwave with a vent fan, I’m going to need a replacement for it. My ideal would be a combination microwave/convection/steam oven. When I got back from Viking training a couple of years ago, I was totally sold on the benefits of steam cooking, but I don’t have room for two ovens.

KitchenAid has created this power trio, but is only offering it as the upper half of a double oven right now ((KEHU309SSS), I’ve been told. I’m hoping that changes by the time I’m ready to take on this project! Currently, the combination oven has a drop-down door, whereas every standard single microwave on the market has a left-hinge door. A left-hinge simply won’t work in the right corner where I want the new microwave to go. This is true for many client projects, as well. Designers have been asking for right hinge microwaves for years now but no one, to the best of my knowledge, has met the need yet.