Three more kitchen wish list items

Last time, I shared my three personal appliance wishes for Gold Notes’ third anniversary “threesome” celebration. There are more changes I’d like to make to my own – aka Chez J’s – townhome kitchen.

I would dearly love to replace the Santa Cecilia granite countertops with black engineered stone. These will be easier maintenance – i.e., no sealing required – and more to my taste. I like Silestone’s Tao, which mimics Absolute Black granite, with an eased edge and undermount sink. When the cabinets are eventually painted white and the wood floor installed, it’ll be a classic look. (It’ll work with the current cinnamon finish in the meantime.) Although I really like the look of honed stone, polished shows fingerprints less, so I’ll go that Sensible Style route!




I’d also like to add a decorative backsplash. While I love the look of decorative tile, I abhor the maintenance associated with grout. That’s why I’m looking at Caesarstone’s Motivo as my backsplash of choice. It offers the low maintenance of engineered stone with a subtle pattern that will complement my kitchen. It’s currently available only in white; I’m hoping there are more colors, including a soft cream, when I’m ready to install one. This material will also face my living room fireplace, tying the two spaces together.




I would also like to change out the flooring. The existing tan 12 inch ceramic tile is easy to live with, certainly, but I’d prefer to have a wood floor throughout the main living areas, including the kitchen. This will be a large, expensive undertaking. It will also entail figuring out what to do with the dishwasher. The wood floors will be thicker than the tile and lock the dishwasher in place if I don’t plan carefully. This classic Amber Valley Oak by Lumber Liquidators, or something comparable, will go with the cabinets and my furniture.

SENSIBLE STYLE - Backsplash Bling

I recently purchased a townhome, which I plan to update over the coming months and years. So when Kitchens.com's editor extraordinaire, Kim Sweet, suggested a Sensible Style post on backsplash ideas, I thought, perfect...That's one of the items on my project list. So while I check out what's new and sensibly stylish for y'all, I'll be researching resources for Chez J, too!

Currently, my kitchen has a four-inch splash of the same material as the countertop. The 14 inches between splash top and wall cabinets is painted the same shade as the rest of the kitchen. I'm betting many of you have the same arrangement in your kitchen, if it hasn't been remodeled. Most production builders use this formula.


Practical Pointers

Here are some things to take into account before finalizing any backsplash plans or buying any material:

• If you're planning on changing your countertops, as I am, do that before you change your backsplash. Otherwise, there's an excellent chance it will get damaged during the top removal. You're also giving yourself potential fit issues unnecessarily.
• Consider whether you want to use the opportunity of new wall coverings to add lights under your wall cabinets first. Again, you don't want to rip out your new splash to accommodate wiring later.
• Overall kitchen electrical placement needs to be factored into your backsplash design, too, so that a focal point isn't marred by an unfortunate disposal switch or GFCI label!
• Consider the grout color your selected backsplash colors dictate. My experience in Florida convinced me that I don't ever, ever, ever want to have white grout in my kitchen again -- not on the floors, not on the walls, not in this lifetime, never at all! I found it incredibly hard to keep white, even with a talented housekeeper. (If you have a cleaning solution that unfailingly works, dear readers, please share it with the group.)
• Consider the maintenance issues required for your selected backsplash material. Will it need to be sealed periodically, like marble or granite? If so, how often, and who will handle this added chore?
• If you are planning a focal point for your backsplash, be sure you've got the right scale and space for it. You're going to need enough room not just for the design element, but for field tile above and below to frame it. Usually, a range hood will accommodate this scale. An over-the-range microwave won't give you space for a major statement.
• Consider the durability of the material. How will it stand up to a pot handle being banged against it?
• Consider the "trendiness" of the material. Will it date your kitchen in five years? Will you still love it after the fad expires, as they always do?
• Determine whether you want a backsplash organizing system. If so, factor its visual clutter and hardware requirements into your backsplash design plan.

Tile Style

Tile is one of the most popular choices for kitchen backsplashes, and it offers tremendous versatility. Tile itself is a very durable material. You can find tile floors in Rome, Greece, Morocco and Spain that are centuries - even millennia - old and still beautiful. It's the grout component that can be challenging. As I so strenuously noted above, I try to avoid white grout in kitchens as much as possible. Here are some tile backsplash options that can look great with less work.

Have fun with ModDots by Modwalls

Update a classic: Debris Series recycled subway tile by Fireclay

Add drama with Modern Mythology by Crossville

Other Ideas

While most of the kitchens you'll see published have tile backsplashes, they aren't your only option. Here are some viable alternatives:

• Tin tiles can install on a backsplash instead of on the ceiling. They're usually perfectly sized for this space, too, with the standard being six by six inches and a full-height backsplash being 18. There are so many color and pattern options to choose from now; you're no longer limited to vintage-look silver! Tin tiles are also typically pretty easy to maintain, which certainly fits many of our lifestyles.

Be a tin man (or woman) with ceiling tiles by The American Tin Ceiling Co.

• Paint can be your backsplash's (and budget's) best friend. One of my neighbors in Florida had a very handy husband. He painted a harlequin backsplash for her that looked just like tile - without the work or cost. Because he used kitchen-friendly paint, cooking splashes just rubbed right off! It was also an incredibly economic solution.

Chez J's Splash of Choice!

Here's the option I'm seriously considering. I love pattern, and I love easy maintenance. Caesarstone's Motivo offers both, along with great durability and style. I believe this floral relief will suit the transitional style of my townhome's kitchen (and fireplace surround), and work beautifully with the creamy white I've picked for the cabinets and solid black quartz countertops.

I'll be sure to post pictures when it's eventually installed done!


Add-on Opps

I often suggest to clients, and will implement this idea Chez J, that they carry the backsplash material into other areas of their public space. Natural opportunities for style extension include fireplace surrounds and powder room wainscoting. These also tend to be small areas that can be enhanced inexpensively because of the minimal material needed.

Depending on the material selected - e.g., porcelain stone - your backsplash material could become the powder room floor, rather than wainscot, or, if there's a medallion available in the tile series you selected for a backsplash, you could create a great companion focal point in the entry way.

KBIS 2009 - Bathroom Spotlight

Every year, the National Kitchen & Bath Association hosts the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show. At this trade-only event, manufacturers show off their new wares to kitchen and bath designers, dealers, builders, architects, reporters and remodelers.

Here are my favorite KBIS products for the bath. Last week, I posted my kitchen favorites.


HONED WHITE HEAVEN

Kohler has introduced a new white to the market. Unlike the shiny brights we're used to, the brand's new Honed White whispers in quiet elegance. It's available in many of their contemporary bathroom sinks and toilets, and would make a perfect finish choice for a spa bath. Also notable is the brand's new Moderne Brushed Gold finish. Like honed white, the new gold finish is soft and rich, not at all like the brassy golds of past years.




WHO'S THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL...

A Best of KBIS product award winner, Seura’s mirrors lead a secret life. When they’re not reflecting your visage, they’re broadcasting your favorite channel. Yes, Seura makes those clever televisions-concealed-in-mirrors you may have encountered in a hotel room. Now you can have one in your home, too, with contemporary or traditional frames, or frameless, as shown.



MOTIVO MOTIVATED

Caesarstone is well known for high-style stone countertops. Last year, they introduced their exquisite jeweled Concetto series. This year, they’ve outdone themselves with Motivo, a delicately-embossed surface that tops cabinets or resurfaces walls and furniture. It still brings the durability and easy-maintenance of quartz, but now it looks like nothing you’ve seen before and can’t get enough of. Can’t wait to use this in a client’s home!



MASTER SWEET

Normal 0 Now your master bath sinks can offer you filtered water, without the ugly filter! Rohl has introduced a line of traditional lavatory faucets with integrated filters. I'm hoping the shower faucets they're working on aren't far behind! This collection offers great taste in every respect!


VERY UPLIFTING!

Here's another innovation we didn't know we needed -- and now wonder how we did without it for so long. Robern has invented the Uplift, a medicine cabinet whose door slides upward. There's room within for a small television and all your med cab goodies. But it also leaves room for pendant lighting in front, and offers incredible capacity along with sleek style.



SMOOTH SWOON!

If it's possible to have a crush on a sink, this new Waza Noir Rectangular Lavatory by Toto is mine! I love its sculptural lines and velvet-like texture. It is so rich and smoothly-finished, it should be illegal to touch!



HOW VERY ILLUMINATING

Toto also earned my respect with its new series of Luminist lavs. Made of a translucent resin, the Luminists work with lighting you select and install to create a color-rich environment. I can see these working in a powder room or master bath, and recommned eco-friendly LED lighting.



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You may also enjoy these postings:

KBIS 2009 - Kitchen Spotlight
Style List #1 - The $150 Max Bath Edition
Smart & Stylish Storage for the Bath