Kitchen Organizing

pkeyren@gmail.com (pkeyren) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:20:00 -0800

Look in your kitchen and make a mental note of what belongs in there, what can be put away, what you don’t need anymore, etc. That's the first tip you can do in order to organizing your kitchen. Then, take everything out of your kitchen cabinets, clean, and place them back into different categories such as glasses, plates, baking trays and so on. Use one shelf for dry foods such as cereals, pasta, etc. Use another for canned goods, and so on. Use baskets in your pantries for smaller items like stock cubes and gravy mixes. If your cabinets are organized you will save a lot of time during cooking. By simply using a wall-mounted or counter top spice rack you can save a lot of cabinet space and have your spices close at hand. Clearly label your spices and place the ones you use more often towards the front of the rack. Take a look through and throw out any items you many not need. Place small baskets in there to store items like batteries, clips and all those other interesting things we seem to collect in our kitchens. Buy an inexpensive plastic dish drainer and place it under your sink. These make it easy for you to organize cleaning products, sponges, etc. The last having an area to set up a specific place for the telephone, messages, keys, etc in order to save you tons of time and you won’t loose messages or mail.

Kitchen Faucet Trends

pkeyren@gmail.com (pkeyren) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:59:00 -0800

There is no question that the kitchen is one of the most important and busiest rooms in the home. It's the family's gathering place, the room to entertain friends and guests, and the place of culinary inspiration for an ambitious home cook. The evolution of the kitchen from a mere utilitarian space to the main hub in the house has accelerated over the last couple of decades, and all the products that make up a kitchen are continually redesigned, reengineered and updated.
There are a lot of things happening simultaneously in modern kitchen design, making it hard to put a finger on one overriding trend in kitchen faucet design. It is rather a variety of developments in design and functionality that industry experts are witnessing. "One development that most experts agree on is the growing popularity of contemporary and transitional designs," says Les Petch, senior product manager for Kohler kitchen faucets. "Partly driving this trend is the desire of homeowners for products that make a strong design statement but also provide great functionality and are easy to clean."
Parallel to this development, industry experts have noticed a more eclectic product selection, in which contemporary and traditional products are mixed and matched in the same kitchen setting. For instance, stainless steel appliances are combined with a Tuscan kitchen to freshen up the look, or a farmhouse apron-front sink is paired with a professionally looking pull-down kitchen faucet to add functionality.
With the growing popularity of undercounter sinks, as well as sinks without an integrated faucet platform, the classic bridge design is rapidly reemerging in different kitchen faucet applications ranging from modern to traditional. This is caused in part by the fact that undercounter sinks are ideal for deck-mount bridge designs because if the sink is already predrilled with three holes, the middle hole that is not needed with a bridge-style faucet will be concealed by the countertop. In a drop-in or tile-in installation, the sink rests on the countertop exposing the middle hole.
While deck-mount faucets remain popular because of the added functionality of an integrated or separate spray option, wall-mount kitchen faucets are also gaining appeal. Trade professionals and homeowners alike are drawn to this installation style because it offers easy cleaning of the sink surface-be it in the kitchen or bathroom-and it lends a clean, uncluttered aesthetic to the room.
Industry experts have also witnessed a trend to integrate secondary sinks and faucets in the kitchen. "An increasing number of homeowners appreciate the added convenience of a secondary sink area, be it for food preparation or entertaining. And choosing the right faucet can help achieve the desired look and performance," says Petch. The food prep sink is a secondary sink that calls for a faucet with spray functionality and hot and cold water, while the entertainment faucet can make do with cold water only, possibly equipped with a water filtration system. "One notable realization is that even if the product selection is diverse, homeowners like the kitchen faucets of their primary and secondary sinks to share similar design lines," comments Petch.
In terms of colors, there is a visible shift to include different faucet finishes in the kitchen than the standard polished chrome or stainless steel. Progressive designers and homeowners increasingly select textured and darker finishes like brushed nickel or bronze.
"Appearance is an important factor in the selection of a kitchen faucet, but the key feature of every kitchen faucet is its functionality," explains Petch. "A working kitchen faucet, be it primary or secondary, has to deliver on both these needs." The unequivocal winners in the functionality contest are the pull-down and pullout models, which meld ergonomics and performance into one product. In the case of a wall-mount kitchen faucet or a deckmount version without an integrated spray, a coordinated sidespray will serve the same purpose.
Lastly, hygiene is of paramount importance in the kitchen environment. Some recent introductions of electronic sensor faucets and innovative faucet systems to deliver filtered water have brought significant progress in this area. Electronic sensor faucets have been placed in the spotlight because they greatly help cooks avoid cross contamination in the kitchen, while filtered water has been a basic need in many kitchens for a long time.
"At Kohler, we have worked hard at expanding our kitchen faucet offering to cover every possible need in terms of design, performance, and functionality," says Petch. "And we believe we have made great strides toward accomplishing that goal."

source: National Kitchen and Bath Association.

pkeyren@gmail.com (pkeyren) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:54:00 -0800

pkeyren@gmail.com (pkeyren) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:51:00 -0800

Besides it’s function as a place for cooking or preparing food, the kitchen can be the center of other activities as well, especially within homes. The kitchen may also be the place where the family eats, provided it is large enough and has a table and chairs. Sometimes, the kitchen is the most comforting room in a house, where family and visitors tend to congregate. In this respect a kitchen is still the psychological "hearth" of the home.

k i t c h e n s p e c i a l i s t

Kitchen Organizing

Kitchen Faucet Trends