Kitchen 20/20 » Counters

Do you want to blog about your kitchen remodeling project?

martin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:48:00 +0000

We’re looking for a few intrepid homeowners who would like to share your experiences during a kitchen remodeling project- good, bad, surprising, cool, etc. Photos would be very dyson* too. We’ve been through many kitchen projects but most have been as designers rather than our own, although we’ve done that too.

If you’re interested send us a note at sammy at supernaturalagency dot com. Tell us a little bit about your project, where it stands, your design approach, budget range, etc. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

*There’s a movement afoot to turn the word ‘dyson’ into a replacement for the word ‘cool’, as in Dyson (vacuum cleaner) sucks- opposite of which is doesn’t suck= cool. Whatever.

The lowdown on bamboo flooring and counters

martin — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:07:40 +0000

Bamboo is the hottest new flooring material, not only for its sleek look but also because it comes from a sustainable resource- bamboo plants only take five years or less to mature. For kitchens, bamboo offers a tough, easy to clean organic floor material that comes in a variety of finishes. Pricing ranges from $5-10 sq.ft plus installation which can add another $3-5.

The NYTimes has a great article on this eco-friendly alternative to hardwood flooring. Bamboo is also a usable and attractive material for counter and work surfaces because it is water-resistant, ten times as dense as oak and easily installed by any carpenter or cabinetmaker.

Introducing Kitchen Design Insights

martin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:07:14 +0000

We have just launched a sister site called Kitchen Design Insights that offers a complete guide to the entire kitchen design process from initial planning to finished construction. The site covers everything from cabinets to appliances, from contractors to architects- you name it.

Be sure to bookmark it as we are just beginning to add Photo Galleries, expanded Resource Sections and more.

Visit: www.KitchenDesignInsights.com

Glass Tiles are hot!

martin — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 19:36:29 +0000

Glass tiles have been around since the heyday of ancient Rome but I’m guessing they’ve never been as hot as they are today. We all like sparkly things and glass tile is the ultimate in kitchen bling. Check out this photo gallery for a lot of ideas. Using glass tiles as a backsplash is a great way to create depth, a reflective wall in an otherwise dim area and add a shot of color. Combined with LED undercabinet lighting, the tiles create a great look, especially at night.

Other uses include counters (they are quite durable) especially in non-food prep areas like seating areas (we’re not crazy about tile in food prep areas because the grout can be hard to keep clean) and accent areas like the faces of islands.

Glass tiles require specialized installation because of their transparency- you don’t want to see some ugly adhesive under your beautiful tile. Most professional tile installers can handle it. There is detailed info on installation here.

How to tile a backsplash, version 2

martin — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:36:57 +0000

One of our most popular articles here is about tile backsplashes. We took a look around for more information on how to tile a backsplash and found this decent article courtesy of Lowes Home Improvement. Tile is not a typical do-it-yourself project but a simple backsplash can be a great way to learn the basics of tile because it does not require the complex preparation that most tile jobs require. This is because backsplashes don’t have standing water on them, nor are they carrying loads like a counter that can crack if the substrate isn’t rock solid.
One of the great things about doing tile is what happens when you grout the tile and do the final step of cleaning the finished product. It’s very satisfying to see a messy-looking job turn into a beautifully finished tile wall almost instantly.