Kitchen 20/20 » Lighting

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.

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

Send Us Your Questions!

martin — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 17:11:11 +0000

Are you designing a new kitchen?
Looking for ways to spruce up the one you have?
Trying to decide between granite and marble?
Thinking about a downdraft vent? A pot rack? German vs. Japanese Knives?
How about the best way to light kitchen island?

When it comes to kitchens there are a lot of questions. We don’t have all the answers but we probably know where to find the answers we don’t have and we’ve been through the entire kitchen design/build process hundreds of times. So, pick our brains!

We’ll post the answers to questions that we think apply to our readers in general and the occasional odd, funny or disastrous ones (to help you avoid going down the same path).

For the rest, we’ll reply by email.
All you have to do is send us a brief question via Email. Please limit your questions to one per email. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Martin and Richard

Fast Kitchen Upgrades: Under-Cabinet Lighting

martin — Sat, 09 Oct 2004 00:18:10 +0000

Want to enhance the experience of working in your kitchen without a major makeover? One of the easiest and least expensive ways to improve any kitchen is by adding under-cabinet lighting.

Lighting for kitchens generally falls into three categories: General lighting (like that big round light in the middle of the ceiling), ambient (wall washers that illuminate art, etc.) and task. Task lighting is any light that makes using your kitchen easier and, hands down, under-cabinet lighting is the best task lighting. Yet most kitchens we see don’t have it.
Under-cabinet lighting illuminates your counter worksurfaces without shadows. Usually halogen low voltage fixtures are used that have a low profile and mount directly to the bottom of your upper cabinets, either on the surface or recessed. You can buy them at most home centers and they can either be hardwired to a wall switch by an electrician (the preferred route) or plug into a wall socket and operate with a line switch. Installing can be as easy as peel and stick and plug in.
Once you’ve installed these you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without them. It literally makes any kitchen a much more enjoyable place to hang out. And they’re relatively inexpensive depending on how many you install and what type of installation you choose.
You can see several examples of these fixtures on the ylighting.com website listed in our Kitchen Resources List.