Andrew's Wiki
Our Kitchen (changes)

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Contracting Knowledge

• Don’t hire someone to do all the work him/herself b/c good ppl will get specialists
• Don’t go for the lowball quote; perhaps they don’t know what it all entails
• Put a pub in basement! Buy an unfinished basement to finish it at our leisure. Art nouveau, copper counters, pressed tin ceiling, acid green accessories, stained glass, lots of wrought iron.

Kitchen

• Cambria quartz is the made in America type
• Stovetop and oven in single unit
  • 36” stovetop
  • Cork floors; soapstone countertops; high-gloss European cabinetry (Andrew wants it in red or orange, but I’d consider white too); farmhouse sink and farmhouse table; white subway tile backsplash
    • Compromise: engineered quartz countertops for color splash
    • Alternative: a colored Lacanche or Aga range with white cabs
    • Alternative: honey-colored wood (mid color) like quarter-sawn oak with green or orange caesarstone countertops
  • One wall of pantry (single door from floor to ceiling)
• Kitchen table used like an island (but cooler than an island)
• Counters
  • Dream: soapstone or lavastone, with a bit of marble for pastry making.
  • Prefer no pattern or graining (want a perfect clean)
  • Quartz countertops (Cambria, Zodiaq, Caesarstone, Silestone, Okite, Spanish Quartz Compac, or the best rated Han Stone?), soapstone (steatite) countertop/sink (not serpentine, the fake soapstone)
    • We like Caeserstone Raven (“deep gray”), Blizzard, Absolute Noir
    • Silestone: Rosso Monza or Red Extreme, Orange Cool, Red Vital, Tao (black), White Zeus
      • If Silestone, don’t buy matte or leather (this will create nooks/crannies where dirt gets in)
  • porcelain slab (rather than tile)?
  • perhaps zinc? or pewter
    • or just one of these two for kitchen table/island
• Composite stone sink or soapstone sink
  • Radiused corners would be nice
  • Or 18-gauge stainless steel
  • Single bowl plus a prep sink elsewhere
  • Farmhouse/apron sink style with soapstone or with porcelain coated iron or integrated with caesarstone or undermounted
  • Fireclay sink? (Shaws Original Fireclay Apron Sink by Rohl or Franke)
  • May be nice to have the drain not in the center (think of reaching under dishes to unclog)
  • Consider wall-mounted faucet (for ease of cleaning)
• Andrew is interested in a pot-filler
• Floor: comfy for feet and back flooring
  • OR black and white cork tile! classic checkboard (perhaps in linoleum or marmoleum, good for environment!)
  • Cork can come in black and white tile; which is soft and quiet (can be used as under-layer for linoleum)
    • cork needs perfect subfloor (level), but floating
    • only problem is it can fade with sun
  • many suggest wood b/c it’s nice to stand on, despite need to keep it in good condition
    • there are some nice looking bamboos lately (renewable!)
    • could paint wood in black and white checkerboard to combine naturalness and comfort with design (plus you can sand the floors when you’re sick of the pattern)
      • make sure to use good enamel paint? or a good sealer?
  • You can get earth-colored grout that won’t show dirt; expoxy grout or silicone grout is better than cementious grout for staying clean
  • hardwood: get good quality; insist on glue and nails to put it in (white oak, hard maple) (floating subfloor even more comfy)
    • tongue in groove, finished on site, with rugs in front of stove and sink and pads on chairs/furniture legs
    • you can paint patterns on it
    • need to make sure there won’t be any gaps (crap to accumulate)
• A good place for the garbage can?
• Lights under cabinets need to be ones that don’t generate a lot of heat (ex: xenon, not halogen)
• Unfitted kitchen: freestanding cabinetry of good quality, with big kitchen table in the middle
  • see them here
  • and here
• Look at this refrigerator
  • Electrolux fridges have open front too
• Cabinet-fronted drying racks for washed dishes directly above the sink for dripping dry
• Great page about kitchen counters
• Floor dust trap
  • ie you sweep into it; then you take out the hatch for emptying
  • OR hook it up with central air system to vacuum it out; suction vents
• Fridge flush with cabinets (if can have extra deep freeze somewhere else) or consider undercabinet drawer fridge
  • danger: not enough room for condiments, etc (so see if you can back the refrigerator up into the next room to keep it flush with counters!) or you can install lazy susans in your fridge to rotate your condiments!
  • Miele/Thermador, Liebherr, Jenn-Air
  • Klondike Case
    • see through beauties! plus I could have one “unit” just for dairy and baking (sub-zero now makes glass door unit)
  • personally, I don’t like French door config, and I prefer freezer on bottom (so that fridge stuff is eye level)
    • why not French? you lose space; you can put sheet pan in fridge
    • why not side by side? takes more energy and the freezer won’t hold turkeys
  • tempered glass shelves would be nice; see through “doors” for drawers inside the fridge (ie for veggies)
  • I’d love a separate fridge unit for dairy and baking goods
  • don’t get an LG or one with ice maker on outside front (repair!)
• Sliding drawer/garage for small appliances
• Huge sturdy drawers (rated to 200 lbs) for storage, with heavy duty gliders for heavy stuff and/or freestanding cabinets/dresser
  • For some, not all of the cabinets (how about the bottom?)
• If double ovens, then place side to side, not one over the other.
• Two people
  • Place for me to sit while Andrew cooks, out of his way
  • I can wash dishes and he can cook at stove without problem
  • My stand mixer in a place that doesn’t overlap Andrew’s main prep area
  • Separate areas: prep, plate, beverage
• Lights on dimmers
• Gas stove, electric oven (aka dual fuel)
  • Or, have a complete gas range for Andrew, with a wall mount electric oven for me. But really, what we want is a 1.5 oven: with a normal sized one, then a smaller one to the side, allowing for lots of burners too
  • Capital w/wok burner in middle, Bluestar, or Lacanche or Aga or Heartland or Bertazzoni (those are the beautiful colored ones)
    • Aga also makes cool refrigeration
    • Aga 36” Duel Fuel Range
  • No griddle
  • Perhaps stainless steel counters just next to stove (to make Andrew’s messes easier!)
  • Warming oven or warming drawer: proofing dough, resting meat, warming dishes
• Go to warehouse and choose your slab of rock if you use any natural stone. Put your name on it.
• Pizza oven!
• Many outlets, on diff circuits (no overloading)
• Cabinet for laying baking sheets vertically
• Butler’s pantry or walk-in pantry
  • Floor to ceiling shelving, variable heights, so that nothing is hidden behind, above, or below anything else: all is seen and easily taken out
  • No stacking!
  • Where you could put in a sink for a bar area, with the freezer
  • Could put an undercabinet fridge for seltzer, tonic, etc
• Deep sink (Franke?)
  • Porcelain on cast iron (Kohler?) with one deep side and one less deep side
  • Undermount sink?
  • Prep sinks are good too
  • Or just heavy gauge stainless steel
  • Sink that will let me put All-Clad slowcooker in completely to soak.
• Could have pull out trash drawer near food prep area (in addition to the main trash)
  • Foot-operated trash can
• Bosch dishwasher
  • Install 8 inches off ground (no stooping)
• No gaps between counter and appliances
• Make sure to have doors open the right way (fridge door etc)
• I’d love a separate butler’s pantry with sink for washing and drying dishes.
  • Really would rather have well designed smallish kitchen with a butler’s pantry for storage.
• NKBA certified kitchen designer, not just any old contractor to help you
• Farmhouse sink, deep, with rubber mat on bottom
• Ranges that people like: Viking, Vulcan, Wolf, La Cornue, Jenn-Air
• Dishwashers people like: Miele
• Restoration Hardware
• Kohler faucet w/ceramic discs
• Franke or Elkay SS sinks
  • they all recommend big sinks, they like sink grates (ie a Blano sink with a grate grid, usually metal, on bottom)
  • can put cloth down if you wash lots of crystal on hard sink
  • I love that farmer’s sinks have an apron (so that the vertical surface where you rest your hip is same material as sink, rather than the cabinets) but you can do this with stainless steel one too not just porcelain
  • porcelain is beautiful but can chip if not a high quality cast iron
  • Barkeeper’s Friend; Sheila Shine or Vim for stainless steel sinks
  • Get a wire rack that is custom made for the sink so you can wash and drain veggies easily
• Above backsplash, can paint with high-grade enamel (or part of backsplash: warnings have been made about subway tile for backsplash b/c of all that grout)
• More than one window!
• task lighting
• Cookbook shelf
• Speaker system
• Foot activated faucet?
• Baking height workspace for my Kitchen Aid?? Separate baking counter?
• Some glassed in cabinets, but mostly opaque
  • Long handles on cabinets (easy to grab)
  • Andrew likes mesquite cabinets
• Mix old, vintage, antique pieces with new ones
• Crate and Barrel two gallon glass containers for sugar and flour, on counter next to Kitchen Aid?
  • Cause you know I want a baking counter to myself!
• Mirror finish on any stainless steel would be a pain to keep up
  • Any stainless steel, think of insulation to deaden sound
• Fireplace in kitchen would be awesome (pizza oven?)
• Make sure everyone in the house can sit down in or near the kitchen
• Sound system
• Under cabinet lighting; plus have layered lighting plan so kitchen can be anywhere from bright to dim
• Don’t necessarily all cabinets all around; leave space to add custom furniture or antiques; find a kitchen table instead of an island
  • Cabinets need to be at least 12” wide
• You can buy a Chinese stainless steel hood (San Yang Pai); make sure you get a quiet hood
• Don’t put sink or stovetop on the island: keep it clear and free so you can really use it.
• Consider putting open shelving near window (so as not to let cabinets block incoming light and to accentuate window light)
• Deep sink, at least 9 inches
  • Before putting faucet in, check to see if counter is level and if it will work with the faucet (no gaps)
  • Sink wide enough to put your le creuset or stockpot AND a strainer at the same time.
• Could remove an extra bathroom to make place for fireplace or eat in
• Combine laundry and pantry…hmmm
• Opening onto al fresco dining area
• Save marble for bathroom shower stall