16 October 2008

And another thing about soapstone...

After I finished that last bit about soapstone, I picked up my current copy of K+BB, a kitchen and bath trade publication. The cover photo this month is of an uber modern kitchen renovation in Hawaii that features soapstone counters. Here are some shots of it, please pardon their lousy
resolution and small size.

I really like this kitchen and the more I read about it the more I liked it. The designers behind it used a line of German cabinetry called Studio Becker. Studio Becker is about as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. They are exquisitely made and their finishes have to be seen to be believed. They will also set you back farther than any other line of cabinetry I can think of. If people have an awareness of a high-end European cabinet the name they think of is Poggenpohl. Studio Becker makes Poggenpohl look like junk from Ikea. I kid you not. I go on regular pilgrimages to the McKB (that's the Manhattan Center for Kitchen and Bath if you're not in the know) specifically to run my unworthy fingers over their Studio Becker displays.

So this tells me that the kitchen I'm showing you here set these owners back in excess of $100,000, probably well in excess of $100K. That's all well and good too, if you want to spend that kind of money on your house than God love you for it. Please make sure you call me first. Hah! Anyhow, this design ended up with its own name. I don't know if it came from the homeowners or from the designers, but this design has been dubbed "Zen."

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but Zen is a school of Buddhism whose adherents turn inward in a search for inner peace and wisdom. The practice of Zen encourages people to turn their backs to the trappings of the world and instead concentrate on more weighty, non-temporal matters.

Now I ask you, how is spending more than $100K on a kitchen renovation in any way Zen? Man that drives me nuts.

So my rantings aside, soapstone can be used to terrific effect in a modern setting, even if it's unpardonably labeled "Zen."

2 comments:

  1. Wow! Thanks for the example of soapstone in a modern setting. My house is all full of beams and wood ceiling too. Though not as expensive as a Hawaii.

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  2. Soapstone lends itself to really minimalist settings like the one above. The kitchen above shows too that minimalism doesn't have to be sterile. Soapstone would look great in an Eichler, trust me!

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