Showing posts with label kitchen faucet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kitchen faucet. Show all posts

24 March 2016

Installing granite countertops

This photo was taken from Caesarstone Canada official site 

Installing granite countertops isn’t exactly a simple process, but it’s not terribly difficult either. There are a number of basic steps to follow that can all but guarantee you a result you’ll be thrilled with.

It starts with a visit to a counter fabricator’s showroom. Do an internet search for granite fabricators in your area and you’ll find more than a few of them. A granite fabricator has the equipment and the experience to work with not only granite, but other materials such as quartz composites and solid surface materials too.

Once you’re at the fabricator, you’ll see many slabs of the material you can use for granite countertops they have on hand and you’ll notice that their materials when in slab (uncut) form are grouped by color. You’ll find that helpful because the first decision you’ll have to make is the color of your counters. Deciding on the pattern of that color comes second, after you’ve narrowed down your color choices.

At the fabricator too, you’ll see the sink options you have available as well as a selection of faucets. It’s usually less expensive to buy sinks and faucets from a fabricator than it is to buy those same components from a plumbing wholesaler.

If they’re not clearly labeled, ask to see what edge options for your granite countertops you have to choose from as well. 

After you’ve made your selections, ask to set up an appointment for a template.

Custom granite countertops cannot be made ahead of time, they’re always made from a template of the cabinetry where those counters will be installed. It takes a little longer this way, but it’s only then that you can be sure that your new granite counters will fit perfectly.

Your estimate will always include labor. It’s only a qualified installer who knows how to install granite countertops.

Once your new granite countertops are installed, follow the installer’s directions exactly once they leave. In most cases, you won’t be able to use your new counters for a day or so after they’ve been installed. Your fabricator and installer will also have some useful tips and products to help keep your new countertops looking new for a very long time.

Once you’ve gone ahead and had your new granite countertops installed, take a breath and enjoy them. They’re a beautiful addition to any home and not only that, they add real value when it comes time to sell your house.

23 March 2015

Every chef deserves the right kitchen sink



When it comes to food and cooking habits, Australia’s early indigenous history l has a great influence on what people eat every day. An whilst hunter gatherer diets such as bush tucker are now a less common occurrence, being replaced over time by the influence of British colonization, the culture of outdoor barbecue cooking is still a very prominent aspect of Australia’s food culture. However, modernization and multiculturalism have brought Australia a diversity of new cooking habits which have brought people back to the art of indoors kitchen cooking, popularizing the use of pan and oven cooking.

A country rich in fresh produce

With its climate, land and sheer size, Australia is a land where fresh produce is readily available. The coastal areas are rich in fish and other seafood products, and the inland sees the seasonal growing of many vegetables, including cucumber, asparagus, cauliflower, tomato, peas, mushrooms and many more. This diversity has given birth to a culture of stir-frying and steaming lean meats and vegetables. Australia is also known for its fruit growing culture, especially known for being the birthplace of the famous iconic apple: the Granny Smith.

Australian drinking

Whilst beer is often seen as Australian’s drink of choice, the country has a huge wine making culture. This is because the land and the climate allow for the growth of well ripened grapes, producing rich, fruity and often slightly higher in alcohol wines. Red wine varieties such as Shiraz and white wines such as Chardonnays are among the many wines Australia’s land has to offer. And as well as the love for tea drinking, brought along by the British colonization, another very popular drink in Australia is coffee, brought along by the immigration of Italian and Greek population over the past 100 years.

The need for a good kitchen

Just like any other country, Australian homes deserve a good functioning kitchen. This is necessary for the cooking of all the diverse ingredients the country has to offer. There is always room in the garden for a good barbecue but when it comes to food preparation, indoors is where it is at. The Australian climate can be too hot to leave foods outside, so a cool temperature kitchen is essential for the preparation of all those lovely dishes.

Keeping it clean and hygienic

Because of the hot climate, insects and other animals can still make their way into people’s kitchens. This is why hygiene is very important in an Australian kitchen. The sink is the central hub of cleanliness in any kitchen, it is essential to washing our dishes, cleaning our foods, keeping our hands clean and maintaining the hygiene levels to a good standard. The sink is one of those aspects which is worth investing into as it will be a central part of our cooking for the rest of our lives. Looking online, kitchen laundry sinks from abl are some of the best ones to buy in the country, offering a variety of choices, from beautiful designs to practical sizes where all kitchen hygiene needs can be met. After all, a clean kitchen is a good kitchen.

20 February 2015

How much should you spend on redesigning your kitchen?



The past few years have seen the kitchen grow in importance, in comparison with the rest of the house. Today, people eat, gather, and even have parties in the kitchen. Larger kitchens have replaced the small, basic ones with conveniences such as larger sinks, islands, fancy lighting, beautiful refrigerators, cookers, and so on. Most homes have picked up on the cozy, social kitchen trend. But how much should you spend on redesigning your kitchen?

Creating A Budget

After conducting thorough research on the re-designing options for your kitchen, it is time to consider your budget. The following tips will help you estimate more accurately.
When planning, decide what exactly needs to be done. Your decision will place your project in one of two remodeling categories:

Minor Remodels

Minor remodels average at around $17,000 to $25,000. These are usually done when a  kitchen has a good layout, or its plumbing and electrical systems meet the current building standards. However, the finish may be outdated and needs revamping. The design, in this case, will remain identical to the original, and it will mean you change the cabinets, flooring, ceiling colour and worktops.

Major remodels

Major remodels are far more costly. Mid-range projects in this category average at around $50,900 to $59,700 while high-end projects average at around $103,500 to $115,500. Due to poor planning during construction, some kitchens require significant updates or repairs, and expansion in size, hence the sharp difference in cost between the minor and major remodels.

After determining what your kitchen needs, coming up with a budget that will cover your expenses becomes less daunting.

Break down the Costs

Come up with an easily comprehensible way of breaking your budget. On average, you can break down your budget – as a percentage of the total amount – as follows:


  • Cabinets: 35 percent,
  • Appliances: 20 percent,
  • Labour: 20 percent,
  • Windows: 10 percent,
  • Fixtures: 5 percent,
  • Fittings: 3 percent,


Prepare for the Unexpected

Something unexpected always happens during construction – especially in older residences. For example, on ripping out your walls, you may realize that the electrical wiring is outdated, or that your floor has rotted after pulling out your dishwasher. Leaving about 20% of your budget to cover the unexpected is practical.

List what You Consider most Important

List what you feel needs revamping the most. If you feel that new appliances will give your kitchen the most pleasing restoration, ensure that they are at the top of your list. This way, even if the cost supersedes your budget, you will have taken care of what is most important to you.

Acquaint Yourself with the Charges Design Professionals Demand

Design professionals can take your project from conceptualization to selecting the finish materials for your construction.


  • Architects charge, on average, $150 per hour and above, or a flat fee of about $500 to $5,000,
  • Interior designers charge an average of $100 to $150 per hour or a flat fee of $500 to $10,000, and
  • Kitchen designers charge $50 per hour.

Of course you should shop around for this. Some kitchen builders in Melbourne offer free design consultations along with their services.

You should also acquaint yourself with the charges that your local buildings permit office requires for such a demolition. Some areas determine their fees basing on the planned work while others require you to pay a percentage of the total project.

Your kitchen reflects your lifestyle, and spending money on it gives you the chance to get a kitchen you’ll love to be in, whether to cook, socialize or relax. Since a cozy, social kitchen is the new trend, revamping your kitchen should be among your top priorities if you've the budget to spare.

23 September 2013

Lights! Camera! Blanco!

Recently, I had the good fortune to visit my friends and colleagues at Blanco on the set of a photo and video shoot. The folks from Blanco's marketing department is working on the catalog shots and video footage they'll use when they roll out a new campaign in a couple of months.


While I was on set I saw some old favorites and a lot of new stuff I can't talk about. But brace yourselves.

Listen, I get it that many people's eyes glaze over when I start gushing about innovations in sink design. But think about it. What component do you use more than any other in your kitchen? The smart money's on you answering "the sink." So why not spend some time considering this heavily utilized and underappreciated feature in every kitchen?

Blanco does that and more. Every aspect of how people use their products is thought through and and analyzed. Their research informs their finished designs to an alarming, though understated way.

For example, on most flat bottomed stainless sinks the sink walls and the sink floor meet each other at a sharp, 45-degree angle. You know what you can't do with a sharp 45-degree angle at the bottom of a sink? That's right, you can't clean it very easily. On a Blanco flat bottom sink, the joints between the sinks walls, sides and floor meet at a gentle, 10mm radius. You know what the average radius of a human being's index finger is? That's right, 10mm.

Flat bottomed steel sinks such as Blanco Precision™ Sinks are engineered around the dimensions of the human body to make them easier to clean.


Another great example is from my favorite sink in the universe, the Blanco Modex™. The drainboard built into this sink is pitched in two directions (backward and toward the sink) so water can't get anywhere but down the drain. That's more solid thought expended on a sink that makes it easier to use and live with.

While I'm gushing over the Modex, here's a video that 'splains it all:


As cool as the Modex is, just wait'll you see the new stuff Blanco has coming.

My on set visit with Blanco took place at the Shadowlight Group and I was absolutely blown away by their skills and their facility. Have a product you want to have photographed or filmed? Give them a call.

As always, it was great to see my friends from Blanco. I'm fortunate to know first hand that with a company like Blanco, I know that the great products they produce are backed by some of my favorite people in the industry.

13 May 2013

Water for People

It's no great secret that I have some pretty strong relationships with a number of manufacturers. In all of these cases, I get involved with brands that make exceptional products and that are staffed by some truly great people.

One of those great brands is Blanco. I sit on Blanco's Design Council and I count the members of their marketing department and the staff of their advertising agency to be friends as well as colleagues. Blanco makes amazing sinks and faucets and the quality of their products is enough to make me a fan. What cements my affection is Blanco's willingness to take on new initiatives and to support causes that make the world a better place.



One of their newest causes is a foundation called Water for People. Water for People advocates for and provides permanent, sustainable, potable water sources for impoverished people who'd otherwise lack access to clean water and sanitation.

As part of Blanco's ongoing support of Water for People's mission, Blanco is currently running a fundraiser via their new YouTube video, Faucet Innovations.


Each click on that video will earn Water for People a $1 donation to help them fulfill their mission. So click on that video and send the link to your friends.

I consider myself to be pretty water conscious. Yet I can't help but think that I spent the weekend spraying potable water on my newly planted vegetable garden. Gardening for me is a hobby and having so much clean water at my fingertips that I can spray it on my tomatoes with abandon is something I take for granted.

But for most of the world's population, finding clean water is not a given and growing food for a hobby isn't an option. Organizations like Water for People are out to change that. Blanco's ready to help you to make a difference and all you need to do is click on a video. Click it!

13 June 2012

Blanco and Bosch make a great pair




As I mentioned a couple of times last week, Blanco and Bosch flew me and a bunch of great people I know to Costa Mesa two weeks ago. We were there to tour Bosch's new training center and showroom, ask pointed questions to the Bosch industrial designers, shoot hours of video and of course, cook. Bosch's new facility is amazing and every sink and faucet in the place was made by Blanco, hence the joint venture.

It's the perfect marriage of brands. Their design philosophies match the commitments to quality and innovation perfectly.

Lori Dolnick from the Blanco PR team photgraphed the entire event and put everything together in a video.





The people in that video are a who's who of the Kitchen and Bath Industry and I consider them to be not only my peers, but also my friends. It's always an honor to be included with such an august group and I can't thank the marketing teams at Blanco and Bosch enough.

06 June 2012

Sprayer faucets

Many people think they need a professional sprayer faucet, even if they don't cook. In most cases, the sprayer they think they need hangs slack after around six months of use.


Sure, they look good but really, how much value do they add when they're hanging in the middle of your sink?

Enter Blanco's Culina. The Culina combines a resilient faucet with a magnet and the result is amazing. Here's a video of me putting a Culina through its paces in Germany last year. In that video too you'll see my pals Susan Serra and Leslie Clagett. Those two women who have seen it all and aren't easily snowed by glossy PR. I think they'll back me in my endorsement of this faucet.




30 November 2011

Graff wants to spread the good cheer

Graff makes faucets and bath fixtures that will bend your mind. Check out this collection called Luna.


Wow, what a bath!

It being nearly December and with the holidays approaching, Graff has a promo going on right now on their Facebook page that worth checking out.


Every week, from now through the week of December 16th, Graff is giving away a $200 American Express gift card. All you have to do is go to Graff's Facebook page and like them. A new contest will be revealed every week, but the only way you can know about it is to like their page.

Because this is a new promotion, I'll tell you this week's. Between now and Friday, post a link to your favorite or least favorite Christmas/ Hannukah/ or Eid (even though Eid was a month ago) song and if you post the best and or worst, you'll be $200 closer to the end of you holiday shopping.

Because I'm as much a nerd as I am a snob, I'll let you know my favorite Christmas carol of all time. It's "Tu Scendi dalle Stelle" as performed by Luciano Pavarotti. Chistmas and all of December are meant for classical music and Tu Scendi sums it up perfectly.



$200 toward my shopping this season would be a real boon and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. So why not give Graff a like and get the chance to make this a holiday season to remember. So go like Graff!

29 June 2011

Another beautiful faucet from Brizo

Brizo did it again in their kitchen faucet, the Solna.


I love simple and minimal and the Solna lines right up with what I think a kitchen faucet ought to look like. I remember seeing it when it was still a prototype and it looks even better now as a production model.

The Solna's more than just a pretty faucet though, look what it can do.





That's right, it has a hidden pullout that locks into place with Brizo's MagneDock™ when it's not in use.

Well done Brizo, well done. Check out the Solna Collection and the rest of Brizo's offerings on their website.

14 June 2011

A visit with American Standard

As I mentioned here last week, American Standard had me in New York last week for  a day of product education and a tour of their research facility in nearby Piscataway. While there, American Standard put my fellow travelers JB Bartkowiak, Laurie Burke, Andie Day, Saxon Henry and Rich Holshuh in The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District.

Photo via JB Bartkowiak

The Standard is the current center of the universe for all things hip and cool in Manhattan and it was fascinating to have a front row seat for all of it. Ordinarily, I'm an east side of Midtown guy and it was wild to see the worlds of fashion, art, music and money collide in the lobby of The Standard. It was fascinating surely, but I've never felt so old and irrelevant in my life. Hah! But man oh man, the view...


So my Wednesday last week was spent with the marketing and design folks at American Standard. I went into the whole experience with an open mind but I wasn't expecting to be wowed. I should have know better, there were industrial designers involved after all.

I love hearing the stories behind products and I love meeting the people who design the objects most of us take for granted. The amount of thought that goes into something as mundane as a toilet is inspiring frankly, and anybody who can figure out a way to re-engineer toilets and showers and faucets to use water more efficiently is OK in my book.

Any time I go on one of these sessions I'm always on the look out for that one break away innovation, that one thing that pushes an entire industry forward. I found a couple of them at American Standard but none of them comes close to what they're doing in their Outreach lavatory faucet.


At first glance, the Outreach looks like any other centerset lavatory faucet on the market. But if you look at it closely, notice the line at the bottom of the spout. This faucet does something utterly different.


It has a pull out, similar to what you'd expect from a kitchen faucet.

When I shave every morning I have a ritual where I splash water around my bathroom sink to get the shaving cream scum and beard crumblies down the drain. My ritual doesn't work very well and I probably use three times the amount of water I need to in order to clean my sink. A pull out sprayer would make sure of my (and every man's) morning dilemma. Great thinking American Standard.

And if an afternoon of innovation in Piscataway weren't enough, our whole crew went to dinner at Cookshop in Chelsea that night. Sitting a hair's breadth away was none other than Ron Howard. God I love New York. Thanks American Standard for getting me back there.

Photo via JB Bartkowiak

The number of reading glasses at that table speaks volumes about the median age of the typical design blogger. I love having peers!

03 June 2011

Back to New York

from Wikimedia Commons

Man oh man do I love this town.

You know it's funny, this is the sixth or seventh time I said "I'm going to New York" on this blog. Or is it the seventh or eighth? Who's counting?

Anyhow the K&RD show is going back on the road next week and I'll be in the City from Tuesday through Friday. This time, the great folks from American Standard are bringing me, Saxon Henry, Andie Day, Laurie Burke, JB Bartkowiak and Rich Holschuh together for a few days to learn about American Standard, Crane Plumbing, Jado | Porcher and Eljer products.

This is going to be a great week and I owe a great debt of thanks to American Standard's PR folks Nora DePalma, Wendy Silverstein and Jen Datka for making all of these arrangements.

I guess it's a function of having been around for a while but I know all of the bloggers who will be there so this will be as much a reunion for many of us as it will be an opportunity to get some product education. And what better place than New York? And by the way, they're putting us up at The Standard. Woo-hoo!

Everybody arrives on Tuesday and everybody involved will be live-Tweeting the action as it unfolds. If you're a Twitter-er, follow these people to keep up on the action as it unfolds.

Me @Paul_Anater
Saxon Henry @SaxonHenry and @adroyt
Andie Day @AndieDay
Laurie Burke @cabinetgal1
JB Bartkowiak @BuildingMoxie
Rich Holdshuh @ConcreteDetail and @adroyt
American Standard @amercanstandard
Professor Toilet @professortoilet
Nora DePalma @noradepalma
Wendy Silverstein @WSA_PR

18 May 2011

Congratulations to Delta/ Brizo!

The first kitchen and bath manufacturer I ever interacted with was the Brizo faucet brand and its parent, the Delta Faucet Company. It's no secret that the Brizo brand has a special place in my heart.

A couple of years ago, Brizo was the new luxury brand from Delta Faucet. On the watch of Delta Faucet Company's brilliant CEO Keith Allman, Brizo was allowed to develop and flourish and shortly after that they started working with MSL. To call MSL a PR Agency sells them short, but I suppose that's what they are. Maybe if I called them the world's PR Agency of record it would come close...

Anyhow, MSL's Director of Social Media Outreach is a guy named Charlie Kondek, and two years ago Charlie reached out to me, an unknown kitchen and bath designer in St. Petersburg. Charlie was working very closely with Brizo's Senior Channel Manager, Jai Massela.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Jai, Charlie and lived out a real-life social media case study over the last couple of years. In the course of living out the case study; a guy in Ann Arbor, a woman in Indianapolis and a guy in St. Pete developed a friendship I treasure. In the course of watching Brizo grow into the recognizable brand it is today, it's been a real thrill to call the people behind the brand my friends and I love recalling how I knew them when.

Here's a shot of me and Jai from a couple of years ago but oddly, I don't have one of me, Charlie and Jai. Charilie? Jai? We need to arrange a photo op!


On May 5th, Brizo and Delta cut the ribbon on their new showroom at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. It's over 3000 square feet with 96 working examples of their products. The Showroom is called DREAM2O. Among those displays are 40 working lavatory faucets, 40 working kitchen fixtures, 11 full showers and five H2Okinetics (shower and body spray combinations).

They're on the fist floor of the Mart and if you're in Chicago, please stop in and say hello. If you do, tell them I sent you. What follow are some photos of the grand opening from May 5th.

Endless congratulations gang, you deserve every accolade you get for this new showroom.


 







01 April 2011

There's a new color from Blanco


The great folks at Blanco just rolled out their newest color to their line of Silgranit II sinks.


The color is called truffle and it's a grey-brown that will look great in many situations and will help bring out the beauty of stone counters particularly. Silgranit is a manufactured material made from 80% pulverized granite and 20% arcylic. The material that results is stain-, scratch-, acid- and heat-resistant and will outlast the counter it's attached to and still look great. Speaking of looking great, that's Blanco's Kulina faucet int he photo above.

I have to admit that I was a skeptic when these manufactured sinks started to hit the market. I lumped them unfairly with the less-than-ideal solid surface sinks Corian is still trying to pawn off on an unsuspecting public. Silgranit II is in a league all its own however, and these sinks are some of the most resilient and long-lasting on the market.


But Blanco's not stopping with Truffle sinks. Truffle is also available as an accent color on four of their faucets. Those same faucets are available too in Café Brown, Biscotti and Anthracite. Pulling a sink color out of the sink and onto the faucet may be the accent some people are looking for. Color-accented faucets are all the rage from what I saw in Europe earlier this year so it's a look that's bound to catch on here eventually.

You can learn more about the world of Blanco products on their website.

09 March 2011

New stuff from Swiss faucet manufacturer KWC


The Swiss manufacturer KWC just released the ONO Touch Light Pro faucet and it's pretty slick.


Most noticeable is the separation of the mixer from the fixture. It's a trend I'm seeing more and more in high end kitchen brands. The mixer can be placed just about anywhere with this faucet and that adds to the design possibilities exponentially.


Less noticeable is the microprocessor inside of that mixer. This is an all-in-one mixer, a single touch turns it off and on. There's nothing revolutionary about that. Where it gets interesting is that this one's programmable. You can program the temperature and pressure and you can call up that program every time you touch the mixer. Of course you can dispense with the programming all together and use the mixer as a manual control.


Faucet technology is evolving at a really fast pace and firms like KWC are on the leading edge of it.

14 December 2010

And the winner is...


Eric Miller from lovely and historic Dunedin, FL. Woo hoo! Congratulations Eric!

If you're joining us late, Eric just won a Brizo faucet of his choosing, furnished as a courtesy by the great folks at Brizo. Let's all have a round of applause for Eric!

01 December 2010

Hey! Wanna win a Brizo faucet?


Brizo Faucet brings a fashionable sensibility to the home and now's your chance to get some of that same sensibility into your home. Thanks to a generous offer extended by the house of Brizo itself, I am giving away one Brizo kitchen or bath faucet to a lucky winner I'll pick at random on December 14th, 2010.


These faucets have a suggested retail price of up to $700, and any one of them your heart desires can be yours if you're the winning entry.


Entering couldn't be easier and in fact you'll get two chances.


First, leave a comment after this post. There's no magic phrase you have to type or essay to compose. Just leave a comment.


For your second chance, go to Brizo's page on Facebook and click the Like button. Some of you may already Like Brizo on Facebook and if that's the case, you've already entered once. Pretty slick, huh?


You don't even need to pick which faucet you'd like yet, just enter now and you can decide later. This contest will run for the next two weeks.


On December 15th, Brizo and I will tabulate the total number of entries and then select a winner at random. I'll let the winner know immediately and I put him or her in touch with the Brizo gang directly. Brizo will ship your faucet out immediately.


So remember, just leave a comment here and then head over to Facebook and hit the Like button on Brizo's page. Good luck!