Check out Hakatai's revamped website

I've waxed rhapsodically about Hakatai's great glass tile a couple of times here and I was researching mosaics for a job the other day and found myself on their website again. Man, nobody, and I mean nobody shows mosaic tile as well as Hakatai does. All of the photos I have scattered around this posting come from their website.

Hakatai is a one stop shop for all things related to mosaic tile. Their retail prices are what I'm used to seeing as wholesale prices. This means that Hakatai is a great place to buy your own materials and save some money.

Hakatai's photo galleries have to be the most extensive on the web. If you're ever in need of some inspiration or if you've ever wondered how to use glass tile, spend some time combing through that photo library. 

Hakatai does a lot of custom work too and you can order their custom work through their website. Amazing. In looking through their custom mosaic library I'm struck by the amount of skill that goes into their murals in particular. Mosaic murals are an ancient art form and the gang at Hakatai pays homage to the ancients and then ratchets up the bar a couple of notches. Beautiful stuff, all of it.

Check out their home page for special deals and sale items too. Thinking about glass tile? Look no further.

Well worth a second look

I have been laughing about the photo of that 1961 kitchen I ran yesterday. It's a peppermint carousel! It's a stripey fantasy! The model's outfit matches the throw pillows and the shrubbery outside! Man, this is precisely the sort of thing that keeps me from taking what I do too seriously.

However, this is a pair of Levi's 501 jeans. 501s assumed their current form in 1960, a year earlier than the peppermint fantasy kitchen above. Granted, it took them another 20 years to get completely mainstreamed, but to men of my generation they were and are part of the uniform. Those same 501s remember the Beatles, watched Richard Nixon resign, got caught up in the Reagan revolution, followed the Grateful Dead around, showed up when casual Fridays became a substitute for a fringe benefit, counted down to the new millennium and cried when Barack Obama won an election. So sometimes, some things withstand the test of time and the winds of change. Who knows? Maybe a blue Dacor refrigerator is the new Levi's 501. I doubt it, but maybe.

Reader question: What never goes out of style?

Help! My husband and I are about to renovate our kitchen and I want to know what never goes out of style before we start spending money on this project. What style, in wood type and color never goes out of style?

Hmmm. I hear this question a lot and I'm going to answer it by not answering it. At least not yet. First, let's start by taking a stroll through some kitchen designs of the last 100 years. This is by no means an exhaustive survey of every kitchen style that's come and gone in that time period, but it will help me make my point so bear with me.

Here's a kitchen from 1921.

Here's one from 1931.

Here's 1941

1951

1961

Here's 1971

And 1981

Here's a kitchen from 1991

2001 already looks pretty dated already

And here's what's being billed as a traditional style right now.

As you can see, the words timeless and kitchen don't belong in the same sentence. Even the last photo, the "traditional" one, is pure trend. That layout, those appliances, that cabinetry... it's all very right now. It may take a page from some past styles, but in the era it's invoking (1910-1920), a kitchen looked nothing like that.

Contemporary kitchen design is new, regardless of the style of the room. The idea of a kitchen being the center of activity in a home was unheard of until 30 years ago. Pretend for a moment that it's 1955 and you're talking to your grandmother. Imagine her reaction to the news that you're planning to spend the equivalent of half your annual income on a kitchen renovation that will become the focal point of your home. She'd think you'd lost your mind and then she'd tell you to get out of the way so that she could get back to boiling the pot of diapers she'd been working on all morning.

Kitchen designs change because our culture changes, and it's not just a function of trends in taste. Social changes, technological changes, economic changes, etc., evolve and reinforce each other over time. You'd hate an authentically period kitchen because you don't live the way people lived 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. How things look is inextricably linked to how things work.

I say that there's no real answer to your question. Renovation and construction always look like the time when they were built or renovated. The minute you start swinging a hammer is the same moment that time stops and how you live right now gets preserved for all time. Or for as long as whatever you're building lasts. So even though I say that there's no answer to your question, here's some advice as you go about deciding how to spend your money. 

The first being that quality doesn't go out of style. Well-made cabinetry and appliances that are made to last will get you more years of use and satisfaction than cheap stuff will. In it for the long haul? Stay out of big box stores and get ready to spend some money.

Second, I'd advise you to avoid specialty finishes on your cabinetry. That means anything with a glaze, a distressed paint or anything intended to give new cabinetry or furniture instant character. Character has to be earned and that's as true of your cabinetry and furniture as it is about your personality. Short cuts to character don't work. 

Third, avoid adding colors that are right now to things you can't change easily. A good case in point is the light blue and brown color palettes that are still all over the place. Getting light blue appliances, a finish color available from Dacor right now, might look good for now but five years from now you will hate them. If you love that blue and brown palette, get blue and brown throw rugs, not appliances. A blue throw rug costs $20 a blue fridge $3000 to $4000. You tell me, which would you rather replace in a couple of years? So the lesson here is to accessorize with trendy colors, don't build them in.

Finally, do some research on where kitchen design has been and where the experts think it's headed. You cannot anticipate what's next with any degree of certainty, but you can take steps from getting yourself locked in the past too tightly. The idea that the kitchen is the center of a home in 2009 is not something that's going away any time soon. But this Old World style that can't go away fast enough is a recipe for heartache later. Where to turn for guidance you ask? Hire a professional kitchen designer to help you realize your dream. Explain very clearly to him or her what you want to do and have this designer be standing in your home while you do this explaining. Think this through and have a detailed plan before you start writing checks and you'll be a lot happier in 10 years than you would be otherwise. Whatever you end up with, be sure that it reflects your life, your hopes, your needs and your wants.

New SketchUp guide for everybody

Wanna learn how to do this?

With real and powerful software that's also free?

Imagine what you can do with this!

Of course, these are Google SketchUp models and they're from a master user by the name of Surya Murali. Murali writes a blog, My World in Three Dimensions, and it's an interesting read if only to see what's possible with this amazing software.

For the rest of us, there's a new version Of Google SketchUp for Dummies and it's been updated to take advantage of all of the new features in Google SketchUp 7. The book will walk you through all of the capabilities of Google SketchUp 7 Free and Google SketchUp 7 Pro.

I used SketchUp 7 for a client presentation last week and I think I got the job. The positive response I heard was due to SketchUp 7's uncanny ability to let me preview a completed project with amazing realism. The mosaic tile in my model was the actual mosaic tile I'm specifying. The lighting fixtures were the exact Tech Lighting fixtures I'm planning to use, the floor was the actual travertine floor, the wall colors were Sherwin-Williams and the appliances were the KitchenAid models my clients have already bought. After years of pointing at my renderings and saying "let's pretend that silver rectangle over there is your fridge," it's an amazing thing to have a client look at a rendering and say "Hey! That's my fridge!"

Feeling left out of this? Don't. Download Google SketchUp 7 then Buy this book.

Thanks Tampa Bay Business Journal

Photo credit: Kathleen Cabble

So get this, yesterday's Tampa Bay Business Journal ran a profile of the design studio where I hang my shingle. Here's the link to the article. Unfortunately, you have to be a subscriber to read the whole thing but the few paragraphs you can read for free end with a pithy quote from me.

Pithy is hardly what I'd call it, but it gets better in the parts you can't see, trust me.

So aside from featuring a not-so-flattering photo of me and Carl, it was great to see an upbeat report about the business-y side of the place why I ply my trade.

That article came about without any effort on our part, and it was really satisfying to have been sought out by a business publication. In spite of what's going on in the market surrounding us, we do run a pretty tight ship and we are in this for the long haul. You know, there are times when I wonder how I'm going to make it through this downturn and if I let myself run with that thought it leads me to a really unhappy place. Staying optimistic and engaged in right now doesn't usually require as much effort as it has these last few months. This article in the TBBJ gives me a lot of hope and makes that task a bit easier. Thanks.