On kitchen tables

I ran a post on Sunday about a kitchen with a table in it. Well, there was a reason for that. I'm working on a design right now that has a real dining table in the center of it instead of an island. There is plenty of space in the room to take care of all of my appliances and work zones on the perimeter. Ordinarily, I'd propose a large island for the center of the room just 'cause that's what I do. But really, there's no need for one and I like the idea of building a kitchen around a table.

My clients like the idea too and as I work on the design, I keep coming back to a table like this one from Room and Board.

This is Room and Board's Hancock dining table. I've long admired the shape and lines of this table and I've specified them in previous design jobs. I want to use it in the walnut I'm showing above. But it's also available in cherry:

Here it is in maple:

And here it is in a black stain over maple:

Room and Board has these tables made for them in West Virginia and they are customizable with a minimal lead time. The size I'm looking at is the 30" x 78" but it comes in a bunch of other sizes and is available in a drop-leaf too. The solid walnut table I want to use has a retail price of $1599 and that's a pretty remarkable price tag on a table that will last for a generation or two. While it's not exactly an heirloom, at $1600 it's a table that can take a beating from being in a kitchen and spending half its life being used as a prep counter.

What a great image I have in my mind for this kitchen. I see someone kneading bread dough on one end of the table while somebody else reads the paper at the other end. Later, a houseful of friends comes over for a home-cooked, casual dinner. Everybody sits around that table and laughs and tells stories and lets the dirty dishes pile up around the sink and it doesn't matter. Friends don't care about dirty dishes in the sink and kitchen tables don't leave a whole lot of room for pretense anyhow.

At least that's how I see it. In addition to that table, I want to use six of these Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs in black lacquered oak. The Wishbone chair has been around since 1950 and it looks as good today as when Hans Wegner rolled it out originally.

That Wishbone might be a little complicated for the room I have in mind, despite its status as a classic. I'm thinking that maybe Hans Wegner's Chair 36 from 1962 might work a little better. Here are a couple of shots of Chair 36.

I love Hans Wegner chairs and I've been looking to find a reason to use them in a design for years. Now all I need is a sign off...

So what do you think? Of this table and the chairs of course, but what do you think of the idea of using a table instead of an island in a kitchen design?

A kitchen that Henrybuilt

To say that New York and Seattle-based Henrybuilt builds kitchens would be to underestimate their mission. Henrybuilt builds cabinetry with a level of passion and commitment to craft that I don't think anyone else approaches. Henrybuilt kitchens, wardrobes, offices, baths, tables and seating are painstakingly engineered and manufactured to last a lifetime, several lifetimes in fact. Each Henrybuilt project is an original production and anything they produce is worth every penny that it costs.

Kitchen by Henrybuilt

Henrybuilt is not for everyone, including me by the way. Oh would that I could afford this kind of bespoke cabinetry. But alas, I spent too much time finding myself when I was younger instead of spending that time accumulating a net worth. Oh well, there's still time to build an empire...

Viola Park


Anyhow, Henrybuilt is as aware as anyone that their level of exquisite is beyond the reach of a lot of people, and they've come up with a solution in the form of a brand called Viola Park. Viola Park is a system of made-to-order cabinetry made with the same level of care and passion that's so lovingly heaped onto Henrybuilt-branded cabinetry. In fact, it's hand made in the same Seattle facility where all of Henrybuilt's offerings are made.

Viola Park

Viola Park is different in that it's only available directly from Viola Park, and it eliminates dealers form the equation entirely. Without a middleman and since Henrybuilt delivers everything they make directly, there are savings galore to be had with Viola Park. Even though Viola Park cabinetry is made by hand and to order, they limited some of the options and that brought the price down further.

Viola Park

There are a wide number of layout options available in Viola Park's website, but they are there to illustrate a point and to give some representative prices. In order to render a design and place an order, someone considering Viola Park will be assigned a designer in Seattle who will execute the design and supervise the final product. This is a very good thing. Designing cabinetry and placing cabinetry orders requires a lot of expertise and having someone capable on your side will save you a whole lot of heartache. Not to mention expensive mistakes.

Viola Park

I've been playing around with Viola Park's layouts and prices for the last couple of weeks and it almost hard to believe that the cabinetry prices on the designs I'm showing here can be had for less than $20,000; some times a lot less. It's amazing, really. These layouts are even more proof that a low budget doesn't have to mean a bad result.

Viola Park

Viola Park's website has a page dedicated to determining a reasonable budget, and on it holds some of the most sound advice on kitchen renovation budgeting I've ever come across. There's even an Excel spreadsheet that will help you work out a budget for yourself. What a service that is and it's definitely something that just found its way into my client first meeting agenda from now on. Seriously, if you're thinking about a renovation of your own, please use this spreadsheet. 

Viola Park

Even though the very idea of Viola Park cuts me out of the picture completely, I can't help thinking that Henrybuilt is on to something big with Viola Park. Business models have life cycles and I really believe that the model I depend on for a living is headed toward a significant shift. Who knows where it will end up? But I honestly believe that it's going to look a lot like Viola Park when it gets here.

Tape LED lighting has arrived

Actually, it's been around for a little while but I'm using it in a renovation I have under construction right now and I am pretty hyped up about the stuff. LEDs have come a long way in a very short period of time. I don't think they're quite ready for prime time yet, but they are getting there fast. Check out this restaurant:

This room's lit with LEDs entirely and it's probably using a tenth of the electricity required for the same level of light using incandescent bulbs. There are LED recessed lights in the ceiling over the bar and there are LED tape lights tucked under the bar itself and in a recess above the rear wall and the lights in the display cabinets are LED task lights. As cool as that is, it's a restaurant and you don't light homes the same way that you light restaurants.

But where the real-life application comes in is in the tape lights, and I'm using them as under cabinet lighting in the renovation I mentioned earlier. Here's a roll of LED tape light from W.A.C. Lighting.

It really does come in a roll like that and you dispense it to size and cut it just like tape. It's 8mm wide and even has an adhesive back and all you have to do is press it into place and connect it to a power supply.

A whole roll of that stuff when it's still on the roll is blindingly bright. I'm still freaked out by the idea of light that doesn't produce heat, but I'm getting used to it.

Each of those white diodes is a light believe it or not and they have a 50,000 hour lifespan. Because it's so new, a five-meter roll of the stuff will set you back around $300 and that's already about half what it was two years ago.

Tape lighting's some pretty wild stuff. There are waterproof varieties out there and because it's LED, it can come in many colors. If you're feeling particularly festive, you can buy tape lighting that cycles through all of the colors of the spectrum. That sounds a little Shanghai to me if you know what I mean.. My job's getting warm white ones thank you very much.

What you're seeing here is the future kids and you heard it here first.

Happiness is a kitchen table

I love a kitchen table and I love this kitchen table particularly.

It's el Día de los Muertos, and as such I am taking a breather for the day. So in anticipation of the rest of the holidays that are barreling toward us, I present a little sumpin' sumpin' I found in Metropolitan Home.

furnished by Baron Design Studio
Photographer: Kerri McCaffety
Metropolitan Home

Seven Deadly Sins: Dining
Creative Director Linda O’Keeffe tackles the dos and don’ts of design (and etiquette) in the hallowed dining room.
Written by Linda O'Keefe

According to chef/restaurateur Charlie Trotter, there are four elements to a meal and when they are in sync dining can be elevated to a spiritual experience. Maybe that’s overstating it? Maybe not? In any case, Trotter’s perfect balance is achieved by a confluence of “cuisine, wine, service and overall ambience”. To me, this translates to delicious, healthy food and wine served in a comfortable, visually stimulating space where I feel pampered (but not fussed over) and I’m flanked by friends and/or people I’d like to know.

As usual, I’m reluctant to talk about rules but, as most hosts know, there are basic design no-nos that go a long way to ensuring the success of any gathering where bread is broken. I’ve listed seven of the deadliest here but there are many more so please feel free to add your own pet peeves. In the words of the inimitable Dorothy Draper, who referred to eating as an indoor sport, “you play three times a day and it’s well worthwhile to make the game as pleasant as possible.”

Sin #1. Non-supportive chairs: Well-proportioned seats that cater to all body types are a must. Even if the food’s delicious, spending an hour or two squirming on a backbreaking chair is an instant appetite suppressant. Case in point, Philippe Starck’s extremely popular and skinny La Marie is a jewel of a side chair but it should only be used for dining when penance is being served!

Sin #2. Poor lighting: The glow from a chandelier or pendant above a dining table should flatter guests (not too bright) and showcase food (not too dark). In short, a dimmer switch is essential as is the avoidance of tea lights. Their murky up light even makes super models look scary and it routinely turns vibrantly colored foods grey (pass the gruel, please!).

Sin #3. Over-the-top centerpieces: Avoid funereal or Carmen Miranda-like flower arrangements at all times but particularly at meal times when they block sight lines across a table. Centerpieces are not essential and they tend to interfere with an easy flow of conversation so they’re best removed before food is served.

Sin #4. Confrontational art work: Unless you plan to turn every dinner conversation into a debate, think twice before you hang provocative artwork in your dining room. The same goes for painting dining room walls intense colors. As one hostess put it “I painted the dining room red, and the conversation became very heated”.

Sin #5 Scented air: Perfumed candles and fragrant flowers (lilies, freesia and hyacinths) are beautiful in through spaces but they don’t work in dining rooms where they confuse the palette, upstage food and potentially trigger allergies.

Sin #6 One-note guest lists: An event where all the invitees share the same profession spells a convention, not a dinner party. The most stimulating gatherings comprise guests of all ages from all walks of life. And, radical as it may sound, couples and partners should always sit separately from each other.

Sin #7 The wrong table: There’s an endless debate about the shape of the perfect dining table. Circular or angular? Round or square? Rectangular or oval? One celeb NYC party planner swears by round tables, and she seats enough people so that knees touch under the table.

[editor's note: Ignore the celeb NYC party planner's advice. For starters, anyone so billed has already lost their credibility. For seconders, round dining tables are a crime against nature and any dinner party that involves me rubbing knees with strangers is a dinner party I won't attend. Tables should be rectangular and guests should have the option to play footsie, not the requirement.]

Reader question: Can I install my own quartz counters?

Hi --I am interested in quartz but it is more than I want to spend. There is Riverstone quartz sold at Menard's that you order direct from the manufacturer and install yourself at substantial savings. Have you ever done this or do you have any info about it? I can't seem to find any reviews on it anywhere. Thanks.

No ma'am. I have never been party to a DIY counter, I have no information on it and I cannot believe that someone's actually selling quartz composite counters this way. Please rethink this idea.

Working with stone and quartz composite is a highly skilled trade, a profession, for a reason. It takes a long time to learn how to work with these materials. Setting and seaming counters is as much an art as it is a trade and the men and women who perform this work earn every penny they get.

Quartz composites are tricky materials and they're also very heavy. Suppose you go through with this plan and at some point down the road someone delivers a thousand pounds of counters to your house. Then what? Who's going to pick it up? Who's going to guarantee that your kitchen cabinets can handle the weight? Who's going to guarantee that the counter will sit on a perfectly level surface? I looked over Menard's website and sure enough, they are selling that composite material as a DIY project. I see too that they are cutting sink holes. Now my question is, who attaches the sink and who drills the holes for the faucets? What may look to you as a way to save some money looks to me like a recipe for disaster.

Home centers are built around the fiction that anybody can do it themselves and save big bucks. Well, the truth is most people can't do it themselves. Most people can't diagnose their own illnesses, defend themselves in a lawsuit, tune up their own cars, invest their own money, rewire their homes, replumb their own bathrooms or grow their own food either. Unless you know exactly what you're doing, don't take on a project you can't complete with competence.

A better way to go about this is to assess your total kitchen budget honestly. Figure out what you need and what you want and then assign a reasonable dollar value to each of those things. Add up your wants and needs and notice that it's probably a larger number than the budget you started with. That's OK, because the next step is the most important one. Figure out how to adjust your wants and needs to accommodate your budget. The best way to do that is to talk to actual trade professionals. Go to a counter fabricator and tell him or her, I have three thousand dollars budgeted for counters and I like quartz composite. What can I get for that money? Similarly, go to a kitchen designer and tell him or her, I have $15,000 to spend on cabinetry, what can I get for that? Then do the same thing with an appliance person and a flooring person and a plumbing person. Find out how far your funds will go, and remember that all you're doing at this point is gathering information. Go slowly and be methodical. Get all of your numbers together and your questions answered before you spend a dime.

It may turn out that you can't afford a quartz counter. But what I suspect is that if getting a quartz composite counter is priority one, you will find a way to shuffle around the costs of the rest of your project to accommodate it. Find less expensive cabinetry, a less-expensive appliance package and less expensive flooring and before you know it, you'll be able to afford that counter after all. Budgets are made and broken in $100 increments, so keep at it and you'll find a way to make it work.

Or you could just cut to the chase and go directly to a kitchen designer and let her or him put together a plan for the whole thing based on the budget you have. But of course I'll tell you that. Hah! In the meantime, good luck and stay out of Menard's.

All images courtesy of Caesarstone