Early fall re-runs reader question: What never goes out of style?

In an effort to reclaim something of a personal life, I'm re-running archived posts on Saturdays and Sunday until I'm good and ready to start writing seven original posts a week again. My archives go back pretty far and a lot of my earlier posts never see the light of day anymore and now's my chance to change that a bit. This post ran originally on 23 March 2009 and was a response to a question from a reader I received shortly before that.

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.

Belcher windows

My great friend Tom Miller writes the blog Daytonian in Manhattan. Tom isn't an architect but he knows more about architectural history than anyone I've ever met. Tom's a 30-year resident of Manhattan and he's a consummate New Yorker. Every corner of that town has had something notable happen on it and I swear Tom knows every one of those stories. Last winter, he started a blog about Manhattan architectural history and five days he week he publishes a new story of a building.

On the 3rd of September he wrote a post called  The House the Circus Built --10 St. Nicholas Place. And in his post he told a story of James Bailey. Bailey was the Bailey of Barnum and Bailey. Baily's home from 1880 is still standing and in a remarkable state of preservation. What caught my eye about it particularly were the stained glass windows it held.

The Bailey House featured windows made by the Belcher Mosaic Glass company and these windows are some of the last surviving examples of the Belcher Company's work.

A Belcher Mosaic window from the Bailey House

Belcher developed a new technique for making mosaic windows rather than the standard stained glass techniques used since the early middle ages. Rather than using lead cames between the individual pieces of glass, Belcher patented a process where he'd lay out the pattern of the window between two sheets of asbestos. Then he poured a molten lead alloy over the whole works. The molten alloy would flow between the pieces of glass and make a stable window.

This process allowed Belcher to use much smaller pieces than most stained glass windows use and he could use pieces of glass that were in regular, repeating shapes --triangles usually but sometimes squares.

The Belcher Mosaic Glass Company went out of business in 1880 and a handful of these windows survive. I think they're fascinating. Almost as fascinating as I find Tom's blog. Check it out and if you're ever in Manhattan and you need a tour guide, I know the best one out there.

Julie Richey unveils La Corrente

One of the great joys of being a blogger are the connections I make with artists. Julie Richey is my favorite mosaicist working today and I met her through some work I was doing for the fine folks at Mosaic Art Now. Julie's become a pen pal, a Facebook friend, an occasional contributor to K&RD and a regular source of inspiration. Julie and I have never met in person, but one of these days we will. Hopefully, that meeting will take place in a trattoria in Trastevere where we'll dine on carciofi alla Giuda and pretend it's 2000 years ago.

Julie works in three dimensions as often as she works in the mosaicists' more traditional two dimensions and she sent me some photos of her latest piece the other day and I'm in awe of it. The piece is called La Corrente, which means The Current in Italian and it's her tribute to the Gulf of Mexico.

From Julie's statement:

My work utilizes the innate opulence of mosaic materials – 24k gold smalti, marble, semi-precious stones – to embellish sculptural forms in unexpected ways. The discovery of dentalia shells inspired the densly-packed and fragile under skirt.

La Corrente, (The Current in Italian) is about beauty amidst destruction. The sea kelp adorning her gown swirls in the strong gulf currents. Giant Asian Sea Kelp is an invasive species threatening the balance of plant and marine life in the region. While man overtly destroys the gulf with oil, pollution and fertilizer runoff, another destructive force creeps in with the current.

Here's the front of La Corrente.

And here it is from the back.

Dentalia are tusk shells, a common find along the shores of the Gulf, and she hand applied each one with tweezers. Here are some details photos.

And here's the finished piece in Julie's studio.

I'm awed by her ability to take an art form and push it in new directions. Mosaic is art and Julie's work proves that time and again. The sculpture as a whole tells a narrative that's moving enough, but the materials too pitch in to help tell the story. Much like the Gulf itself, underneath the beautiful form churns a gathering storm.

Brava Julie.

You can see the rest of Julie's work on her website and you'll be seeing more of this one. She's entered La Corrente in the 2011Mosaic Arts International and when it gets selected, it'll be on display at the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, TX beginning in mid-February, 2011. The photography featured in this post is by Dallas-based Stacy Bratton.

Julie's available for commissioned work (in two or three dimensions though she can probably handle four dimensions) and you can reach her through her website.

Miele makes vacuum cleaners and they're as good as it gets

Everybody knows Miele from their great dishwashers, coffee makers and other kitchen appliances. It comes as a surprise to a lot of people that they also make vacuum cleaners. Just as their dishwashers are the best in their class, so go their vacuums.

A lot of what makes a good vacuum a good vacuum has to do with the motor of course, but the onboard filter plays as big a role in a vacuum's performance.

Adding HEPA filters to vacuums gets a lot of press when it comes to these things but a HEPA filter's only as good as the seal that isolates what's been filtered. Vacuums that don't filter the exhaust air from from the motor aren't really doing anything but make people think their vacuum's working when in fact, all it's doing is pushing around air and particulates.

Miele's collection of vacuums was tested by an independent lab, Michigan-based IBR Labs, and IBR compared the filter efficiency of Miele's versus a number of other premium vacuums. Here's a chart that shows some of the results.

Miele USA set up a section on their website that's dedicated to explaining the results of these tests and if you'd like more information about Miele vacuums and their filtration, check it out.

What amazed me to read is that my vacuum's motor spews as much dust back into the air as it vacuums up. And that dust and particulates generated by the motor itself. Miele vacuums filter the motor exhaust air and removes the particulates that I for one never knew were there.

For a lot of people this level of air filtration may be overkill, but if you or someone you care about suffers from  respiratory problems, no amount of filtration's enough.

Looking over these reports certainly has me looking at my cursed, $100 vacuum with new eyes. I have to tell you, there's a lot to like here. The motors on these Miele vacuums have adjustable speeds, so you can vacuum things like draperies on a lower setting. Pretty smart. They also look really good. Here's their Libra cannister vacuum.

Most of their models take their names from Classical mythology and I'm torn between if I'd rather the Callisto, named for the nymph who was later turned into a bear

or Neptune, simply because he was so cool.

So consider these vacuums the next time you're in the market for a good one. You can see these vacuums and the rest of Miele's products on their website.

Interactive stairway lights --how cool is this?

My cousin Tim sent me this video this afternoon and I think it's just about the coolest thing I've seen in ages.




It wouldn't bee terribly difficult to put together. All you need is a series of motion detectors and timers and you're set. Thanks Tim!