Urban Pioneer: Tug of War with my Fridge

By Andrea, the Urban Pioneer

I've talked a little about the kitchen, hitting the low-lights, but let me dig a little deeper and tell you the oh-so-frustrating story of my refrigerator.

On a warm summer day (yes, we do have those in Minnesota), I moved in to my little piece of Urban heaven.  My furniture was in place, boxes were piled in the 2nd bedroom for safe hiding and I loaded up the fridge with food.  When I returned after a weekend at the lake, I found the fridge had slow cooked all of my groceries sitting at a balmy 87 degrees.  The food went into the trash and off to the appliance store I went.

My new fridge arrives, new food is purchased and I go on my way.

If only it were so easy...

But the 2nd fridge didn't work either!  Fortunately, this time I didn't load it up with food, so my loss was minimal.  A quick call to the appliance store and I believe a new fridge will be at my door sooner than later. Wrong again!  Due to an address mix up that "could not be fixed while an order was still in process," it took three weeks to get a working fridge delivered.  When the new one showed up, it fit through the 1911 doorway, but not into the space reserved for the fridge in the kitchen.

My refrigerator in the 'freezer using' position

After a month or so without a working refrigerator, I decided to keep what I had knowing plans of a remodel are in my near future.  In the meantime, I have to push and pull the fridge into place, depending on if I want to get in the freezer or get out my kitchen door.  I'm looking at it as extra security... but redoing the kitchen and finding the fridge a home sure would be nice.

(Up)Date Night Part 1: Meet the Roushias

The (Up)Date Night crew made a stop to Bryan, Ohio for our next installment.  Tami Roushia and her children recently moved and wanted to make the 'new to them' house their home!  Tami is a Personalizer, looking to make her kitchen reflect her likes and style; the kitchen was nice, but just not her taste.

Urban Pioneer: Tug of War with the Fridge

By Andrea, the Urban Pioneer

I've talked a little about the kitchen, hitting the low-lights, but let me dig a little deeper and tell you the oh-so-frustrating story of my refrigerator.

On a warm summer day (yes, we do have those in Minnesota), I moved in to my little piece of Urban heaven.  My furniture was in place, boxes were piled in the 2nd bedroom for safe hiding and I loaded up the fridge with food.  When I returned after a weekend at the lake, I found the fridge had slow cooked all of my groceries sitting at a balmy 87 degrees.  The food went into the trash and off to the appliance store I went.

My new fridge arrives, new food is purchased and I go on my way.

If only it were so easy...

But the 2nd fridge didn't work either!  Fortunately, this time I didn't load it up with food, so my loss was minimal.  A quick call to the appliance store and I believe a new fridge will be at my door sooner than later. Wrong again!  Due to an address mix up that "could not be fixed while an order was still in process," it took three weeks to get a working fridge delivered.  When the new one showed up, it fit through the 1911 doorway, but not into the space reserved for the fridge in the kitchen.

My refrigerator in the 'freezer using' position

After a month or so without a working refrigerator, I decided to keep what I had knowing plans of a remodel are in my near future.  In the meantime, I have to push and pull the fridge into place, depending on if I want to get in the freezer or get out my kitchen door.  I'm looking at it as extra security... but redoing the kitchen and finding the fridge a home sure would be nice.

Young mom asks for design help

by Gale Steves

Seldom do I meet the perfect demographic, but then I became acquainted with Barbara, a young, stay-at-home mother with two kids under the age of six. She apologizes that she is not working full-time, (Hers, in my book, is a full-time job of mothering). However, she volunteers for at least community charity and is an active member of her church.

Some might categorize her as "Gen Y," but I see her as a Frugal Mom. As the family budget shrank, so did her travel and entertainment outside of the house. In fact, her home has become even more important as a gathering place for family and friends. Barbara admits to being an online coupon clipper as well as often refers friends to internet sites and deals. Most of this happens when the kiddies are tucked in bed, after 8 PM.

Since the home has become her focus, she is making a good pennywise step in replacing her countertops in her kitchen as a baby step for making a larger color change in the kitchen. She calls it her "everything" room.

I met her because she wanted help making a selection. She has ruled out granite and stone as too costly, but I pointed her to the new laminate alternatives that mimic travertine and natural stone, an upscale look she fancied from design blogs she follows.  We settled on Golden Travertine premium laminate from Wilsonart because it was a mid-range color, which would not show as much dirt as a very light color or as a very dark one. That was the easy part. . . now she faces which edge treatment is the most kid-friendly.  Barbara will do her online research and read reviews before making up her mind.

I have full confidence that she has made a good decision, and the downtime in her kitchen is really a few hours of inconvenience and disruption when the new counter surface is installed for a dramatic transformation. The Frugal Mom wins again!

(UP)Date Night Part 2: "The Renovation" with the Gibson Family

Today's post is from Jeannett Gibson over at Life Rearranged, who is undergoing a kitchen transformation with her family and has been nice enough to share her experience here on Lean Remodeler. Here's the latest installment of our (Up)Date Night video series, where you'll see the dust is flying!

Eight More NKBA Kitchen "Trends" for 2011: Looking Back or Looking Forward?

by Gale

As I said last month, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas to share with you. That was why I was puzzled to discover in a press release from the National Kitchen and Bath Association that they were using research from their member kitchen and bath designers and calling it the “11 Kitchen and Bath Trends of 2011.” Maybe I’m wrong, but I think of trends as being able to look forward to the future… not backwards to what has already happened. I listed the first three last month. Here are the others and I'll let you make up your own mind about the forward-thinking of these trends:

Shake It Up
The Shaker style began a rise in popularity in 2009 and gained momentum in 2010. History repeating itself again!

Dark Finishes
Dark natural finishes overtook medium natural, glazed, and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of finish toward the end of 2010. Maybe this is reflecting the mood of the country?

Inducting a New Cooktop
Induction cooktops haven’t overtaken gas and electric models, but they’re closing the gap. When does 34% of the market represent a statistical significance?

LED Lighting
Incandescent lighting continues its journey to obsolescence. While 50% of NKBA member designers incorporated incandescent bulbs into their designs at the end of 2009, only 35% have done so a year later. The truth is the U.S. Dept. of Energy is mandating this change beginning in 2012, not NKBA designers.

Trashy Designs
A greater emphasis is being made to address trash considerations in the kitchen. Some 89% of kitchens designed by NKBA members in the final quarter of 2010 include a trash or recycling pull-outs. Where else were they going to place the garbage?

Quartz Countertops
Quartz continues to take away market share from granite in the market for bathroom vanity tops. A year ago, 85% of NKBA bathroom designers incorporated granite into a recent design, compared to just 48% for quartz, but now, that gap has narrowed to 83% for granite and 54% for quartz. Granite seems so yesterday?

Green Bathrooms
No, we’re not referring to eco-friendly spaces—we literally mean green bathrooms. A year ago, green color palettes were used by only 14% of NKBA designers, but at the end of 2010, that figure had risen to 24%. I would have guessed that the NKBA would be promoting really going green with water-saving and energy-saving designs.

Satin Nickel Faucets

photo courtesy of Moen

This trend relates to both bathrooms and kitchens. From the end of 2009 to the end of 2010, the percent of NKBA designers who specified a satin nickel faucet rose from 41% to 63% in the kitchen and from 45% to 57% in the bathroom, while the percent who specified a brushed nickel faucet fell from 61% to 48% in the kitchen and from 66% to 38% in the bathroom. Nickel by any other name is still nickel?

Having Enough Room for Your Stuff

By Gale

Even in the biggest kitchen, there never seems to be enough room for your stuff. There must be a gravitational force that attracts things to the kitchen, and then they stay, invited or uninvited. But do not fear there is more space in your kitchen than you think.

Start with your upper cabinets. Can you access all the contents without a step ladder? When you visit the very top shelves, are you surprised at what you find? There is a whole new generation of cabinet inserts designed to maximize your inner space. While they will not keep the disorder down, these cabinet aids will help give you greater storing capability. You are on your own when it comes to controlling your clutter.

Spice Island

Take advantage of the lost space where the stove meets the cabinets with shallow shelving of your favorite spices and most frequently used seasonings. The Marion Cabinets in maple from Omega Cabinetry has accessories such as these shallow shelves which are useful in many places. For more information, log onto www.omegacab.com.

Open and Shut Case

Forget about a broom closet. Try this slim line cabinet that easily glides out from a dead space. It even has room for a handy bucket on the bottom level to hold smaller sprays and cleaners, and it is designed to keep you and your cleaning supplies very organized. The paneled Cloister cabinets in maple from Plain and Fancy Custom Cabinetry are designed with these convenient inserts.

Going To Pots

A two-tiered pot rack that pulls out easily makes the cooking process easier. Having the lids where they should be reduces your need to kneel down on the floor and scramble for the appropriate size lids. The Two-Tierd Cookware Shelves are from Rev-A-Shelf Cabinet Accessories, and more of their innovative products can be found on www.rev-a-shelf.com.