6 Design Details to Avoid in a Small Kitchen - by Stephanie Gibson from Cultivate

I love this site and wanted to start sharing a few articles.  Cultivate is a great source for designing and planning a kitchen remodel.



Here is the first of a few I will be sharing: 
6 Design Details to Avoid in a Small Kitchen
by Stephanie Gibson


There's no denying that spacious kitchens are fabulous. But if your reality is a kitchen where the refrigerator and oven doors can't be open at the same time and you frequently have to use the breakfast table for prep space, then you know just how cramped a small kitchen can feel. The good news? By avoiding a few common design foibles, you can make your tiny kitchen feel just as generous as the wide-open kitchen you're currently coveting.

1. A Built-In Island     

Just about every kitchen can benefit from the extra prep and storage space of an island. But a big built-in island will overpower a small kitchen, taking up precious floor space and preventing movement in an already tight area. Do what the designer for this kitchen did and opt for a moveable, freestanding island instead. Williams-Sonoma's version (link below) includes a shelf below to hold bowls or other prep tools, and the cart folds up neatly so it can easily be stored when not in use.

2. Solid-Front Cabinets 

Small kitchens need all the storage space they can get, but we guarantee you won't love the extra storage when it feels like your tiny kitchen is closing in on you. To keep things unobstructed, choose open shelving for at least one wall, and group necessities like plates, mixing bowls and glassware by color for a cohesive look. Not ready to put your kitchenware completely on display? Try cabinets with glass doors instead, and fill them with neatly stacked dishes and mugs. The glass fronts will lend an airy feel and increase the depth of the space.

3. One Big Light Fixture     

Relying solely on a large central light fixture means you'll illuminate the workspace directly below it, but won't brighten the surrounding areas and corners. Installing several recessed can lights with dimmer switches is a better solution. Bright, well-lit roooms give the illusion of spaciousness, and soft white bulbs will eliminate any harshness. Install strips of under-cabinet lighting for additional task illumination, and don't block your kitchen's natural light, either: Leave windows bare, or hang simple bamboo shades that can be raised all the way up during the day.

4. A Matte Backsplash 

Brick or thick ceramic tiles might be gorgeous in larger kitchens, but heavy materials like these will immediately weigh down a small space. Instead, choose a reflective material that will create a seamless line between the countertops and cabinetry. We love the look of glass tiles, which are also a snap to wipe clean. Light-colored countertops paired with white tile and cabinetry creates an especially airy feel in a diminutive kitchen.
Try this: 2x2 sheet-mounted staggered

5. Mixing Countertop Materials 

Once again, this concept might make sense in kitchens were there's more space to go around, but in a smaller kitchen, you're better off with a smooth surface that provides a continuous element, which will trick the eye into elongating a space. Choose a large, seamless slab of light-colored granite, soapstone or engineered stone. Pair it with an undermount farmhouse sink that won't break up the line. Instead of cluttering countertops with gadgets and storage containers, hang magnetic strips, hooks and racks on the wall to corral spices and utensils.

6. Tile Floors 

Practical as they might be in a kitchen, the geometric blocks and grout lines of a tile floor will break up a space, making it feel choppy and small. Instead, go for finished concrete or wide-plank wood laid in a horizontal pattern. The stripes will widen a tiny kitchen, visually stretching the boundaries. Add more interest by throwing down a striped rug.

5 bathroom design trends for 2013

NKBA members say these bathroom concepts will be big this year

By HZ Staff

February 14, 2013

 

Each year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) surveys its members to identify the latest design and specification trends in kitchen and bath design. This year, more than 300 NKBA member-designers participated in the 2013 NKBA Design Trends Survey, reporting the materials, product types, and styles that they specified in their kitchen and bath designs over the final three months of 2012.  While broad trends won’t be evident in every local market, the following are the top overall trends that emerged for bathrooms across the United States and Canada. Note the first three can apply to kitchens as well.

Shades of gray

Shades of gray in bathroom remodels have risen from 12 percent to 56 percent since 2010, according to NKBA. Whites and off-whites remain the top color schemes of bathrooms, used in 71 percent, respectively, an increase of 6 percentage points over the past year. Beiges and bones remain the second most popular color scheme, followed by grays and then browns. Browns are slightly in decline, falling from 39 percent in 2012 to 35 percent this year, but sepia tones rose from 11 percent to 18 percent.


Quartz

Quartz was the second most popular counter-surface material used in baths last year. This year, it has significantly narrowed the gap with granite, increasing from 53 percent to 65 percent, according to NKBA. Meanwhile, granite held steady in 2013, with 71 percent usage. Marble still remains a popular bathroom vanity-top material, only moderately dipping in popularity from 46 percent in 2010 to 39 percent this year.


Transitional styles

In 2012, the popularity of transitional style — a seamless blend of traditional and contemporary — exceeded that of its traditional counterpart, which had been the clear topper in 2010 and 2011. In the latest survey, transitional styles in the bathroom are still positioned No. 1, currently used by 61 percent of NKBA-member designers, according to NKBA.



Ceramic/porcelain tiles

Ceramic or porcelain tile flooring has been in slight decline over the past two years; but it remains the most popular of all materials, specified by 83 percent of the survey participants this year — down from 93 percent in 2011, according to NKBA. Natural stone tiles have also declined since 2011, dropping from 77 percent to 59 percent in 2012, and to 57 percent this year. However, they have been the second most popular type of flooring used since 2011.


Undermount sink

Undermounts are in slight decline this year, dropping from 94 percent in 2012 to 87 percent, according to NKBA. But here again, they remain the most specified type of lavoratory sink — not just in the latest poll, but over the past three years. Integrated sink/tops have seen modest growth, increasing from 35 percent in 2012 to 41 percent currently.

The New American Dream: Walkable Urban Neighborhoods

From: ECOHOME V2020_1022 2012

      

The New American Dream: Walkable Urban Neighborhoods

By Fernando Pages Ruiz

By 2020 you’ll be living in a more sustainable community, even if you don’t know it. Market forces more powerful than eco-ethics or energy policies will drive the makeover of our towns and cities into pockets of walkable neighborhoods with varied retail and residential uses in close proximity, transforming both urban and suburban landscapes.

In short, suburban dormitory neighborhoods have become less desirable and downtown neighborhoods are the new American dream.

To compete with resurgent inner cities, the suburbs are developing their own versions of downtown where park-and-shop malls once stood. By 2020 this urban retrofit will be under construction throughout the U.S., even rural towns in regions as unlikely as the Bible Belt have started moving in this direction. By 2030, most of us will live in places that look a lot like Europe, with discernible local character and a defined center of commerce that serves as the nexus for community life.
Sure, the notion of walkable communities has become a political issue pitting rural conservatives against urban progressives. But by and large, the argument has been won through the economic success of walkable urban centers, which has motivated cash-strapped cities everywhere to support the creation of new, so-called lifestyle centers that recreate the urban experience.

The first towns to turn toward urban retrofit for tax revenue include neighborhoods in what Christopher Leinberger, Vision 2020 research chair for Sustainable Communities, would describe as the primary concentric ring of suburban development. Areas immediately adjacent to a competing metropolis, such as Wheat Ridge, just outside of Denver, which has recently undertaken the transformation of a major traffic artery lined with vacant storefronts and narrow sidewalks into a revived Main Street that draws commuters to--rather than through--the heart of town.

They began with a vision, “In the year 2030, people of all ages and abilities live, work, learn, shop, and play along 38th Avenue,” asserted the city’s planning document for the 38th Avenue Corridor Plan, adopted in October 2011. Then, using a low-cost approach, the City put the corridor on a “road diet” in the summer of 2012 by reducing the number of thru-traffic lanes from four to two. The diet created several benefits to the corridor, including a more attractive, pedestrian-friendly environment, reduced traffic speeds, increased safety, and the sought-for economic benefits, including the attraction of new businesses. The project has become the catalyst for a wider revitalization strategy strongly focused on creating multiple, community-focused hubs--or mini downtowns within what was once a sprawling Denver suburb.

Along the same lines, a recent USA Today article profiled several small cities that are becoming more cosmopolitan through similar redevelopment efforts. The article’s flagship was Carmel, a Midwestern suburb 20 miles north of Indianapolis. The town’s self-described European-style redevelopment effort has paid off handsomely: This year Money magazine ranked Carmel the No. 1 best place to live, with low unemployment, excellent schools, arts and culture, nature trails, and a huge community recreation complex. Other urban redevelopment efforts highlighted in the front-page feature included towns in Texas, Utah, and Colorado.

I have personally seen the transformation in the most unlikely place, rural Nebraska, where I lived and worked for nearly 20 years. The town of Ashland, between Lincoln and Omaha, revived its main street with cobblestone crosswalks and lured New York artists with promises of cheap studio space to create an attractive art district that now lures tourists off Interstate 80, and attracts a growing population of retired farmers wanting an urban, but not-so-big city experience. Meanwhile, following the lead of Omaha, which has become a national example of successful redevelopment, Lincoln recently doubled its efforts with a 2020 Vision of its own, in short order creating a vital downtown with ample residential, restaurant, retail, and office development. The result is palpable in the new vitality of downtown Lincoln, and the fact more college graduates now remain as permanent residents after graduation, in fact, Lincoln made the list at the Daily Beast among Richard Florida’s 25 best towns for college graduates, ranked above places like San Diego and Seattle.

The potency of this national shift toward walkable, non- automobile-centered life is both dramatic and historic. Car and single-family home sales have plummeted among people in the 21-to-34 year age group, a demographic that predicts trends likely to survive the next two decades. Auto makers have had to adjust sales to accommodate fleets of car-sharing services, instead of new car dealerships, and single-family home builders are becoming multifamily developers because this cohort of would-be first-time home buyers seems to prefer a small apartment in the high-rent district to a discounted mortgage in the suburbs, according to a recent Federal Reserve study.

I confess to a quiet skepticism about the power of the sustainable community movement at the outset of EcoHome’s Vision 2020 venture. But witnessing the quick conversion of places as far from urban fads as rural Nebraska in the light of all we have discussed during this first year of Vision 2020 has convinced me that Leinberger’s theory of demand-side transformation is indeed the most powerful force working to reduce our nation’s dependence on carbon-based energy. It is perhaps the only force potent enough to make a difference because it is based on human preferences, on what we want to do, vs. what we ought to do. The market, or demand-side strategy works despite political swings and has the self-determining economic muscle that makes things happen. There’s no need to set milestones and struggle to achieve them when social trends take over, as proven dramatically in the state of Florida, where Republican Governor Rick Scott turned down $2.4 billion in federal stimulus funding for a high-speed-rail line, only for private investors to step up and build the line themselves. Why? Because the market demands it.

I would not be surprised to see a similar result in Nebraska, with high-speed rail connecting Lincoln to Ashland and Omaha by 2030. Communities throughout the U.S. will become sustainable precisely because the elements that make them so coincide with the key ingredients of desirable living: a close-knit community, ready access to social engagement, and public amenities that provide recreational opportunities for all. The reduction in carbon will be a by-product of Americans pursuing their American dream.

Take precations in this cold Sacramento weather

With the nightly low temperatures dropping below freezing, take precautions.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

 

Protect your home

• Insulate exposed pipes and those in your home's crawl space and attic.
• Allow faucets to drip during cold weather to avoid freezing.
• Learn how to shut off water valves (in case a pipe bursts).
• If your pipes freeze, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber. If pipes are frozen and burst, turn water off at the main shut-off valve; leave water faucets turned on.
• If you turn on your faucets and nothing comes out, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber. If you detect that your water pipes have frozen and burst, turn off the water at the main shut-off valve and leave faucets turned on.
• Get pets out of the elements.  

Protect your yard

• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffocating the plant.• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.)
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacramento.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

Rea• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacramento. d more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

 

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

Protect your yard

• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets or blankets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffocating the plant.
• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacram

Protect your yard

• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets or blankets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffocating the plant.
• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacr

Protect your yard

• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.amen• Water plants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.
• If overnight frost is expected, move potted plants to protected areas indoors or onto a covered patio.
• Cover sensitive plants such as succulents, tropical natives and citrus. Cloth sheets or blankets work better than clear plastic and can increase the temperature 5 degrees. Allow a little room for air circulation under the cover; that helps keep in the warmth. Remember to remove the covers by midmorning or risk suffoc• Create mini-greenhouses for tender vegetable transplants such as lettuce. Cut the bottom out of milk cartons or plastic jugs (discard the caps). Slip these shelters over the plants. (If using paper cartons, remove them during the day. The plastic jugs can stay in place until warmer weather.) You also can make shelters out of waxed paper. Roll a 12-inch piece of waxed paper into a cone shape, secure with tape, then place it like a teepee over the transplant.
• Plants in raised beds or on mounds stay warmer than plants in sunken areas.
• String Christmas lights (the ones that get hot, not LEDs) on the trunks and limbs of citrus, avocado and other frost-prone trees and bushes. Big lights give out more heat than mini-lights.
• If plants show frost burn, don't cut off the damaged foliage. It will help protect the plant from further harm. Remove the burned leaves in spring after all danger of frost has passed -- usually after March 23 in Sacramento.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

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Protect your yard

• WateProtect your yardrplants lightly in late afternoon or early evening before the frost hits. Wet soil holds more heat than dry soil. This also raises the humidity level. Well-hydrated plants can cope better with frost "burn, " which results from moisture being pulled out of the foliage to protect the main trunk and roots.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/16/4191741/protect-your-home-garden-against.html#storylink=cpy

Grass - real vs. synthetic

Grass – real vs. synthetic lawns and the environment

I’d be the first to admit that a well manicured lawn is a pleasing sight, but I hate to think how many hours of my life I used to spend mowing grass and other related activities. Often maintaining the average lawn is not only time intensive, it can also have a considerable environmental impact.

So is synthetic grass the way to go? Surely it couldn’t be, after all synthetic grass is made from plastic?

It really depends on who you ask and there are all sorts of compelling arguments for both. So let’s take a look at some of those:
 

 Advantages of natural grass

• Supports an ecosystem of organisms that break down pathogens
• Acts as a food source for some insect and animals
• Acts as a carbon sink and produces oxygen
• Has “air conditioning” properties, helping to cool an area
• Grass can act as a filter, preventing contaminants reaching the water table

Disadvantages of natural lawn

• Maintenance is water intensive
• Pesticides, fungicide and herbicides may be required
• Greenhouse gas emissions associated with mowing and other maintenance equipment.
• May require additional inputs such as fertilizer; which could be fossil fuel based.
• Often lawns are not made up of grass species native to an area. The grasses can then take hold in the wider local environment, crowding out native species.

Advantages of synthetic lawn

• Can be made from recycled (more accurately, upcycled or downcycled) and recyclable (?) materials such as polypropylene or polyethylene
• No watering required
• No fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides or herbicides need to be used
• Few greenhouse gas emissions in maintenance (no mowing, edging etc.)

Disadvantages of synthetic grass

• Fossil fuel and other synthetic chemicals are used in its production
• Pathogens may not be broken down. Some artificial lawns are treated with anti-bacterial chemicals to perform this action, and those can have their own negative environmental implications.
• Other contaminants may pass through to the water table
• Can contribute to the urban heat island effect

The above points are just in relation to the environment – when you start getting into costs, aesthetics, time and other issues, it becomes even more complex.

Note that with natural lawns though that some of the disadvantages listed can be negated or minimized through various techniques, such as water saving practices, manual push mowers, the usage of natural fertilizers and composts etc. However, often these more eco-friendly strategies can also mean more manual labor.

Given synthetic grass also has some powerful benefits, the decision of real vs. fake can still be very confusing; but here’s an important point:
Remember that having a lawn isn’t compulsory – native trees, flowers and shrubberies in the midst of mulch beds in place of a lawn are also an option and can help get around most of the issues associated with both synthetic and natural grass options; while offering the benefits of each. They also look great and also provide a habitat for other creatures.

Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
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