SENSIBLE STYLE - Color Charged

"Courageous. Confident. Vital... It's a color for every day, with nothing 'everyday' about it." -- Pantone LLC on its 2011 Color of the Year




Maybe Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle is your color of the year, too. You love its vibrant pink energy and want it in your kitchen. But how do you incorporate a hot, trendy shade without dating your kitchen or anchoring yourself into a strong color you may not love down the line?

Trust me on this one: Don't buy honeysuckle-painted cabinets, large appliances or honeysuckle stone countertops unless you've loved pink your whole life and are absolutely certain you'll never, ever, ever sell your house.

You can still use this rich hue in your kitchen, but a little bit of a strong color goes a long way. Here are some Sensible Style approaches to integrating a strong color like this.


Go soft

Integrate your preferred color into your kitchen fabrics:

• Select pot holders in your chosen color
• Use it in a festive apron
• Find chandelier shades in your color of choice
• Add dish towels in solids or patterns that tie in that shade
• Find place mats and napkins that bring in your color du jour
• Look for floor mats in the color you love
• Tie it on with seat cushion fabric

Houdan Pink Fabric from Pierre Deux

Verano Pink Dish Towel from Crate & Barrel

Serve it up

• Add the color in serving platters and bowls
• Choose canisters in your selected shade
• Incorporate it in your bakeware collection
• Add drinking glasses in that color to your place settings
• Find cooking utensils or serving utensils with handles in that shade
• Look for trivets and spoon rests that incorporate it

Emile Henry pie dish at Bed, Bath & Beyond

Ikea's Yngaren bowl

Bigger splash

OK, so these strike you as wimpy and you want to make a stronger impression with your selected accent color. I'm still going to try to talk you out of big, expensive, permanent elements like cabinetry, countertops and flooring. But you can bring in your accent color with a bigger impact this way:

• Perhaps there are countertop appliances available in your color choice
• You can find cabinet hardware in pretty much any color
• Use the color you love in easy-to-change wall paint
• Select window treatments that include that color
• Look for a kitchen-friendly art piece with that shade in it
• If you've loved it forever, find an accent tile to integrate into your backsplash

Four-slice toaster from Dualit

Perennial Poppy Mosaic accent tile from Ann Sacks

Le Fleur knobs by Atlas Homewares

Final thoughts

Remember, always, that your space should reflect your personal likes and loves, not a website, TV show or magazine. I'm not a pink person myself and have no insecurities about missing out on Pantone's 2011 color of the year. I may miss next year's, too, without any regrets. But I have friends and clients who love the "now" color, style, look. This post is dedicated to the trendies among us. You know who you are.




Read all of the Sensible Style posts, linked from the right column!

Best Little Hood House in Texas

Once upon a time, way back in Great Depression and Dust Bowl era 1933, a Texan firm patented the first-ever kitchen range hood.

Model A1 launches the industry

That gave birth to a company that, more than 70 years and 60 international competitors later, has the best technology in the industry.

Still headquartered in Richardson, Tex., family-owned Vent-A-Hood Limited vents kitchen cooking gases, smoke, heat, steam, grease and odors in a way no other manufacturer does. Its patented Magic Lung system is a work of beauty!

An early ad touting the Magic Lung

Rather than your typical hard-to-clean filter-based systems, VAH hoods use a centrifugal force process to keep its clients' kitchens cleaner. There is a significant secondary benefit, which those of us in its recent training class, heard first-hand: VAH's Magic Lung-powered vent hoods are significantly quieter than its competitors.


Shhhh!

The major complaint cooks and homeowners have is that vent hoods are too noisy. Much of that noise comes from the force required to push air through an ever-clogging filter. Magic Lung neatly sidesteps that problem by dispensing with a filter altogether. The company's 1200 CFM hood was barely noisier than its 300 strength model, and about a fourth as loud as the competitor's hood in a side-to-side comparison.

In fact, you could actually hear the instructor speaking normally over the Magic Lung-powered hood operating at that strength. Not so much the competitor's. You know what I'm talking about! So many folks don't even turn on the hood because it's so darn loud.

Vent-a-Hood will be my hood supplier of choice going forward, unless or until someone else convinces me that their technology is just as quiet, just as safe, just as Sensibly Styled.

Form meets function

How does Sensible Style play into this? First, on the style side: They're good-looking, with great finishes and lines.

A contemporary island hood

Retro styling for a retro kitchen

The model I'll probably use in my own kitchen

Second, on the sensible side, they have an industry-leading warranty. Third, also sensibly, they offer super-easy operation and maintenance.

When I noted above that the Magic Lung technology "neatly" sidesteps standard hood grease trapping, I meant it literally. Here's the clean-up process in a nutshell: Wipe out the inside of the wide open hood canopy with a household cleaner recommended for your chosen finish while you're cleaning up your kitchen.

From time to time, unlatch the easy-to-reach blower front from its housing with two quick clicks. Remove it, wipe it out with a paper towel or put it in your dishwasher. You can do this once a month or less, depending on how you cook. Put it back on. Latch it closed, click, click. Periodically, maybe once a year or less, (again, depending on how you cook), you can detach the Magic Lung itself with a few quick turns of a long screwdriver and soak it in soapy water. Put it back on and you are good to go.

Even my domestically-challenged self can get behind a cleaning routine like this!


Customarily speaking

Another feature I really like about Vent-A-Hood is its willingness to customize its products. There are three ways to do this. One is to submit your own design, including size, shape, number of blowers, position of blowers, position of vent cut-outs, finish, etc. In other words, they'll create a hood that's completely and uniquely yours. They'll quote it for you and build it from scratch if you decide to proceed.

You can customize a color and style to match your Aga or other colorful range!

An easier way to customize a Vent-A-Hood for your kitchen (or your client's), is to start with one of their Designer series configurations, then select your accessories and finishes. I love, love, love the fact that you can "build" your hood on their web site, too! For a creative kitchenista like myself, that's some fine quality time online. Here's the link if you want to play, too.


I would looooove to see a smart phone app that not only lets you build the hood, but lets you see it in your kitchen, using technology that I described in my recent Jetsons post.

The third approach is to use one of its liner inserts to equip the mantle or hood design of your choice.

Clean lines make for easy-to-clean insert

Safely speaking

I also mentioned safety, something all of us should be concerned about. According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries. While leaving burners on and unattended is one major reason why this happens, another is fire spreading from the kitchen through the ducts to the rest of the house.

Turns out, the grease and dust mucking around together in most kitchen ducts is quite flammable. Magic Lung's centrifugal pressure keeps fire from entering the kitchen duct work to play in that mess, offering a tremendous built-in safety feature.


We've been schooled

We were attending "The Harvard of Ventilation," Vent-A-Hood VP Blake Woodall told our group of designers and appliance pros. So let me share a little of this valuable education with you, as one can never know too much on this topic:

• The most important consideration in choosing a hood is the cooking equipment it will cover. This will determine both its size and strength.
• Remote blowers are more expensive to install, service and maintain than standard blowers. They also pull air, which is less efficient than pushing it, thus requiring more energy to power them.
• A typical family of four generates a gallon of grease every year. Without proper kitchen ventilation, that grease ends up on walls, ceilings, furniture, clothing, art and pets!
• The leading cause of poor hood performance is improper installation, most commonly incorrectly vent connections.

What were these installers thinking???
No wonder the attached hoods wouldn't work right!

Here's some more useful ventilation info from the Vent-A-Hood site, so you, too, can get a Ph.D., (or Professional Hood Degree, as I call it), in kitchen ventilation.

Top 10 Reasons to Remodel in this Recession

Almost everyone I know has seen their home values fall. It is a total downer, I know. However, there is a silver lining to this economic downturn for some of you lucky folks. It's an ideal time to remodel your house. Now, read carefully here, this does not apply to everyone! If you're at grave risk of losing immediate household income or if you have no equity whatsoever in your home, please read no further.

If, however, you have been wanting to remodel for a while, plan on remaining in your home for the next ten years or longer, or want to be a more competitive seller in this buyer's market, now can be an excellent time to begin a remodeling project.

Here's why:

1. The best builders, contractors and trades have much greater scheduling availability right now, which gives you access to professionals you might not otherwise be able to get. As the New York Times put it, during the boom years, "Good contractors were as hard to get as celebrated doctors." Their knowledge and skill are unchanged. It's just that many have more down time at the moment.

2. Given the laws of supply and demand, the drop-off in work has driven down prices on some goods and services. This gives you the upper hand in negotiation. Consider, though, that the best folks are still going to cost more in labor than the less skilled ones. However, they very well may save you money - and aggravation - in the long run, as you won't have to hire someone else to fix amateur mistakes or a lawyer to bring them to heal.

3. Many of the weaker players are being weeded out by the economy before you ever meet them. The remaining pros are better project managers with stronger referrals. This will reduce your chances of running into the kind of con artist that's drawn to a boom and moves on during a bust.

4. New rules make it easier for senior homeowners to finance their projects through reverse mortgages. Contact one in your area to see how this can bring you a new kitchen, bath, addition, etc.

5. There are excellent, new products on the market that will help you save money on water and energy. By building them into your remodeling project, they could help pay for themselves, and make your home more appealing to future buyers. According to a recent study by McGraw Hill quoted by the Wall Street Journal, "One-third of home buyers say they are willing to pay a premium of $20,000 or more for a green home." (Helping the environment is a plus, too.)


6. On a related note, local laws in some areas and new federal incentives may offset costs for water- and energy-saving products you incorporate into your remodel. Please visit this excellent St. Petersburg Times article detailing the Stimulus Plan-based tax incentives. It's a must-not-miss, in my opinion.

7. If someone in your home has respiratory issues, changing to more indoor-air-quality-oriented products can improve their comfort and well-being. There are terrific products on the market now to assist you - and them - in that regard.

8. If an aging relative moves in with you, or you're looking at staying in your home into your senior years, upgrading your home with aging-in-place features can improve your safety and enhance your home's livability and resale value. (Less than 10 percent of American homes are built with aging in place features, while millions of Americans are getting ready to retire! You do the math!)

9. Unlike the house flippers we saw remodeling in recent years to keep up with the Joneses, those of you who have been in your home for a while really know its strengths and weaknesses. You also know what truly makes sense for your lifestyle. This will yield a more successful outcome on your project, more suited to how the home can best be improved for its residents and guests, not just better branded or trophy-filled.

10. If you're spending more time in the house these days, as many folks are, improving your home will provide some anti-recessionary joy. And who couldn't use that taste of sunshine these days?


Photo Note:

A recent kitchen remodel helped this Tampa home sell in less than 30 days last December, at asking price, in one of the nation's hardest-hit housing areas.


Coming Next on Gold Notes:

3/17 - Irish Design... In honor of St. Patrick's Day
3/25 - Storing and Displaying Collectibles... In honor of Elton John's birthday

TREND WATCH 2009: THE YEAR AHEAD

What does 2009 hold in store for American homeowners? What trends will we embrace? What products will we bring into our homes this year?

While I don’t have a crystal ball, I’ve been tracking my own projects and prospective clients and asking colleagues for their predictions. Here’s what I think we can look forward to in this intriguing new year…

I don’t think we’ll see the housing market rebound for a while, so most folks will be staying put. That being said, they’re going to continue being interested in improving their living spaces. Three or four years ago, that meant a lot of flash and keeping up with the Joneses. I think – no, I hope – that the consumption for its own sake trend has passed. While people still want luxurious touches and high performance appliances, they want them more for what the comforts, durability and specific features they add to their daily lives, rather than just for the brand appeal. What people are asking for now are:

Time savers – like storage organizers, low-maintenance countertops and multi-tasking appliances that add hours to one's day and simplicity to one's life will be increasingly in demand this year. Last year was tough for many Americans, and taught us what's truly important -- time spent with the people we love, giving back to the communities that nurture us and being grateful for what we have. Products that help us pull together and serve a quick neighborhood pot luck will sell faster than ones that need endless buffing.

CaesarStone quartz top in new 4330 Deep Gray... Skimpy maintenance, super style

Spaces that work for how people really live, not how a magazine says they should will influence how we remodel our homes and select or build new ones.

Kitchens will continue to be the home's gathering space, with more and more functionality, and exert even more pull over the spaces around them. Landing zones in or near the kitchen will continue to be created for cel phones, backpacks, briefcases, iPods, mail and all the other stuff we carry in and out.

Televisions will move into the kitchen more and more, as the family spends more time there and wants to keep up with the world. Televisions will also move into more master baths, as that space continues its evolution into true master retreats.

This CWP custom kitchen features space for homework and home work

Water and energy savings, and the accompanying utility bill reductions, will become factors in more and more remodeling (and building) projects. Some clients will be motivated by the financial rewards, others by the global considerations, many by both.

LED lighting will find its way into even more fixtures, from its current strengths in under-cabinet and recessed ceiling lighting, to contemporary pendants, sconces and chandeliers.

More code restrictions on water use will lead to more tankless water heater and dual flush toilet sales. Plumbing manufacturers will continue working on ways to couple the spa shower and tub experience they love marketing with the water savings our communities demand.

Dual flush toilets, like Kohler's new Persuade model, save water, without sacrificing style

Better, healthier materials, not just better-looking ones. Many clients remodeling today have already updated a bath or kitchen in the past five years and don't relish going through the process more than absolutely necessary. They plan on staying in their homes indefinitely, and are asking about products that will last a long time. Many also have health concerns about a family member with asthma or cancer, and want products in their home that won't create a hazardous indoor environment.

This contemporary Neil Kelly custom kitchen is friendly for your family's environment... And the planet's

More personalization and comfort at home will be important to more and more clients this year, as they seek to make their house a personal refuge from a harsh world. They'll build in materials and accents from travels they've enjoyed and mementos of people close to them. "Rooms to go" will give way to rooms to grow together in.

This Pottery Barn new for 2009 Marin sofa invites relaxation in five fabric grades and about 50 colors and patterns

Upgrades that allow them to age gracefully, safely and successfully in their own homes and communities. AARP reports that 90 percent of Americans want to stay put as they age, rather than relocate to an assisted living or nursing home facility. Clients in their 40s, 50s and 60s will be looking for ways to make their existing residences work for them into their 70s, 80s and beyond.

Companies like Moen, Kohler, Kraftmaid and others with mass market appeal are planning for this demographic with more stylish and accessible-oriented products. Look for this trend to continue in 2009 and accelerate in future years as the economy rebounds.

The slide-bar shower head, grab bar and bench from a bath I redesigned for a
50-something couple will take them comfortably into their senior years

I believe that people will continue to add style, functionality and comfort to their homes in 2009, and spend some of their happiest hours there.

Happy New Year.

ISLAND FEVER III - STYLING YOUR ISLE

'Tis the season of decking halls, lighting menorahs and Auld Lang Syne. Why not add styling a kitchen island to the traditions list? If you're putting one 'under your tree' this season, make sure it does your home proud!

I'm often asked, "Does my island need to be the same as my other cabinets?" It doesn't. But it needs to look like it belongs in the same space. Here are a few cabinetry dos and don'ts on achieving this effect:


DO...

* Match the island's door style to the other "peripheral" cabinets. If you've always loved bead board style doors, an island is a great spot to add them, (as a little bead board goes a long, long way!), but match the rails and stiles, (the door's "frame") to the peripheral cabinets in terms of size and shape.



* Use the same door style if it's available in a different wood - e.g., stained cherry peripherals and painted maple island; white peripherals and stained maple island.

* Consider using the same style and wood species, but in a colorful stain. For example, your peripheral cabinets are a golden oak; choose a moss stain for the island.



* Match the knobs or pulls on the island with those on the surrounding cabinets. If the same finish works on both, go that direction. Otherwise, find the same style in a finish that looks better on the island's coloration.


DON'T...

* Use an island to change your kitchen's style. It will just look out of place.

* Add elements to an island that look out of place with the rest of the kitchen - e.g., fluted columns, steel legs or grape corbels that don't tie into anything else in the room.



* Try to pair new cabinets of an almost - but not exact - finish. It will probably look a bit "off kilter," especially if one is real wood and the other laminate.

Here are some countertop dos and don'ts to consider, as well:


DO...

* Feel free to use a different countertop material or color on your island, especially if you're upgrading. This is your kitchen's focal point, and a great place to add a style statement and material improvement to your kitchen.



* Coordinate the color of the island top to another element in the room. For instance, cherry tops on a painted black or white island will look great with cherry peripheral cabinets topped with granite.

* Factor in the pattern of the peripheral tops when choosing your island's counter. If the peripherals are topped by a granite with flowing movement, choose a quieter, more solid-colored material for the island - perhaps a quartz or concrete.

* Consider your lifestyle when choosing a hard-working top for a busy island. If you're a busy, low-maintenance gal, choose a low-maintenance top. If you're a gourmet guy with sleek style, know that absolute black polished granite is going to compete for attention with your Beemer.


DON'T...

* Go overboard on countertop drama. Too many focal points equal no focal points, just eyestrain. If you've got one strong style point on the peripheral tops, go quieter on the island.



* Overlook the island's function when choosing your tops, or the material's essential properties when considering that function. For example, let's say you opted for an entertaining center island and equipped it with a wine captain. Understand that at some point in its life, a glass of red wine or a Bloody Mary will either spill or leave a ring on that counter. If you were inspired by your honeymoon in France and opted for creamy marble tops, please remember how darkened and mellowed those café tops were and don't cry over spilled guilt.

* Blow your budget on island cabinetry and be forced to settle for tops you wouldn't otherwise choose. Save up for a time when you can afford what you want in both, along with qualified, professional installation.



* Don't choose your countertop fabricator from a flyer left on your windshield, or because someone is offering the lowest price in town. Ask for recommendations from friends or a designer, builder or contractor you respect.

Don't miss Island Fever I - Sizing up your options or Island Fever II - Equipping the dream if you're new to this blog.


PHOTO NOTES

In order of section, top to bottom:

CABINETRY DO (Green islands) - This kitchen works because the beadboard style on the peripheral cabinets ties into the reeded legs on the island and the cream and green coordinate beautifully. Matching stone tops unify the look. Bertch Cabinets.

CABINETRY DO (Blue island) - The island's blue relates beautifully wtih the blue tiles in the backsplash, and shares a door style with the white maple surrounding the room. The wood top provides a rich accent. Craft-Art Wood Countertops.

CABINETRY DON'T (Black island) - This kitchen avoids being a "don't" by matching the island's heavy legs with the pair flanking the range. The door style on the black island also matches the surrounding cabinets. Crystal Cabinets.

COUNTERTOP DO (Glass-topped island) - The island is clearly the focal point in this kitchen, with its curved lines and glass top. The island's curve mirrors the pantry and soffit curves and the glass top becomes the stand-out star. Bertch Cabinets.

COUNTERTOP DON'T (Maple island) - This island's white top whispers, rather than shouts, and its whiteness coordinates with the backsplash tile. The effect is clean, modern and pulled-together. Kraftmaid Cabinetry.

COUNTERTOP DON'T (Black island) - This homeowner -- a client of mine -- wanted practical but stylish-looking tops. She opted for quartz by Cambria and got both. Cambria and Jamie Goldberg Kitchen and Bath Design, LLC.

ISLAND FEVER II - EQUIPPING THE DREAM

Aruba. Bermuda. Barbados. Microwaves and wine chillers. Wait, what??? Yes, it's island season, that time of year when your thoughts turn to holiday entertaining and holiday escapes.

Maybe you're looking for an escape from an over-crowded kitchen, too. Will adding an island provide an idyll for this hardest-working room in your house? Let's consider the possibility.

Last week, you read ISLAND FEVER I: SIZING UP YOUR OPTIONS, and determined that you can make an island work and that you're going to make the investment. You also determined how you want that space to function. After proper sizing, function planning is the most important aspect to making an island pay off for you.


AGAIN, ASK YOURSELF WHY

In Island Fever I, I mentioned the following reasons for adding an island to your kitchen:

* Increase your kitchen storage
* Add an additional work zone
* Add a specialty function - e.g., baking center
* Facilitate a Kosher lifestyle
* Add an entertaining center

Read no further before you decide what role your island will play in your kitchen improvement. Any one of them is fine - you can even come up with something else on your own - you just need to define its job before you proceed.




INCREASE YOUR KITCHEN STORAGE

If increasing your storage capacity is your primary goal, determine what will "live" in that space and how best to access it. For example:

* Your existing drawers are overflowing: A trio of four-drawer banks, each with built-in organizers, tame the clutter.

* You just got married and need room for your beloved's cast iron skillet collection, your Calphalon set and your wedding registry's All-Clad: You opt for base cabinets with roll-out trays in each, and a ceiling-mounted pot rack for the ones you use most often.

* You got a juicer to get healthy and need space to store it, along with all the fruits and vegetables you're going to blend: One base cabinet with a built-in knife holder drawer and roll-out trays for the juicer's accessories, one with a lift for the heavy juicer itself and a dual drawer under-counter refrigerator for the fruits and vegetables you'll be juicing.


ADD AN ADDITIONAL WORK ZONE

What tasks does that work zone need to perform. Will it cook? Clean up? Prepare meals? Re-heat? A well-equipped work zone will encompass strategic appliances, appropriate counter top material and well-appointed storage, (as shown in the juice-making example, above). Here are two examples:

* Your island clean up station has a deep sink, garbage disposal and pull-out faucet, a dishwasher and pull out dual trash bins for garbage and recycling. The cabinet holding the sink has a rack for your cleaning supplies. A narrow, open cabinet next to that features a pull-out rack for your dish towels. If space allows, you also have a divided, deep drawer bank for your Tupperware collection, so that left-overs can be conveniently gathered and sealed.



* Your island cooking station is equipped with an induction cooktop, countertop-mounted pot filler, convection-steam oven, (my December '08 Gold Nugget Award winner), ceiling-mounted ventilation hood and warming drawer - everything you need to get dinner on the table, at whatever time everyone eats. It also includes a base cabinet with top drawer organizer and roll-out trays to keep your cooking essentials at hand.


Both of these work stations feature quartz countertops for durability and easy maintenance. Despite their well-respected heat resistance, you keep a trivet nearby for hot pots and pans if all of your induction burners are occupied.


ADD A SPECIALTY FUNCTION

These are always fun to plan, because they cater to the homeowner's passions and bring together the client's inspirations and designer's knowledge in a true partnership. Here are two examples:

* The island baking center has a convection-steam oven, base mixer stand cabinet, tray base for cookie sheets and three-drawer base with top drawer organizers to separate measuring spoons from whisks and whisks from spatulas and dividers below to hold your measuring cups, mixing bowls and other baking favorites. You also opted for a non-porous, engineered stone countertop for rolling your dough and easy clean-up afterward.

* The entertaining center features U-Line's ice maker/fridge/freezer, which I featured in my Multi-Taskers posting last summer, and a dual-zone wine captain. It also includes a bar sink and a three-drawer bank for accessories like wine charms, corkscrews and bottle openers (above) and deep divided drawers for non-refrigerated bottles below. If desired, shallow storage on the back allows for a raised standing bar and spot for serveware. If seating is preferred, factor in serveware storage in a more accessible spot. A decorative glass top, like those from ThinkGlass, offers a splashy focal point for an entertainment center island. It also offers easy clean-up. Handsome focal point alternatives could be wood or concrete. Unlike glass slab, both require some maintenance to preserve their integrity and beauty.




STYLE NOTES

An island gives you a great opportunity to upgrade your kitchen and even add some much-needed style to a dated space. However, since the island and the rest of your appliances and cabinetry share the same visual space, you're best served by coordinating looks, not clashing.



Here are a few tips for the most common builder kitchens I've encountered:

* Let's say your kitchen has golden oak cabinets, dark green laminate countertops, dark tan floor tiles and black appliances. Your island can feature dark green or black painted cabinets and paneled appliances in a similar door style. The dark green cabinets would look great with black tops, and vice versa. Select hardware for your island and add it to the cabinets on the periphery. If the island features a prep sink, choose a bar faucet and a companion main faucet to replace your existing one.

* Let's say your kitchen has white laminate cabinets, white appliances and a light, flecked laminate countertop. Your floors are a beige tile. Choose one of the accent colors in the laminate flecked top, (e.g., light blue or light green) and opt for painted cabinets in that color. Choose a light, solid-color top and paneled appliances.

* Let's say your kitchen has faux walnut cabinets, almond appliances, beige tile tops and floors. If your budget doesn't allow for tearing it all out, replace all your appliances with stainless ones to add some brightness; choose painted black island cabinets to tie into the darker tones in the walnut-grained ones surrounding it, (and coordinate with future replacements), and opt for a solid-toned cream-colored slab countertop. Update all the hardware and faucets with stainless, as well, for more shine. A nifty - extremely durable - sink to consider is one of Blanco's Silgranit models in its handsome Café Brown. It'll tie in with your existing brown cabinets and remind you of how far you've come when you finally replace them!


FINAL THOUGHTS

Adding an installed island to your kitchen is likely to invoke local code issues. Be sure to engage a local professional to ensure that your island is properly wired, plumbed, equipped, sized and planned. This will provide you and future homeowners with a safe, enjoyable addition to your home.


PHOTO NOTES

AGAIN, ASK YOURSELF WHY: This island really cooks. It features a hood, oven, cooktop and Brookhaven semi-custom cabinetry from Wood-Mode, featured on the company's web site.

ISLAND CLEAN-UP STATION: This large island that I co-designed for a local family features a dishwasher, trash center, sink and convenient storage for baggies, tin foil, Tupperware, etc.

ISLAND COOKING STATION: This island features a Miele DA424 hood that elevates when not in use, preserving views and conversation sight lines for the cook.

THE ENTERTAINING CENTER: This island features a bar sink, a full suite of entertaining-friendly appliances and a strikingly-beautiful ThinkGlass countertop, shown on the company's web site.

STYLE NOTES: Your island doesn't have to match the rest of your kitchen, but it should coordinate. Here's a beautiful example featuring Dynasty by Omega semi-custom cabinets from the manufacturer's web site.