Kitchens That Work

by: Martin Edic

Topics include: kitchen that works, upper cabinetry, your new kitchen, your kitchen design, your cabinetry, texture palette, baking area, kitchen project, existing kitchen, commercial appliances, counter material, basic kitchen, cleanup area, doors and drawer fronts, your carpenter, lower cabinets, kitchen cabinetry, functional kitchen, serious cook, custom cabinetry, surfacing materials, punch list, work triangle, hidden systems, waste lines

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The practical guide for creating a great kitchen The kitchen is the social center of the home -- a place for eating, a place for working, and a place to organize everything from spices to your household finances. Because kitchens serve so many different needs, creating a new kitchen that not only works well but also lives well is a major challenge. Featuring over 200 full-color photos, illustrations, and charts, Kitchens That Work is a guide that walks you through the process of building a new kitchen, from the initial planning through the many material and design choices made along the way to the actual construction process. Authors Martin and Richard Edic provide a series of models and exercises to help you understand how you use your kitchen, how to think in three dimensions, how to make important design and style decisions, and how to manage every step of the process to save money and time. "Whether you're building new or remodeling, this book presents some good practical ideas. The authors include tips for moving from your 'perfect-world' vision of a kitchen to the 'real-world' plan that reflects the money, time, and space you actually have. . . . Hey, if you're going to buy antiques, you've got to have a place to put them. You might as well put them in a room that 'works'." -- Maine Antiques Digest, Dec. 1997

The kitchen is the social center of the home - a place for eating, a place for working, and a place to organize everything from spices to household finances. Because kitchens serve so many different needs, creating a new kitchen that not only serves these many needs but works well is a major challenge. Featuring over 200 color photos, illustrations, and charts, Kitchens That Work uses a lifestyle design model to guide the reader through the complex process of designing and creating a great kitchen - one that works for everyone living in the house. The book guides the reader through each step of the process, from initial planning through the many material and design choices made along the way. Especially helpful is the unique insider's perspective on finding, evaluating, and managing kitchen contractors.

Introduction PART ONE: THE EVOLVING PLAN CHAPTER 1 A Kitchen That Works for You The Evolution of the Modern Kitchen Lifestyle Design The Perfect-World Kitchen From Perfect World to Real World CHAPTER 2 Money and Budgets Remodeling and Return on Investment The Basic Kitchen The Middle-Level Kitchen The High-End Kitchen Budgets and Perfection Financing Your Kitchen CHAPTER 3 The Kitchen in Motion Three-Dimensional Thinking Traffic Flow Light and Airflow Islands in the Stream Fixed Elements Three-Dimensional Traffic Patterns "Dead Spaces" Ergonomics Floor-Plan Development CHAPTER 4 The Hidden Kitchen Codes and Regulations Structural Integrity Hidden Systems PART TWO: DESIGN AND STYLE CHAPTER 5 Designing with the Physical Space Putting Your Kitchen on Paper From Sketch to Scale Drawing Developing Your Design Resources CHAPTER 6 Systems as Design Elements Water Heat Sources for Cooking Air: Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation Light Electricity Sound CHAPTER 7 Appliances and Kitchen Technology Choosing Appliances Ranges, Ovens, and Cooktops Refrigerators Dishwashers Waste Management Communications Technology Countertop Appliances CHAPTER 8 Cabinetry and Work Surfaces The Evolution of the Box Cabinet Design Elements Inventory Your Storage Needs Work Surfaces Backsplashes CHAPTER 9 Architecture and Style The Roots of Style Region and History Integrating Existing Elements CHAPTER 10 Designing with Color and Texture Reference Models Historical Models Design Challenges CHAPTER 11 The Material World Materials Palette Wood Ceramic Tile Stone Metal Synthetic Materials Glass Fabric Wall Coverings Paint Moldings and Trim CHAPTER 12 Furniture and Accessories Furniture Decorative Objects Textiles Window Treatments PART THREE: BUILDING YOUR KITCHEN CHAPTER 13 Construction Scheduling and Contractors The Master Schedule Hiring a General Contractor Acting As Your Own General Contractor The Construction Process Step-by-Step Coping with Stress CHAPTER 14 Buying and Handling Construction Materials Suppliers Purchasing Waste Removal Budgeting Materials and Cost Overruns Damage Control CHAPTER 15 Problem Resolution Decisions, Decisions When Problems Arise Common Problem Areas Punch Lists CHAPTER 16 Working in Your New Kitchen Organizing Your New Kitchen Upgrading Your Batterie de Cuisine Maintaining Your Kitchen Enjoying Your Kitchen Kitchen-Design Options Contractor Proposal Form Change Order Form Index

Of all the rooms in our homes, the kitchen is the most complex. Designing one that works well and lives well is a challenge. This book was written to help you create a kitchen that works with you in the context of your life and the lifestyle of your household. Too many of the kitchens we use daily work against us, making regular tasks tedious and extraordinary tasks like entertaining a chore rather than a pleasure. We all spend a lot of time in the kitchen even if we never cook a gourmet meal. We eat there, we socialize, we work, we organize, and we recharge our engines for another challenging day. Kitchens That Work is a book about the design process. Every time we design and build a kitchen for someone we go through an educational process with our clients, as they learn about everything from hidden heating ducts in the ceilings to making sure that their counter edges are safe for small children. Kitchens are not only the social heart of the house, but they are also often the utilitarian heart of the house, the place where all the life-support systems we depend on converge. Consider that they should be aesthetically pleasing and functional, too, and you have a design challenge that can stump even the most experienced designer. We'll be looking at everything from style to plumbing to dealing with contractors. You can use the book to help you communicate your wishes to a professional designer or contractor, or you can use it to guide you through your own design process. We won't tell you how to hook up a dishwasher or build a cabinet because there are plenty of excellent sources for that information. We will help you decide where that dishwasher goes and what the difference is between face-frame and Euro-style cabinetry so that you can make informed choices. Making those choices is what this book is about. Part 1 of Kitchens That Work focuses on the knowledge you already possess. We'll examine how you use your kitchen, what works and what doesn't, and why. We'll look at money and budgets and ways you can get the most from your dollars. Then we'll examine the existing systems and architecture and help you learn how they can be adapted or changed to improve the basic space. Photos, illustrations, and checklists will get you started learning more about the design process as it affects your needs and interests. Part 2 is about design and style. The design of your kitchen starts with the three-dimensional space and how it flows as a work and social environment. We'll tell you how to plan on paper and build a design file. We'll look again at systems, this time from a design point of view. And we'll look in detail at appliances, cabinetry, and materials, along with how they all work together to create a functional and attractive kitchen.We'll also examine the influence of architecture and explore ways to create a coordinated color and texture palette you can use to choose everything from a counter surface to a cabinet finish. Part 3 looks at the construction process you'll go through while building a new kitchen. This is often the most stressful aspect of the kitchen-design process, in large part because of poor planning, confusion as to what's going on, and the large sums of money involved. We'll walk you through scheduling, dealing with contractors, buying materials, resolving problems, and putting your new kitchen together again after the dust settles. We suggest you first use Kitchens That Work as a source of inspiration. Look through it and start to consider what you have to work with and what you want from your new kitchen. Then read more thoroughly and start measuring, sketching, and planning. Get out and start looking at the many choices you have in materials, cabinetry, and appliances. Start a design file filled with clippings, samples, and ideas. Consider using a reference model like the ones in Chapter 10 to help you make decisions. Once you have a design and know what you want, use Part 3 to help you get started with the construction of your new kitchen. If you don't feel up to designing your own kitchen, this book will help you choose and work with a professional kitchen designer or architect. The more informed you are, the better communication you'll have with design professionals, and the more likely you'll be to get what you want. And if you are a designer, we hope you'll share this book with your clients as a tool and inspiration. We wrote this book because we are fascinated and challenged by kitchen design. Both of us are avid cooks who enjoy entertaining. We've never been able to keep our guests out of the kitchen, nor would we want to. After all, it's where the action is, where the food and drink flow, and where the conversation is the best. We hope this book will help you create a kitchen that works for you.

Reviews:

Best all-around book on the subject -- I've bought just about every kitchen remodeling guide out there, and a huge stack of kitchen magazines. I wish I'd found this book earlier in the process -- it's by far the best. Practical advice and methodology on every step of the process from space planning to a great system for coming up with a workable color scheme (I was REALLY going nuts over this aspect, and now have an aesthetic approach that makes sense). Little things that other books don't discuss, like planning for the space needed to open cabinet and appliance doors, and what's considered a practical width for passage between a stove and an island, and setting up a working temporary kitchen for use during the project. It discusses all options and doesn't necessarily embrace all the latest fads. Do you need an island, or will it just clutter up your floor plan? It prepares you for what to expect during the process -- hiring contractors, the delays, when to order things, should I hire a designer or an architect? Or neither? And what's the difference? Lots of color photos and diagrams, discussion of various materials, relating your remodel to the architectural history of your house -- I could go on. All in simple, thoughtful, common-sense prose by authors who've apparently been there many times and know the joys and the pitfalls -- and have a great sense of design. You won't regret getting this book.

Nuts and bolts of remodeling and kitchen design -- There are so many kitchen design books on the market. If you want the best one, buy this. Why? Because it forces you to think about how you want to function in your kitchen before you even begin to select cabinets, appliances, fixtures and fittings. What good does it do you to install attractive features like professional ranges and refrigerators, expensive cabinetry and lighting if, in the end, you have to walk clear across too long an area to get from your refrigerator to your sink? This book guides you to examine how you work in your kitchen, e.g., whether one or two people cook, whether you entertain, whether you have special needs for children, etc. There is a great section that teaches you about the hidden systems in your walls, like plumbing and electrical, in a way you can understand, so you can be informed about these hidden elements and aren't a total dummy when talking to your contractor and when determining whether what needs to get done as far as plumbing and electrical work is in fact being done. Might prevent the old "being taken to the cleaners" problems we've all experienced as, say, when dealing with auto mechanics. The section on construction scheduling and contractors is invaluable. The chapter entitled "Designing with the Physical Space" is terrific. This book is worth every penny and probably a lot more in terms of making yourself aware of all aspects of your kitchen remodeling project, what you want and what you don't want in terms of the functionality of your finished kitchen. As it is an expensive remodeling project to undertake, it seems worthwhile to make yourself as knowledgeable as possible. After reading this book and knowing I have it as a reference, the task of remodeling the kitchen seems much less overwhelming.

great for first-time remodelers -- This book is great for planning, with a lot of details that would prevent a first-time kitchen remodeler from making a lot of mistakes. The authors give details such as standard counter heights that other books skip. The photos are terrific. It doesn't offer much for people who've been through several remodels or planning new kitchens in a custom home. They also omit to mention the tedium of microwaved food for six months, sliding completion dates and escalating costs (muliply time by three and money by two to get a real figure, and I'm not joking), and the reality of washing dishes in the bathtub. Reminder memo to self: you must prevent food scraps from ever reaching the tub drain- there is no garbage disposal.

A primer on good kitchen design -- This book is a good primer on kitchen design and remodeling. It is one of the few willing to mention some real world issues such as "what's behind those walls" and "making sure doors don't get in the way of each other or traffic patterns" and of course "budgets". It doesn't presume the reader has a huge kitchen or budget to work with. It offers ideas that could help anyone planning a kitchen remodel. Its chock full of real world tips. I only wish they could have expanded on some issues that were simply mentioned: such as examples of using non-kitchen cabinet furniture in a kitchen design, and perhaps given xerox-able example lists of what to try to include in a given kitchen area as a starting point for readers to work with.

Soup to Nuts, This is the book to get -- I bought Kitchens that Work at the same time I bought Great Kitchens, At Home with America's Top Chefs. I love Kitchens That Work, and am disappointed in the one about America's top chefs. If you are wondering what Mario Andretti's garage looks like, it is nothing like you would imagine. Probably more like a GM assembly plant. Top chefs think in terms of production, not beauty. One of the kitchens has bare cinderblock, unfinished on the wall. Very utilitarian with little warmth. Others are better than that, but I did not find anything inspiring in there. Kitchens that work on the other hand, has every level of kitchen pictured. Some high end kitchens to dream of, as well as some a little more practical. The important thing as they mention is an intelligent design, that incorporates what you need, rather than the latest trend. When I read some of the reviews on Kitchens that Work, I thought it would be lacking something, NOT! It has every consideration covered. Planning, layout, design, considerations when dealing with contractors, things to look out for when opening up walls, like hidden pipes for example, and the list goes on and on. All I can say, "Soup to Nuts, This is the Book to Get" You could spend a year pondering all of the considerations they give you. Well done, definitely five stars.