Color theory with Michael K Chen

Last night I stumbled upon this beautiful home in the New York Times. The use of color and saturation really stood out to me. The other thing that stood out was a quote from the architect designer Michael Chen “My least favorite design expression is ‘Pop of color’ .” This really struck me, an interior designer who loves color and uses that phrase probably too much. I love using a neutral palette and adding color and pattern to contrast that. I love a pantry or powder room saturated in color and how that creates a little experience. Is the pop of color trend coming to an end?

Windows, moldings, walls, and ceiling are saturated in this coral color. Photo by Alan Tansey for NYT

After spending more time looking over the photos, I started to get how Chen was thinking. This home is saturated throughout and all of the colors work together to create a larger picture. Lots of different floors and rooms allow the color to tell a story, yet if you looked at a color chart with all of the colors from the home, they all work together. It’s less about avoiding a ‘pop of color’ and more about using color to enliven your entire home in a well planned way.

This room on a lower floor has light peach walls and ceilings. The color is also in some floor tiles. Photo by Alan Tansey for NYT

A bath on the top floor pairs coral with darker reds. Photo by Alan Tansey for NYT.

Do you think the ‘pop of color’ trend has come to an end? What are the next interior design trends to consider? Let us know in the comments below.

Different Types of Cabinets

What are the different types of cabinets? Cabinetry creates unique interior design styles for kitchens and bathrooms. Cabinet details provide simplicity, utility, and even luxury to your space. Today we review door styles, frame styles, and cabinet customization. Can you imagine any of these cabinets in your home?

Overlay Door

An overlay door closes in front of the cabinet frame. Hinges are typically hidden on this style of cabinetry. Overlay cabinets look more contemporary and the doors help to hide seams between cabinets. See all of our door styles here.

Inset door

Inset doors close flush with the cabinet frame. Hinges can be visible or hidden. Inset cabinets offer a refined look, but door hardware may need adjusting to line everything up. Any seams between cabinets will be more visible on inset cabinets.

Shaker Cabinets

Shaker is a cabinet door style with a flat panel and simple lines. Shaker style doors can work with overlay or inset cabinets. Shaker doors feel sturdy with a solid wood frame, yet simple with clean lines.

Raised Panel Cabinets

Raised Panel doors simply have a raised panel in the middle of the door surrounded by a frame. The panel can taper on the sides or even come to a point. While this style is typically more traditional feeling, adjusting the panel and frame sizes can result in a very contemporary feel.

Slab Cabinets

Slab doors are a flat panel of wood with no frame. The slab can be a solid piece of wood, laminated wood pieces, or a synthetic material like MDF for painted cabinets. Some cabinet styles use slabs for small drawers paired with framed panels for doors and large drawers. Slab doors are often used on modern cabinets, but when paired with a panel door, they can look traditional.

Custom Cabinets

Custom cabinets are designed and built for your custom space. Shapes, sizes, door styles, and finishes can all be customized to create an inspired space. Cabinet door fronts can be used as appliance panels and brackets and feet can be added for a finished furniture look. Custom kitchen islands can be built as a single, freestanding piece, rather than separate cabinets with seams. This high-end look comes at a price, custom cabinets are typically three times the cost of ready-made. See our custom cabinets here.

Ready-made Cabinets

Budget friendly ready-made cabinets come in standard sizes and colors. Fillers and moldings can be used to make these fit your space and feel built-in. A skilled interior designer can create beautiful, unique kitchens with ready-made cabinets, but there are some limitations to what is offered. See our New England Cabinets here.

For more cabinet organizers and ideas, check out craigslist hutch before and after, and take a video tour of a custom kitchen.

How To Measure For Cabinets

If you want to instal new cabinets in your home you will have to measure your home first. Measuring is easy, you will need paper, pencil, and a measuring tape. A second person helps, but it’s possible alone.

1) First, look around the room and think about the overall shape. Draw it in the middle of your paper. Leave a blank space for doorways in the wall. Then draw lines coming off the corners of your shape so it looks like you are looking down into the room. Draw any windows, doors, vents or radiators on those walls. Do not draw appliances or cabinets that will be removed.

Next label all of the horizontal dimensions around the room. Measure from corners to any windows or doors and the distance between windows and doors. Measure the actual size of the window and door openings. Disregard moldings for now. Also measure your ceiling height. You will want to do this in every area you want cabinets because ceiling height can vary even in the same room.

Now measure the heights of doors, windows, and the height from the bottom of the window to the floor. If there is any plumbing or venting that you want to keep, note that as well. Measure the width of the window and door moldings or note if there are multiple moldings. Finally, label any door swings with a curved line.

Your drawing doesn’t have to be to scale or look neat, but you should measure accurately. Your design and cabinets will be based on your measurements, so double check! After you finish measuring take some pictures to send your designer. Try to get pictures of each wall in the room. Great job! You are one step closer to your dream kitchen.

Reducing Single Use Plastic In Your Kitchen

Let’s face it, our wasteful plastic habit is ridiculous. We’ve fallen in love with using clean, cheap, lightweight plastics and throwing them out after one use. It’s so easy to do if you choose not to think about the implications. But there are major implications, like a less beautiful environment for us, our children, and our doggies. Making plastics is a dirty business, they’re not easy to recycle, not biodegradable, and some materials are not healthy to cook or store food in either. Lets take a look at some ways to reduce plastic use in your home and how we can help design a new kitchen for the post plastic age.

Whether on display or hidden away, bulk food in jars looks prettier than plastic.

It’s All About That Bulk

Buying everyday items in bulk and with your own reusable container is probably the biggest change each of us can make. Maybe you’ve started buying trail mix or dried fruit from the bulk bin, but have you considered olive oil, spices, rice, detergents, honey, vinegar, or soap? Imagine for a minute that every plastic wrapper or bottle you buy can’t be recycled (it probably isn’t), in fact, imagine that every piece of plastic you use will end up in the ocean (it probably will). Now imagine a trip to the grocery store that doesn’t involve any plastic. It’s easy if you have the right supplies. Here are a few tips and products that will help.

Reusable produce bags will eliminate plastic bags and are easily washed. We love these from Colony Co.

Simple ball jars are great for peanut butter, grains, coffee, and dish soap. We like the Bormioli Fido jars with the blue lids for items that will be displayed, but any sealable jar will do.

Bulk spices are a great reason to get your spices organized. We bought this set of matching spice jars which came with labels and a little funnel for depositing spices.

Lunches and Leftovers.

Jars and bags might be great for bulk food, but what about leftovers? Plastic baggies, cling wrap, and plastic containers are not only wasteful, they may also be leaching toxins into your food. We found lots of great information on the subject at Life without plastic, but the main takeaways are that food is safer stored and heated in non plastic containers. Here are a few of our favorite alternatives:

Instead of plastic wrap try beeswax wrap. It’s reusable and compostable!

We like these Oxo smart seal containers for lunches. The glass base works great in the microwave, the lids are leak proof, and they are even freezer safe.

Plant wise zipper bags are a good sandwich bag alternative. They are reusable, dishwasher safe, and plastic free.

Finally, remember to bring your reusable cutlery and napkins for lunch. Single use disposable utensils and straws might seem little, but they are a huge factor in ocean pollution and street litter.

Don’t Forget the Drinks

Drink bottles and bottle caps are the second most common plastic pollutants (after cigarette butts) according to the UN Environment Program. The solution here is easy. Keep a reusable water bottle or coffee cup with you. We recommend Kleen Kanteen bottles and thermoses. Their child and adult products use interchangeable caps and lids that are also replaceable. Stainless steel is easier to manage than glass and safer for you than plastic.

Another way to reduce waste with your drinks is to invest in a mesh coffee or tea filter. Metal mesh makes it easy to dump grounds and rinse for reuse. At our showroom we purchased a coffee maker that can make a whole pot or a single cup, both with mesh filters. We avoid kurig pods because they include single use plastic that can’t be recycled.

This custom cabinetry includes pull-outs that hide compost bins and trash.

The Compostable Myth

Are you spending more on compostable bags, utensils, or other plastic alternatives? Are you still throwing these items in the landfill? Then save your money. Garbage in the landfill does not break down. Landfills were designed to store trash, keep it dry, and seal it permanently. Your compostable bamboo fork is not being composted unless you compost it yourself. Sure, some businesses or public areas might have ‘compost’ cans, but people often throw trash in them and then everything still ends up in the landfill.

The best way to compost is right in your own back yard. We have a few of these compost bins and found they were much easier to load, turn, and move then clumsy rolling drums (that tend to break). In our kitchen we keep a stainless steel compost bin on the counter and take it out daily, but some of our clients opt for a custom pull-out that can hold and hide a larger bin. For more information on eco friendly renovating, read our post Green Remodeling: 7 eco friendly tips to renovate sustainably.

As you consider reducing plastics in your life think about how to simplify and reduce your belongings in general. We can’t say that these options are easier or cheaper than single use plastics, but we think it’s worth the time and money to commit to a cleaner, healthier life. We only get one earth. We only get one body. Take care of it.