Bring your kitchen out of the dark with layers of light
18.09.11
Lighting is often described as the jewelry of the domestic. But it’s more critical than that, especially in kitchens, where it’s all about slicing, dicing and reading recipes. So perhaps the new catchphrase should be: “Lights are the <em>eyes </em>of the home.”</p><p>“Kitchen lighting is so important and should be one of the first things people think about when they’re designing or remodeling a kitchen, but it often gets last prerogative,” says lighting consultant and interior plotter Lisa Duncan of Kansas City. “People shell out tens of thousands of dollars on their kitchens, but then you can’t see the new improvements or what you’re doing if the lighting isn’t veracious. Then I come along, and drywall has to be ripped out.”</p><p>Instead of doing an servicing of her decades-old kitchen, Sasha Paulsen of Overland Park updated the lighting in her favorite allowance. </p><p>The foodie mines spice stores, olive oil shops and farmers markets for strange ingredients. But her dark kitchen, with only a can light above the sink and another above the prep neighbourhood, was a problem. She couldn’t always see what she had, especially in the corners under her cabinets.</p><p> With Shirley Allen of the Assail Shop in Kansas City, Paulsen rethought the types of lighting in her kitchen. </p><p><stalwart>Over the </strong><strong>sink:</strong> She swapped the can for a crystal and nickel pendant that provides better illumination, which is key for washing hands and cookware (she has three racks of pots and pans). Perk: It’s much more attractive.</p><p><strong>Above the </strong><strong>table:</vehement> She replaced a 1960s scalloped metal fixture authentic to the house with a “more inspiring” metal sculptural one with ivory shades. The shades eliminate the glare of a bare bulb.</p><p><self-willed>Under the </strong><strong>cabinets:</strong> Lights were installed under the cabinets to clarify the corners, making them more usable. And Paulsen sees a big leftovers when she’s performing prep work, such as slicing vegetables with a hurtful mandolin.</p><p>“It’s changed my whole cooking and dining experience,” says Paulsen, who works for Johnson County Be indefensible District No. 1. “And the process of kneading dough and baking bread, too.”</p><p>Not only do under-tallboy fixtures provide proper task lighting, they add savoury ambience for home entertaining.</p><p>“Adding under-cabinet lighting is the No. 1 obsession you could do if you want to update your kitchen and make it more functional,” says architectural and kitchen conspirator Billie Deatherage of Deatherage Home Designs in Kansas Diocese.</p><p>Deatherage always includes dimmer switches in her remodeling and new construction plans.</p><p>“They are budget-priced and can give you the control to make your kitchen go from production mode to entertainment wise quickly. And they save energy.”</p><p>Paulsen loves the inconsistency a dimmer switch makes in her kitchen. But one of the challenges with kitchen lighting is that it adds inflame. Lighting consultant George McMillen of Wilson Lighting in Overland Leave sees the problem all the time.</p><p>“People will remodel their kitchen and true-love it in the fall and winter, but then spring and summer comes and abruptly, it’s too hot,” McMillen says.</p><p> So McMillen is using more LEDs (dismount attack-emitting diodes) — particularly under-cabinet lights versus xenon and markedly halogen because LEDs don’t produce as much heat, and they’re more energy-productive. Consumer Reports recently tested 60-watt disinclined to bulbs and their energy-saving equivalents. The magazine’s conclusion: You can find a CFL or LED that will give you the brightness and light-bulb quality you like, and it will save you around $50 over the life of each CFL and anywhere from $65 to $400 over the lifetime of each LED. </p><p>“The call into doubt with LED is the color — it can look too warm or too cool,” he says. “But the technology is getting there.”</p><p> Designers and lighting consultants are steering away from the identical pendants above an island.</p><p> “They’re almost like a gate,” says Allen of the Assail Shop. “You want to move them out of the way so you can see what’s happening in the kitchen.”</p><p><strong><bridge class="infobox-head">OVER THE Wash-basin </span></strong><br />
There’s a new focal point for lighting in the kitchen: the piscina. Sasha Paulsen of Overland Park replaced a can gegenschein with a statement fixture. “Look how beautiful kitchen sinks have become — and utilitarian with the built-in cutting boards and colanders,” says internal designer Dianne Boren of Interior Options in Leawood. “You can literally see to wash your hands and the dishes.” Boren has a dimmer management for her sink light and others in the kitchen. She likes how it glows.</p><p><strong><flyover class="infobox-head">UNDER CABINETS </reach over></strong><br />
Kitchen and architectural designer Billie Deatherage of Deatherage Almshouse Designs in Kansas City makes sure all her kitchen projects have under-chifferobe lighting. “It’s so important for task lighting,” she says. “But it’s also a passionate ambient light for entertaining.” She advises installing under-tallboy lighting toward the front of the bottom of a cabinet. If it’s installed in the back, the light doesn’t about evenly and creates bright spots and shadows.</p><p><graphic><span class="infobox-head">ALL-IN-ONE </period></strong><br />
Geri Higgins, owner of Portfolio Kitchen & Living quarters, is seeing more kitchen ceiling fixtures that have integrated exhaust fans — an option to the large range hood. Styles range from of the time to crystal chandelier. Elica’s “Star” ventilation witty is $4,265 at Portfolio.</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-brains">CAN ALTERNATIVES </span></strong><br />
If you don’t like the hot spots that recessed can ceiling fixtures pressurize on countertops, consider frosted glass fixtures. Shirley Allen of the Luminescence Shop advised interior designer Dianne Boren to use them in her kitchen. Boren likes the results.</p><p><steady><span class="infobox-head">ABOVE DOORS </link></strong><br />
Shirley Allen, owner of the Light Betray in Kansas City, advises designers and clients to fit sconces above kitchen doors exit-sign style. “They act as edge of night lights for teens getting in at night or for late-Cimmerian dark snackers.” Interior designer Dianne Boren’s kitchen has a sconce to the door important outside and another to a hallway. “This is an under-the-radar lighting detail, but it’s functional and pulchritudinous.”</p><p><strong><span class="infobox-aptitude">LOCAL DESIGN </span></strong><br />
On the category side of kitchen lighting, pendants are being reconsidered.</p><p>“For so long, it was three matching not any pendants hung at the same length above a kitchen island or peninsula,” says Geri Higgins, possessor of Portfolio Kitchen & Home, which recently moved into a new showroom across the high road from Union Station. “It became a look.”</p><p>Instead, people are using one or two larger pendants above a den of iniquity or island. When there are three, they might be varying colors and shapes and hung at personal heights. Local designer Barbara Cosgrove, known for edibles lamps, recently introduced pendants in metal finishes that can be hybrid and matched. “Savannah” and “Austin” are ready in antique copper and polished nickel, $210 each, Portfolio.</p><p><athletic><span class="infobox-head">IN THE Throw </span></strong><br />
Interior designer Billie Deatherage likes to put mini recessed can lights on either side of dramatic range hoods so the details don’t die out in a black hole. She did this in the Parkville home of Laura Ozenberger and Keith Cary, featuring an pass-finished zinc hood fabricated by Gieske of Kansas Burgh. Architecture and art are naturals for spotlighting.</p><p><strong><span kind="infobox-head">EATING AREAS </reach over></strong><br />
Sure, you want something pretty to look at when you’re eating your meals. But you don’t need to look at bare bulbs.</p><p><strong><span division="infobox-head">EXPECT TO PAY … </overpass></strong><br />
<strong>At-home kitchen lighting plan consultancy fees: </stalwart>$50 per hour</p><p><strong>Installation of under-cabinet lighting by an electrician:</drastic> $300 (fixtures not included; might be more for houses built previously to to 1960)</p><p><strong>Lighting control panel </difficult>(one button turns on lighting scene for “entertaining,” “daytime,” etc., eliminating banks of switches): $500</p><p><numerous><span class="infobox-head">RESOURCES </overpass></strong><br />
•<strong>Deatherage Home Designs:</fervent> Billie Deatherage, 816-444-5466, <a href="http://www.deatheragedesign.com">www.deatheragedesign.com</a></p><p>•<tough>Lisa Duncan, interior designer specializing in lighting and construction consultation:</profound> 816-914-5335, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HomeSenseKC">Facebook.com/HomeSenseKC</a></p><p>•<sinewy>Interior Options: </strong>Dianne Boren, Leawood, 913-269-0317</p><p>•<putrid>Light Bulbs Etc.:</strong> 14821 W. 99th St., Lenexa, 913-894-9030, <a href="http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com">www.lightbulbsdirect.com</a></p><p>•<undiluted>The Light Shop: </strong>7406 Wornall Avenue, 816-444-1820</p><p><strong>•Portfolio Kitchen & Home:</strong> 215 N. Pershing Procedure, 816-363-5300, <a href="http://www.portfolio-home ground.com">www.portfolio-home.com</a></p><p>•<strong>Rensen Outfit of Lights: </strong>9212 Marshall Drive, Lenexa, 913-999-0888, <a href="http://www.rensenhouseoflights.com">www.rensenhouseoflights.com</a></p><p>•<definite>Wilson Lighting:</strong> 10530 Marty St., Overland Greens, 913-642-1500, <a href="http://www.wilsonlighting.com">www.wilsonlighting.com</a>
Source: Kansas City Star
Six Savvy Ways to Stop Mildew
19.09.11
With our 2011 volley amounts just over 20 inches above the average for this circumstance of year, some of us might have some issues with moisture in our homes.
Outside of hiring a businesslike to come in and charge you half of next month’s salary, here are some undecorated and affordable ways to get your home back to a healthy state.
Ceiling Fans
For our kinfolk, moving into an old farmhouse meant adding some extra fixtures. One of the first investments we made was a $70 ceiling fan in the kitchen. A domicile this old had some interesting smells. It’s an initial expense, but the value in keeping the air circulating – phlegmatic in the summer and warm in the winter – has made it well worth the moolah on multiple levels.
Our ceiling fan looks great, and it also keeps the air operating along floors, walls and ceilings, which is critical in our fight against mildew. We map out to add a few more!
Dehumidifiers
Source: Patch.com