Spotlight on Pool Baths

March 20, 2012

in Bath,Bath Design,Bath Remodeling,Custom Cabinets,Florida Homes,Trends

Ask your Chicago or New York friends about pool baths and you might get a puzzled stare. We Florida homeowners couldn’t live without them, though. Imagine your children’s friends running across your wood floors or your party guests dripping all over your upholstered furniture to get to the powder room, and you quickly appreciate the pool bath’s practicality.

Just because it’s practical, doesn’t mean your pool bath shouldn’t be pretty, too. Our Florida design pros share their insights on creating pool baths for your home this season.

 

Make your pool bath as stylish as a master with custom Wood-Mode cabinetry and handsome details worthy of your best parties

 Location rules

Yes, your pool bath should be accessible from your pool area. It should also have a lockable door. (Nobody wants to be walked in on during a pool party!).  Many  clients have their pool baths in a cabana or pool house.

If it’s not located within a separate building, your pool bath should be in an easy-to-reach spot in your home. “With so many kitchens and great rooms opening onto the lanai, it’s not uncommon to see the pool bath serving as a rest room for these areas even when no one is swimming,” according to Wood-Mode Florida Representative Susan Goldblatt.

This Kohler bath reflects coastal style shared by many Florida homes

 Style rules

Because your pool bath is part of your home’s social flow, it should reflect the style of the surrounding rooms. “They normally are not big bathrooms,” notes Cesar Verdugo with Ft. Lauderdale-based Living Color, but, he notes, they should be as attractive as powder rooms. Both, after all, are part of your entertaining space.

Verdugo ties his pool room designs to the surrounding rooms by carrying through the same cabinet and hardware finishes, even the same flooring, if it’s water and moisture-friendly.

 

Courtesy:  AIA Warren Architecture, LLC
Your pool bath can be as elegant as your powder room or master with Wood-Mode

Functionality rules

These are going to be heavily-used bathrooms. Their surfaces will be subjected to chlorine, as well as water. “It’s really important to select durable finishes for a pool bath,” cautions Goldblatt.  Verdugo agrees, and often specifies quartz counters and tile floor and walls.

 

This Wintergreen quartz countertop by Zodiaq recalls the look of beach glass – perfect and practical for a pool bath!

 Your pool bath doesn’t need a tub, but a shower is a necessity. It’s where your guests will wash the pool water off of their swimsuits and skin. “Building in a niche for soap and shampoo is a nice feature to include. So are a bench and hand shower for older guests’ seated use – especially here in Florida,” notes Goldblatt.

“I like to include multiple shower heads in pool baths,” Verdugo notes. “It’s perfect after a pool day.”

 

Multiple showerheads, like this Siderna collection from Brizo, add luxury to your pool bath

 Your pool bath should also have ample room for towels, potentially even a hamper if you regularly supply the towels for your pool parties. Robe hooks just outside of the shower or tub area and a bench within are also great guest conveniences.

Safety rules

Your flooring neesd to be highly slip-resistant as most visitors will be running in from the pool with wet feet. Installing decorative grab bars in showering/bathing areas for both children and seniors is an accessory not to overlook.   If you don’t think of grab bars as decorative, you haven’t seen the latest styles, often with the same detail and finishes as the faucets and accessories.  They also work well for active homeowners or guests who may be recovering from surgery or injuries.

Grab bars, like Moen‘s Kingsley can add to your pool bath’s safety and style!

Final thoughts

If you’re looking to add a pool bath to your Florida home, or upgrade the one you currently have, our local designers are the ideal professionals to help you make that happen. The outcome will be enhanced resale value in future years and enhanced comfort and convenience now. Contact one of these bath pros today to discuss your wishes and concerns.

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Spotlight on Baking Centers

December 19, 2011

in Custom Cabinets,Florida Homes,Kitchen,Kitchen Design,Kitchen Remodeling,Trends,Uncategorized

This is the time of year when the delicious aromas of holiday desserts waft through your kitchen and your aprons are coated with flour. (A small price to pay for such heavenly treats!) For those of you who positively love to bake, a custom baking center might be a wonderful gift to yourself and your home. Our Florida-based kitchen design pros can help you create one! Here, two of them share some ideas and tips for making this happen.

Planning a baking center

“We have designed dozens of bake centers for clients,” shares Amber Knapstein with Vero Beach-based William Charles, Inc. “We like to drop the standard 36 inch high counter top to between 30 (table height) and 33 inches high to provide an area to mix, knead, and roll out dough.”

Knapstein adds, “Baking centers are easily placed in an island or perimeter location. An island-based baking center does have several perks that a perimeter-based baking center does not. This includes the ability to entertain and converse with guests from the baking center face to face instead of over the shoulder, and the freedom to move around the kitchen while keeping the perimeter free for other uses.”

Ann Marie Hoeksema, CKD with Sarasota’s Paradise Homes/Extreme Remodelers notes that a baking center should offer “Ample landing space, prep area and proximity to ovens.” She, too, most frequently designs them into an island. If your kitchen lacks an island, but has space for one, this could be an ideal focus for it! “The prep area for baking centers is often island-based with the appliances being on an adjacent perimeter wall,” the Certified Kitchen Designer adds.

 

The island in this elegant Paradise Homes/Extreme Remodelers kitchen could be an ideal baking center site

There isn’t a specific configuration or dimension requirement for a baking center, since each one is customized to how you’ll use it. “It should be entirely based on the client’s desires, balanced with the time spent baking and the amount the client bakes,” Knapstein notes.

 Outfitting your baking center

“One ideal cabinet accessory is a utensil organizer kit,” Knapstein suggests. “It will keep all of your baking tools organized and at the ready to whip up your favorite treats.”

“Mixer lifts are often requested for that frequently-used heavy stand mixer. Additionally, double wall ovens are always requested,” Hoeksema notes. “Rollout drawers for accessing mixing bowls also help the baker,” she adds.

Mixer lift mechanisms, like this  Rev-A-Shelf  model featured in a Wood-Mode cabinet, are ideal for keeping your baking center countertops clear when your stand mixer isn’t being used

Equipping your baking center

“A cooktop, oven and stand mixer are the basic appliances a baker needs – in addition to the obvious need for refrigeration,” Hoeksema shares. “Double wall ovens are always requested,” rather than singles, the designer notes.

A second sink isn’t generally needed, Knapstein notes. “There really is little importance for an extra sink in a bake center. However, if the client requests one, we will use all of our abilities to design a stress-free working environment for them.”

If, however, you’re adding an island to a kitchen that doesn’t already have one, you may want to add a sink for the overall kitchen’s convenience. “A prep sink is vital at this location to serve a central prep area,” Hoeksema says. The main sink located in the kitchen’s perimeter will largely serve as a clean-up sink. Having both will better allow two cooks, or one cook and one baker, to work together in the kitchen.

The double ovens and refrigerator in this Paradise Homes/Extreme Remodelers kitchen are convenient to an island-based baking center

Topping your baking center

Marble has long been a popular choice for home bakers because its smooth, cool surface is perfect for kneading dough. It has drawbacks, though, including its tendency to stain and chip. Granite has became an accepted alternative for its cool hardness, but its porous surface also invites staining and cross-food contamination.

“Engineered quartz surfacing offers the same benefits as marble or granite, but without the maintenance requirements,” Knapstein observes. Because they’re non-porous, engineered stone tops – marketed as Silestone, Caesarstone, Cambria and Zodiaq, to name a few – also reduce your contamination risk.

“Polished hard surfaces such as stone or quartz are ideal,” Hoeksema adds. “They are durable and easy to clean and maintain.” Granite and marble will need sealing. Quartz, also known as engineered stone, won’t.

 

Engineered stone, like this Ocean Blue version from Zodiaq, is an ideal baking center countertop surface, according to our kitchen pros!

 Final thoughts

If you’re envisioning yourself creating sweet treats in a new baking center, please consult with one of our Florida-based kitchen design pros. And have a happy, healthy holiday season!

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Your Kitchen for the Holidays

December 13, 2011

in Custom Cabinets,Florida Homes,Kitchen,Kitchen Design,Kitchen Remodeling,Trends,Uncategorized

The 2011 holiday season is officially upon us. And your kitchen is about to get very, very busy. Is it up to the continual entertaining that comes with this busiest time of year? If the answer is yes, congratulations, you probably had it designed by a pro. If, on the other hand, it’s barely passable, our Florida-based kitchen design experts suggest keeping track of those areas where it falls really short this season. That way, they can help address these shortcomings with you for a more perfect Easter and Passover 2012.

In the meantime, here are a couple of these design professionals sharing their insights for a kitchen that entertains well all-year-round.

A well-lit kitchen entertains well

“The most aesthetically enjoyable interior spaces are those that are well lit,” shares Ann Marie Hoeksema, CKD, with Sarasota-based Paradise Homes/Extreme Remodelers. “A space that is well lit entails layering combinations of lighting, including under-cabinet, decorative fixtures, ambient lighting – and sparkle,” the Certified Kitchen Designer adds. Sparkle can be achieved with the use of candle light or with in-cabinet lighting reflecting on crystal accessories. Lighting done well can impact emotion and mood.

 

A well-lit Wood-Mode kitchen by Paradise Homes/Extreme Remodelers entertains beautifully.

 A well-organized kitchen entertains well

“The right mix of space and flow,” also enhances everyone’s mood. These ingredients make for an entertaining-friendly kitchen, shares Amber Knapstein with William Charles, Inc. in Vero Beach. “The storage space in cabinets and the usable counter space on countertops, along with the ability of a kitchen to provide natural flow all make it inviting and convenient,” she notes.

Our design pros share the advantages of kitchen organizers to your holiday entertaining chores. Knapstein suggests pull-out spice racks. “Being able to find all of your spices quickly makes cooking faster by putting the holiday flavors your family loves in your hands without digging through a packed cabinet or overstuffed drawer.”

 


Homeowners have several options for spice storage including drawer and cabinet installations.

Hoeksema has a tip of her own to offer: “One of the most important cabinetry organizer types in the kitchen for holiday entertaining are tray dividers. This is the time of year when we make use of those oversized serving trays that are stowed away in often less than accessible cabinets. Having an organized divider system for them is ideal.”


This Brookhaven kitchen features a base cabinet divider for trays, cookie sheets and baking pans.

“Nothing makes entertaining easier than ample countertop space and easily accessible cooks’ tools,” the certified designer adds. “For the extreme chef, a pot rack within close proximity to the cooking station is an invaluable feature. The increasing popularity of the pot filler above the range top is also a bonus time saving amenity to any kitchen.”

This Paradise Homes/Extreme Remodelers kitchen features a step-saving pot filler

A well-equipped kitchen entertains well

Our designers are united in their enthusiasm for warming drawers at this busy time of year. “They give the host or hostess time to entertain and circulate with his or her guests, while allowing the meal to stay warm and ready to serve,” Knapstein notes.

Hoeksema adds, “Double ovens and warming drawers are a must for entertaining large groups.” All of a range top’s burners get used at this time of year, too, rather than the typical one or two for a family dinner. Holidays are when your 48 or 60 inch pro cooker and specialty burners really pay for themselves, our designers agree.

At the other end of the entertaining spectrum is an ice maker. These are paramount for making holiday entertaining easier, shares Knapstein. “Ice makers make it easy for guests to keep their drinks cold and hosts to fill glasses, pitchers, and keep cold appetizers at the right temperature for guest enjoyment.”

An ice maker, like this Echelon Series model from U-Line, is indispensable for home entertaining

A well-floored kitchen entertains well

What’s underfoot is almost as important as who’s underfoot. “Very few flooring surfaces are more welcoming than wood,” Hoeksema suggests. “Current trends reflect heavily distressing. These engineered wood floors are forgiving and low maintenance, even in the kitchen.” If you’re not familiar with this term, it refers to a factory-produced pre-finished floor that can install over most surfaces, including the concrete slab found under so many Florida kitchens. The distressing Hoeksema notes makes the flooring relatively worry-free when you have big crowds. A new ding or dent will just add to its character!

Knapstein likes rectified porcelain tile as an entertainer’s kitchen flooring. “It is easier to achieve thinner grout lines with rectified porcelain tile,” she shares. “With frequent foot traffic and the inevitable spills due to entertaining, the thinner the grout lines, the less grout to clean.” That, she notes, should make any host (and her housekeeper) happier. Porcelain is also far more durable than its ceramic tile cousin. When through-body porcelain tile is smartly specified, any dings from falling skillets will be much harder to spot as the surface finish goes all the way into the tile.

As tile of all kinds can be hard on one’s feet, back, hips and legs – especially when so many hours are spent in the kitchen at this time of year, a cushioned mat can be a welcome gift to yourself (or your favorite caterer) during the holidays.

Cushioning underfoot from a Wellness Mat preserves the home entertainer’s feet, back and legs during the hectic holiday season

 Final thoughts on entertaining kitchens

A kitchen that entertains well, at this time of year and any other, doesn’t happen by accident. In fact, it can help you avoid the many accidents that are routinely caused by poor ventilation, poor traffic flow and other haste-makes-waste occurrences common at this hectic time of year. Our kitchen design experts across the great state of Florida wish you happy, healthy, joyous holidays, and stand ready to help you enhance your space for 2012.

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