Archive for category: Kitchen

By Katrina Hosea, President of BeeTree Homes

Beautiful, Functional and Affordable are three words that should define today’s kitchen. In the age of information and technology there should be no reason a kitchen can’t be all three.

Whether a kitchen is labeled as modern, contemporary, traditional or transitional there is look for everyone. Internet sites such as Houzz and Pinterest have made it easy for today’s consumers to identify and communicate their individual styles. Today’s kitchen and bath industry is more geared toward individual preferences than ever before. In our particular design center, clients often bring us a prolific amount of design ideas that they have captured on the web and even from kitchens they have seen on a television show.

Function however is not something you can easily capture from a picture. Function is often derived from sitting down with a kitchen specialist and discussing how your particular cooking evolves. Are you a gourmet chef or the queen of take out? More often than not we find that there are multiple cooks in a family or perhaps one member is the cook and the other is the master of prep and clean up. Our teams design preference is to layout a kitchen in cooking zones as opposed to the traditional cooking triangle.  We have seen kitchens have a cleaning and prep zone, baking zone, serving zone and even a homework zone.

Mixer lifts make getting that heavy mixer in and out of your cabinet a breeze

Kitchens are no longer relegated to the back corner and they haven’t for some time.  Having been in the industry for almost 20 years now I have witnessed the evolution of the kitchen. Today’s kitchens are the new family rooms. The cabinetry functions like furniture with storage features to provide a clutter free look. We have seen televisions incorporated into the cabinetry as well as charging stations for electronic devices built into countertops.

Lighting is no longer a last thought but it now takes center stage. It’s treated as a feature in contemporary designs with lighted shelving. It’s treated as functional necessity with under cabinet LEDs. At this year’s national kitchen and bath show we saw cabinets that had lightening built into the drawers and doors.

Under cabinet lighting adds some flare into you kitchen

In the last few years cabinets with cushion close technology on drawers and self closing doors have gone from being luxury items to standard features. Kitchen hardware has become fashion accessories for cabinetry.

Functional beautiful design can be affordable.  With the new products emerging cabinetry has become a pivotal design element that can have a huge impact on the budget without compromising on style and function. Companies like Miralis, which is a Canadian, brand available in selected US markets, have revolutionized how laminates are produced. They are not only great for our environment they are easy to clean, sleek in design and they have lines that are at fabulous price points and no assembly is required.

Miralis base cabinet with GE oven and range

Now that the American kitchen has evolved into more of an interactive space comfort plays a big part in the design. Today’s consumers are looking for ways to create comfort underfoot with laminate flooring that is not only easy to clean, beautiful to touch and see it has built in shock absorbency for those aching feet. We are seeing chairs and bar stools that are not only aesthetically pleasing but comfortable as well. People are lingering at the tables and the islands as they interact with the cook or cooks for that matter.

As kitchens continue to take center stage and become a hub of centralized activity for the way we interact today, it’s important that today’s kitchens continue to evolve into affordable, aesthetically beautiful while remaining functional.

Keep you countertop neat and organized with this small appliance hideaway

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BeeTree Homes Blogs

Click below to see more pictures of completed kitchens:

BeeTree Homes Kitchen Gallery

To visit the Miralis Website click below:

Miralis Cabinets

1. Wall Ovens: Practically every publication that deals with cooking (Food & Wine, Better Homes and Gardens, and The New York Times, to name a few) has something to say about wall ovens. So, what makes having an oven in the wall so special? When it comes time to baste that turkey or check on that pie, working with an oven that’s high enough to access easily is a difference serious cooks notice. There’s also something to be said for the extra elbowroom that comes with having a range located away from the oven if you plan on preparing several foods at once. Another bonus: Wall ovens with more than one compartment can make baking multiple items at different temperatures far more convenient (and with the convection, steam, and rotisserie options available, possibly faster or even healthier, too!)

2. Cabinet Organizers/ Lazy Susans: Cooking at home is a great way to reduce your budget and bring the family together. However, when accessing the things you need to get the job done becomes a project in itself, the daunting task of cooking an entire meal can easily be dismissed in favor of a trip to the closest restaurant. If the Better Homes and Gardens description, “[cabinet] interiors that are visually accessible and easily reachable, making it simple to see what you do and don’t have” sounds a far cry from your own kitchen cabinetry, it is likely that a few inexpensive kitchen additions like better cabinet shelving/organizers can make a big difference in prep time and lessen the lure of eating out.

3. Hanging Pot and Pan Racks: For many homeowners, the path to pots and pans is full of obstacles and falling objects. The solution: get your cookware out of the cabinet and into plain view. A single large pot rack suspended over an island or several smaller racks placed around the room makes finding the right tool for the job less of a hassle and gives you more storage space, to boot. While wall mounted pot racks are generally a drop in the bucket, prices for hanging pot racks can get pretty expensive. However, in just a few minutes online, we found several options for under $100 you can incorporate in to your kitchen remodeling project (and even a few under $50).

4. Modern Dishwashers: The promises of the 1950’s have finally been fulfilled. With large capacities, serious cleaning power, and even separate compartments, today’s dishwashers are truly the time savers we’ve always dreamed about. With enough cleaning power to tackle even baked on food without scrubbing, everything you use to cook or eat can go directly in and come out clean. Even better, many newer dishwashers can provide all this while still being more energy efficient than the model you currently have!

5. Ventilation Systems: One kitchen vent manufacturer tells us that, “cooking churns out airborne contaminants like nothing else in the home can.” Most of us, however, are probably just as (if not more) concerned with having a house that doesn’t stink. Food that smells great while it’s cooking might not please the palette as much a day or two later. While many folks have taken the leap to upgrade insulation and windows, neglecting to perform a similar upgrade to kitchen ventilation is an open invitation for lingering odors. With the right ventilation system, odors (and any stray contaminants) can be a thing of the past!

– Jon Nunan