Recently in Products Category

I found these beauties at Nordstrom mid-September - they're an embellished version of the clogs that a lot chefs and food-prep folks wear to save their feet. I wear these almost everyday and love how they are somewhat dressy but are incredibly comfortable. And in the kitchen they raise me up an extra 2 inches - all the easier to reach that top shelf!


2. notNeutral Ribbons Coffee Set

This well-designed Polish porcelain set rounds out the black and white theme pervading through our house. This company offers a great selection of patterns in different colors, too. All of which will make a happy kitchen!


3. Julia Child's 'My Life in France' and 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'
Two great books to light your cooking fires. The first trails Julia and her husband during their years abroad in Paris, Marseilles, and finally, their Provence country house 'La Pitchoune,' where she finished up her first book about French cooking. The nearly 700 page 'Mastering...' walks you through French sauces and so many other things in a clear, step-by-step explanation.


4. Staub La Theiere Teapot

I got this as a gift for Christmas 2008, but technically didn't start enjoying it until 2009. I love the color the most, but it offers the best functionality of any teapot I've owned with its secure lid and excellent pour. As a bonus, you can also use it for heating sauces. As you can see from the photo, it's well-loved.


5. Miso Paste

I didn't discover the power of miso until this year. This healthy soy product, ubiquitous in Japan, brings a sweet, nutty complex flavor to any salad dressing, marinade, or soup. Pick up some White Miso and try it in Chopped Miso Salad or Walnut Miso Noodles, and be sure to try the smokier red miso as in Miso Glazed Flank Steak or Red Miso Salmon.


And here are my favorite kitchen design ideas from 2009 (featured on the blog):

We run into problems with cabinet shops that do not provide accurate shop drawings. Many times, center lines are missed, proportions are off, and we end up with larger gaps between drawers (we prefer 1/8" maximum). Sometimes, the entire layout is different than what was designed. Needless to say, this is a situation we try to avoid!

So that has brought me to the option of factory made cabinets. 

This week I visited Alno Kitchens, and was very impressed with the quality of the finish and organization systems available with this line. One of the biggest advantages of a product like Alno is the factory finish. Doors and drawer fronts are available in laminate, real wood, veneer wood, lacquer and glass finishes. Which means that after it's installed, it's done! No additional expense for painting, staining, lacquering, or sealing (which can, in some cases, cost as much as the cabinet construction itself).

Alno cabinetry and fittings are constructed in Germany, if that gives you any sense of how well-engineered these things are. The horizontal gaps you see in the dark cabinet above? Those are the hand pulls, cleverly concealed but still recognizable at the top of the drawer.

Tom and Andrea Wilkinson are the husband and wife team who run Alno Austin, and they have a beautiful showroom in the Penn Field complex on South Congress. And to make my visit that much more special, they actually cooked for me in their beautiful kitchen!

Alno offers plenty of ways to organize cleanly and efficiently, such as with these above-counter systems for hanging objects and cannisters:

The drawers can be outfitted with Blum's Orga-line or with their own custom accessories. Below is a drawer with a clever pegboard and wooden dowel system - I love the simplicity and elegance of this solution:

But back to the German engineering... Alno features some of the smoothest, sound hardware elements I have ever operated. Their corner cabinet (known in layman's terms as a 'lazy susan') glides out effortlessly to present a generous surface for storing items. The upper cabinet doors slide up and out using hardware that one might expect to find on a Maserati:

Alno seems to have the market cornered with their machine-like operability, but I was glad to see that they offer some softer finishes, such as this brushed pine door in grey:

Each project begs for a different solution to cabinetry. Some clients will enjoy the process of working with an experienced cabinet maker and appreciate fine wood details that can't be obtained otherwise. Some clients know they want that lacquered, high-gloss finish that can only be achieved through factory production. And other clients will appreciate a laminate product, made of sustainable materials and available at an affordable price. I think all of them can be designed well to create a personalized, beautiful kitchen space.