ASTER CUCINE

Last year at Eurocucina, kitchen manufacturer Aster Cucine debuted the Timeline kitchen, the Italian company’s first collaboration with New York-based firm, Workshop/apd. Such collaborations between a major Italian kitchen manufacturer and a U.S. designer have happened rarely, if ever, but point to exciting potential for the future in kitchen design.

Jacob Kindler, U.S. managing director of Aster Cucine, was a longtime friend of Workshop/apd principals Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen, but it took years to persuade his nearly 30-year-old company that hiring an American team would give Aster a new insight into what American consumers want.

The collaboration considers the larger scale of U.S. kitchens and the more traditional tastes of consumers here, while maintaining strict Italian manufacturing standards. The team used vintage European materials that could be rendered with modern lines, a combination that should please buyers considering the resale value of their home and fearful of being over-the-top modern, said Kindler.

New York-based Berman and Kotchen drew upon historical craftsmanship and the importance of material selection in those trades to design the collection, combining sixteenth-century Venetian ceruse finishes, chemically patinated stainless steel, oxidized mirror glass, and wire mesh inspired by French country cabinetry. “It’s a modern interpretation of traditional detailing,” said Kotchen, “plus an Italian understanding of knowing how to put it all together.”

The kitchens also showcase manufacturing techniques not usually seen in Italian cabinetry. Doors are built with inset handles, a style common to prewar American designs, but unfamiliar to Italian manufacturers. Aster also altered the manufacturing process by which they usually round the edge of a curved half inch border at the base of the cabinetry to give it a cleaner line.

Because kitchens have become extensions of the living area, the Timeline series can be personalized with art panels by Toronto artist Murray Duncan. The etched pieces are incorporated as the customer desires, including as a backsplash or stand-alone cabinet. Their coatings of metallic paints, oil crayons, and resin, add another layer of complexity to the kitchens. The Timeline series is now exclusively on view at Urban Homes – Innovative Design for Kitchen & Bath in New York.

TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT:

VENETIAN CERUSE

The Timeline collection’s white oak cabinetry is treated with a technique that has stood the test of time. Ceruse originally referred to an ingredient known as “white lead.” Mixed with vinegar, it was a popular form of makeup during the 16th century. Also used in paint, the term ceruse now refers to a (lead-free) finish for wood that reveals grain lines while leaving the overall base color of the wood intact.

The result is a soft, ghostly patina that brings out the best of oak cabinetry.

LINKS:

www.workshopapd.com

www.astercucineusa.com

www.UHNY.com

This article can be found by following the link below:

http://archpaper.com/kitchenworks.pdf

Urban Homes Bathroom Collection presents Vanity,  a modern line with curvaceous shapes, with a  wealth of accessories, colors, finishes and countertops, chosen to pander to any vanity. Doors and boxes can be lacquered in all BMT range colors, in both mat or gloss versions. Four metallic colors are also available: red, blue, dark coffee and coal grey. The mat lacquered finish is produced with polyurethane paints, while a new method is used for gloss and metallic finishes. Instead of applying the gloss paint directly, two coats of clear gloss are applied after the lacquering process and than brushed. This increases surface hardness, creates a single insulating layer and gives furniture a particularly bright shine.

Down through the ages, the kitchen has been the “heart” of the home.   Today is has become more so than ever, with kitchen spaces designed mDesigners and builders say consumers are returning to classic, timeless styles for their dream kitchens.   Darker woods, opulent details, higher-end cabinetry.

Another trend they’re seeing is hidden appliances, which can change the mood of the kitchen and making it look and feel like any other living area in the house.

Appliances are also being hidden in custom-designed cabinetry that matches the kitchen design.

Hidden appliances can change the mood of the kitchen and make it feel like any other part of the house – a place where you want to hang out and chat.

“I call the kitchen the soul of the house,” says Lertola, who also designs and creates custom concrete features. “I do kitchens every day, and one thing we’re always doing is trying to make the kitchen feel more like part of the house. To make it look not as much like a kitchen.”

Personalized features

One of the first things kitchen designer Liz LaMacchia asks new clients is what they hate about their current kitchen.

“I will go into a person’s home and look through the cupboards,” says LaMacchia, who works for The Kitchen Shop in Lansing. “I want to know what they have and what they actually use. I ask them for a list of everything they hate about their kitchen, and a wish list.”

Top of the dream-kitchen wish list: One-of-a-kind features.

Tired of bending way down to load the dishwasher? Have it raised to a more back-friendly height.

Got kids? Build custom storage for their things that they can reach safely.

Like to watch TV while you cook? Build a customized entertainment center.

If you take the time to design a kitchen as unique as your personal lifestyle, LaMacchia says, you’ll appreciate the end result (and the money you spent) a lot more.

Stone

Trendy materials can be a tough sell, because, seriously, who knows how long lime-green tiles will be in style?

But one always-in-fashion material is making a comeback: stone.

Builders are fielding more and more requests for stone as backsplashes, flooring and other features, Tanasse says.

One of the benefits of stone is that it mixes well with many other materials. Whether you have a granite countertop or laminate, stone looks good against both.

Mixing it up

Eco Friendly

Aster Cucine is an eco friendly kitchen manufacture with non-toxic materials through processes and limited impact towards the environment.

• Aster Cucine cabinets has the lower formaldehyde in the industries.
• Box construction is made of 100% recycled wood.
• Standard cabinet box are made using panels laminated with non-toxic melamine sheets in conformance with European norms E1 on the emission of formaldehyde.
• The doors are made of 100% recycled wood (Veneer and laminate doors).
• Reduction of toxic emissions: In Italy, the present limit (of gas emission) is up to 0.1 ppm (parts per million).
• The Ecological laminate particleboard realized with 100% post-consumer wood, FSC Certified and with the lowest formaldehyde emissions worldwide.

ECOLOGICAL PANELS

The entire cabinet structure of our melamine units consists of wood particle panels – called particleboard. This material offers durability and stability and has particularly impressive environmental credentials. We use only FSC-certified Ecological panels, produced from recycled wood and do not require new trees to be felled. When abandoned in dumps or burned, wood emits greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, while recycled wood traps them in, thus limiting the impact on the atmosphere. For example, 1 ton of recycled wood reduces the greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere by 1.03 tons (CO2 equivalent). A “ton” is a CO2 equivalent which is a unit of measurement for the emission of various greenhouse gases used to determine effect on environment and climate.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

FSC is an acronym for identifying wood-based products that are Forest Stewardship Council certified and marketed by companies that comply with the FSC Chain of Custody standard. This denotes that the products used are strictly monitored by third bodies to ensure that they are almost entirely FSC-certified materials. The mission behind the FSC certification process is to promote the responsible use of the world wood reserves without exploiting them.

E1 PANELS

Formaldehyde is a substance used in the production of many glues and resins; these are also used in the processing of wood panels. Panels produced in this way can release molecules of formaldehyde in gas form. We have chosen to use only materials with low formaldehyde emissions for the chipboard components of Aster kitchens (cabinet structure, some types of doors, etc.). The Forest Stewardship Council also checks panel emissions by conducting regular laboratory tests to determine the emission limits. According to the European E1 classification, the maximum permissible formaldehyde content is 3.5mg/m2h. Tests performed on our panels in compliance with UNI EN 717-2 normally yield much lower results, generally below 1.0mg/m2h. In conclusion, the panels that reach the consumer have lost almost all their initial formaldehyde content.