Archive for category Uncategorized
8 Easy Kitchen Cleaning Tips
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on August 9, 2010
Once you have your dream kitchen, how do you keep it clean?
Here are some easy tips to tackle the tough spots on your countertops, floors, and pots with surprising everyday items from the experts at “House Beautiful.”
Bon Appetit!
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on August 2, 2010
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques through her cookbooks, beginning in 1961 with “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Her television programs, notably “The French Chef,” premiered in 1963.
For 45 years, Julia shared her passion, philosophies, products and, most importantly, her kitchen with family, friends, and colleagues. In 2001, she donated the kitchen itself to the National Museum of American History.
Today her kitchen is shared with millions.
To learn more, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/
About workshop/apd
Posted by admin in Best Kitchen Showrooms, Countertops, Eco-Friendly Kitchen Ideas, Kitchen Design Ideas, Kitchen Remodeling Tips, Modern Kitchen Cabinets, Tiles, Uncategorized on July 9, 2010
ASTER CUCINE DEBUTS “TIMELINE,” NEW SIGNATURE KITCHEN COLLECTION IN COLLABORATION WITH WORKSHOP/APD
Posted by admin in Best Kitchen Showrooms, Countertops, Eco-Friendly Kitchen Ideas, Kitchen Design Ideas, Kitchen Remodeling Tips, Modern Kitchen Cabinets, Uncategorized on July 9, 2010
NEW YORK (July 9, 2010) – Eurocucina 2010 set the start of the debut of TIMELINE, a new signature kitchen collection from ASTER Cucine, one of the world’s leading contemporary kitchen manufacturers, in special collaboration with New York design studio workshop/apd.
For the TIMELINE kitchen system, Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen, design principals at workshop/apd, drew upon the history of craftsmanship and artisanship in centuries past to create a kitchen collection with a “vintage” look and feel for contemporary life. Familiar but unconventional in a modern kitchen, the epoch collection features exquisite cabinetry, countertops and backsplash accents in the finest selection of materials including Venetian ceruse (a whitening compound used in the 16th century on human skin as well as cabinetry) applied to white oak; wire mesh inspired by French country cabinets, antique mirror glass; oxidized metal, weathered steel, and bronzed glass. Kitchens also can be “personalized” with art panels by famed Toronto artist Murray Duncan.
“Our Aster Cucine partnership with workshop/apd has produced a custom design kitchen system that yields both an astonishing piece of design and the ultimate in functionality,” commented Jacob Kindler, U.S. managing director of Aster Cucine.” TIMELINE represents as much a work of art as the next generation in modern family living.”
Having taken its cue from the centuries of craftsmen and artisans who spent time carefully selecting the best materials and working them with precision and skill, the TIMELINE kitchen system reflects the quality of the handmade and the patina of the hard worked, yet it is decidedly modern, clean-lined and efficient.
“Our kitchens, the heart of family life, are now part of our living environments and no longer hidden from view,” say Mssrs. Berman and Kotchen. “They are often times at the very center and should be as welcoming as the rest of the home.”
Available now to consumers in the U.S., TIMELINE will be on display starting in September at the award-winning New York City kitchen and bath design company Urban Homes Inc.
An ideal target for people looking for unique and luxurious design in the kitchen, ASTER Cucine also debuted four other kitchen collections at Eurocucina 2010 in Milan. Included is the new futuristic DOMINA, a trendy Italian kitchen that uniquely features custom cabinetry with end to end curves and without any straight lines. Other collections include the ease and simplicity of the classic AVENUE, merging the traditional with magical modern twists; the ultra-modern CONTEMPORA, which through strong design makes the most of its beautifully grained Tinoe wood and glossy lacquered surfaces, and the exquisite OPERA HALL, a classic take on the French idea of “Les Plaisirs de L’Isle Enchantèe,” with pieces rich in artistic and cultural references that date from the 1500’s to our present day.
About ASTER Cucine
Established in 1983 in Pesaro Italy, Aster Cucine is one the European leaders in innovative modern and kitchen design. Deeply pervaded by a “service oriented” philosophy, the company has developed a comprehensive company-product-distribution system geared to meet fully the aesthetic and functional requirements of each individual customer. www.astercucineusa.com
About Urban Homes, Inc.
Urban Homes is an award-winning kitchen and bath design showroom that offers “one-stop shopping” with talented in-house kitchen designers as well experienced installation crews. The company features a wide variety of custom and semi-custom cabinetry as well as numerous countertop, flooring, appliance, light and hardware products. By combining outstanding service, extraordinary craftsmanship and sensible pricing, it has built a reputation as a firm that builds relationships first. The Urban Homes Showroom is located at 325 West 16th Street, (between 8th & 9th Avenues), New York, NY 10011. 212.246.7700 www.uhny.com
About workshop/apd
With an emphasis on sustainable practices that directly affect how we live, workshop/apd specializes in high-end residential renovations, new home construction, and commercial development. Since its inception in 1999, the workshop brand has grown and now extends to custom furniture, lighting, accessories, products, and kitchen systems. This year the company also launched RightFrame, a technology firm that automates home design to change the face and the carbon footprint of the suburban landscape. It combines serious, modern style and responsible living in a moderately-priced well-designed house.
With offices in New York City and Nantucket, MA, workshop/apd is headquartered at 555 8th Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Tel: 212.273.9712. www.workshopapd.com
Media Contact for Aster Cucine, Urban Homes, workshop/apd:
Lisa Hanock-Jasie, Director of Communications
212.273.9712 office OR 646.764.4959 cell
Kosher Kitchens
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on November 19, 2009
What makes a kosher kitchen? It’s the way the kitchen is used and
maintained, rather than the design or materials, although some materials may be preferable. Ritual Jewish law and practice dictates separation of meat from dairy, and this extends to having entirely distinct sets of dishes, silver, cutlery, cookware, sinks, appliances and countertop areas. During the week of Passover dishes are changed again, and it’s clear to see that observant Jews – particularly those with sufficient space – are in the market for additional cabinetry, as well as all of the other accessories that make a kitchen convenient and appealing.
In the real world not every home is large enough to accommodate doubling or tripling of the kitchen space, nor is every customer wealthy enough to handle such a large investment. Those with severely modest means may have to box up Passover tableware and utensils and store them in closets for the other 51 weeks of the year. Sometimes a double sink will have to stand in for two separate units (even a single sink can be permissible, provided it is not of porous material and is properly cleaned before switching from meat to dairy or vise versa). A single dishwasher also may be acceptable to some authorities provided it has a stainless steel interior and the racks are changed depending on what dishes are being washed.
Under the circumstances, it’s obvious that any kosher customer with the means id going to want to make their kitchen as large and as workable as possible. Other clients may also want large, easy to use kitchens and more than one dishwasher or sink, but for the kosher observant, it is almost a necessity.
One of the more significant differences between a kosher and non-kosher kitchen is that most conventional kitchens are predicted on an invisible work triangle defined by the placement of one sink, one refrigerator and one range. In a kosher kitchen we have two overlapping triangles and, ideally, two sinks, two refrigerators and two ranges.
There is more to designing a kosher kitchen than just adding extra appliances. Our Urban Homes designers have designed many kosher kitchens, and as with conventional designs, we realize that the ability to make every inch of space count is a highly valued skill.
Accordingly, our designers advise customers to:
- Eliminate soffits and run cabinets all the way up to the ceiling.
- Use “magic corner” wire basket drawers to open up dead corners and facilitate cleaning in those corners.
- Recommend appliances that feature a Sabbath mode. With refrigerators, for example, this means a unit that allows the automatic fan to be turned off from Friday sundown to Saturday night (or to stay in a constant “on” position), thus releasing the residents of a household from inadvertently causing initiation of power usage during the Sabbath period when such activity is prohibited.
- Recommend stainless steel sinks and steel or granite countertops and work surfaces for customers who can’t or won’t have fully discrete areas for meat and dairy. Make sure that the material is a pure granite or stone. Sometimes they are really composites and cannot be kashered. These surfaces can be used for both, provided that they are thoroughly cleaned and that boiling water is poured on them in between meat and dairy operations.
According to Star-K, which provides kosher certification, wood may also be kashered as stainless steel if it has a smooth surface and no cracks. Kosher law does not, however, allow kashering of plastic or materials with plastic components.
When it comes to choosing appliances, whether the kitchen can accommodate two sets or not, it is important to keep kosher belief in mind. Case in point, according to Star-K, kashering a glass, Corning, halogen or electric smoothtop range can be a difficult process, as it is hard to kasher the area surrounding the actual burners. On a gas range the cast iron or metal grates upon which the pots sit may be inserted into the oven after they have been thoroughly cleaned. The grates can then be kashered simultaneously with the oven, making this and easier process (and possibly a better choice) for the homeowner. Of course, if there are any questions that arise during the design of kosher kitchen, we suggest that customers should be encouraged to ask for rabbinic guidance