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Kitchen Trends: 2010
September 8, 2010 – 3:47 PM
The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) recently announced the Top 10 Design Trends from the 2010 NKBA Design Competition .
Topping the list was Concealed Kitchens.
According to the NKBA, kitchen design has reached a new level of integration. The quiet incorporation of the kitchen into the home’s primary living and entertaining rooms provides homeowners with far more flexibility in their lifestyles. The incorporation of integrated and concealed appliances allows the kitchen to enhance rather than intrude into other spaces. Clean structural lines coupled with sleek color palettes enable the space to establish a distinctive identity, without overpowering the surrounding rooms.
Other 2010 trends include:
- Beverage Stations
- Scaling of Elements
- Color with Energy
- Soft Geometry
- Space Subtleties
- Design Framing
- Varying Heights
- Japanese Influences
- Art Integration
How Women Reshaped the Modern Kitchen
September 7, 2010 – 12:53 PM
Frankfurt Kitchen
Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen,” an exhibition that opens September 15th at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, will explore the way the kitchen has evolved since the start of the 20th century.
The exhibition explores the transformation of the kitchen throughout the 20th century and highlights MoMA’s recent acquisition of an unusually complete example of the iconic “Frankfurt Kitchen,” designed in 1926–27 by the architect Grete Schütte-Lihotzky. Featured alongside the Frankfurt Kitchen is a 1968 mobile fold-out unit manufactured by the Italian company Snaidero. These two complete kitchens are complemented by a wide variety of design objects, architectural plans, posters, archival photographs, and selected artworks, all drawn from MoMA’s collection. Prominence is given to the contribution of women throughout the exhibition, not only as the primary consumers and users of the domestic kitchen, but also as reformers, architects, designers, and as artists who have critically addressed kitchen culture and myths.
Juliet Kinchin, the show’s curator, talked with the New York Times about the role women played in designing rational kitchens — including some early ergonomic models — and the symbolism of utensils like Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif Lemon Squeezer.
Read the full article at the New York Times
Feng Shui Your Kitchen
September 2, 2010 – 11:49 AM
In Feng Shui, the kitchen represents nourishment and prosperity; after all, it’s human nature to associate food and nutrition with nurturing and sustenance. Believers in Feng Shui say that how you design and decorate the kitchen can influence your prosperity and health.
The first thing to bear in mind when considering any Feng Shui advice is that ultimately, Feng Shui is a complex practice with several different schools, and the recommendations will vary from school to school and from one practitioner to another. So too, advice will differ depending upon the unique home — and the unique people living in it. Despite the fact that different schools may have diverse views on some topics, there are basic Feng Shui principles that apply to all kitchens. Kitchen Placement
The first thing to consider when looking at the kitchen is its placement in terms of the whole house. We can’t always decide where each room in a house or apartment will be in relation to the others, but if you’re working with new construction or doing extensive renovations, ideally the kitchen will be in the back of the house, at least behind centerline of house. In any case, it’s better if you don’t see the kitchen immediately upon entering the house, as this can portend digestive, nutritional, and eating problems. Having the kitchen at the entry point can also mean that guests will come over and eat and then leave immediately, and such a placement can also encourage the inhabitants to eat all the time. But if your kitchen is in the front of the house, don’t panic; there are remedies that can take care of this. Use this as an opportunity to get creative. Try hanging sheer or beaded curtains over the kitchen door. Or, install louvered doors. Another idea is to provide something delightfully eye-catching across a hall or in a vestibule near the kitchen. That way, attention is diverted from the busy kitchen. Kitchen Layout It is very important for the cook to be in a “commanding position” when at the stove. The cook should be able to clearly see the doorway without turning away from the stove.
Renovating a kitchen so this is achieved can be particularly challenging. Many modern kitchens have the range facing the wall. Some Feng Shui consultants recommend an easy solution: hang something reflective, such as a mirror or a shiny sheet of decorative aluminum, over the stove. The reflective surface can be any size, but the bigger it is, the more powerful the correction will be. For a more dramatic solution, consider installing a cooking island. Placing the stove in a central island allows the cook to see the entire room, including the doorway. Beyond the Feng Shui benefits, a cooking island is practical. The wider your view, the more you’ll be able to comfortably talk with dinner guests or keep an eye on the kids as you prepare the meal. Cooking islands have become a popular trend in kitchen design. Designing a kitchen around a cooking island will help keep the cook involved in whatever is happening in that Great Room, whether it’s clever before-dinner conversation or hearing about a child’s English homework.
Feng Shui-inspired kitchen design dovetails with the contemporary trend toward “group cooking.” Instead of isolating the cook, families and guests often gather in the kitchen and participate in the meal preparation. Also, busy working couples use dinner preparation as an important time to unwind together. It is truly amazing how much the ancient Feng Shui beliefs have to tell us about the design of modern kitchens. For help in choosing lighting and appliances, read on.
In any room, fluorescent lights do not promote good health; they are constantly flickering, affecting the eyes and nervous system, and can cause hypertension, eyestrain and headaches. However, they do serve a purpose, as they provide bright light at low cost. If you decide that you do need fluorescent lights in your kitchen, use full-spectrum bulbs. A good kitchen design is based on a traditional triangle model, with the sink, refrigerator and range making up each point of the triangle. There should be a 6-8 foot distance between each appliance; this allows for maximum convenience and a minimum of repeated moves. Because you’ll have that space between each of the major appliances, it should be easy to adhere to the Feng Shui principle of having fire elements—such as the stove and microwave—separated from water elements—such as the refrigerator, dishwasher, and sink. They can be separated by something made of wood, or by something representative of wood, such as a plant or a painting of a plant.
Because the stove represents health and wealth, you want to use the burners on the stove top equally, rotating their use rather than habitually using a particular burner; this represents getting money from multiple sources. The old-fashioned stove, as opposed to a microwave, is often preferred because it is more in keeping with the Feng Shui belief that we should slow down, become more conscious of each activity, and do activities with intention. Heating a quick meal in the microwave is certainly convenient, but doing this may not lead to the most serene state of mind. Many Feng Shui practitioners are concerned with excess radiation and electromagnetic fields and would therefore prefer to avoid the microwave altogether. Obviously, each home and family will have to find their own balance between modern conveniences and optimal Feng Shui practice.
As with all rooms in the house, the kitchen should be kept neat and uncluttered, and any broken appliances should be tossed out—even if it means living without a toaster at all for a while, it’s better to have no toaster than one that doesn’t work very well. In some cases, building code regulations actually reflect good Feng Shui principles. In New York, it’s illegal to place a window over the stove. Feng Shui believes that windows should not be placed over stoves because heat represents prosperity, and you don’t want your prosperity flooding out the window.
Luckily, Feng Shui isn’t only about having a room with good “qi,”, or energy; it’s also simply a practical guide for design.
The Versatility of a Kitchen Island
August 30, 2010 – 10:56 AM
Not every kitchen is designed with added purpose or function in mind. Adding a kitchen island to your room can provide you with useful options.
A well-designed kitchen island can provide extra drawers, shelves and cabinets for greater storage and additional space for preparing your meals. An island also can serve as informal dining for kids, or additional seating for guests when you entertain.
If you’re lucky enough to have a larger kitchen space, adding a kitchen island will provide such useful options as adding preparation sinks, refrigerator drawers, or an additional cooking area .
So if you thought a kitchen island was just for show, think again. From greater storage to increased seating, any sized home can benefit from the design of a versatile kitchen island.
What Makes A Kosher Kitchen?
August 24, 2010 – 2:38 PM
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.
ccording 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.
What’s Your Style?
August 19, 2010 – 12:35 PM
Whether you’re a homeowner or looking to become one, chances are you know how overwhelming choosing cabinets to suit your taste and lifestyle can be.
Well, you’re not alone. Many are confused or unsure about what their kitchen style is or might be. So read on before you begin to remodel. It will make the process much easier for you and for your designer!
Victorian – Usually characterized by steeply pitched roofs, pointed-arch windows, elaborate trim along roof edges, high dormers, lancet windows and other Gothic details. Light fixtures range from chandeliers, kerosene and electric lamps to astrals, and sconces. Cabinets are usually weathered looking and made of heavy, real wood with chrome pulls and knobs.
Modern – Modern styles change from year to year. Most recent designs include sleek, straight and clean lines. Less is more, such as less accessories, visible appliances and details. Common materials include stainless steel, marble, granite and frosted glass. Basic geometric shapes and bold, bright colors such as reds, blues and yellow, black and white are prevalent.
Contemporary - Your tastes include the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired. Your sensitivity to materials and a natural setting meets with a contemporary bent in home styles like Mission, Prairie and Arts & Crafts. When making your cabinet selection, consider birch as a clean and modern wood species. Choose details like geometric forms, art glass, contrasting textures and lines, and forged and wrought iron pulls.
Southwestern – A lot of detail and craftsmanship. Natural materials such as stucco and hand-painted fabrics are very common, as are wood, quarry tile, ceramic tile, earth tones and vibrant accessories. Colors usually reflect the nature of a desert such as warm oranges, greens, tans and browns. Southwest kitchens usually incorporate ceramic materials and terra cotta elements.
Traditional – Plays up architectural details such as crown moldings, raised wood paneling and rich, deep colors to enhance the mood and ‘traditional’ feel. Dark stains, honey tones, semi-opaque paints, wicker baskets and oak cabinets add to the usually more formal feel than country style.
Eclectic – A mix of old and new features combined for a harmonious look. This style is not characterized by a particular color palette, patterns, style or material but is a mix of extravagant decorations from numerous eras including hand-me-downs, second-hand items and other recyclables. Kitchens and bathrooms range from modern appliances mixed with antique decorations to the complete opposite.
Country – Rustic, weathered look creates a warm, cozy feeling in a country style home. Common colors range from muted hues to earth tones. Exposed beams, pine paneling, brick and barn boards are elements used to express this style. Fabrics and patterns are a sure way to create a ‘country’ feeling, as is the use of wallpaper and baskets.
The History of the White House Kitchen
August 16, 2010 – 12:18 PM
From the early days of President George Washington to our current President Barack Obama, the White House Kitchen has played an important role in U.S. history.
Time magazine takes a look at the history of this famous kitchen in an interesting photo essay.
The Kitchen of Today
August 11, 2010 – 12:59 PM
The kitchen is not just another room in your house. Today’s kitchen has become “the” room — the living space in which you want to cook, gather, and entertain. Your kitchen design should not only invite you to prepare meals, but should enrich your everyday life spent with family, friends and invited guests.
The recipe for a well-designed kitchen is equal parts funtionality, beauty, and sustainablity. To create a well-designed kitchen you need to mix beautiful, sustainable solid wood cabinetry with a cup of your intended use. Blend it well with your own sensibility — be it traditional or contemporary — and top it off with aesthetically-pleasing non-toxic finishes.
Once all these ingredients are mixed together well, you will have created the ideal living kitchen architecture for the perfect meals of a lifetime.
8 Easy Kitchen Cleaning Tips
August 9, 2010 – 10:30 AM
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!
August 2, 2010 – 1:12 PM
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
July 9, 2010 – 1:59 PM
workshop/apd was founded in 1999 as a design firm with offices in New York City and Nantucket, Massachusetts. The firm specializes in high-end residential renovations, new home construction, and commercial development with an emphasis on the integration of sustainable methods that can help to identify and solve the challenges of the built environment in the 21st Century. In addition to focusing on sustainable building, the firm also recently launched a custom products line that includes furniture, lighting, and accessories.
workshop’s studio environment benefits from a diverse body of professional experience covering architecture, master planning, interior design, sustainable design, construction management, landscape design, and furniture design. Our approach to design looks beyond the singularity found within current architectural trends and takes advantage of the multiple perspectives that make up our society. This allows for a more intriguing and less predictable relationship between design and its context. Conventional boundaries between adjacent spaces are often transgressed, allowing activities to transition naturally across fluid thresholds. This results in performative spaces that collapse the form of function into the function of form. Furthermore, we are committed to reducing the ecological impact that the built environment has on our natural world while making sure that the social, environmental, and economic needs of our clients are met.
INTERVIEW: Workshop APD’s Sustainable New Orleans
July 9, 2010 – 1:54 PM
INTERVIEW: Workshop APD’s Sustainable New Orleans
by Jill Fehrenbacher, 11/29/06
Back in late August, Global Green and Brad Pitt announced the winners of the Global Green Sustainable Design Competition For New Orleans. The winning proposal, titled GreeNOLA and submitted by Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop APD, calls for six houses and two multifamily units which employ energy-efficient appliances, solar power, and recycled building materials, as well as providing social services like child care and a community garden. Workshop APD’s proposal is designed to cut pollution and decrease operating energy use by 50-60 percent, compared to traditional homes. The success of the GreeNOLA design is its seamless integration of cutting edge green technology with the traditional building wisdom of the region. This combination creates healthy and affordable new residences for displaced residents of New Orleans. Groundbreaking of the new complex starts this January.
I sat down with the two architects to discuss their winning design proposal for rebuilding in New Orleans….
JILL: So tell me about your design proposal for the 9th ward in New Orleans
Andrew: It started with researching the 9th Ward and the Holy Cross area, where our site is. In our research of the greater context we wanted to propose new ideas for how to redevelop the area by bringing commercial, bringing in retail, revegetating the landscape, creating more of a linear park across the river and then begin inserting our ideas onto the site. Our focus was to achieve a greater understanding of prefabricated modular construction – these pieces end up evolving and becoming three-dimensional elements and then getting assembled in an infinite configuration and through a series of selection processes you end up with a structure.
Jill: So there’s a market and community center on the lower level of the site?
Matthew: The idea is that this whole open corner would be the farmer’s market and public area as it reaches out into the rest of the community. Then you come into the interior of the site: parking, day care, children’s play space, market with the community food production area; again it’s sort of buffered by the other buildings. This is the bridge. It’s a community bridge that pulls you in from the rest of the community right through the middle of the site and up onto the levy. The idea is that the residents can control access to the site. We were intentionally trying to activate the site by pulling the community through it as opposed to walling off the site and creating an interior that’s only for residents.
Jill: Is it specifically designed to be affordable or lower income housing?
Matthew: It’s intended to be affordable housing, not necessarily lower income housing. It’s trying to be affordable housing through its sustainability. For example it was designed as a net zero site so that all of the energy production happens on site, and it’s done through affordable tax and more efficient systems that reduce the load- the energy load- so the idea is that nobody would have an electric bill.
Andrew: Net zero is the sewer waste and water, it’s all cisterns, we reclaim water, reuse gray water and recycle the water through the site. The idea is that nothing goes out and nothing comes in to the site.
Matthew: It’s also intended to be affordable through the design options. A lot of these single family houses are set up and it works well with the typical New Orleans prototypes, the shot gun house and the Creole cottage, but most of these houses have either out buildings or internal apartments that can be rented out and that’s how a lot of people maintain the affordability. So there were different ways of thinking about affordability.
Jill: So lets talk about the climate down there and the systems for heating and cooling. I know it’s really humid in New Orleans and people tend to use air conditioners. Is it possible to use passive design elements in this sort of climate?
Andrew: In New Orleans the humidity averages at 75% throughout the year so it is impossible to cool spaces without mechanical cooling. So it can’t just be passive ventilation and breezes blowing through – so we’re using a geothermal system that is combined with a Z-coil dehumidification system, which is essentially a pumped-up air conditioning system with a few other modules put onto it that’s more efficient.
So there is a form of mechanical cooling, which is supplemented by a geothermal drawing from the earth’s temperature and circulating it back up through the structures. And we’ve oriented our buildings so that they can get maximum cross ventilation. That’s why everything has this shotgun effect. We have louvers systems at either end so that at certain times of the day you can open and close them to minimize heat gain, but open them for breezes to come through. All these strategies have been in use for 30 or 40 years. We’ve just packaged it together in a place that’s never heard of or seen it before.
Jill: Have you done any market testing or interviewing of residents of the area, or anything to get a sense of what local New Orleans residents think about your designs?
Matthew: Yes- the second phase for this competition was very intense and very well choreographed. They invited the six finalists down three separate times to New Orleans to meet with design jury members, technical jury members, and community groups.
We made several presentations to community groups over this six-week period — where we would go down initially with our first boards, an hour presentation where we talk for ten minutes and then respond to questions with answers and really try and develop and flesh out what their needs are and their interests are. So we definitely got to know them and develop a really good rapport and understand their needs and desires.
Andrew: Global Green has set up an operation down there that sponsors of the competition and they’ve done a lot of community outreach where they’ve done several presentations. So, the competition is on the heels of them already being there for about four months and trying really to establish this notion of sustainability.
Matthew: We were very successful at listening to what each of the constituents had to say and filtering it through our own ideas to see, to work those things in so that we felt comfortable with the product we were producing, but we also felt responsible about what it was that we were contributing down there.
We are going back again next week – this is all really exciting for us. We do most of our work in high-end single-family residential custom architecture. This is a larger scale and a totally different opportunity so we just embraced it. Construction should start in the spring of next year.
Jill: So much as I hate to do this, I have to ask: What was it like working with Brad Pitt?
Andrew: He was really nice and seemed to know what he was talking about, honestly. A lot of architects are skeptical about Brad Pitt’s sudden interest in architecture – but I have to tell you that from what we could tell, he seems pretty devoted to the cause of sustainable design, and of course the celebrity interest just helps elevate interest in our project, and we can’t argue with that!
ASTER CUCINE DEBUTS “TIMELINE,” NEW SIGNATURE KITCHEN COLLECTION IN COLLABORATION WITH WORKSHOP/APD
July 9, 2010 – 10:11 AM
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
Jesco Lighting Group
July 9, 2010 – 9:39 AM
Jesco Lighting
JESCO LIGHTING was founded in 1998 and is a New York City based company with its headquarters in Glendale, New York; with a distribution center in the City of Industry, California. The company started with a basic line of track and downlighting, and served the local lighting market with great success. Today, we are one of the nation’s fastest-growing lighting manufacturers offering a comprehensive selection of contemporary, architectural, energy-efficient lighting fixtures for a broad range of commercial, institutional and residential applications.
We have since formed the Jesco Lighting Group that comprises of three companies – Jesco Lighting, Jesco LED Lighting Solutions, and Bleu Lighting.
In the past 2 years, the Jesco Lighting division introduced nine new product catalogs that includes two lines of track lighting namely the Low Voltage Monorail System and a collection of Metal Halide track lighting; three Recessed Downlights catalog including the Modulinear Directional Luminaires, and recessed downlights ranging from 3”, 4”, 5” and 6” Aperture; as well as two Specialty Lighting catalogs – one is our award winning Sleek Plus Mini Fluorescent line; and the second, a Display Lighting Solutions collection. We also released two collections of beautiful decorative fixtures under the Envisage I and II brand.
Our LED division released an impressive array of nine product catalogs, offering the latest in energy-efficient high-performance LED lighting fixtures ranging from Indoor decorative linear lighting, undercabinet/shelf lighting, cove lighting, miniature recessed downlights, surface mounts and pendants, to commercial Outdoor die cast adjustable and regressed wall washers, surface mounted adjustable accents, as well as commercial/residential recessed, in-ground and wall, path and garden and wall mounts.
Jesco Lighting is aggressively working on three more lines of track lighting, three decorative lines to be branded under the Envisage Collection, a complete and comprehensive undercabinet/shelf lighting solutions, and a full line of LED products and more. We are committed to bringing you innovative and attractive products using the latest technology that minimizes energy consumption to limit our impact on the environment. Our entire line of products may be viewed in our showrooms in Dallas, Manhattan NYC, and the third to open June 2008 in Las Vegas.
We are very proud of our record-breaking growth in the past 3 years. We attribute our success to our leadership, the experience and skill-set of our design and engineering teams and the dedication of all of our employees and support staff, as well as our strategic partnerships with reputed companies in Asia, Europe and Mexico.
Our goal is to become a one-stop solution for the residential, retail, hospitality and commercial markets. Jesco Lighting is dedicated to providing the best products in the best prices with the best possible service levels you have come to expect.
JESCO LIGHTING is available at:
Urban Homes, Inc. – Innovative Design for Kitchen & Bath
325 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Crossing the pond: Part II
July 1, 2010 – 3:01 PM
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Launched in 1983, contemporary kitchen manufacturer Aster Cucine is a young’un in the world of European kitchen cabinetry. And sometimes it takes young people, or a young company, to want to do things a little differently and to look for inspiration in, say, youth. Which is kind of what happened at this past Eurocucina, where Aster Cucine, of the “Old Country,” showed TIMELINE, a new kitchen collection designed by U.S. design firm Workshop/apd, of the “New World.” If Workshop/apd is sounding kind of familiar, you may have heard its name in connection with Brad Pitt and Global Green USA. The firm, which has offices in Nantucket, Mass., and New York City, came up with the winning plan in the organization’s competition to design affordable sustainable housing in New Orleans. Headed by principals Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen, the firm specializes in high-end residential renovations, new home construction and commercial development. For TIMELINE, Berman and Kotchen have drawn on a history of craftsmanship and artisanship to create a contemporary kitchen collection that is clean in look yet rich in feel. It includes a modern spin on the classic inset door and incorporates a variety of materials, many of which are evocative of those used in earlier times and lend a sense of warmth and softness to the line. There is, for example, 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. Extremely versatile, the collection offers a wealth of possibilities. And if you want that individualized touch, you can even specify cabinet doors adorned with art panels by Toronto artist Murray Duncan.
For more information, contact Aster Cucine USA.—Alice Liao |
Aster Cucine