My New Blog: TF Workshop

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Resources #3 - NKBA.ORG

The National Kitchen and Bath Association web site has a number of good resources to help you plan your kitchen remodel.


They will send you a free workbook that has very good information on design guidelines. A summary of these, and additional information can be found at kitchens.com.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Resources #2 - Not So Big House

Before doing any remodeling, I suggest you read "The Not So Big House" by Sarah Susanka. Regardless of the size of the kitchen you want to remodel, understanding the concepts she outlines can really help you improve your overall design.

Almost every public library (at least the Portland ones) carries the book. I bought the Not So Big House Collection, which is comprised of two books.



Design decisions we made after reading the books:
- Putting an additional passage-way door in the dining room, so we could have a "long view" to the other end of the house (and then outside) from the kitchen
- Keeping the soffits and adding shelves to create a more "human scale" feeling and the edges of the kitchen
- Using a wider range of materials
- Taking the time to put pull-out shelves everywhere
- Keeping windows on two walls instead of adding more upper cabinets

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Resources for Our Kitchen Remodel

I have purposely stayed away from a writing about other remodeling blogs. I really don't like blogs that either have minimal content or focus on repeating what others are writing about. These low content / high advertising sites are irritating.

That being said, I do think it's worth going over the online resources we used to complete our kitchen remodel. There a few that have really made the difference.

The best-of-the-best site for kitchen ideas is the Finished Kitchen Blog.


You can literally spend hours looking through all the kitchen photos posted there. My favorite feature of the site is the finished backsplashes slide show.

Monday, February 11, 2008

We were featured in the LA Times

Our blog was featured in the LA Times blog section called Pardon our Dust.

There was a nice little review of our work, which increased our visits by quite a bit.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Review #15 - Recessed Lighting Plan

Overall, the lighting plan worked out well. We decided to err on the side of possibly having one or two more lights than needed - and having a very well lit area.


In general, keeping the lights about 6 feet apart worked fine. They are closer together between the counter and the island, due to the layout of the arae. We needed to have two rows of them to light both work surfaces without casting shadows.

For recessed lighting, the rules of thumb here for an 8 foot ceiling:
- 5 inch lights
- 1 for about every 35 square feet
- On the edges, keep them about 1 foot back from the front of the work surfaces
- I would rather have more light fixtures at lower wattage. It may cost a bit more, but then the light is more even, and there are no shadows.

The two lights over the island make a huge difference with the pot rack. They light the island top, where the recessed lights would be blocked.