Kitchen Planning advice needed

[SW FL Dem]

After 4 years of saving, I can finally afford to update my kitchen. The forest green formica counters are history. :party: I am looking at Corian, Silestone (and other quartz surfaces) - granite is too dark for my color scheme. Does anyone have any experience with either?

I am also debating whether to go stainless with the appliances, my hubby and son like the look, but I'm not sure. My kitchen is definitely more French country than hi-tech. Since we have no natural gas, I am stuck with an electric stove (smoothtop). I've worked in many restaurants and know how hard it is to keep stainless looking clean. Any input is much appreciated!

[Dora]

1. Fridge magnets won't stick to a stainless fridge

My folks redid their kitchen and my mother was all excited about the new stainless refrigerator, but she was SO disappointed when she realized that she would be unable to put her fridge-clippings back up.

We opted for a black refrigerator instead of stainless. It's so slimming.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I design restaurant kitchens for a living ......

My wife and I just put in stainless steel counters at home and would not have anything else. We considered everything out there ... and I mean everything! I had always wanted stainless (having a great deal of experience with it) but she just wasn't sure. After a great deal of consideration and investigation, she actually came to *want* the stainless.

Our new counters have integral sinks that are extra deep and extra large. That's a real plus!

The counters actually do clean up very well, but, as is the nature of metal, they scratch. In time, the scratching turns to an attractive patina. That takes maybe a year or so, depending on how much you use the kitchen (we use ours a lot and we use it hard ... we're both foodies). While they clean up well and are easy to care for, they will **never** look like they do when they're new. To some this is a downside, to others, it is a plus. I guess this is why they have red cars and blue cars .... yanno?

In any case, we love the stainless. You can wipe it down regularly and at the end of the meal you just spray it with some cleaner (we use Windex) and wipe it clean. We don't worry about scratching, so we also use a little cleanser or scratchy pad (but only the non-scratch blue ones) from time to time. You can put hot pans on it. You can roll dough on it. There's simply no way to do it any harm.

Now, there are some alternates for home use that also have proven themselves in the commercial arena. You say you have a country French thing going on. While the stainless would actually go well with that (it isn't just for contemporary - our kitchen is a kinda Italian/Tuscan look) you might also consider galvanized steel or tin. Both are food safe, but the galvanized will eventually wear off. Tin is great. In many ways it looks like slate and has a real European/country look to it. No shine at all. Easy to form, but also a bit pricey. There's also copper, but for my money it is simply too fussy to care for.

Granite is a good choice and also comes in many light colors. It isn't all dark. Marble is waaaaay too prone to staining, even if sealed, and it can't take a hot pan's heat very well. By the way, unlike you may have heard, granite also needs annual sealing.

The quartz counters are a good choice if you like the look of granite but not the care (the cost is about the same).

I personally do not like Corain, and never did. It just looks ... plastic. But that's a personal thing. It has some good characteristics, too. It can be sanded to remove stains and scratches. Apart from stainless steel it is the only other material that can have seamless integral sinks. Any other material that can have "same material" sinks fabricated all have seams in them ... hard to clean. Corian can also have some interesting designs or contrast edges fabricated into it.

Then there are the unusual, but not necessarily more expensive choices.

Soapstone is one. This is the same material they make high school laboratory counters from - the blackish material. Again, it looks a lot like slate. IT starts out a light gray but quickly goes dark. The dark can and should be hastened by oiling the surface. In short order it will become its natural dark color and will require little care.

Wood ... butcher block .... but not around water as it will darken to black if it stays wet.

Concrete .... very au courant but also very, very pricey. My business partner has it in her kitchen and she loves it. It looks terrific, too. It is hand cast and brought to your site. As such, it can assume many shapes ... curves and angles are no problem - and can be had in a rainbow of colors due to the ability to add stain/colorants to the concrete mix. But again .... VERY pricey.

Here's the last one ... and a very unusual one, to boot - Richlite. This material has been around for a bazillion years, it seems. It was used almost exclusively in restaurants for cutting boards. I know you've seen it, but probably are not aware of what it was. It is often the long narrow cutting board where they make sandwiches. It would have been the color of a brown paper bag ... sorta looking like some kind of wood. They're now greatly expanded their line and have many colors available. It comes in sheet form, from small sizes up to (as I recall) 5 feet x 12 feet. It can tolerate hot pots, is unaffected by water and is worked just like wood, with the same tools. I am certain this would work in your French look, too, depending on the color you choose. I think their website is www.richlite.com but am not certain.

Anyway, the choices are bewildering. So have fun ..... and lemme know what you decide.

[Eurobabe]

3. Hey H2S, can you put a commerical stove in a

residential kitchen? I saw some guy unloading an oven on EBay for less tan $1K, sounded too good to be true -- stove was on wheels. Pretty high BTU output if I recall, would this be a fire hazard? Curious...

-Crozet

[Stinky The Clown]

4. Technically, you can ... ***but*** ........

they're dangerous in a residential application and none of the manufacturers recommend them for residential use.

Two issues:

1 - heat output. They're not insulated the same way a residential unit is. The sides can get dangerously hot, particularly if you have little kids. Also, there is a slot at the back (flue riser) that vents the oven. It can get up to 1000 degrees. They also have to be kept at least 6" from any flammable material - like your walls!

2 - ventilation needs. Restaurants are required to have ventilation hoods over their cooking equipment. And they're not the wimpy little hoods found at Home Depot. The hood a commercial range needs would have so much power it would suck the paint off your walls and lift the comb-over off a bald man. Further, this hood has to be protected with a commercial fire suppression system. All told, that hood and fire system will set you back $4,000 to $6,000, just to cover a single range. The hood is needed to vent off the massive amount of heat the stove rejects to the room. To do otherwise is to invite a fire. Add to the hood the cost to bring in air to make uip for that is exhausted. Then you have to heat or cool that make up air, only to see it sucked right back out the hood!

Now, I know many people like to have these stoves, but in all but a few cases, they're simply dangerous and impractical.

Several manufacturers make very similar looking products to their standard commercial items specifically for home use. They have more insulation and less total heat output. They also cost about twice as much as the same model in commercial trim.

In short, there's no real place for these in a home. Sorta like buying an over-the-road Kenwood 18-wheel tractor-trailer to haul the kids to soccer.

[NMDemDist2]

5. i had a 20x18 kitchen with center island all done in Corian

and would do it again in a heartbeat

Corian is the best thing I've ever seen for a kitchen counter

so easy to clean, can't burn it and if you cut it, just sandpaper it smooth

on edit, I have had stainless steel also and while it is also very durable and easy to clean it shows every spot of water and gets dull over the years. The stainless counters I had were from the 50's and they still looked good, but dull. Bartenders Friend helped a lot

it depends I think on how much counter space you are dealing with

the stainless was fine on two counters next to the sink that were less than 6 foot each but for large expanses Corian still gets my vote especially with all the new colors and treatments they offer

[yellowdogintexas]

6. when I do mine, I am going with white appliances and cabinets

with ceramic tile countertops/backsplash/floor in a color that works with my brick wall, since the floor will extend into the family room.
(white appliances are cheaper too, and in a small room reflect light, giving impression of a larger space)

Countertops will use large tiles (12/x12 or larger), to have less grout, made of a porcelain tile with a very slick surface for easy cleaning.
If you use epoxy grout and have it sealed, clean up is easy, just squirt it with bleach water mix. Nothing can burn or crack it, since porcelain is fired at 1500 degrees or so.

My plan is to use white or slightly off white tiles, probably 16" x 16" turned on the diagonal for the surface with edging in a bright rich color that goes with the floor tiles. Then backsplash predominately in the brighter color .... I have terra cotta brick in my family room (mixed colors) so my color scheme will be driven by that.

Ceramic is very cost effective for the durability and color variety.
Many sink styles can be tiled in, meaning the rim of the sink is level with the tile, and you can have your grout be level with the edge of the tile rather than depressed, which also helps with cleaning.

I have two friends who wouldn't have anything else!!!

another cost effective option to granite is granite veneer. Similar to tile in application, comes in large rectangular pieces, looks good and has very little grouting.

Go to some tile display stores and check out their instore countertop displays. I did not think I wanted tile until I saw some of the fabulous stuff they are doing with tile these days, and the new grouts are fabulous.

Also, tile countertops are very common in Europe, so would go along with your French theme and your color choices will be unlimited!!!