News Releases

MILWAUKEE/NARI TIPS FOR PREPARING THE KITCHEN FOR HOLIDAY COOKING & GATHERING
November 24th, 2009

Milwaukee, WI – “The kitchen is the heart of the home,” said Cheryl Ryan, CKD, Allied Member ASID, of Kitchens By Design, Inc. in Elm Grove, a member of the Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (Milwaukee/NARI). “Most people want to remodel their kitchen by making it more functional. They also update their kitchen to reflect their personal style.”

Members of Milwaukee/NARI, the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling resource for more than 48 years, offer examples of recent remodels, detailing the latest ways that homeowners can prepare their kitchens for holiday cooking and gathering. Themes include open-concept designs, improvements to appliances, additional countertop space, added storage and rollout shelving, and recessed and under-cabinet lighting.

ADDING STYLE
In Ryan’s example, the homeowners made a number of changes, including opening up the kitchen to the other areas of the home, allowing it to feel more like the center of activity. “A spacious island was used as a multi-functional space for everything from baking to a place where children can do homework while the parents prepare dinner.”

Multiple pantries were added to the kitchen for storage and decorative purposes. “Rollout shelves made access to the base cabinets easier, and soft close doors and drawers were a must,” she said.

“In this remodel, we used the unique mixing of countertop materials, such as a walnut island, statuary marble, and Mocha Caesarstone.” They installed wood floors and a mixture of white painted and cherry stained cabinetry as well, which “brought warmth to the new space.”

To address the issue of insufficient lighting, recessed cans, under-cabinet lighting, and pendant lights were installed. “General, task, and ambient lighting was used throughout the kitchen,” Ryan said. “A white farm sink and bench faucet brought a more traditional edge to the kitchen, and white subway tile was installed as a look to the past, with a decorative rhomboid tile used behind the range.” A pot filler was an added feature behind the range as well.

EASIER HOLIDAY COOKING
Grace Weyker of American/Kennedy Hahn Appliances in Waukesha described the latest appliances for simplifying holiday cooking this season. “The holidays are a wonderful time to gather with close friends and family,” she said. “Especially throughout the holiday season, some of the appliances can make your holiday meals easier and better!”

Her first suggestion was the double oven. “Timing food preparation so that everything is ready at the same time is hard; especially when one dish requires a preheated temperature of 350 degrees, and the other dish requires a temperature of 475 degrees.” She explained that a cook is often forced to let one dish cool while the second dish cooks.

“Using two ovens can eliminate this hassle. No one wants a cold meal, but with double ovens you can cook different items on different temperatures, timing the final product perfectly,” she said.

Weyker also suggested a warming drawer. “Many people do entertain a lot during this time of year, and when every oven is in use, it is nice to have a separate warming drawer – keeping side dishes warm while hot appetizers and main dishes are cooking at the same time.” Some models have built-in moisture controls, and Weyker said that most foods will taste “just cooked” when kept warm at the moist setting, while foods like baked potatoes and fried food are better when stored at the crisp setting. The temperature settings usually range from about 100 to 210 degrees with four set points.

“If you bake yeast dough, select a warming drawer with a low setting. For food safety, always preheat the drawer before placing food in it. The ‘keep warm setting’ on the warming drawer ensures ‘ready-to-serve’ without being overcooked!”

MAKING ROOM FOR FAMILY
AB&K Bath and Kitchen, Inc. in Greenfield recently remodeled a kitchen to better accommodate the needs of the growing family. “They wanted to be able to comfortably seat their family of five in the kitchen without people under the feet of this busy mom,” said designer and company co-owner Molly Madsen.

A wall was removed to create an open concept from the kitchen into the main living room. The kitchen’s layout was completely changed from a traditional “U” shape to an “L” shape with an island that would comfortably seat six. “A window was removed and the space was used to create an amazing focal point in the room with a beautiful mantle hood set off in dark, rich coffee brown tones over the 48-inch commercial gourmet range,” she said. “Ventilation for the large range was gracefully tucked inside the hood to provide adequate air movement when needed.”

They combined two different finishes on the custom cabinetry. “The mocha glazing on the mid-tone maple cabinetry tied the darker, rich coffee brown wood tones used in the mantle hood and island perfectly together. The Star Beach granite with creamy neutrals and warm, dramatic veining throughout complimented the two different wood tones and offered visual impact,” Madsen said. Subtle field tile with copper deco pieces designed to highlight the range area provided the finishing touch for the backsplash.

“Storage and organization were key elements to the effectiveness of the design,” she said. “Deep drawers and a pantry with rollouts all improved the function of the kitchen for this gourmet mom.”

They used the angles of the new wood flooring to help define the space between the kitchen, hallway, and dining area. “The new open design improved traffic flow, allowing the homeowners and their family to easily entertain guests comfortably in their new gourmet kitchen. The oversized island accommodates the entire family with ease, and the extra space makes food prep a joy.”

A ROOM FOR YEARS TO COME
In the next kitchen, the existing flooring, cabinets, countertops, lighting, appliances, electrical, plumbing, and even a wall were removed, leaving an open, blank canvas.

Nichole Belusar, a designer with The Cabinetree in Brookfield, helped her client achieve an open-space kitchen for entertaining, while incorporating a desk area for the client’s young son. “The desk area was placed by the large front window, in a location far enough away from kitchen responsibilities, but that would give their son an included feeling.”

The Cabinetree incorporated two bar areas for six seats, with one next to the desk to be used as additional workspace.

“The clean-lined, yet warm and elegant kitchen was achieved through material selections and finishes, including a soft-close feature on doors, granite for natural elegance, and careful attention to detail on cabinets and moldings,” she said. “Wood floors, paint, and the tiled backsplash complimented the cabinet and countertop selections. Crystal pendant lighting was used to add elegance and reflect light on the colored glass tiles throughout the backsplash.”

According to Belusar, the homeowners viewed this as their “forever home,” and didn’t want to compromise on the decisions that they would live with for years to come. “Appliances were first discussed as being non-professional grade, but after viewing their options, they didn’t want to compromise on their desires,” she said. “Their decisions transformed this kitchen into a warm, elegant, and inviting place for the family to enjoy both entertaining and everyday living.”

A ROOM WITH A VIEW
Debby Biggs, another designer with The Cabinetree, worked with her client to create a kitchen that would meet all their needs while staying within their budget. The client originally wanted a traditional U-shape kitchen. “After the first design meeting, I encouraged them to think outside the box and see how much they could gain by doing an island,” she said. “Not only would it give them a true open concept, it would allow for great entertaining throughout the year – especially at the holidays.”

One important feature for the homeowner was to be able to sit at the countertop and look out his kitchen window while having breakfast, and not be in the way of anyone else sitting at the counter.

Biggs achieved an open concept by removing kitchen soffits, changing the length of a wall, and removing walls in the dining room and family room. With the changed length of the existing wall, it was possible to install a large enough island to accommodate the homeowner’s wish for a window view.

She worked with the homeowners to stay within the budget by making adjustments based on material selections, from flooring and appliances to cabinets and countertops.

“Lighting was another important factor to the client,” she said. She addressed the kitchen’s poor lighting with recessed lights, under-cabinet lighting, and two pendant lights above the island for task lighting. “Removing the two walls also helped by bringing in more natural light from the other rooms.”

Both husband and wife enjoy being in the kitchen, so Biggs said it was important to create plenty of functional counter space. “Adequate workspace surrounds the sink and range area, and with the addition of the island, they have a great prep area. The island also doubles as a great place for extra seating, or serving food during the holidays.”

The Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council was chartered in July 1961, as a Chapter of the National Home Improvement Council. In May of 1982, the National Home Improvement Council merged with the National Remodelers Association to form NARI – the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. The Council’s goals of encouraging ethical conduct, professionalism, and sound business practices in the remodeling industry have led to the remodeling industry’s growth and made NARI a recognized authority in that industry. With over 900 members, the Milwaukee Chapter is the nation’s largest.

For more information or to receive a free copy of an annual membership roster listing all members alphabetically and by category, and the booklet, “Milwaukee/NARI’s Remodeling Guide,” call (414) 771-4071