Open A New Window For Your Kitchen Remodel

If you are remodeling an older home, you may be faced with an often-seen relic of the past—a dark kitchen. Kitchens used to be smaller than is the fashion now and all-important wall space was used for cabinets, not “wasted” on windows. But today’s larger kitchen designs allow for the inclusion of all types of windows. Selecting the right ones can mean your kitchen remodeling project can go from purely practical to a light-filled space you’ll love. Here, with a little help from our friends at Andersen Windows, are some ideas to transform your kitchen from mundane to magic:

Cozy Nook

Casement windows that crank outwards are often installed over kitchen countertops because reaching over to lift a double-hung can be awkward. This kitchen features 400 Series Casement windows with pine interior, surrounded in oak trim. The look is completed with Frank Lloyd Wright Colonade art glass and stone-color Metro hardware. These windows feature a natural wood interior (pine is available), low maintenance exteriors, and a nearly invisible TruScene insect screen is optional.

Sunny Space

Use windows to convert a dark corner into a comfortable built-in nook for casual dining and a well-lit workspace. This room features 400 Series Picture windows with pre-finished white interiors, painted white trim and a custom grille pattern. Windows can be used as a single window or in combinations. High performance glass provides exceptional energy efficiency and a variety of grille options are available.

Rustic Retreat

Take advantage of a great view by making windows a center point of a room. Flexiframe triangles and a 30-degree Casement Angle Bay unit compliment a 400 Series Frenchwood Gliding patio door with natural pine interior.  These doors feature solid wood construction (your choice of oak, maples or pine interiors) and eight styles of hardware with 12 different finishes are available.

Cottage Comfort

If the kitchen is the center of the home, consider making windows the center of the kitchen. 400 Series transom units sit above 400 Series Casement windows with Estate hardware and specified equal-lit grilles. Pre-finished white interiors and painted white trim finish the combination. The larger glass area of these windows let in more light and the vinyl cladding protects the sash from rain.

Executive Elegance

The layout of a kitchen is critical, making window placement even more important. This kitchen features three 400 Series Tilt-Wash Double-Hung windows with pre-finished white interiors, bright brass Estate hardware and specified equal lite grille patterns. These traditional windows feature convenient tilt-in cleaning.

Trendy & Homey

Many kitchens blend easily into a dining room and living room, with windows and patio doors fully integrated into the overall look and feel of the space. These rooms showcase 200 Series products and feature 200 Series Tilt-Wash Double-Hung windows with pine interiors, stone-colored metro hardware, and colonial grille patterns in top sash only. The windows have Low-E or dual pane insulating glass, pine interiors and low-maintenance exteriors.

Some general things to remember about your window selection:

Windows may be custom, semi-custom, or stock, but they're all constructed to fit snugly in the window opening provided. You can choose from aluminum, vinyl, wood, aluminum over wood, and vinyl over wood, depending on your needs and budget. Whatever material you prefer, the best news about double- or triple-pane windows is that separate storm windows are a thing of the past.

·      Aluminum is the most economical material but may conduct cold, heat, and moisture. It's maintenance free, but if you elect to paint it, it requires yearly maintenance like any other painted outdoor surface on your home.

·      Vinyl is also maintenance free and cannot usually be painted successfully, but it comes in a range of popular trim colors as well as in white.

·      Wood, the classic window frame material, is still favored for many high-end and historic homes.

 

More common than double-hungs are casement windows, which are actually an older, simpler style than double-hungs. Casement windows are hinged on the side and can swing in or out to provide complete ventilation. They usually operate with crank handles, making them easy to operate, even when placed above counters and sinks. Your designer will make sure your casements are hinged to swing outward, or will allow space in front of the window for opening them.

Windows may be placed high in the wall and shelving installed beneath to hide an unattractive view while still letting in light.

Decorative windows are available in many shapes and sizes, but among the most pleasing is the half-round, sometimes called Palladian after the classic architect Palladio, who popularized them. Half-round windows can be positioned above doors, above other windows, or in shallow wall spaces to bring in more light and create architectural interest. Quarter-round and elliptical versions are also available and many high-end manufacturers now include art glass windows (stained glass or decoratively grilled) in their product lines. We’ll learn more about those in a future article.

To help you see the design options for your new kitchen windows, it is best to call on the experienced eye of a kitchen designer like Jason Landau of Amazing Spaces, LLC. Trained as an architect with an artist’s eye for using light, Jason can help you choose the perfect windows to brighten your new space. Visit www.amazingspacesllc.com or call 914-239-3725.

A Look Into Your Kitchen's Future

Part of our job at Amazing Spaces, LLC is to keep you abreast of the latest and greatest in kitchen technology—sometimes (like now) even giving you a glimpse into the future. Here, let us introduce you to Thermador's Freedom Induction Cooktop and Thermador's Star Speed Dishwasher. Both will bring your kitchen into the 21st century at light speed.

Called “the techie chef's dream” by Wired Magazine and “the world's sexiest stove” by Forbes, Thermador's Freedom Induction Cooktop is the first full-surface induction appliance with the flexibility of a natural-mapping user interface that intelligently recognizes cookware size, shape and position to deliver heat without boundaries. You read that right—the Freedom cooktop knows what pots and pans you are using and where they are on the cooking surface.

You can put your cookware anywhere on the cooking surface, and use any shaped pits and pans--including specially-shaped cookware such as griddles and oval-shaped pans. The natural-mapping user interface even lets you move your cookware around during the cooking process, which is helpful if you add and remove different dishes during meal preparation — like making sauces, boiling water, and sautéing. There are no limits on where to place the cookware.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any cooler...The Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop surface is made from transparent ceramic glass, allowing for the integration of the color touchscreen. Besides just showing you the position of all your cookware on the cooktop's surface, the touchscreen performs live updates as cookware is moved to a different position, giving you an intuitive cooking experience.

With more than 30 international patents, the Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop is built with 48 individual three-inch induction heating elements below the surface of the appliance. That gives you 63-percent more effective cooking area on the surface than those old-fashioned (predefined) elements. The Freedom Induction Cooktop also offers all of the benefits of traditional induction technology: instantaneous and precise temperature control (making it as responsive as gas); safer cooking (as the surface stays cool to the touch); and easier cleaning with its smooth and flush surface.

Here, at a glance, are some of the highlights of this exciting new cooktop:

• A 6.5-inch, full-color touchscreen display that recognizes pot shape, size, and controls power setting and cooking time.
• The surface area has the largest cooking surface there is(it can accommodate a 21-inch x 13-inch pan).
• A range of 4,600-watt maximum power output with Boost feature and 15-watt minimum power output.

The Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop will be available July 2012 with a MSRP of $4,949.

But, as we all know, our culinary masterpieces sometimes dirty a lot of dishes, so when it comes to cleaning up your creations, Thermador has also stepped things up by introducing the Star-Sapphire dishwasher.

Along with featuring the Thermador-exclusive adjustable Flexible Chef’s Tool Drawer (for all those spatulas, whisks and favorite spoons), Sapphire Glow™ Light (to light the interior and another subtle floor light which, since the unit is so quiet, is the only indication the dishwasher is in use), and Flexible Folding Tines to accommodate a variety of cookware sizes (the rack height also adjusts to clean even your tallest baking racks).

The Star-Sapphire steps up to include the industry’s largest wine glass capacity (18 glasses), smooth glide racks, a Time Remaining PowerBeam®, and StarSpeed™, the industry's fastest full-wash hot water (it preheats the water ahead of time and the full cycle clocks in at 20 minutes) meaning you shouldn't run out of serving dishes or wine glasses in mid-dinner party.

Star-Sapphire is available at an MSRP of $2,199.

Amazing Spaces, LLC is happy to design a kitchen to accommodate these Thermador appliances and head designer Jason Landau is well-versed in specs needed to add these--and any other luxury brand appliance-- to your dream kitchen. For more information on these appliances,visit www.thermador.com and to discuss building a new or remodeling your existing kitchen, please give Jason or Susie a call at Amazing Spaces, LLC at 914-239-3725.