Lowes kitchen

On my trip to check out Lowe's kitchen department, I saw a few things that would make kitchens a little easier to maneuver around in. In one of my previous blogs I talked about the cabinet built-ins that have shelves that pull put so you don't have to bend down to assess what's on the shelves in the bottom cabinets. Also they have drawer organizers to keep the random utensils from rolling around in the drawer.



Another thing I saw was the pull out drawer trashcan by the sink. When people opt to pit their trashcans under there, usually there's not a lot of room and you kinda gotta tilt the can to the side to put anything in there, scraping your hand on the top of the cabinet, with this thing you avoid all of that bc the can comes out to you with minimal effort in case your hands are full making this incredibly convenient.


Keeping with that same theme, for smaller skinny cabinets they also have a shelf that pulls out to get the most use for those small spaces.


Another idea I saw at Lowes was that they placed the dish washer up on a platform to making loading it less stress on the back.


Having a trash compactor or separate wine chiller is usually a luxury that isn't standard in many homes. But I think it makes this kitchen set up look more beautiful.

Kool Kitchens

 

 I think Kitchens have a lot of potential for making a home really stand out. When I had my real estate licence that would be the main thing that buyers would want updated and if the house had an updated kitchen, then the houses seemed to move faser. Kitchen upgrades seem to be more and more popular with new features being added all the time such as roll out shelves, appliance garages, softly closing drawers, and even under cabinet lighting.

 Kitchen are becoming more modern and colors are being used more and more often. Granite counter tops are amoung the most requested in new homes no matter what style. Custom appliances and cabinets are used to get more of an edge. Cabinet panel appliances are popular to disquise the appliances.

Lofts are a place where I have seen a lot of unique kitchens being used in. They tend to go with the loft feel an be a little more contemporary and modern. Like this kitchen to the left, it uses some features that are not seen in most traditional homes like pink cabinets and the ceiling beams as part of the decor.

Fire Places

Fire places are used for many different things. Back in the old days they were used for cooking and the main source of heating a home, but now they are used more for adding a touch of romance to a space. They even have fireplaces now that you can adjust if you don't want it to produce heat, you just want the mood it creates. While doing some fireplace searching for the Great Wolf Lodge project, I ran into some pretty interesting fireplaces.

 This fireplace to the left is ecologocially friendly and is powered by renewable energy. Going green is becoming more and more important and popular so that really adds to the fireplaces appeal. In addition, it is also portable so you can now have a fireplace without a complete home remodel.

 

 Unique fireplaces seems to add interest in any entertaining space and even the private spaces of a master bedroom. There are woodless fireplaces that can be mounted on the wall that use the gas like the one to the bottom left. With that fireplace you dont even have to get the fake wood to use just the gas. Fireplaces are a great way to add a romantic element to your home, even in your outdoor space.

Unique Sinks

Awhile back I was looking into re-doing my home master bathroom. I wanted to make it truely unique overall and while I was surfing for some ideas, I came across some really awesome sinks. They really inspired me, but some of them wouldnt really go with my home. Now that I am in design school, and I aspire to do hospitality in Bars and Restaurants.

 I think that this sink would be awesome in a contemporary home maybe kitchen area or bar. This could even look pretty awesome at a habachi grill or bar. I really like the stainless steel with the wiggly sink.

 I think that this particular sink would be pretty cool in a bathroom at the zoo or maybe even a seafood restaurant. This sink could even look pretty cool in a home decorated with like theme by the ocean.

 I think that these sinks are pretty unique but I am not really sure where they would be appropriate.

 This sink inspires me because of how it looks like it is floating. It creates some interest.

 I think that this sink is also strikes a great deal of interest. The way that it curves all the way to the drain almost makes you want to wash your hands.

This sink is called the Unique Vessel Sink. This sink was meant to be in the kitchen. Although I think it would serve a better purpose in a commercial or even residential bathroom or even home bar area
I think by using a unique sink in any design really adds some interest to even areas you would not expect as much creativity.

Magazines that Inspire

After my trip to the school library, and looking at a few different interior design mags, I came to the conclusion that my favorite is "Hospitality Design". I picked this one probably because that is the part of the field that I am interested into going into. I liked that mag because it has unique design ideas for hotel rooms and bar areas, fun furniture, and lighting tricks I would have never thought to use. I also liked a few of the other mags I saw in the library, including Society Interiors, Interior Design (enter at your own risk), and Interior Design (www.interiordesign.net). I signed up for a free subscription for the HD mag but it was talking about business info so Im not totally sure I will receive it.


http://www.hospitalitydesign.com/hospitalitydesign/index.shtml

Furniture that Inspires

I went to Z Gallerie (and the place next to it, the name escapes me) a few weeks ago and they are contemporary furniture stores. All the furniture that they have there is very inspiring if that is your thing. Its amazing what people have designed. It definately sparked an interest to redecorate my own home (if it werent so dang expensive). Just the uniqueness of their pieces makes you think its more for decoration then to serve a function. Also some of the furniture they have on the Milan Furniture Fair is amazing!

Pretty awesome if you ask me.

Inspirational Design

I know I have blogged about this space before, but the building that really inspires me is Plush Nightclub in Dallas. There's not many pictures on the web of this space, but it has a trendy enterence with a pink hallographic butterfly wall. They have amazing lighting. This space is multi=level and has a different theme throughout. upstairs they have a catwalk with dance poles at every bottle service booth with interesting wall covering behind.

I would really love to spend some time in the this space when its not so crowded to really get a feel for everything. All in all, this space inspires me more than any other one so far.