Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget (ok Imported Ale)--DISPLAY SALE

In MCK+B's continuing commitment to excellence in design and bringing the latest intriguing products to the fashion and trend setting Greater New York clientele, we are replacing the now famous Blue and Figured Sycamore Hi Gloss kitchen with Glass counter top that currently glistens in the front window of our Flatiron showroom . The allure of the kitchen, which appears to be in motion with the special effects lighting, brings people in  fascinated with questions and ideas day in day out.

With its 1.5" thick glass counter top with built in

rotating colored LED lights system, serpentine Elkay trough sink, waste recycling cabinet, pot drawers, and "melting iceberg" glass end panels, the 12' long island is a show stopper.   It is back up by a 15' long wall of tall swiveling pantry pullout storage and a sink base with stainless steal counter top and an Elkay Mystic  kidney shaped flush welded stainless steel sink. The wall is topped off with a run of butterfly/horizontal opening cabinets with porthole views of the custom blue mosaic tile back splash and stainless fly-over storage. The kitchen is complemented by a further 12 foot long wall of state of the art tall storage which in addition to housing a wall oven has abundant pull out/roll out pantry and dish storage. The kitchen is designed to house the 30" Sub Zero Refrigerator, as well as a 36" cook top. All of the drawer hardware is top of the line full extension soft close Blumotion with stainless drawers and gray melamine interior. 

The finishes used in the kitchen are still available, so the opportunity to reconfigure and add to the cabinetry exists. The kitchen as it stands with cabinetry, lighting, hardware, counter tops, and sinks is worth over $160,000.00 and the sale price for the display is $85,000.00. The appliances are not included but can be purchased separately. If you are interested please contact the showroom.

When it's gone it will create the space needed for our 5th new showroom display in  less than two years. It's exciting for us at MCK+B to imagine the possibilities of what can take the place of such a distinctive and eye catching design.

Monogram Innovative Refrigeration in a Size Perfect for City Living



GE Monogram offering of fully integrated refigeration
with glass, stainless, or panel ready fronts.



Here in New York we design "largely" using appliances much smaller than what you will find in a typical suburban kitchen. It's rare to use a refrigerator that is larger than 36", although I did use two 48" ranges in 2011 and come to think of the Sub Zero towers as well, it's not called for every day and they take up a combined 54" + cladding. Four and a half feet wide by 7 feet tall  is a lot of food storage even for a 5 bedroom house in the burbs!

For everyday designing we find ourselves looking for the best refrigeration solution between 24" and 30", the Liebherr at 24" offers a lot for the price of approximately $2,300.00 although the freezer is comprised of little drawer compartments, if you can work with them they are functional, but certainly not luxurious as they have no real hardware system. One very nice feature they do offer is an icemaker.

The ever popular Sub Zero at 27" has a couple of design flaws in my opinion, the freezer is only one small drawer with ice maker, you accept the size before you buy it, so that is a decision. But more importantly you can't pull the crisper drawers out when the refrigerator door is open 90 degrees. It is locked in by a permanently affixed shelf on the door. This is a real problem here in the city when we are living in tight spaces and this is a fridge that doesn't easily pop out to make drawer cleaning possible.

Convertible freezer/refrigerator drawer in GE Monogram

For about the same price as the Sub Zero, perhaps even a little less, GE Monogram offers a very thoughtfully designed refrigerator, that is not only capable of being fully integrated, it has a much roomier freezer drawer and a "tween" drawer in the mid-section that can instantly convert at any time from refrigerator to freezer and back again. It's ingenious if you ask me, and the ice maker in the tween drawer makes it a great energy saver in a busy household where people are regularly just opening the freezer compartment for ice.

The interior fresh food compartment reminds me of the pricey but beautiful Miele fridge, known for its bright well organized appearance and sturdy moving components. The Ge Monogram has heavy duty Glass shelves with aluminum trim and side lighting, and is a very well priced option for someone looking for the best in design and function.

If you are in the New York City area and want to preview the GE Monogram line, contact Paula Cecere or Corinne at the A&D Building GE Monogram Design Center located at 150 East 58th Street, 10th Floor; New York, NY 10155 (212) 223-1699

AXOR SHOWROOM OPENS IN NEW YORK

Free Standinf Axor Tub

Today marks an important day in the history of the Hansgrohe brand Axor, the premium manufacturer of state of the art bathroom fixtures opens it's first U.S. showroom at 29 Ninth Avenue in New York City.  

Located in the trendy Meat Packing District, the loft like showroom is bright and well dressed with the finest offerings of the Axor designs and their design partners such as, Philippe Starck, Antonio Citterio, Jean-Marie Massaud and others.

There are working displays, including the a 5' by 5' shower featuring the Philippe Starck modular shower collection with a giant ceiling rain head tile with 3-way adjustable spray. The showroom with be open to designers and the public, lead by Kiel Wuellner, the showroom manager, they will offer advice and expertise including specifications to facilitate the use of their products in actual designs, in addition to a "hands on" shopping experience. This support should prove to be invaluable to area designers and clients, offering a unique upscale experience with an opportunity to speak directly to brand representatives. 

Philippe Stark, world renowned designer and architect, was the first of the featured designer collections developed by Axor, it debuted in 1994 and has continued to grow. As time went on Axor developed lines with many other innovative designer introducing collections to the market which have kept Axor in the forefront of high end bathroom remodeling.

The fixture are of course water efficient and compliant, with possibilities to create a very personal shower or bath experience.

A grand opening is planned for this evening following that the showroom will be open to the public.

Designing My Year--2011



Calcutta Gold Sofa courtesy of Stone Master Craftsman
Ilia De Ploti of New York Stone



 2011 was a great year in kitchens in many ways, I had the opportunity to design using some of the most fun creative materials from Brooks Verdicrete to Ceasarstone Concetto, from Stainless Steel Irpinia cabinets in an earthy brick Chelsea loft  to a serene sophisticated uptown penthouse Rutt Kitchen, with clients who really cared about the aesthetic result, and with a fellow staff that is fun to be with, professional, clean and responsive. My clients affirm this to me daily in emails, phone calls, and referrals.

When someone comes in to do their dream kitchen and they have the checkbook to back it up, you know  the raw potential to be great, after all in New York City we are fortunate to be dazzled by the newest, best, latest and the greatest, presented in such a way we want to have it all. For a good designer this has the potential to be a playground of epic proportions. This was my year for such fun and good hard work. I found myself bouncing between Park Avenue in the 80's, Manhattan's Gold Coast, and Brownstone renovations in Cobble Hill and the Promenade areas in Brooklyn, where my own parents started their life together 50 years ago this year.

With so much going on around us each day of the bustling year,  it feels good to look back at times and take notice of things and people that made us smile or jobs that gave us satisfaction or others who shared their beautiful work to inspire us. It may have been a needed laugh, a sunset captured,  a job well done, a hug, or simply thoughts of the kids at home growing smarter and more independant each day but still not too grown up to goof around, but all in all 2011 was a year of personal and professional growth and "taking New York".

The job I do wouldn't be possible without so many people who make my days bright and help me get my  designs off paper and into the home. Here is a glimpse of 2011 at MCK+B and at home.



Cheers to Meryl Dourmashkin, the finest, brightest most organized and thorough project manager
I have ever worked with, who can communicate volumes in a two
word email, she gets it done!







Eamon, Malachy, and Giovanny who run the cleanest

 jobsites I have ever seen for

MCK+B where we call this "under construction"



Kitchen Designed for West 20th Street, NYC project run by

Marthe Rowen AIA of Virginia. Celophane still

on the steel cabinets almost ready to unveil. Installation

By Manhattan Center for Kitchen + Bath.





Steve Naphtali of Kitchen Expressions and fellow MCK+B
designer Hany Gerges Steve talks me through it and Hany is
never to busy to answer a question or weigh in an opinion.







The girls in my life who constantly amaze me,
growing by leaps and bounds more beautiful every day.
Thanks for keeping me young at heart xoxo.

 



This stunning little bathroom will be the first page in my book
"101 Uses for Semi-Precious Stone"



2011 Saw the opening of the World Trade Center Memorial and the
Freedom Tower climbs to a height where it is dominating skyline of lower Manhattan.
Photo by Laura Candler

Kendall DeLisa and Clare Hernon taking in "Occupy Wall Street"
with Laura Candler on a warm November day.



With Sky Views of all of lower Manhattan and
Brooklyn from the 30th floor, this kitchen
and client will be a lasting  favorite.











Eric Williams, the man who photo-chronicles every family

outing I can't make it to, it's as close to being there
as a working mom could get. Thank you!

 



People watching in NYC, never dull, is it part panda,
 not really but it was almost 100 degrees with not a breath of air,
and they were big and wooley.





A quiet simple view of a kitchen that is a perfect fit in every way, can you find the laundry room?
You are looking right at it.



And the sun goes down on another year, I am looking forward to the fun and excitement of 2012.
 Photo by Eric Williams

Special thanks to Andie Day, Fran Asaro, Allan Linder, Sol Kassorla, Leah Primamore Pavlovich, Ahuva Ginden, Jamie Goldberg, Eric and our girls, Laura Fancy Pants Candler, Paul and Lena, Paula Cecere, General Electric, Monogram, NJ Transit, Trader Joe's, Blogger19 and my mom.