Gaggenau at the Architectural Digest Show Spring 2012



Gaggenau CX 491 Induction Cooktop
State of the Art Cooking Technology

 Today is the long awaited day, the doors of New York's Architectural Digest Show will open, and all indicators are we can expect it to be a banner year for the show.

This is MCK+B's second year exhibiting, and while last years attendance couldn't compare with the preliminary numbers on this years anticipated attendance, the show was successful enough to bring us back. Let's go 2012 ! As new home starts and resale numbers are rebounding we have put extra spice into this years displays and are ready to help homeowners discover the surpirsing possibilities in new products for their homes.

In our booth we will premier the New Gaggenau CX491 revolutionary technology in "Full Surface Induction". Yes, a cooktop that will activate heating technology as it recognizes a compatible vessel (pot, pan, whatever you like) has been placed on the surface. There is no "set" burner. The heating process works through magnetically activated technology that is safe, clean and easy to use. The only requirement of the cookware you use is that it is magnetic.

Gaggenau's Sleek Line of Vario
"in Counter" Cooking Appliances

Safe you may ask? Yes part of the beauty of induction is that the top doesn't get hot. Only the pot and the contents become heated, and only to the temperature of the contents, beautiful! What this means is that its safe for homes with elderly or forgetful folks, busy people, or homes with small children. Hmmm, sounds like me and just about everyone I know!

The surface is easy to clean smooth top glass making it very user friendly, and because the top doesn't get hot! If you want to fry, saute and do other types of messy cooking you can spread newspaper over the top, lay the pan down, cook, and then clean up is as easy as rolling the paper up and taking it away.

Gaggenau is the undisputed industry leader in premium cooking technology, with an extensive selection of "in counter modular cooking devices ranging from 12" Teppan Yaki to 15" In counter fryers and steamers, there is something to tempt everyone. Fryer's you may ask, and at the same time think "isn't that unhealthy?". Well truth is there is substantial data to argue that food fried at the wrong temperature is what is unhealthy, properly done at the right temperature which is what Gaggenau delivers substantially cuts down on the fat content in your food. They offer in counter ventilation to pair with this wide selection of gas and electric modules.

Having visited Gaggenau's design center in Scotsdale last year, I can tell you that as a long time user of pressure cooking technology, what they have built into their Combi Steam Ovens is something to be reckoned with. Available in 24" and 30" widths, the technology cuts way down on cooking time, while keeping food moist, vitamin rich and flavorful. Sorry but other than for popcorn you will want to show your microwave the door!

If your in the city this weekend and want a rela treat, stop by the MCK+B Booth and preview the very best in cooking technology, courtesy of Gaggenau, prepare to be wowed!  

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.

Green Kitchens That Go from Mild to Wild...



Teak/Low Sheen Central Park West, NYC

 Historically, contemporary style has somewhat belonged to the "Big Cities", New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, and a bit to South Florida. There was a lot of talk in 2010 about a universal trend towards "warm contemporary" styling, and middle America streamlining their design tastes into a modern fashion. I would love to receive feedback here from designers and homeowners alike as to what their experiences have been recently.

Since I am in New York, the majority of my design work has been and continues to be contemporary. And one of the most noticeable style trends I see is the use of reconstituted (recon) veneer in cabinet finishing. If you aren't familiar with recon veneers they are a material created from natural trees grown in managed forests. The timber is grown in Europe and Africa, as well as a few other places, once cut the logs are rolled in a slicer against a blade to "peel" the tree down. These sheets are then cut into "leaves", dried, processed, arranged and then reassembled into wood  blocks that are then cut again into very .6mm sheets that can be used in cabinetry and furniture manufacturing all over the world. When applied by a skilled craftsman, the grain matching and finishing can have a most interesting effect.

This process increases the trees yield by over 40 times as opposed to using it as cut lumber. Additionally all of the dyes used are water soluble and when bleaching is required the bleach  processed and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. Once applied the veneers can be finished in a low or high sheen depending on the client's preference.




Wolf Kitchen w/Haze-Zebrano behind

 
The veneers are optimum for use on slab doors which are used to create beautiful and sometimes exotic looks in contemporary kitchens. In our MCK+B Showroom which has several live kitchens, most often it's out contemporary Haze Veneer kitchen which is chosen by TV shows and  Vendors to use for Photo shoots. Just in the last three months I have had the opportunity to design in Ebony, Gray Obechie,  Haze, and Teak. Each one having it's own subtle but beautiful impact on the design, as well as the much bolder Zebrano.

The Illuminated Kitchen

One of the many things that sets MCK+B apart from the other kitchen showrooms in New York City is that our kitchens are live working displays. How great is it to be in an exciting diverse city with access to all the latest greatest kitchen technology? and to be able to invite clients in on a daily basis to explore the newest technology "hands-on"? Well this month we took it one step further by inviting the public in for a live cooking demonstration every week!

Introducing Chef Jonathan “Lumino” Jamison, trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY; and private chef to notables around the globe. Chef Lumino will be at Manhattan Center for Kitchen and Bath at 29 East 19th Street between Broadway and Park, every Wednesday from 4pm-6pm. He will be mixing up seasonal dishes using fresh organic produce, meat and dairy from the Farmers market at Union Square and cooking to perfection in the live SubZero/Wolf Kitchen with Cabinetry by Rutt and Counter tops by Caesarstone, featuring Concetta.

These delicious demonstrations will become a weekly “Webisode” cooking show on MCKB’s YouTube channel starting in November. Clients and interested folks are welcome to stop by and become part of the fun. This week lucky by-tasters will sample pan-seared ostrich, fresh greens and an apple cobbler with locally grown apples.
So if you are in the city stop by and catch a live taping of the show titled THE ILLUMINATED KITCHEN at Manhattan Center for Kitchen & Bath. Wednesdays at 4pm.