Interior Design Thread

[davem]

I know this is pulling the thread off the rails here but...

The reason I left value judgement out of it is that granite is a legitimately good material for a countertop and stainless steel is pretty nice for an appliance. Trendy though.

Granite is a TERRIBLE material for a countertop. It stains, is brittle, can't tolerate high heat, and needs to be sealed twice a year. If you actually cook (or enjoy such exotic foods like tomatoes) and don't just have a showpiece of a kitchen, its a mess. Alleged trendiness is about all it has going for it.

Stainless appliances can be an issue too. The high end ones that use the same quality stainless as commercial appliances are great, but a lot of the lower and medium end models use an inferior product, that at worse can stain and rust.

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

Terrible sounds harsh since it would still be an improvement over formica for all those different things, and also over most other available materials.

I would prefer it over my current formica kitchen from the 50's.... or any solid surface for that matter.

The staining sounds like a real concern, but if I'm going to drop the loot on granite, I might as well take care of it, and apply sealant when needed.

Brittle is subjective term here. With hardness always comes brittleness. What are you doing to your counter? Is is a rough finished edge? If not, brittleness will probably not come into play in your kitchen. Not sure about that heat comment either. Isn't granite formed via. super heating? No temperatures that normally exist in your home should affect granite. That's just 4 minutes worth of research.

Granite is nearly always massive (lacking any internal structures), hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use throughout humanity, and more recently as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65[1] and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 • 1019 Pa·s.[2] Melting temperature is 1215–1260 °C.[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite

Concrete on the other hand, then maybe your concerns hold more water for me.

Now, we're off the rails.....

 

[davem]

Re: Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

Now, we're off the rails.....

Heh, completely. I've had peoples granite stain when regularly sealed from tomato sauce. Buy soapstone. Or practically any other rock that's not granite.

 

[shmessy]

Re: Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

Kitchen appliance tangent?

Where's Whighlander anyway?

 

[davem]

Re: Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

Kitchen appliance tangent?

Where's Whighlander anyway?

Nah, I think we need a stadium.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

Nah, I think we need a stadium.

DRIIIIIIINK.

 

[statler]

Hope you don't mind that I pulled this discussion. I'd actually love to have a full-on thread about interior design if you guys are up for it.

Kitchen design is good place to start.

I don't think there is a 'perfect' countertop material on the market. I like soapstone personally, but it has plenty of flaws.

As for appliances, aren't our choices more or less limited to stainless vs plastic? What else is out there aside from those silly retro pieces?

 

[davem]

Hope you don't mind that I pulled this discussion. I'd actually love to have a full-on thread about interior design if you guys are up for it.

Kitchen design is good place to start.

I don't think there is a 'perfect' countertop material on the market. I like soapstone personally, but it has plenty of flaws.

As for appliances, aren't our choices more or less limited to stainless vs plastic? What else is out there aside from those silly retro pieces?

They all have pros and cons, it just upsets me that everyone is all about GRANITE! when there are so many other materials out there, many of which perform better. I love soapstone for its soft feel (despite being really, really hard), and its ability to eat stains. I'm a pretty big Corian fan too, it is probably the best artificial material. Paperstone and it's competitors are pretty cool too, and have a soapstone like quality, but can be sanded to alleviate blemishes. I think the best solution is to have a few different surfaces in your kitchen.

I'm not a big fan of crown point's stuff because I feel its a bit too sterile looking, but I absolutely love this kitchen, where they used wood on the showpiece peninsula, and soapstone for the working surfaces. I've seen the same done with marble and another material.

My favorite cabinet builders are the Kennebec Company. If anyone's into kitchen porn, you will love their stuff.


Appliances... yeah. The higher end ones do old-school enamel in addition to or in lieu of stainless. Aga makes some beautiful stoves in a ton of colors. A lot is stainless though, which is a shame. It's the reason a lot of designers use cover panels for the majority of the appliances (personally I hate them on fridges), and then get a showpiece stove.

 

[kmp1284]

 

[statler]

I am pretty amazed how quickly white cabinets took over kitchens. Almost every shelter magazine and home tv show showcases them now. I love them but they are very trendy right now.