Domestic Science With Julie Carlson
Hannah Beatrice Quinn, a recent graduate of the furniture design program at California College of the Arts, is fascinated by ordinary household goods; for her 2014 thesis, she fabricated a series of domestic essentials, including brooms, dustpans, and ironing boards. "I strive to understand what makes an object precious in the eyes of an individual," she says. "As a maker, I want to craft objects that help consumers reconnect with the histories, processes, and materials used in the making of ordinary household goods." This past year, she set herself a goal of making 400 brooms, which she'll be selling on her own online shop and other local outlets (for a full list of stockists, go to Hannah Beatrice Quinn).
If you're in San Francisco, Hannah will be selling her work at Studiopatro's two-day Everyday Home Popup Shop on Friday, October 16, and Saturday, October 17. And stay tuned: she'll be launching a new line of dyed black brooms with black broom corn at the West Coast Craft Fair in SF on November 14 and 15.
Above (L to R): Hannah Quinn's Handmade Broom is available in three sizes (regular, kids, and hand) for $48 each from the Workshop Residence in San Francisco; the handles are available in bleached ash or walnut. Hannah makes the wood broom handles and Duane Penner, a third-generation broom maker from Dinuba, CA, adds the finishing touches. Photo by Micah Gibson.
Above: A dustpan from Hannah's 2014 thesis project at Cal Arts; in November, she'll be the featured artist at the Workshop Residence in San Francisco, where she'll be holding workshops and offering dustpans, Doug Fir hand brooms, and a number of exclusive broom designs.
Above: Each broom is signed by Hannah herself.
For a roundup of our favorite brooms, go to The Artful Sweep: Display-Worthy Household Brooms.
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Kitchens With Margot Guralnick
The least-fun thing to think about when designing a kitchen? Our vote goes to the range hood, that hardworking, often noisy machine that can hog precious space and ruin sight lines. That's why we were excited to see a new, discreet option starting to appear in open kitchens with center islands. Meet the ceiling-mounted surface vent. Blink and you might not even notice it.
Above: In place of an intrusive ceiling hood, this setup has an inset stainless-steel-framed vent over a stainless steel island from German kitchen systems masters Bulthaup—island and cabinets are from Bulthaup's B2 line. (See Good Küchen: 9 German Kitchen Systems for more details.)
What are these vents?
They're remote-controlled hoods that are inset in ceilings, so that only a stainless-steel frame and panel (often of dark glass detailed with lights) is visible. Positioned directly over a cooktop, the vents, like all hoods, are there to absorb cooking odors and grease. Available in a range of rectangular sizes and increasingly popular in Europe, these unobtrusive versions are just starting to make inroads in the US.
Above: To decrease the distance between stovetop and vent, a Siemens ceiling-mounted recessed hood is set in a soffit in this newly remodeled kitchen belonging to Norwegian blogger Nina of Stylizimo.
Where do they work—and what's the catch?
The majority of these vents are ducted to the outside, so in most cases, you need to be in a house to have one in your kitchen. (On top of venting considerations, many states have strict requirements for the amount of "makeup air" channeled in in proportion to what goes out, and not all recessed ceiling vents are strong enough to meet these codes. Local appliance specialists can fill you in on the details.)
For a ceiling-mounted recessed kitchen vent to be most effective, it needs to be larger than the cooktop that's under it—for a 36-inch cooktop, for example, use a 42- or 48-inch hood—and to be close enough to do its job: The ideal distance between ceiling vent and stovetop varies, but for optimal effectiveness, Matt Avery of Faber tells us no more than four feet is recommended.
If you have a powerful commercial-style range and do a lot of frying, one of these models isn't likely to do the trick. But if you do regular cooking and there isn't a great distance between stove and vent—a too tall ceiling can be remedied by inserting the vent into a soffit—this open-plan option may be the perfect problem solver.
Above: A recessed hoods draws steam in a Corian model kitchen in the UK.
Who makes ceiling-mounted recessed vents?
A number of familiar brands have started introducing flush ceiling vents, including Best (see its Cirrus models), Miele, Futuro Futuro, Falmec, Zephyr, and Faber (so far in Europe only).
Above: Cloud, a ceiling vent by Italian company Falmec, is shown here at Expo Milan 2015. Photograph via Edilportale.
Are there other unobtrusive kitchen vent options?
Yes, under-the-cabinet hoods are another popular choice (and can work in apartments) as are downdraft hoods, that rise in the back of the range at the press of a button. The latter, we're told, work particularly well with induction cooktops.
Above: A Miele stainless steel Extractor Unit with dimmable halogen lights is neatly incorporated in a shelf over a cooktop. Its price, $1,699, including external blower, is in the ballpark for most ceiling vent brands.
Go to our Kitchen Appliance posts for more advice, including:
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Kitchens With Izabella Simmons
Yesterday we checked in at LA's buzzing new Hotel Covell, designed by Sally Breer of Co-Mingle. We're particularly taken with the playful, glam-retro vibe of the kitchenette in Suite 5, known as The Heir. Here's how to replicate the look.
Photography by Bethany Nauert.
Above: Someone suave lives here: Suite 5's kitchenette with black and gold accents.
Above: The design has simple open shelving and a Smeg refrigerator.
Above: A detail from Suite 3, the Parisian Atelier, with hexagonal cement tile from Kismet Tile (read our posts about Kismet and How to Select a Backsplash.) Each kitchenette is equipped with Studio Mugs ($31), Plates ($29), and Cereal Bowls ($30) from Heath Ceramics' Coupe line.
Above: The 1950s-style Smeg Refrigerator holds 9.22 cubic feet and comes in more than a dozen colors; $1,999 from AJ Madison.
Above: The kitchenette countertop is matte black Corian. Learn about the made-to-last material in Remodeling 101: Corian Countertops, (and the New Corian Look-Alikes).
Above: The Kingston Brass Satin Nickel Magellan Centerset Bar Faucet with Metal Lever Handles is $51.87 from Faucet Direct.
Above: The kitchenette has a vintage bar sink in brass. For a look-alike, consider the Barclay Bar Sink with Ledge in Polished Brass; $225 from Amazon.
Above: Breer used vintage pulls on the cabinets. For a similar look, try these Vintage Brass Cabinet Bin/Cup Pulls by Cal Crystal; $12.86 from Martell Hardware. Another good option: a Depression-Era Glass Bin Pull from Crown City Hardware.
Above: The matte black Colfax Wall Sconce was custom-made for the hotel by Park Studio LA. It's now available for $80 from Park Studio's online shop.
Above: The Half Gold Light Bulb is $6 from Anthropologie.
Above: The Ekby Hemnes Shelf in black/brown is made of solid pine and comes in two lengths, starting at $14.99 from Ikea.
Above: For mounting the shelves, Ekby Valter Brackets come in two sizes and are $3 or $4 each at Ikea.
Above: The Architec Gripperwood Concave Cutting Board is made of beechwood; $30.23 from Amazon.
Above: West Elm's Gold Flatware Set is gold electroplated stainless steel. A single place setting is currently on sale for $31 (marked down from $39), and a four place-setting set is $112 (marked down from $140).
Above: The Chemex Wood Collar Glass Coffeemaker comes in four sizes, starting at $34.95 from Williams-Sonoma.
Above: Original Charcoal Drawing circa 1940, from an artist's estate in Carmel, California; $120 from Etsy seller Vintage Paramour. Search "vintage charcoal portraits" on Etsy for more options.
See more of our recent Steal This Look posts:
And for inspired kitchen designs, go to our
Kitchen archive.
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