I notice that they have these plain cabinets now, which are completely flat with no raised parts. Looks very modern, but I'm wondering if they are trendy or will still look good in a few years. I'll see if I can find a picture. Anyone have these and how do you like them?

 

 

You're right, they do look clean and modern but I think they will go out of date quickly.

 

The kitchen cabinet manufacturers are a bit like Detroit a few decades ago, where changes were emplaced in the product line to encourage you to "update". I'd note a couple of things about the image you posted; the manufacturer worked to use a continuous veneer through the entire plane of the cabinet/drawer, and the consistency of the grain is very good. Heavily moulded doors rely on the trim for their decorative impact, so the wood can be crap, and the grain undistinguished.

Will it date? I'd say that there were some cabinets done as simply as the ones you show by custom cabinet makers in the fifties through the seventies, so you could almost claim these to be "modern retro" .........almost a Scandinavian purity to the line, with the emphasis being on the wood and its grain, not the detail...... This stuff won't be to everyone's taste, because it is more understated than most folks will grasp.

Frankly, I think if you were to use cabinets as beautifully grainmatched as are shown in the photo, it would be timeless. But - if someone is looking for some "current" trend, these aren't it....

 

I like the look of the example.....

 

I definitely see the "scandinavian" point, the first thing i thought of was ikea. a lot of their cabinets lately (kitchen and otherwise) have the internal hinges like that. i like it, especially in the picture you showed.

But like ric mentioned, a lot of the appeal of that picture is in the wood itself, not just the 'sleek' look.

 

meh

 

I'm not crazy about it.

 

 

slab styles have been around for a long time. this is nothing new.

but yeah... it's called a slab style door.

you can go frameless or full-overlay.

like ric said, it only looks good with an interesting grained wood. i went slab style with a wavy maple. (alot like the picture).

personally, it's the only style of cabinet i like. i can't stand molded door styles... yick.

i saw a kitchen with slab style doors in Rosewood.... GORGEOUS... but $38,000 in cabinets... out of my ballpark

 

as for full overlay vs frameless...

well... if you can afford the cabinets and the labor... go frameless. they have smaller "seams" between the doors, and a much sleeker look. they also give you more cabinet space as there is no front frame taking up 2-6 inches (depending on your manufacturer/wood/etc).

the only advantage of full overlay (besides price) is they are MUCH MUCH easier to install.


pretty much every manufacturer offers slab door styles now. most of them also give you the option of styling the edges with a bevel or rounding them.

slab door styles work great with Maple & Cherry... or any exotic wood.

 

Countertops are nice.

 

hmm. This thread really seperates the Martha Stewart Living from the Dwell Magazine types in here. Interesting to see the varied styles amongst a group of people who all bought rather contemporary styled cars.

 

Although I commented earlier that they will go out of date - I really think it depends on the style of the house. A sleek kitchen with a country craft home won't look right but if the house is sleek and modern then these cabinets will look great.

 

I think it depends on the style of wood like soopa said but also the style of countertop that is used also.

 

Well, whatever the case, it is indeed trendy right now. However, this style is not new... simply seeing a revival.

Like ric said, there is no better cabinet style to show off the beauty of a quality wood.

If you pick up a copy of Signature Kitchens & Baths, Home & Architectural Trends, Kitchen & Bath Ideas, Great American Kitchens, or any similar trade magazine, you'll find a disproportionate amount of homes with this style of cabinet (and they are not cheap!).

What does this mean? I don't know. It could mean they will go out of style just as fast. Or, it could mean, that as beautiful hardwoods become even more difficult to find, and this style becomes ever more pervasive in high-end homes... it will be a cabinet style that only appreciates in value.

Already, manufacturers are planning to raise prices (some by as much as 20%) on high-quality cabinet lines in January.

I don't think the example picture gives this style justice. Maybe one of these?





... these aren't even any of my favorites. I just checked SubZero's site because their brochure has a picture of my favorite kitchen in it. Unfortunately, it's not on their site.

Anyway, slab or not, I don't see the classic high-quality wood door going out of style any time soon.

If anything, the current HOT trend that WILL bite the dust is the slab door with a high-gloss laminate or lacquer (like you see coming out of Ikea and even HOME DEPOT now of all places). Like this...



I don't know how in the world that became popular.

 

Yeah a counter top will make or break a kitchen. A "colorful" solid surface, another popular trend today, just does not look good with these cabinets (or at all).

Stick to a classic like granite, and I think you'll be alright.

 

me too. theyre just meh. nothing special to write home about

 

I like the look, except for the dishwasher. I have never been a big fan of the "wood" front on appliances. Then again, I like the commercial grade Steel. Give me a 6 burner Vulcan with a flame grate, that is 10 years old and removed from a closed down restaurant---perfect.

 

That's an excellent point. I totally agree.

 

Only issue w/commercial range in residential houses are that there is never enough ventialation/suction per the exhaust. And I have seen a lot of "high end" houses had that issue. Residential exhaust is NOT up to the task of hardcore cooking.

 

Good point. I would buy the commercial hood system as well.

 

I dunno, I've seen "residential" exhaust hoods with 3,000CFM. I bought a downdraft (skinny lil thing that pops up from the counter) that is 1600CFM... and thats only a downdraft!

You need 1CFM for every 100BTU your cooking unit generates. So, a 3000CFM blower should be able to cope with a 300,000 BTU range.

I have a 46" professional cooktop with 4 burners and a 13" grill. If EVERY burner and the grille were on HIGH at the sametime it would pump out 45,850BTU. That leaves about 115,000BTU that the blower can cope with BEYOND the output of the cooktop... and thats a BIGASS cooktop.

Now, using your "dream" range. A Vulcan with 4 20,000 BTU burners, a 40,000 BTU grill, and a 50,000BTU oven (pretty much the best they offer in 4+1 design) you need about 1700CFM to vent the entire MAX capacity output of the unit. So, I think you would be able to cope with that with a residential blower considering even downdrafts can suck that much air through 3 1/4" piping.

Personally though, I can't see why in the world someone would want a TRUE "professional" unit in their house. Especially with all the capabilities of todays "residential professional" units.

I'd check out something from Thermador, who offer a true restaurant style look, with serious power, in a unit that plays well with a home.

 

Also, seeing as how most high-end residential ventilation units use remote blowers, you could theoretically "boost" the CFM of your hood so long as it has enough surface area to suck in the air your turbo'd blower would need.

Considering, also, that with a professional unit, you're probably going to have a cooking surface of 48-52 inches at most... and you'll probably have a hood with the same surface area... I'd say a 52" "hole" in your ceiling could pretty much suck out all the air you could throw at it given support from a good fan.

 

This is Thermador's top-of-the-line residential "professional style" range...



That's pretty much as far as I'd go with pro-in-the-home style cooking. That unit is about $8,000... which is VERY reasonable for 6 burners, a griddle, 2 ovens, and an infrared broiler.

 

Here is a similar unit from Electrolux (my choice brand) that even features a 24" restaurant style "backsplash"

 

You know, those are nice. But the appliances people just figure out to put $300 more of SS and bigger burner, then charge an arm and leg to those people (too much money, don't know where to spend) think they are going to cook a lot at home.
Then they go out to eat.

I know because my dad own couple of restaurants and you can get bare down customized units for about $1400--6 burners, SS, about 40000 btu each, NOT as good looking as the one you posted. A true broiler cost about $2000 (can cook about 30 9oz steaks at once), ss, w/ flames coming from the top and bottom.

Commercial hood/ are remote fan mounted on the roof. About the CFM/BTU deal, you could be right, but that depend on a lot on what you are cooking too. On top of that, the pipe are a lot bigger (18" x 24" retangular) than the 4" diameter on used at residential house.

 

Yeah, commercial apps are alot more bang for the buck. But they're ugly and all about function... not something I can understand wanting in the home (where you're never going to need to cook 30 steaks at a time).

Units like the ones posted should be able to accomodate every and any at home cooking need unless your dining table seats 18 and is full 3 times a day

As for the size of residential duct work, standard is 3 1/4" up to 10". If you are doing a complete reno or new construction, you can plan for even larger (commercial size) duct work.

But like I said, at 1CFM per 100BTU, I don't see why you'd ever need commercial capacity ventilation at home.

 

soopa (and others) what color did you go with for your cabinets, coutner top and floor?

 

fiddle... honey maple cabs, black granite tops, brazilian slate floors (kinda like a chalky grey/black).

hopefully it all works out, everything should be in about 4 weeks. the swatches all look great together.

i'm doing a custom glass tile mosaic also, for which I've a few primary color options I haven't decided on... so the "complete look" probably wont be complete for another 8 weeks, once I get the cabs/counters installed and I decide on the backsplash color.

 

Cool. I am actually looking at the exact same cab/counter color combo (honey maple and black). How do you think it will look with SS appliances? I think it will be sharp.

 

it will look great. most of my apps have a healthy amount of black tinted glass as well (the oven is almost all glass [see previous thread]) so i'm betting things will come together nicely.

 

That is nice. I like it better than the other one. The reason behind Vulcan is two fold: I used to be a chef and used them all the time with 0 maint issues and the second is price.

With that said, the electrolux is better looking.

 

Fair nuff. Yeah you can't beat the real stuff on power to price. You pay alot for design...