It's Makeover Monday: Every Monday we look at a professionally remodeled kitchen and/or bathroom and talk about what is good and sometimes not so good about that particular renovation. This article is designed to help you with your project...so let's get to it.
A couple of years after I graduated college, I lived in a loft building across from Fenway Park. The CITGO sign was right outside my window (try sleeping with horizontal lines going up and down your apartment all night). Anyway, the apartment looked nothing like this...
Lofts have become popular in urban areas as industrial spaces have been converted to residential living. We see it in Boston especially in Southie, Fort Point Channel and the Leather District.
They are actually great spaces with tall ceilings. You usually cannot drill through a concrete ceiling for recessed, so task lighting becomes more difficult. The whole planning for kitchens is different, because you are dealing with a totally open space.
Let’s look at a creative solution:
Lighting
Tech Lighting Track Lighting
They have done a masterful job of lighting the space using track by Tech Lighting. I love track, because it is sleek, modular and versatile. This lighting bears zero resemblance to the old thick, white track of years past. They actually refer to it as rail.
I like the way they lowered it with cable instead of normal posts. It looks more elegant. The designer also installed two circuit track, so they can switch off different tracks.
Bosch Appliances
I personally like Bosch. They are styled well with decent features and are actually affordable compared with other affordable and premium appliance brands.
A wall oven/microwave combination is a good idea in smaller spaces. You keep the cooking centrally located and the microwave is not on the counter. I like the Bosch version. It installs easily, but both pieces can be serviced and replaced separately down the road.
The kitchen also features the Bosch induction cooktop with a downdraft. Induction is magnetic heat, and is the fastest cooking technology on the market. Yes, it is even faster than pro gas.
More importantly, induction does not emit nearly the heat of a gas unit and can be downdrafted efficiently. Placing cooking in an island is a good idea for entertaining, because you face your guests.
Big Takeaways
- If you are placing a cooktop in the island without an overhead hood, always use an induction instead of a professional gas unit
- Track and cable is a great solution to tall ceilings
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