Kitchen Design

Kitchen Design - Kitchen Cabinets & Appliances

Today in America kitchens have become the focal point of the house and are treated accordingly, money no object. It is often part of the living space, no matter how practical it is, and cabinets, walls and counter tops have to coordinate with it and look good. While a traditional separate kitchen would have a mix of counter top materials such as butcher block and stainless steel, and just a little bit of marble maybe, open kitchens are "decorated" sometimes with a lot of marble, counter tops and walls, miles of it to look good standing next to the living room. Cabinets too are sometimes made to look like pieces of furniture designed to stand next to some Louis XV replicas.

The first thing to look for in a high end range is the power of the top burners. They have to be powerful if you like your meat seared like in a restaurant. I see no reason of buying an expensive range if at least one of the burner cannot not deliver 22 BTU. I mean a $3,000 GE and Samsung range today can do it! Also 4 burners is plenty enough for the home, leaving space for a French plate and a grill. In some instances, depending on configurations, I believe that having two small ranges is more practical than having a huge one. Looking at stoves I prefer when one is electric, better for pastries, and the other one gas, better for meat and fish, one more reason for getting two small ranges instead of a large one as very few manufacturers offer both in one range. Sealed or open burners? Sealed burners used to be less powerful than open ones but it is changing and better implemented so I say it depends how well they are made. Otherwise I prefer open, powerful restaurant type burners.