THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290056
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARCIA MANGUM, HOME & GARDEN EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
YOU'RE ALL SET to entertain. The living room is dusted and straightened. The dining room is set with the best china and linens. The foyer is bedecked with flowers. So, where do the guests hang out?
The kitchen, of course.
``The kitchen has become the focal point of the house, probably even more than the living room,'' says Dave Alderman, president of Dave's Cabinets in Chesapeake. ``It's the heart of the home.''
Alderman, a certified kitchen designer, hears a lot about kitchens in his business. Now we want to hear from you. It's time to design the kitchen for The Virginian-Pilot Reader Home.
More than 600 readers responded to the first installment of our four-part survey, voicing opinions on the architectural style and overall floor plan for the house. Results will be published after the survey concludes in mid-April.
The finished home, to be constructed by Charlie Anderson Builder of Chesapeake, will be open to the public Oct. 5-20 at the 15th annual Homearama at South Shore Estates in Virginia Beach.
Alderman will design and build cabinets for the home. He and Anderson talked recently about some things to consider in kitchen features and designs.
Preferences run toward light or dark, Alderman notes. White-painted cabinets are enjoying a resurgent popularity, as are whitewash and white pickling on some of the light woods such as oak, maple and ash. On the dark side, cherry stains are the most desired.
The darker look is popular among people who want their cabinets to have the look of furniture. That's particularly important when the kitchen is visible from other rooms of the house.
``We like for the kitchen to be a benefit to the looks of the house, as well as to the functionality,'' Anderson says. ``Practicality is extremely important, but at the same time, it has to be attractive.''
Alderman says he gets a lot of demand for room dividers with bar-type tops between kitchens and family rooms. ``They want to have a place to put the kids while they're fixing dinner.'' The parents can be nearby while children do their homework, eat or watch TV.
With more women working outside the home and more men sharing cooking duties, it's important that the kitchen have the space and flow to accommodate two people working together.
The two most popular kitchen layouts these days are the L-shaped kitchen with an island, often set on the diagonal and including a cooktop, and the U-shaped kitchen with bar-style seating.
``People demand convenience,'' Alderman says. ``It's the No. 1 reason for remodeling the kitchen. There's a term in the kitchen business called a `work triangle.' Ten years ago no one would've understood what that means. Today they ask me if I have a proper work triangle.''
For those who don't know, the work triangle is formed by the positioning of the sink, refrigerator and cooktop. The rule is that you shouldn't have to walk more than 26 feet to go to all three points of the triangle, Alderman explains.
As kitchens have become the heart of the home, more and more goes into them. Most new kitchens have pantries. Some have old-fashioned walk-in pantries, which are spacious but requires a lot of floor space. Others have newer, more compact cabinet-style pantries, with adjustable shelving that often rolls out or folds out.
And nearly all large kitchens today are built with desks.
They also may include such extras as roll-out trash cans or recycling bins, ``lazy Susans'' that fit into diagonal corner cabinets, under-cabinet lighting, built-in appliances, tilt-out drawers under the sink and other specialized drawers for dog food, spices or knives.
Lack of drawer space is the most common complaint about older kitchens, Alderman and Anderson agree. Adequate counter-top area also is important. A well-designed kitchen has ``landing zones'' for food beside the refrigerator, sink, cooktop and oven, Alderman notes.
In a small kitchen, the minimum counter top surface area should be 22 feet, he says. In large kitchens, it should be about 75 feet.
Solid-surface counters, with acrylic material all the way through, are gaining popularity. Still, solid-surface costs as much as five times as much as laminate. Laminate counter top in a small kitchen runs about $550, according to Alderman.
Home-buyers make more demands about the kitchen than any other room, Anderson says. But when they learn about costs, they end up making compromises.
Technology has added a lot to modern kitchens, much in the area of convenience - things such as stain-resistant and scratch-resistant counter tops, self-cleaning ovens, improved drawer rollers, durable cabinet finishes and down-draft cooktops that don't require hoods.
Some technologies come and go. Demand hot-water heaters, trash compactors and water purifiers all have surged and waned in popularity in recent years.
Lighting always is important in the kitchen. In addition to adequate overall lighting, bright task lighting is needed over the counter tops and island, Alderman says. Most people also want natural light, sometimes sacrificing cabinet space for large windows over the sink.
Think about how you use your kitchen and what you'd be willing to pay for in a new and improved kitchen. Then give us a call to cast your vote. ILLUSTRATION: Design and color photo by PAUL A. CRUICIANO, CKD
RIGHT: White raised-panel cabinets and granite counter tops create a
modern kitchen.
Graphics
HOW TO VOTE
READER HOME SURVEY, PART 2
[For complete graphics, please see microfilm]
by CNB