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Ginormous Kitchens: Are They Really a Good Choice?

Ginormous Kitchens: Are They Really a Good Choice?

Published: December 3, 2012

Huge, open kitchens continue to grow in popularity, getting bigger and bigger. But is bigger really better?

Houses with cozy eat-in kitchens are common. But enormous kitchens that consume most of a home’s square footage continue to be the trend.

High-end kitchens can top 3,000 sq. ft. and are becoming more and more popular. Even kitchens in mid-level housing are ballooning, swallowing dining rooms, living rooms, even garages.

Here’s the punch line (courtesy of the Wall Street Journal): Many home owners with ginormous kitchens don’t actually cook in them.

Instead they buy ready-made food to eat at home, and use the kitchen for socializing as friends gather and prepare food together.

Some even have smaller kitchens tucked away. These secondary kitchens, often called “wok kitchens,” hide the mess and smells of meal preparation, while creating the illusion of food being prepared in its larger counterpart.

So what’s the point?

Although, I confess, I completely understand large-kitchen lust.

When we designed our Virginia house 15 years ago, our son was a baby and I couldn’t envision him ever growing up. I wanted a space where I could keep an eye on him while I cooked. So we built a 500 sq. ft. kitchen with space for cooking, eating, lounging by the fire, and watching TV.

And it has its advantages:

  • The space is an open, delightful place where I cook, work, watch birds at the window — feeder, and feel embraced by a flickering fireplace.
  • The baby survived while I cooked, paid bills, attempted to write.

But the list of cons is much longer:

  • Noise: It’s impossible to talk on the phone while someone is watching TV, and our 15-year-old dishwasher is running.
  • Mess: When I entertain, piles of dirty dishes and utensils attend the party with us. So, I only invite good friends who love my mess and me anyway.
  • Diet: It’s hard to fight fat when you work three steps away from the fridge.
  • Temperature control: The room is always drafty and hard to heat without the gas fireplace going.
  • Family dinners: Rarely do we eat a family meal without the TV blaring some must-see ballgame.
  • Unused space: My adjacent dining and living rooms are obsolete dust collectors. I can’t pay guests to take coffee there.
  • Teenagers: The baby is now 16, and would rather eat nails than spend time with Mom, no matter how big the space.

 

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon © Copyright 2015 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Holiday Hotline Helps with Carpet and Sofa Spill-mergencies

Holiday Hotline Helps with Carpet and Sofa Spill-mergencies

By: Dona DeZube

Published: December 11, 2012

It’s not a holiday party until someone spills something on your carpet or upholstery.

Every year my daughter asks if she can have friends over for a holiday party. Every year I say “Sure,” and then lay down some pretty tough rules about drinking. First, I screech “No grape soda!” followed by “And no alcohol!” now that she’s in high school.

You’d do the same if you’d seen what happened when a grape beverage met a white shag rug at my friend Pat’s house a few years back.

But this year is going to be different, and it’s all thanks to Rug Doctor. The carpet cleaning company just opened a telephone hotline to deal with holiday spill-mergencies.

Whether the spill hits your rug or your sofa, the company’s trained cleaning experts will be available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT at 1-800-Rug Doctor to tell you how to get it out.

Grape soda for everyone!

Meanwhile, if you’re going to use a rug shampoo machine to clean the carpet or upholstery before your holiday parties, handle the waste water properly by using these tips from Washington State’s Ecology Department:

  • Vacuum before you wash carpets to minimize debris in the water.
  • Empty wash water down a sink, toilet, bathtub, or shower drain, and never pour it down a storm drain.
  • Strain the waste water before pouring it down the drain to help prevent clogs.
  • Raleigh, N.C., environmental officials suggest using undiluted vinegar in your steam cleaner instead of soap and the Portland, Ore., metro government offers recipes for green carpet cleaning solutions.

Read more: http://members.houselogic.com/articles/removing-carpet-stains/preview/#ixzz3iQsIIjes
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You’r Green, They’re Not. How Will You Stay Friends?

You’r Green, They’re Not. How Will You Stay Friends?

Published: December 6, 2012

A green lifestyle means different things to different people. How do you deal when your friends and family don’t think like you?

When Kermit the Frog sings about how it’s not easy being green, boy, is he right.

The hard part isn’t adopting a green lifestyle — that’s getting easier these days. Non-toxic cleaners are simple to make; recycling centers are everywhere; and there’s no shortage of green living guides online.

But what happens when your lifestyle clashes with someone whose take on green living is different from yours?

A few months ago, I threw a party that happened to coincide with a three-digit heat wave. As I was cleaning up the next day, I found an incriminating piece of evidence that a guest had forgotten: A small personal fan. My friend later confessed that she’d brought the fan because, knowing of my green lifestyle, she assumed I wouldn’t have the air conditioner on.

Ouch! Of course I had the air conditioner on — it was over 100 degrees outside! Did she really think I’d let my guests suffer? I may be an environmentalist, but I’m not a wacko!

Obviously, even though the environmental movement has gone mainstream, you’re still bound to meet people who don’t see eye-to-eye with you. As a heartfelt environmentalist, how do you handle it? When you go to a friend’s home and they don’t recycle, do you say something?

I’ve learned that it’s best to lead by example. When my friend saw that I’d turned on the air conditioner at my party, I hope she learned that my green lifestyle doesn’t mean I live uncomfortably — or force others to do so. (I also hope she noticed the eco-friendly choices I did make, such as serving organic hors d’oeuvres on reusable plates.)

The fact is, eco-friendliness is a spectrum, and no one’s version of green living matches perfectly with anyone else’s version.

Sure, when I go to someone else’s house, I cringe when they hand me a plastic fork and throw their food waste in the trash instead of composting it. But do I lecture them about their lifestyle? No, because no one likes a sanctimonious guest, and as important as environmentalism is to me, I value my friendships more than I value composting.

 

Quick Ways to Make Some Shade, But Don’t Forget: Trees Are Best

Quick Ways to Make Some Shade, But Don’t Forget: Trees Are Best

Published: May 24, 2011

If you prefer a drier cool, as opposed to the misters we mentioned yesterday, read on to find some quick ways to make some shade. Plus, get some tips on getting shade with some quick-growing trees.

 

Immediate relief

Umbrellas, awnings, and quick-assembly patio tents are quick, although sometimes costly, methods of creating shade instantly.

The ubiquitous patio umbrella—found even in grocery stores for $30—can either stand alone upright or offset, or slip into a hole in your patio table.

Choose an umbrella that tilts, so you can block the sun at any angle. Or get one that’s fabulous, like Frontgate’s Rimbou Lotus Shade, which looks like a giant palm frond. (Cost: $1,795.)

Retractable awnings, a permanent feature of older southern homes, are traditional shade makers for outdoor areas up to 12 feet from your house. Motorized awnings take the fuss out of opening and closing. Depending on size and what kind of bells and whistles they come with, awnings typically cost from $400 to $3,000.

Portable awnings are my favorite, because they make shade wherever, not just areas close to the house. SunSetter’s Large Oasis Freestanding Awning, measuring 16 ft. by 10 ft., can provide 160 sq. ft. of shade. (Cost: $1,549 manual; $2,099 motorized.)

A cloth gazebo (aka patio tent or canopy) is another option that’s great for entertaining. You can go simple and inexpensive ($50 for Target’s Outdoor Patio Pariesienne Gazebo Canopy, though online reviews indicate you get what you pay for). Or you can step it up with the Garden Oasis Lighted Gazebo, complete with lights and netting for $700 at Sears.

Long-term re-leaf

Growing shade trees is the greenest—and slowest—way to block the sun on patios and decks. There’s nothing as cool as sitting under the shade of an old oak tree.

If you can’t wait 20 years for a little shade, plant a quick-growing variety which, in tree language, means it grows a couple of feet or more each year. You can rush the process by paying more and buying big trees, and you’ll see a return on your investment. Here are some species to consider.

  • American Elm: (Zones 2-9) Grows rapidly up to 100 feet tall and 120 feet wide. Adapts to varied climates and soil conditions.
  • October Glory Red Maple: (Zones 4-9) Provides a 35-foot spread and grows to 40 feet high.
  • Sawtooth Oak: (Zones 4-9) Dark green summer foliage turns yellow to brown in fall. Wildlife will love its acorns.
  • Chinese Pistache: (Zones 6-9) Wonderful wide canopy and grows in all but the coldest zones.
  • Natchez Crape Myrtle: (Zones 7-10) Lots of long-blooming white flowers and cinnamon-colored bark.

 

 

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon © Copyright 2015 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

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