Faucets

When I was a wee lad, faucets were designed to be utilitarian. Now they are created for form and function. It was almost a requirement, as the Europeans designed better sinks there wasn't enough room for a traditional faucet as well as a hot and cold controller on the sink itself...

Now look at faucets: Most are now designed with hot, cold and pullout spray manufactured so they can fit on a European sink.

Cool Things?

A couple of mini posts today...

Have a look at this Viking induction portable burner.



I actually like this unit. Its fast, portable and somewhat reasonable at $529: great ancillary burner.

Now look at this Blanco faucet:



$700-$800 for an LED light in the faucet....Seems like a ton of dough for very little functionality.

Marthas Vineyard...Final

Following is the last of the Vineyard pics from last week. For newcomers, I spent the weekend at a friend/business associates house. He is in the granite business, and we trade granite for appliances..With the tremendous amount of granite at Yale, it buys a ton of appliances...as I discovered.

Lets look at the kitchen.



Consists of a Wolf 48 inch professional oven, 2 Bosch integrated dishwashers, 2 Shaw sinks with Perrin and Rowe faucets(ouch), Visual Comfort pendants and 2 SubZeros. We settled on a smaller 30 inch SubZero and placed a set of refrigerator drawers in the island...

And the rest of this appliance laden domicile (time to order more granite.)



This is actually a great house 2 minutes off the ferry in Vineyard Haven.

Dream Kitchen

If you ever visualized a dream kitchen, this picture would probably be in your mind. This kitchen is the work of Erika Mcpherson Powell from Urban Grace Interiors of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.







This is a beautiful application of appliances,lighting and plumbing. You are looking at 2 SubZero 650 36 inch bottom freezers with glass fronts. We have a Wolf dual fuel range with professional hood. Look at the baffle filters in the hood. It allows smoke and grease to be vented faster than regular charcoal. The dishwasher is the integrated double drawer from Fisher-Paykel. You are looking right at the piece in the lower right hand side.


I really love the utilzation of plumbing in this kitchen. Erika places 2 farm sinks back to back from Shaw with matching Rohl faucets. I like this combination, because farm sinks are supposedly traditional yet they are remarkable in a modern kitchen. Look at the potfiller on the wall. When her client wants to fill a lobster pot or pasta bowl, the spigot is right at point of use.

Very nicely done, great utilzation of many design elements traditional, comtemporary, professional and integrated, Erika is at www.urbangrace.com

Franke Hoods

There are three great hood lines from Italy: Best, Faber and Zephyr. They actually reside(or used to reside) in the same town of Fabriano. Best was purchased by Broan about 10 years ago, which has not been good for that company. Beautiful design emanates from Italy or Spain and cannot be dictated from our country or so it seems.


Faber was just purchased by Franke. Franke is a Swiss sink and faucet company. Perhaps they have learned this lesson, as these new hoods are really eye catching to say the least....


Have a look:

Water Filtration(again)

Saturday, I stopped to fill the car and realized gas is now over $3. I live 2 miles from work so I do not have the raw excitement of visiting a gas station every couple of days. Fast forward to Monday and I am having a salad at Lambert's(a local place) and notice that bottled water is $1.29...for 20 ounces.





Lets calculate this to a gallon. There are 126 ounces to a gallon, so if we multiply just by 6, and we are almost at $8 a gallon. Unlike gas, there are alternatives that are way cheaper. First, I have to point out the new advertising campaign from a bottled water company.."We filter it, filter it and then filter it again"...I love this campaign, because it describes exactly the process of a home water purifying system. Typically water is filtered by carbon, ceramic and resin cartridges:





Lets look at a few:





WaterX Wx500: 5000 gallon filter can be installed under the sink without a separate water tap, and can be siphoned to other appliances. It costs around $400 for 5000 gallons or the equivalent of $40,000 worth of bottled water.









Everpure: Easy snap in filter is the unique to this company. This does need another point of use faucet, but there seems to be a number of really nice looking options for this









Franke Tri Flow: Want a great looking faucet with an incorporated filter? The Franke Tri-flow is a good choice. The downside is the price tag, which is over $800









Franke Dw100: Franke has also just the point of use water filtration. With the faucet, it is only $295 and up









WaterX Whole House filtration: Finally, a product to filter everything from the shower to the bath and all water generating pieces therein. It is great for people with problem water as the filter is customized specifically your type of water such as hard water, well water, etc

Energy Tip Of the Day

I saw 60 Minutes last night for about 60 seconds before I became aggravated. Seems that a certain penguin is starving in droves, because their shrimp diet has been curtailed greatly. The shrimp live under the ice near the Antarctic. Unfortunately, there is no ice anymore, which means no shrimp, penguins, sharks and sooner or later we are sans fish at the local Whole Foods.


A couple more tips: Just as a FYI to new Yale Bloggers, our tips are easy and are designed to save energy, money and/ or time, the benefit to the environment is an added bonus

1. Fix the leaky faucet, even a drip per minute will waste 20 kilowatts per month

2. Turn up your refrigerator to 38-40 degrees. It will save a huge amount of energy and keep the food fresh

New Sinks And Faucets

Appliances are amongst the most important products in your home from a resale perspective. But lets face it: 80% of the buying public is purchasing either stainless steel or integrated(panels) kitchens.



The real intriguing stuff to buy is lighting and plumbing. Lets look at some new products, so your house does not look like your neighbors.



Rohl Faucet reminds me of the retro Chicago faucets that are popular...Except Rohl can actually ship it. The sink is a KBX Franke. It is squared and cleaner than regular undermounts





Manor House faucet by Rohl has a nice traditional style to it





Franke stainless farm sink: Lets just pretend that farm sinks which are popular in traditional kitchens were never actually manufactured in stainless.





99% of undermounts are stainless. Now you can try porcelain





Farm sinks are a boomerang trend. They seem to be popular and then disappear for no conceivable reason. Then again, they do have to be planned in the kitchen much earlier





Nice faucet....You will be the envy of your basic pull out faucet buying neighbors

Consumer Reports

I like Consumer Reports, and many consumers will refer to it when shopping for appliances. I will never understand how they rate the same item so differently. The Kenmore dishwasher is manufactured by either Whirlpool or Frigidaire. There are no Kenmore factories per se, yet the ratings are incredibly different.

They did have an interesting section how to save money on your kitchen. There were 10 points, 8 were related to our industry. Here is my take

1. Consumer Reports: Pro-style ranges perform similarly to regular ranges:
My Take: In many instances 2 out of the 4 burners will work identically to a pro range with similar performance in the range. This is a great place to save money, BUT only in a 30 inch space. Also, regular ranges do not have grill/griddle options or as valued when reselling high end homes/condos

2. Consumer Reports: Skip steam ovens
My Take: Its a pricey option, but steam leaves nutrients and is considered to be a healthier way of cooking than baking.

3. Consumer Reports: Skip Multimedia Refrigerators
My Take: Amen, buy a flat screen for $299 and a regular refrigerator.

4. Consumer Reports: Skip Turbocharged dishwashers.
My Take: There are no turbocharged dishwashers, since Frigidaire discontinued their version.

5. Consumer Reports: Speed Ovens are a waste.
My Take: There are no speed ovens worth noting, other than Miele. This may change when Turbochef reintroduces their oven. It is flat out fast...

6. Consumer Reports: Appliance drawers are too pricey.
My Take: Yes, they are pricey, but there is some cache to an integrated or seamless look.

7: Consumer Reports: Pricey Sinks and Faucets have similar performance to regular products
My Take: Not sure, I do think that there are significant aesthetic differences between products in the $200 to the $500 price point.

8: Consumer Reports: Different Stores have different capabilities.
My Take: No Question, I am biased perhaps, but different stores have different competencies.


Consumer Reports is a start. If you shop around, find reputable companies and are involved with the process, you will save money and have a good experience

New Products to Consider

I am actually headed out of town Monday, but will line up some guest bloggers to entertain you.


Its kind of a shame as there is a ton of new(to us) products arriving.


Here is a sample:


Laundrypure System: This machine attaches to your washer and inhibits oxidation in your clothes...Simply stated, you can clean without detergent. In test trials by Shawn, it was reviewed enthusiastically...We should be displaying by months end




Rohl faucets: Yale's' biggest mistake is allowing me to merchandise. People for some reason have different tastes than myself. I veer to the contemporary, but admittedly these faucets are elegant

More Essential Homebuilding Tips

This post should be titled "more essential tips not included from the last post"

Water Filter: You are drinking a pint of filtered water at $1.00, so the cost per gallon is $8. Then the price for 5,000 gallons becomes $40,000. How about buying a 5,000 gallon filter for $500-700. It seems to be cheaper and better for the environment(no plastic)

Undermount Sink: Lets face it: It looks much better and is easier to clean.

Pull-out Faucet: In other words a faucet that incorporates a spray with the faucet itself....Its much neater without 4 impliments to turn and adjust water

Front Load Washer: Mathmatically, there really is no smarter choice


Focal Lighting Piece: It does not cost very much in the scheme of your budget($75-150) to really have distinctive lighting. Lighting defines your environment

Water Filtration

So far most of the posts have been dedicated to Energy efficiency, appliances and lighting. Air and water quality have been hot topics as well. So lets try something new

Water puification is a simple and inexpensive product to purchase. Everyone buys bottled water at $1-1.99 per bottle, which essentially is filtered water(although it is unregulated). We throw away our plastic bottles without even thinking. I am guilty as well to a certain degree. You can buy a product that can filter 5,000 gallons for about $400

Lets talk about the companies and the most common technology sold in the country. Water-X, Everpure and Franke are the biggest names in our channel. Their basic filter is three stage with carbon, ceramic and resin filters. These filters serve to draw sediments and impurities to .01 of a micron. These type of filters range from 1.000 to 3,000 gallons and are dispensed through a separate tap or faucet. Water-X does manufacture a filter at 5,000 gallons that filters through a normal kitchen faucet.

Whole house filters have also become more popular simply because it filters all impurities throughout your house. At all levels, water for showers, laundry as well as drinking are filtered. Water plants are available at all sizes and prices. Typically, the company will customize the filter based on your water as different regions have different issues.

If you are planning a new kitchen dedicate at least $400 for a water filter.