cool homes

[babybear]

Coffee niche with foldaway doors?

Or, deep counters ftw so that countertop appliances like coffee makers are not in the work zone

In my next dream home for sure.
We have a small house- 1100 sq feet, so no space for coffee nook.
But when we remodeled and finally had adequate drawer and cupboard space to put the toaster etc behind cupboards…..it was almost like a powder day [emoji38]

[Shredhead]

We put in Sandstone from Taos.

Wife told me I had to be there when they came to measure.
Me being a white male boomer, expected a couple of Mexican’s, in a beat up pickup.

An ex pro footballer shows up in a G wagon.
Really nice guy!

[::: :::]

I think i speak for more than just myself when I say: I might be in the wrong business


G-wagon???
Was it the owner covering for a busy business?

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

What's with the gap at the back of the range?

We did quartz, wouldn't consider anything else.

[The AD]

What's with the gap at the back of the range?

I think that's the pop-up ventilation fan.

[::: :::]

For those wanting natural stone, use quartzite for the step up from granite [different than quartz, which is synthetic]

[Buster Highmen]

We used soapstone on the last one. It's softer and needs oiling to prevent stains/watermarking.

[bagtagley]

Which I assume makes a huge difference when you have a restaurant and are cooking meals for 100 people, but does it when you're cooking for your family?

It does, but it’s a huge investment for a little added convenience. I’d love to have a six burner stove, but that would require a remodel which is not worth the money to me, and I’d lose counter space I’m not really willing to give up. I cook a ton and have a full stove pretty regularly, but with some planning, creative use of trivets, the oven, and the grill, I get by just fine. Also, a decent consumer level induction range will crank some heat. Not great for a wok or toasting things, but fast heat and easy AF to keep clean.

My folks had a vent hood with an externally mounted fan that quietly pulled something like 900 cfm. It was awesome. If I could do that, I would, but it’s not practical with our configuration. We did just upgrade to a Hauslane hood that pulls some serious air. Best upgrade we’ve made in a while.

[glademaster]

We used soapstone on the last one. It's softer and needs oiling to prevent stains/watermarking.

This is partially false. Soapstone isn't particularly hard, but it is way less porous and far more resistant to staining than granite or marble.

[Ted Striker]

High CFM remote fans are great, but a PITA to do because to be code compliant you have to have a second fan blowing outside air into the house.

/glademaster

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Recently I was in an 1800's farmhouse reno and they did a zinc counter top and holy balls did it look cool. I like the idea of stains being part of the aesthetic, it would fit in very well here.

[liv2ski]

For those wanting natural stone, use quartzite for the step up from granite [different than quartz, which is synthetic]

That is what we bought a few years ago. Installer said it was the hardest stone out there and no stains or issues after 6 years.

[::: :::]

High CFM remote fans are great, but a PITA to do because to be code compliant you have to have a second fan blowing outside air into the house.

/glademaster

Yes, but it’s any fan over 400cfm

So,basically any exhaust you will want to have for cooking…

[mattig]

For those wanting natural stone, use quartzite for the step up from granite [different than quartz, which is synthetic]

[emoji115] has bitchin' quartzite. Wish I'd known about it before getting quartz.

[JimmyCarter]

[emoji115] has bitchin' quartzite. Wish I'd known about it before getting quartz.

We considered quartzite because I had heard some of those things but we were looking at I think the super white and it stained like a MFer. Some of what they were calling quartzite was really closer to marble in terms of maintenance. With two kids under the age of 5 at the time we went with quartz and haven’t looked back.

I would go quartz again, but the quality/appearance of quartz is all over the map. I just like the fact that I can find a drop of tomato sauce on the island a day or two after cooking and it hasn’t destroyed it.

[::: :::]

Doesn’t sound like quartzite if it was closer to marble maintenance-wise…those are two totally different materials

[JimmyCarter]

Doesn’t sound like quartzite if it was closer to marble maintenance-wise…those are two totally different materials

Sounds like there is variance in labeling on it. Like real quartzite is all of those things, but some stuff (like the ones we liked) is just mislabeled as quartzite

[dunfree]

Sounds like there is variance in labeling on it. Like real quartzite is all of those things, but some stuff (like the ones we liked) is just mislabeled as quartzite

Not sure if it was mislabeled as much as a term that was historically used for a broader class of products. Lots of natural materials run into that issue.


interesting thing about stoves is some ultra-high end cooks have moved on to wood fired ovens; that’s the real luxury statement. Restaurant ranges are mid grade. Rene redzepi has an induction cooktop at home (and oak counters). Zinc brings to mind surly Parisian bar tenders chain smoking.

[AdironRider]

Wood fired is just a way to market the same dish for 20% more, it isn't actually better and you know that.

[JimmyCarter]

Not sure if it was mislabeled as much as a term that was historically used for a broader class of products. Lots of natural materials run into that issue.


interesting thing about stoves is some ultra-high end cooks have moved on to wood fired ovens; that’s the real luxury statement. Restaurant ranges are mid grade. Rene redzepi has an induction cooktop at home (and oak counters). Zinc brings to mind surly Parisian bar tenders chain smoking.

Wood fired, Jesus. For when you have too much income AND time.

I’m an induction convert. Never going back to gas.

[ötzi]

For those wanting natural stone, use quartzite for the step up from granite [different than quartz, which is synthetic]

We used quartzite in this place, found some really light pieces, looks a lot like marble but 10x better for kitchen counters, beautiful stuff. Great material but expensive and also kinda expensive to work because it's so hard.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Okay, back to cool homes - the coolest place I've ever been in was this place. I got called in to do some work in the billiard room, Tony couldn't have been a more chill dude. We sat an chatted for awhile, it was just like hanging with some guy at the King's Head pub in Santa Monica. Not at all like most directors and I've been around more than a few.

Very old California, the soul of this home was all around you as soon as you walked into the door. Amazing place, it finally sold last month.

https://www.latimes.com/business/rea...for-17-million

[CascadeLuke]

Quartzite is the shit. It’s got great natural veins and some of the lines sparkle like jewels. When I helped my parents we found some amazing slabs and the fabricators were super willing and compliant to orientate the cuts to make best use of the primo slab action. Made for useless scrap but there was bound to be some anyways, based on the layout. Added Wolf all around and its probably my moms favorite thing she’s splurged on in her life. To some people it’s worth it.

[Mazderati]

The thing about glass cooktops is pot or pans have to be perfectly flat or you end up with hot and cool spots. Not the fault of the cooktop just not as forgiving as gas in that respect.

[ötzi]

I’m an induction convert. Never going back to gas.

Ever since I was a little kid I've been kinda sketched out by gas stoves because a little girl a year younger than me in our neighborhood lit her nightgown on fire reaching over the stove to get something and was horribly burned, it was a miracle she even lived but it's been a tough life for her the whole way, she's still obviously a burn victim over 50 years later. Gas torches and stuff don't bother me a bit but I guess I had gas stoves=danger beaten into my head by my parents and at school.

Which is a long way of saying induction rocks. Big fan. Fuck gas.