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It’s entirely safe to say Viola Park has my dream kitchen and I just can’t afford to buy it yet. They’ve introduced a new backsplash shelf and integrated knife block, and, as you can tell, it gets high marks for function and utility, not to mention looks. The 5″ powder coated steel shelf allows access to ingredients while the wood knife block holds 12 knives and is available in walnut, rift-cut white oak, and bamboo.
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Just how fun is this kitchen island covered in Lego? Pretty fantastic idea.

Munchausen, a duo formed by Parisian designers Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti, took a bold approach with their own kitchen by venturing to IKEA for the basic kitchen island and then spending the next week covering it with more than 20,000 pieces by another Scandinavian brand, Lego. –The Cool Hunter

Rejoice all you soon-to-remodel-your-kitchen people, rejoice, for the new Henrybuilt venture that is Viola Park has now officially opened its doors and is ready to take your order. Priced at around $15,000, it’s still not beating any IKEA pricing, but it sure looks snazzier. It’s way less than Henrybuilt’s custom-made/fit kitchen, but features the same soft close mechanism and is made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood.

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Viola Park is an innovative new company, owned and operated by the Henrybuilt Corporation, offering well designed kitchen systems at an accessible price. Created as a collection of interchangeable components, Viola Park can be configured to meet a wide range of architectural styles.

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Full component guides and pricelists are available upon request.
Current leadtime is 10 weeks from date of order to ready-to-ship.

More plywood? Yes, please. This loft is an excellent example of utilizing plywood as a finishing element. Also, Remodelista posted this kitchen a while back and linked to a video showing how the islands can be rearranged to fit the homeowner’s needs. It’s a great idea for making the most out of a smaller space. To see the video, go here.

Renovated by architects Karine Chartier and Thomas Corbasson (who trained in the studio of Jean Nouvel–last year’s Pritzker Award winner), the old industrial laboratory (check out the building’s original freight elevator below) is transformed by adding a heavy textual and uncanny element–plywood.
Plywood, a moisture-proof, marine-grade, very low formaldehyde-content pine, certified by the European sustainable forest practices agreement, becomes a strong, almost abnormal complement to what would normally be simply a white, industrial space. It’s hard to see but the plywood kitchen islands are mostly on locking wheels, which creates a flexible space that can mutate from a small cooking area to a larger gathering area. Combined with the other moveable furniture, plywood has stopped looking cheap, and starts looking high-end (or high-grade, maybe?) whether it just sits pretty or on wheels. – LoftLife Magazine

To see more pics, visit LoftLife Magazine.

Also seen in Vogue Australia Living was this rather interesting mirror-faceted island bench. A simple setting of white laminate joinery with mirrors (if I was attempting to do that myself I’d certainly not call it simple) makes for a focal point in this lovely white room. To see a close-up of the island, go here.

See the complete project here.

I’m seriously considering these solid steel plate counter tops for my kitchen remodel. I especially like the look of this island.

The Infinitos Countertops are modular and are fully sustainable and re-surfaceable. Constructed of solid ¼” steel, INFINITOS countertops will last virtually forever, are available in virtually any color, and can be stripped and re-surfaced again and again. At the end of its useful life, it can be given to another user, or can be fully recycled. This proves to be a strong element of sustainability that more businesses, institutions, and individuals are requesting. INFINITOS can contribute significantly to a LEED rating.

Additionally, you can choose from a standard palette, or from larger palette of specialized colors.

[posted by kris]

These pictures have me thinking about expanding my horizons when it comes to kitchen and bath surfaces.

“DURAT is a solid polyester based material used for custom made surfaces in public and private interiors. It contains recycled plastics and is itself 100% recyclable.

The sophistication of the DURAT material lies in its silky warm feeling and the interesting impression of depth in its finish.

DURAT is extremely durable and can be renewed by slight sanding. The material is very resistant to wear, humidity, and various kinds of chemicals.”

The new Herzog & de Meuron designed residences for the new Ian Schrager project 40 Bond in NYC are nothing less than you would expect from the H & de M/Schrager design and real estate powerhouses.

The kitchen features high-grade materials and appliances throughout, and to reduce cost, use GE in a hidden microwave and in the garbage disposal. Each kitchen features:

-Wide-plank oak flooring.

-Custom italian imported cabinets with a high gloss lacquer doors by Varenna (est. $20,000-$40,000 depending on configuration).

-Integrated sink with Corain countertop and backsplash. ($445 for sink, ~$2500 for counters depending on linear feet)

–Vola faucet and pullout spray in polished chrome. ($1096.00)

-Custom hand-blown glass pendant light fixture. For a similar effect, you could choose the supernova pendant light. ($1,774.00)

-Up lights and under-cabinet recessed lights.

-Miele 24″ four-burner stainless steel gas cook top. ($1,249.00)

-Miele 24″ stainless steel fully-vented exhaust hood. ($2,749.00)

-Miele 27″ stainless steel electric convection oven. ($3249.00)

-Miele dishwasher with integrated panel to match cabinetry. ($1,249.00)-

-27″ Sub-Zero refrigerator with integrated panel to match cabinetry. (price withheld by manufacturer, but prepare to spend > $4000)

-GE stainless steel microwave, concealed in kitchen cabinetry. ($170)

-GE garbage disposal.

-Also features the Miura Stool by Konstantin Grcic. ($296 each)

Of course you can cut some corners by switching the appliances to less expensive brands, or even sticking with Miele, but downgrading to a more affordable model. To reduce overall cost considerably, you could try the SOLAR cabinets from Ikea with integrated handle, reducing your cost to $2500-$7,000 for cabinets. The construction technique for Ikea cabinetry is pretty similar to the Poliform cabinets, which also features full overlay doors on standard white-box frames. You could also go with the Axor faucet instead of the Vola faucet, saving almost $800.
Lastly, you could choose a different countertop instead of Corian, such as Silestone or another Quartz surface if you don’t mind losing the integrated sink option.

Terrazzo was originally invented by the Romans by mixing small pieces of marble in a cement mixture of lime, clay and water. Today, EnviroGLAS uses 100% post-consumer recycled glass instead of going to the quarry.

Can be used for flooring and countertops.
Available in an assortment of colored glass and epoxy.