A Kitchen with Style

When designing a kitchen my first goal is always to access my clients needs as it pertains to the Kitchen Function.  Once I get the what goes where and how will it work parts of the kitchen design organized for my clients individual needs, I then go to work creating a space that represents their individual style! 
Everyone can have a Kitchen with Style!

Change it up Without Tearing it Up - Kitchen Before and After

Do you want to change your kitchen, bathroom or even your laundry room?  Are you afraid of the dusty mess and maybe the added expense you may encounter if you start tearing up say your kitchen? Does your kitchen need to be updated?  This is a very common and here is an example of just such a kitchen!

This kitchen originally had white thermofoil raised panel cabinet doors with plastic laminate on all the exposed surfaces such as the ends of the cabinets and the toe kicks.  The homeowners first attempt to upgrade prior to us arriving was to have someone come in and do a faux painted finish directly onto the surface of the cabinets and doors.  {not recommend}  Over the course of a very short time this finish was showing signs of wear on and around the areas that had the most direct contact with use, such as around the knobs.  Not to mention that the foil on the face of many of the doors were bubbled and De-laminating ~ essentially peeling apart. 

So the options to fix this were as follows:   
1.  Leave as is ~ do nothing and just live with it

2.  Leave as is and replace all of the door and drawer fronts, moldings and re-finished all exposed ends

3. Remove and replace all cabinets and countertops, which would also allow for kitchen to be redesigned to maximize storage and function.

So for this particular job the homeowner choose option #2, and there were multiple benefits to making this selection.  {no construction mess or dust, able to keep the existing granite countertops and no need for any electrical or plumbing to be done to name a few}  This is how to change it up without tearing it up!

~Before and After Views ~

Veggie Burger from Juice Pulp

I started juicing fruit and veggies just over a month ago with my Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Commercial Masticating Juicer, Black and Chrome.   When you juice fruits and vegetables in this type of juicer you end up with a substantial amount of vegetable and fruit pulp.  

Up until today I had been saving the pulp and putting it in my Soilsaver Classic Composter  And though this is going to make for amazing compost, I have been feeling like something more could be done with this pulp than just tossing all of it to the composter.  So I decided today to experiement with making veggie burgers and this is what I came up with and they tasted great.  Better than any store bought veggie burger I have ever had. 

Carmen's Juice Pulp Veggie Burgers

 Ingredients

1 can black beans

3 cups juice pulp

3/4 cup chopped onion 

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 eggs (could use egg substitute)

3 garlic gloves crushed

1 tsp. sea salt +/- (I didn't really measure this)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. Chia seed

2 cups (+/-) crushed gluten free rice chex (you could also use bread crumbs or crackers)  The amount will vary depending on the consistency of the pulp and how moist it is.

Dry Seasonings I used were as follows and could vary to taste:

1 tbls.  parsley flakes

2 tbls.  Italian seasoning

1 tbls.  rubbed sage

1 tbls.  cilantro leaves

1 tbls.  grill mates / montreal steak seasoning

Directions
-  dump drained black beans into food processor and lightly chop 
-  add in seasonings, olive oil, crushed garlic, sea salt, Parmesan cheese, chia seed and mix
-  add eggs mix
-  add rice chex about a half cup at a time until it reaches a consistency that you can make patties (kinda thick)
-  divide and make into patties
-  heat up frying pan over med heat with olive oil and cook until crunchy brown on each side.  Makes about 8-10 burgers ~Serve with sliced avocado and enjoy!

  

Mailey my TUBE DUDE Dudette

As a participant in the 2012 17th Annual Jewels on the Bay Showhouse I attended the opening event brunch to honor David and Ilene Denton & Reverend Fredrick and Linda Robinson.  During the brunch there was a raffle and I won a custom design of my choice Tube Dude. Here is a picture of me at the luncheon next to the display Tube Dude...

Here are a few posts on my room at the Jewels on The Bay Showhouse!
 click on links here
Laundry Rooms can be beautiful 

Special Place for the Dog!

ABC7 TV Debut / Carmen Christensen

Wallpaper Wednesday I love flock!

As long as I can remember I have been fascinated and drawn to texture.  With that said I love flocked wallpaper - this from a person who hasn't always been fond of wallpaper.  Though I must say I have an acquired appreciation for it, wallpaper is one way to bring texture to a space.  And when you have a large graphic print that is flocked, this is for me the perfect combination.  Here a just a few quick examples of this....Enjoy!

This Tree Bark velvet flocked wallpaper is my fav of the day!  

New Age Ventilation

Here is a really stylish way to have ventilation in your kitchen with out it encompassing your kitchen space...a great way to look away from the traditional kitchen hood.  I find these hoods from Elica to be simply stunning in their innovation and just wanted to share.

photo credit elica