Built-In Furniture – The Workhorse of Your Home
I am a columnist for Duluth Superior Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the finer attributes of life in our Northland. My column appears in the Style section and is titled ‘Living by Design’. The following column was published April 2013.
Visit http://www.lindquistandcompany.com if you want comprehensive information of how to complete a successful kitchen or bath project.
Built-In Furniture – The Workhorse of Your Home
The renowned architect, Le Corbusier (1887-1965) once referred to housing as a ‘machine for living’ … an ‘industrial product that should include functional furniture’. I’m not sure any of us want to think of our homes as ‘machines’ but we all can appreciate the need for function as we strive to make our homes more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.
Built-in furniture (or simply ‘built-ins’) are an assured way to accomplish both function and improved aesthetics in your home – in ways that free-standing furniture just can’t compete. Built-ins are applicable to every room of the home and are the most efficient way to add maximum storage and function while enhancing your home’s interior architecture.
Custom designed, built-in furniture, allows for endless design options and configurations – providing storage that is configured to meet your needs versus you adapting to the confines of a manufactured piece of furniture. Built-ins are space efficient as they attach to the wall, thus saving the several inches usually required for free-standing furniture. Because built-ins can be designed to maximize wall lengths and heights, they leave very little wasted space. Having storage that is precisely design to accommodate the items you need to store is a wonderful thing and lends itself to order and organization.
Built-in furniture takes on many guises: a kitchen banquette with integrated storage; custom shelves at the fireplace for books, media & firewood; a glass fronted hutch in your dining room with precise storage for your dishes, glassware, table linens and silverware box; a bedroom suite with shelving galore for clothing, shoes, keepsakes, books and media.
Built-in furniture will maximize spaces that might otherwise be under-utilized in your home … such as small nooks and crannies. Not large enough for a piece of furniture, a built-in will fit the odd space precisely, turning this otherwise under-used square footage into a workhorse of storage and function!
Annie enjoying the reading nook
When considering a built-in for your home, make a list of everything you want it to do. And it’s okay to think ‘outside the box’ because built-ins can be multi-functional. Need a media center and a place to secure your valuables? By design … it can be done. Need a media center in your bedroom that doesn’t just ‘eat up floor space’ but provides much needed ‘other item’ storage? By design … it can be done. In fact, one of the best things about built-in bedroom furniture is the elimination of miscellaneous dressers and bureaus, often freeing up enough space to accommodate a comfortable chair & foot stool.
If you are thinking of built-ins for your home, hire a professional designer to help you maximize your design. A designer who specializes in ‘storage solutions’ is a good place to start – kitchen designers, architects and professional interior designers are all sources for quality design and product. And whereas built-in furniture is typically more expensive than free-standing furniture, this amazing storage solution will provide optimal function while enhancing the value of your home. When designed properly … built-ins will help you achieve a ‘not-so-big’ home with ‘right-sized’ storage that is beautiful to behold.
KITCHENS – EURO-STYLE
I am a columnist for Duluth Superior Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the finer attributes of life in our Northland. My column appears in the Style section and is titled ‘Living by Design’. The following column was published March 2013.
Visit http://www.lindquistandcompany.com if you want comprehensive information of how to complete a successful kitchen or bath project.
KITCHENS – EURO-STYLE
I think it’s impressive that Duluth is both an international seaport as well as home to an international airport! The fact that we are connected to so many worldly destinations has prompted thoughts of Europe and a desire to visit again, which led me to think about European kitchens and how, over time, they have evolved so differently from their American counterparts.
Prior to WWII, European and American kitchens were quite similar – usually small, compact and relegated to the back corner of the home. After WWII, a construction boom of post war housing in our country resulted in a change in design and increasingly larger kitchens. Conversely, Europe was faced with a scarcity of resources with much of their housing destroyed by the war. A need to replace housing quickly resulted in the construction of homes that were efficiently designed, built to last, oriented in urban neighborhoods with proximity to local amenities. Though the number of households who own their own home is quite similar on both sides of the ocean, Europeans are more likely to own a home that is joined to another’s.
American home design often integrates the kitchen as part of the general public living space – something we’ve come to know as the Great Room. European kitchens tend to remain separate entities as cooking is viewed to be neither a glamorous task nor a social activity. The emphasis is, rather, on the dining experience and most European households have and use their dining rooms.
Americans tend to purchase groceries weekly and in quantity. Our kitchens reflect this with large refrigerator/freezer units and abundant cabinetry. Conversely, Europeans tend to purchase their food fresh daily, resulting in less need for refrigeration, which is typically half the size of ours. Frozen foods are not so typical in Europe; therefore, freezers are minimal if they exist at all. Most European kitchens are quite compact with 24” wide stoves and ovens and single bowl sinks. European cabinetry is also smaller in scale.
Much about how European kitchens are built is predicated on conserving energy and resources. This is seen in numerous ways: compact size, water conservation, convection ovens, and efficiently built cabinetry. Panel or ‘frameless’ type construction in European cabinetry uses less wood than their American counterparts without compromising quality. This same construction has begun to be embraced by American companies. 
When Europeans relocate, they quite often bring their kitchen with them. Treated more like furniture, kitchen cabinetry is installed on wall hung rails and base cabinets are set on leveling legs, making them less permanent and more readily moveable – yet another reason kitchens remain compact.
European kitchens are more apt to sport a clothes washer than a dishwasher. And since clothes are typically hung to dry, clothes dryers also are not a common appliance.
Space efficient housing and energy efficient kitchens have been the norm in Europe for decades. In a country where we have embraced ’bigger’ as better, perhaps it’s time to pay closer attention to how our European friends live comfortably with less.
THE PERFECT ISLAND
I am a columnist for Duluth Superior Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the finer attributes of life in our Northland. My column appears in the Style section and is titled ‘Living by Design’. The following column was published February 2013.
Visit http://www.lindquistandcompany.com if you want comprehensive information of how to complete a successful kitchen or bath project.
THE PERFECT ISLAND
As a professional kitchen designer I receive many interesting requests from my clients when discussing the redesign of their spaces … but the one request I hear most frequently is, “Do you think we could have an island in our new kitchen?”
There is a good reason for this frequent request. Islands, when designed correctly, add wonderful function and aesthetic value to a kitchen space. Unfortunately, I have encountered far too many kitchens – whether in the preliminary planning stage, or recently built without the guidance of a professional designer … with islands that do not function well … that ultimately result in more obstruction and inconvenience than benefit.
There are several things that make an island a wonderful amenity when it is part of a carefully thought out kitchen. First and foremost… it must appropriately fit the space while maintaining adequate clearances and walkways around its perimeter. All too often, islands are squeezed into too small a space and as a result appliance doors don’t open to allow adequate access and the cook is cramped and uncomfortable in this important workspace. Conversely, I have also encountered designs where the island is disproportionately too small relative to the size of the kitchen. The result is a ‘wimpy’ look that appears to be more of an afterthought than an integral part of the design. The ideal dimension for the walkway around an island is 42” for a single cook kitchen and 48” for a two-cook kitchen. In some situations, however, an absolute minimum of 36” might be acceptable, but this minimum dimension should be carefully scrutinized for impact on the design and safety of the kitchen.
Islands work best when they play an active role in the kitchen. In addition to augmenting the storage and counter work space, an island’s function will improve immensely with the addition of a prep sink. Forming a work triangle with the refrigerator and cooktop, an island prep sink will likely become the most frequented work space in the kitchen. Very little happens in food preparation without water or electricity, so be sure proper electrical receptacles are included in the design, as well. These important features will naturally draw the cook towards this airy and open workspace. If an island sink is not an option, consider adding a cooktop, a dedicated bake center or snack bar seating to give it purpose; because an island without ‘purpose’ will otherwise become just a collection site for ‘clutter’. When seating is added, it is important to provide adequate knee space, as well as clearances for stools to be pulled out and stored. Knee space clearance will vary based on the height of the snack bar: 18” for 30” ‘table-height counter, 15” for 36” standard counter height and 12” for 42” bar-height.
Lastly, consider the aesthetic design of the island to make it a focal point in your kitchen. An interesting shape, contrasting countertop, alternative finish and interesting pendant lighting will elevate this wonderful amenity to become the important feature it is… the number one requested design element in kitchens everywhere!
Best of Houzz 2013
The Duluth News Tribune published this article on March 4, 2013.
Houzz, an online platform for residential remodeling and design, announced the community’s 2013 picks for Best of Houzz, a homeowner-to-homeowner guide to the top architects, interior designers, contractors and other residential remodeling professionals in the U.S. and around the world.
Among the winners was Duluth’s Lindquist and Co., Kitchens and Baths. The business was selected in the customer satisfaction category, which is based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodelers and designers in categories ranging from landscape contractors to kitchen & bath designers.
Lindquist and Co. is co-owned by Bob Lindquist and Rebecca Gullion Lindquist, a certified master kitchen and bath designer. The company has been providing kitchens and baths to area homeowners since 1963.
CREATING A ‘BETTER’ LIGHT BULB
I am a columnist for Duluth Superior Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the finer attributes of life in our Northland. My column appears in the Style section and is titled ‘Living by Design’. The following column was published January 2013.
Visit http://www.lindquistandcompany.com if you want comprehensive information of how to complete a successful kitchen or bath project.
CREATING A ‘BETTER’ LIGHT BULB
In 1879 Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for a carbon filament electric light bulb that far exceeded the performance of many earlier versions created by other inventors, and the incandescent light bulb, as we know it, was 
born. Today, over 85% of the lighting in our homes is still produced by incandescent lamps … but, we are on the pivot point of change regarding this technology that has served us well for over 120 years.
In 2007 our legislators passed The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) establishing higher energy standards for lighting. We are mid-point in the period which these standards must go into effect – from 2012 to 2014. The new performance standard requires that all light sources operate at a level that is minimally 25-30% more efficient than its 2008 counterpart. It does not ban the incandescent lamp and currently more efficient versions continue to be produced; however, as these standards continue to evolve and manufacturers focus on retooling to produce better, more efficient sources of light … it’s just a matter of time before incandescent lamps will be phased out.
Fluorescent and the newer LED (light emitting diodes) technology are light sources most homeowners recognize. Compact fluorescent lamps have slowly replaced incandescent bulbs in many homes, and eventually LED will replace fluorescent as this technology will also become dated. As a designer of lighting systems, I find that many people hesitate to consider fluorescent and LED options for three primary reasons – flexibility, quality of light and cost. But there is good news on all three of these fronts.
Flexibility is important to create ambience in a living space. Reducing or increasing light levels has been easy to achieve with incandescent lamps through the use of ‘dimmer’ switches. Unfortunately this flexibility has been a challenge with fluorescent and LED, but manufacturers are working fast and furious to produce good dimmable versions of both. Though it’s not quite here … we are on the brink!
Fluorescent and LED provide good illumination but the ‘quality’ or ‘color rendering’ has been less than desirable. Picture the blu-ish tone of the first LED Christmas lights and then envision that throughout your home. Not too appealing! Fluorescent lighting is available in varying levels of color quality – from cool to warm to ‘daylight’ and several degrees between, but it hasn’t always been easy to source these lights that reproduce the warm comforting glow of incandescent lamps. This also is changing and the technology is much closer to achieving the warm quality we prefer in our homes.
The initial price of energy-efficient bulbs is higher than traditional incandescent, but the newer bulbs cost less to operate, consuming 25% to 80% less energy, so they will save you money over the life of the bulb. They also last 3 to 25 times longer than traditional bulbs so you won’t need to replace them as often – also a cost saver.
The race to create a better light bulb is ‘on’ …and it’s moving at break-neck speed. I can hardly wait to see what technology is just around the corner!
The Color of Love
I am a columnist for Duluth Superior Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the finer attributes of life in our Northland. My column appears in the Style section and is titled ‘Living by Design’. The following column was published February , 2011.
Visit http://www.lindquistandcompany.com if you want comprehensive information of how to complete a successful kitchen or bath project.
The Color of Love
A CERTAIN SHADE OF RED has always been my favorite color. Throughout my life I have surrounded myself with it – and not just with clothing. Growing up, my bedroom had red carpeting. When Bob and I married, red was the ‘accent’ color at our wedding. As newlyweds, we purchased our first new car – the color? You guessed it… red! As were the chairs surrounding our 1st dining room set. Our current dining room chairs sport red upholstery, as do our living room sofas.
Red can be a scary color to use in home decorating. It can invoke strong emotions ranging from love to anger. Consequently, it is important to use the correct shade for the particular application. The color red on a fire truck is great for the truck – think danger, alert! But not so great for an entire room in your home – think anger and irritability! And yet, as a splash of color in a kid’s bedroom or as towels in an all-white bathroom, ‘fire engine red’ may add just the right touch.
The most effective reds for decorating are usually muted shades. From terra cotta to cinnamon to deep burgundy, this primary color is complementary to most other colors and as an accent color will bring life to an otherwise sedate space. A richly textured area rug featuring tones of red will anchor a room full of neutral furniture, and red accessories or accents can bring life to a piece of artwork.
Red has been found to stimulate the appetite, and is often used in the décor of fine restaurants. Whereas red paint was once considered daring and over the top, it is now quite common to find dining rooms painted in warm and inviting shades of muted red.
Once relegated to window valances and upholstery, red has found a comfortable place in the kitchen. It now embraces appliances, both small and large; is a decorative finish available on cabinetry and is found in several eco-smart countertop materials. Red enhances both glass and glazed backsplash tile … and can be had at the kitchen sink, as well! Because of the cost and permanency of a kitchen, it is wise to use this bold color judiciously, as you might live with it for a long time.
Red Accents Brighten this Kitchen
Our kitchen is mostly white; however, I have incorporated red in numerous ways – from the signature knobs on our range to accent pillows in the banquette – with art work and accessories that are changed out with the seasons. Red has brightened an otherwise quiet room, bringing a happy ambience to the hearth of our home.
Unlike other colors, red never goes out of style. Regardless of the current color trend, some form of red will always be used in home decorating … so take a risk! Be bold! Buy a red sofa. Or, if you’re not feeling quite that bold … paint a wall red. Because, after all… it’s just paint!
BANQUETTE SEATING MAXIMIZE FAMILY TOGETHERNESS IN THE KITCHEN
I am a columnist for Duluth Superior Magazine, a monthly publication dedicated to the finer attributes of life in our Northland. My column appears in the Style section and is titled ‘Living by Design’. The following column was published September , 2011.
Visit http://www.lindquistandcompany.com if you want comprehensive information of how to complete a successful kitchen or bath project.
BANQUETTE SEATING
MAXIMIZE FAMILY TOGETHERNESS IN THE KITCHEN
Comfortable seating at a table is commonly requested in my kitchen re-design projects. Families desire a space to gather for meals, playing games, doing homework, and just hanging out. All too often, however, the space available is too small to adequately accommodate a table and chairs, and yet that does not stop people from trying to squeeze a table set into this limited space. When this happens, the table barely functions for the family (forget comfort!), the chairs are constantly shifted to allow access and the ill-fitting table becomes a more likely gathering space for clutter than family members.
An excellent solution to this seating quagmire is banquette seating. Derived from the French word banqueta, meaning ‘a little bench’, the term ‘banquette’ refers more specifically to an upholstered bench. When applied to today’s kitchen, seating is elevated to a cozy, inviting space, often more flexible in the number of people it can accommodate than a table set with chairs. A banquette may offer not just the perfect solution – but an attractive and comfortable one. Because a banquette is usually
‘built-in’ to a corner, it requires less physical space than a table and chairs.
Comfortable banquette seating requires careful attention to the details of proportion. The height and depth of the seat, the slope of the back and the finished material will all impact comfort. Use the dimensions and proportion of a comfortable dining room chair as a guideline for creating banquette seating. Often custom designed, they can be created to maximize the available space, which might be straight, L-shaped, curved, or a U-shaped design. The best design is one that offers access (or escape) from either end. This eliminates the ‘trapped’ feeling people often feel when they sit in a booth. Augment with a chair or two on the opposing side of the table and you will have a seating area that is comfortable for all. Sometimes a specially shaped table is required to maximize seating at the banquette. My designs have included tables shaped as stylized triangles, narrow ovals as well as other geometric shapes which make the most of available seating.
Regardless of the shape of your banquette, choosing the right finish material is paramount to success. Not all banquettes are upholstered as some are built of wood; however, upholstery improves the comfort of the seating. By choosing an attractive, stain resistant fabric, your banquette will likely become the focal point of your kitchen, lending a wonderful elegance and plush contrast to the other hard surfaces.
Our kitchen features a banquette tucked into a window bay that previously held a small table and chairs. With the redesign of our space, the banquette preserved a comfortable seating area for our fam
ily while allowing us to expand the working area of the kitchen. Designed to seat four comfortably, we have happily discovered as many as eight people cozied into the space during larger gatherings of family and friends! This banquette space is simply inviting and the perfect solution to our ‘not so big’ space!
