Posts Tagged ‘Kitchen Design’

Year End

Thursday, December 19th, 2019

Things are slow around the office. We opened a new showroom back at Labor Day weekend. Although I’ve been with this outfit for over 5 years. Opening this new showroom has almost been like starting a new business. We are building a pipeline of new construction that will be more than satisfactory, but it might be a year before we get a deposit on one of the jobs we’ve seen so far.

My associate has started an instagram account for the showroom. I find all of the hyperventilating about social media to be complete nonsense. Not one of my deals has come to me from social media. They have all come from personal contact. It takes time and is difficult to build the types of relationships that result in sales in the high end kitchen business. Instagram is to me nothing more than a vanity platform.

I would like it quite a bit if we could get a remodel to walk in here really soon. We could use a job that wants to get started now.

I’m going to ask about that price increase again.

Thursday, November 26th, 2015

I design kitchens using a premium European brand of cabinetry. I work for the U.S. arm of a European firm. We are going to have a price increase the first of January. We are having a price increase in the face of the Euro being at a low compared to last year, and this little bit of news:

Freight prices are at record lows not just due to weak demand, but overcapacity in shipping supply.

Source: Flexport

Just a bit from the post:

It costs $300 to move a 40-foot container from Rotterdam to Shanghai, which is barely enough to cover the cost of fuel, handling, and Suez Canal fees. Here’s some more context. Let’s say that you want to travel for a year; it’s cheaper to put your personal belongings in a shipping container as it sails around the world than to keep it at a local mini-storage facility.

There is a very interesting chart over there too.

I’ve already asked once about the justification for the price increase. And like the good little soldier that I am, I will enthusiastically enforce the price increase. But… The economics of the situation tell me we should be getting a price decrease for the coming year…

Approaching 5 Years on this thing

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015

I started this blog just as part of an effort to learn more about how the internet works. I wanted to see if I could develop any marketable skills too. (To an extent this worked out. I’m 54. It is amazing the number of people my age that know nothing of the ways of the internet.) I’ve used what I’ve learned here in a few different employment gigs. I’ve also used what I’ve learned here to use as a hammer in a couple of other employment gigs. (I can’t stand it when someone says that it will take a while to change the “address or phone number.” When I say just give me the password, I’ll take care of it right now, it gets attention.

Over the years I’ve touched on kitchen design as a topic. (I do still hope to someday turn this URL into a business for residential kitchen remodeling.) But I think it is kinda mean to pick on others ill advised design decisions. You never know who made the decision, the kitchen designer or the client. My standard line to people was, “I’ll gladly sell you an ugly kitchen, just don’t expect to see it on my web site.”

I’ve also, since I worked in the industry, touched on higher education. The Deuce graduates from high school this spring. So next fall I’ll have two college students in the family (the Ace is a junior in college). I think I’ll pick some of that back up. There is craziness going on at college campuses right now. But then the left is always crazy. I worry about the Deuce. I don’t want to see him get caught up in some Kafkaesque moment with the Voluntary Auxiliary Thought Police and the Social Justice Warriors that inhabit most campuses.

I’ll also touch on some kitchen design since I’m back in the business. I’m working for a Euro line now. I have the best showroom in all of Texas to work from. When I had my own place I often felt like some busker singing a cappella on the street corner. With my current gig, I feel like I’m one of the three tenors with a full orchestra behind me. It is a complete joy to be in the showroom these days. What I’ll make a lukewarm promise is to show you how to use SketchUp and Festool to make a beautiful kitchen for yourself.

Oh, I’ll still post stupid shit too. I’ll never leave that behind. I will also do my best to have a little more courage on my postings. I’ve held back for fear of offending friends and relatives that know about this blog. I’m pretty convinced now that nobody reads the thing, so it’s time to get offensive.

Ancient Mosaics

Friday, November 28th, 2014

Check out the pictures here:

ancient-mosaics-discovered-in-ancient-greek-city-of-zeugma-1

As a kitchen designer, I am often working with tile mosaics in the backsplash. They rarely look this good.

Is a backlash developing against open kitchens?

Saturday, January 25th, 2014

Yeah, a post on kitchens is long in coming. Here is an article to peruse: Is a backlash developing against open kitchens? | Spaces – Yahoo Homes.

From the article:

While open-kitchen lovers champion the ease of multitasking cooking and entertainment and appreciate how the cook can keep an eye on the kids (or an eye on a favorite TV show), the haters reply that open kitchens do neither effectively. Instead, the detractors say, open kitchens leave guests with an eyeful of kitchen mess, distract cooks, and leave Mom and Dad with no place to hide from their noisy brood.

The haters don’t have any friends and are lousy parents. Open kitchens are the way to go. The kids will leave, sooner than you think, and you’ll soon have the whole space to yourself.

Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve done a post on kitchen design and remodeling, I don’t even have categories set up for those topics. That may have to change.