Month: January 2018

How to Design a Kitchen

How to design a kitchen? With the kitchen being such a high activity area of the house it’s worth finding out how to design a kitchen – even if you’re using a kitchen designer or architect. Knowing what’s involved in the process will help you design your own kitchen or give a detailed brief to your designer.

This page makes up part of the kitchen design layout series.

Now usually I’m always encouraging my site visitors to think in terms of how you want a space to function before making interior design or furniture choices but for kitchens it helps to know where you plan to get your kitchen cabinets from.

Most manufacturers have units in various standard sizes but always work with the kitchen cabinet dimensions that the manufacturer provides.

Even if you’re getting a bespoke kitchen made, getting in touch with a maker and finding out if they work in any standard sizes (eg using whole pieces of wood to avoid cutting which reduces waste, need less labor and therefore cost a bit less).

Step 2 – Create a Floor and Wall Plan

The second step of how to design a kitchen is to create a plan of your kitchen ‘space’ – the floor space and the wall space.

First decide if you’re working in feet and inches or m, cm and mm. For example in the United States and Canada kitchens are designed and sold in inches, in the UK and Australia it’s millimetres. Take the lead from the main measurement that your cabinet manufacturer uses.

Time to measure up! Take your time and be accurate and measure using the right measurement for your country. Measure floor dimensions, niches, windows, doors, where the water pipes (and gas supply if applicable) come up from the floor.

Now it’s time to draw up the plan.

You can do this on paper by following the instructions on draw floor plans but just for your kitchen rather than the whole house. Or you can use one of the online kitchen planners or software available (a bit more about that at the bottom of this page).

If you stick to the paper option, it’s a good idea to adjust the scale so that you fit the kitchen onto a sheet of paper rather than the whole house. The scale you can use depends on how big your kitchen is and how big your paper is.

Step 3 – Plan the Outline of Your Kitchen

It might be really obvious what shape your kitchen is going to be. If so, go ahead and have a look at the relevant page below. If not you can take a look at these for inspiration!

Also take a look at the kitchen dimensions page that goes through some important kitchen planning guidelines.

Using your paper drawing, online kitchen planner or software plan in the outline of where you will place the base cabinets, wall cabinets, islands and tables in your kitchen in plan view (looking down from above). Don’t worry about where the appliances and fixtures will be placed just yet.

Other Considerations on Kitchen Shape

As well as the shapes above you could also consider incorporating curves in to the kitchen. This introduces challenges of being able to open adjacent cupboards and drawers at the same time without the doors or drawers banging into each other – but leaving a bit of space in between each set of units mitigates this.

If you have a bigger room to work with one of the main things to decide is whether the kitchen will occupy the whole room with an eating area open to the kitchen, or whether you want to try and maintain a bit of privacy to the cooking area – make it a bit like a bar or a coffee shop counter. If you have an accident with dinner you might want to be able to put it right without everyone looking at you!

Step 4 – Place the Appliances and Fixtures

Head on over to the kitchen triangle page.

Then come back here and draw in the the appliances and fixtures onto your plan

Auto Repair Tips For Those Not Mechanically Inclined

One purpose of a good carnauba wax is to repel and bead water on the surface of a vehicle. You might feel frustrated when you have to deal with repairs on your car. You must do something because you don’t want to have to feel this experience every time. Keep reading in order to learn how you can take control of dealing with auto repairs this next time around. Avoid brittleness of your leather using a leather conditioner from https://www.waxit.com.au/

This certification means the technician has passed a test and has over 2 years of experience under his or her belt. This will let you know that the best of the best repairing your automobile.

Ask questions about your vehicle. Preventing vehicle issues is a great way of saving money during the year.

Make sure that you do not neglect the radiator. Run your car for a bit, turn it off then pop the hood. Don’t open your radiator cap if your car is running.Check the radiator fluids using a dipstick and remember to dilute coolant with water before putting it in the radiator.

Ask mechanics if they have done work on your particular make and model of car before contracting with them. If they have, they will probably know what must be done to help your car work again.

Go through your owner’s manual and make sure to mark important pages. You could even discover how to solve your car problems yourself.

Keep a record of every car is fixed or maintained. If you have more problems later, it is useful to be able to give your mechanic all such records.

Make sure any mechanic can work on your particular car. If you don’t know, pay a little more to get an authorized dealer to work on the car.

Replacing the bulbs on your taillights or headlights yourself can save you do it by yourself. Some vehicles make it easier to do, but you can save a lot by doing it yourself regardless of how complex your system is. See if anyone you know can tell you a lesson.

The ignition cannot hold the weight of your keychain can cause problems for your ignition.If the key starts to stick, you need to get new tumblers and no longer use that little troll head keychain!

It is important to have your regularly scheduled oil changes. You should regularly get the oil changed to make sure your car running smoothly. If you don’t change it, your car may not last as long as it could.

Think about snapping some photos of your car prior to bringing it in for repairs somewhere. Some unethical shops strip parts off your vehicle and resell them. You need to be able to document the vehicle in case your mechanic fails to fix them or makes things worse.

Not many people read their car’s owner’s manual. You should review this manual and know what you need to do if a problem comes about. Your manual has all that you should know about maintaining your car and performing small repairs yourself.

It may be a recall you didn’t know about. The manufacturer may fix your car free of charge.

Consistency is important when it comes to auto repair shops. Stick to a trusted mechanic whom you have used before instead of going around to various ones for repairs.Different shops may give you a different diagnosis of your car. They could charge you more; don’t let this happen.

After you pay a mechanic and let them replace something on your vehicle, make sure the mechanic gives you the old ones that were removed. If he does not want to do that, this could mean that they didn’t replace anything. This should call him out on it.

If an auto body shop does good work for you, make sure to go to them for all your car troubles. You will get discounts and free tips from your continued business.

Do not add water in the compartment for windshield washer compartment. Water can clean your windshield, sure, you could damage it. Check the windshield washer compartment often to refill it as necessary. Don’t insist if the compartment to empty before refilling.

Seek second opinions prior to committing to major repairs on you car. The mechanic may be offended or offer a special price to do repairs right away, but be suspicious of this.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions when you’re getting your car fixed. Any decent company will gladly answer all questions.

Find a mechanic who is already familiar with your vehicle.Ask whoever will be responsible for the repairs if they have previously worked on your make and model of vehicle.

Do not try to repair your own car unless you’re sure you have experience doing it. You could end up voiding your warranty otherwise. This will mean you’re responsible financially for all future problems could be to your cost.

Don’t buy into the theory that you need a tuneup at 10000 miles.This is simply a rule of thumb that actually depends on the make and should not be followed religiously. You would be better be served by adhering to the maintenance schedule recommended by the manufacturer of your car.

Check your drive axle boots once in a regular basis. These are needed to protect the drive axle joints behind your tires). You can inspect them by turning your car’s wheels and look behind them.

You now know what you need to succeed with auto repairs. When dealing with a stubborn car next time, you won’t fall victim to swindling mechanics. If you need some advice about car repairs, read on.

“No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” Opens March 30 at Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery

Exhibition Brings Large-Scale Installations From Famed Desert Gathering to Washington

Cutting-edge artwork created at Burning Man, the annual desert gathering that is one of the most influential events in contemporary art and culture, will be exhibited in the nation’s capital for the first time this spring. “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” will take over the entire Renwick Gallery building, exploring the maker culture, ethos, principles and creative spirit of Burning Man. Several artists will debut new works in the exhibition. In addition to the in-gallery presentation, the Renwick exhibition will expand beyond its walls for the first time through an outdoor extension titled “No Spectators: Beyond the Renwick,” displaying sculptures throughout the surrounding neighborhood. A concept artist career is like a roller coaster ride but some manage to survive until they reach a success level.

Nora Atkinson, the museum’s Lloyd Herman Curator of Craft, is organizing the exhibition in collaboration with the Burning Man Project, the nonprofit organization responsible for producing the annual Burning Man event in Black Rock City, for facilitating and extending the culture that has issued from Burning Man into the wider world and for cultivating its principles reflecting an immediate, non-commercial and participatory culture. The outdoor extension of the exhibition is presented in partnership with Washington, D.C.’s Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, a 43-square-block neighborhood that stretches from the White House to Dupont Circle. The Burning Man community was instrumental in suggesting artworks for inclusion in the exhibition.

“No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” opens March 30, 2018. The Renwick is the sole venue for the exhibition, which will close in two phases. The first floor will showcase works by Candy Chang, Marco Cochrane, Duane Flatmo, Michael Garlington and Natalia Bertotti, Five Ton Crane Arts Collective, Scott Froschauer, Android Jones and Richard Wilks and will close Sept. 16, 2018. The second floor, featuring works by David Best, FoldHaus Art Collective, Aaron Taylor Kuffner, HYBYCOZO (Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu), Christopher Schardt and Leo Villareal, will remain on view through Jan. 21, 2019. “No Spectators: Beyond the Renwick,” will be presented in downtown Washington through December 2018.

Burning Man is both a cultural movement and a thriving temporary city of more than 75,000 people that rises out of the dust for a single week each year in late summer in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. During that time, enormous experimental art installations are erected, some of which are then ritually burned to the ground. The desert gathering is a uniquely American hotbed of artistic ingenuity, driving innovation through its philosophies of radical self-expression, community participation, rejection of commodification and reverence for the handmade.

“The scale, the communal effort and the technical challenges inherent in creating works for the desert are part of what sets Burning Man apart from other art experiences,” said Stephanie Stebich, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “It is an amazingly creative laboratory where innovators go to play and to push the boundaries of their craft. Displaying the art of Burning Man at the Renwick is the latest example of our focus on new directions in craft and making.”

Large-scale installations—the artistic hallmark of Burning Man—will form the core of the exhibition. Individual artists and collectives featured in “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” include Best, Chang, Cochrane, Five Ton Crane Arts Collective, Flatmo, FoldHaus Art Collective, Froschauer, Garlington and Bertotti, HYBYCOZO (Filipchuk and Beaulieu), Kuffner, Jones, Schardt, Villareal and Wilks. Best is creating a temple specifically commissioned for the Renwick’s Grand Salon, where the museum has presented its program of large-scale, immersive installations. Multiple installation sites have been selected throughout the neighborhood surrounding the museum for “No Spectators: Beyond the Renwick.” Confirmed sculptures to date include works by Jack Champion, HYBYCOZO and Kate Raudenbush.

The installations by perennial Burning Man artists Best, Garlington and Bertotti, Five Ton Crane and Jones were commissioned specifically for the Renwick’s presentation and will debut in the exhibition. “No Spectators” also marks the first public display of the works chosen for the exhibition by Chang, Froschauer and Kuffner.

“These artists represent the creative spirit of the contemporary maker movement and the ongoing importance of craft in the digital age,” Atkinson said. “They range from members of the art world, the tech community and beyond. Their work asks questions such as ‘what does art look like when it is separated from commercial value?’ and ‘why do we continue to make in the 21st century?’”

“No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” also will feature costumes, jewelry, video and photography by artists and designers who participate in Burning Man, emphasizing the breadth of self-expression at the event. Archival materials and photographs from a condensed presentation of “City of Dust: The Evolution of Burning Man,” organized by the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, will trace the movement’s growth and bohemian roots.

“We are pleased to collaborate with the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum to bring the world a slice of the creativity that was born in Black Rock City,” said Marian Goodell, CEO of Burning Man Project. “Through this ambitious exhibition, more people will have a chance to engage with Burning Man’s ethos, which has given rise to a thriving year-round culture spurred by a growing global community of participants. We’re looking forward to this excellent opportunity to share the elements of Burning Man that are helping change the world around us for the better.”

A variety of public programs will accompany the exhibition. Information will be available in the spring on the museum’s website, americanart.si.edu/nospectators. The public can follow the museum’s social media accounts for exhibition updates under the hashtags #RenwickGallery and #NoSpectators.

Credit

The Renwick Gallery especially thanks colleagues from the Burning Man Project, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, for their close collaboration and assistance throughout the preparation of this exhibition. Generous financial support has been provided by Anonymous, Sarah and Richard Barton, the Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation, The Bronner Family, the Elizabeth Broun Curatorial Endowment, the James F. Dicke Family Endowment, Ed Fries, the James Renwick Alliance, Nion McEvoy, Bobby Sarnoff and Kelly Williams and Andrew Forsyth. The installation of outdoor sculptures in the neighborhood and related programming are made possible by a collaboration with the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District. Learn more about the new set of software that you can use as a graphic artist.