Kitchens have long been a favorite remodeling project for many families. Which is evident in this Spring’s tour, where all but five of the homes showcase updated kitchens. (Like the photo above, Entry #R6 by Cardinal Remodeling.) The Remodelers Showcase Guidebook includes a special kitchen focus, with key findings from the 2014 Houzz Kitchen Study (see PDF below), favorite kitchen seating options from our style editor, Katy Baar, plus a Q and A from local DJ and Foodie, Brian “BT” Turner.
We also asked Julie Carlson, marketing manager for Warner’s Stellian, for her top kitchen picks:
• Dacor Discovery iQ oven. This Blue Tooth enabled oven talks to your smart phone or tablet. Want music? Put your phone on the counter and the oven becomes your speaker. Better yet, control and monitor the oven remotely. (Pre-heat the oven during drive time, anyone?)
• LG’s Smart Thing washer and dryer operate via smart phone, too, allowing you to load your laundry in the morning, then start the cycle when you’re heading home: no more clumps of cold and clammy wrinkles when you arrive. And the same WiFi connectivity allows you to download new and improved washing cycles as they evolve and connect directly with a service center to diagnose a problem.
• Miele ovens now come with a wireless meat probe, armed with pre-programmed times and temps for whatever flesh you’re roasting. It also displays the oven time remaining and turns itself to Warm when done.
• Sharp’s microwave in a drawer is “gorgeous! A really clean look, not an eyesore” says Carlson, “and you don’t have to bend over—just pull it out.”
• Jenn-Air’s top-of-trend refrigerator with high-style obsidian interior may be Carlson’s very favorite, as it’s “very dramatic, with black walls that make everything pop.”
• Jenn Air’s Accolade Downdraft Ventilator System pops up to display a “really distinctive” curve that marries form to function to make venting your cooktop a piece of art as well as a kitchen tool.
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The 2015 Spring Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase is sponsored by Marvin Windows and Doors.
