Design

Whether you’re looking to buy a new range or a stove, shopping for the right model can be a little daunting. With so many models and styles to choose from, shopping for a stove or range can be complicated. Fortunately, there are some considerations that can help you to find the right appliance for your kitchen. Choose Your Style Most stoves and ranges can be sorted into several categories. Once you decide which style suits your cooking preferences and kitchen layout, it will help you to narrow down your search. Slide in ranges have become more popular in recent years. This type of appliance has unfinished sides to allow it to be integrated into your cabinetry. The controls are placed on the front of the appliance, so you can create a built-in look. This style is ideal for an island or to create a feature in a run of cabinetry. If you are a keen home cook and have the space, you may prefer a pro-style range. These appliances tend to be produced with more durable components and allow you to achieve a greater temperature variance for cooking. You can enjoy rapid boiling with high temperatures and extremely low temperatures for precise simmering and more delicate dishes. Larger ranges can also feature a built-in grill or griddle and convection ovens for more consistent baking. Choose Your Fuel Source Typically, your choice will be limited to gas or electric as a fuel source for your new stove. Many homeowners opt to

New Caliber AppliancesGE, Frigidaire (Electrolux), Bosch, KitchenAid, and Whirlpool are Big Brands that Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center is proud to carry. Jenn-Air, Miele, Thermador, Sub Zero, Viking, and Wolf are examples of premium, luxury brands that satisfy the appliance needs for discerning upscale appliance customers. However, there are also a few custom luxury brands available for customer who want to configure and customize their appliances.Caliber Appliances is one of those brands. Here's what they have to say about their company:"Recently, Caliber Appliances was born out of a creative passion for culinary design and engineering. Elegant in form and functional prowess, every product is designed with a simple goal of exceeding the expectation of the most seasoned cooking aficionado."Though Caliber has a variety of outdoor grills and cooking products, we're showing only their ranges here.Caliber Professional Ranges Restaurant performance, 23,000 BTU to 14,500 BTU high, top burner ratings. All top burners equipped with 130 degrees F simmer turn down Full commercial sheet size Caliber exclusive convection gas oven Caliber designed 20,000 btu infrared oven broiler"The estate-scaled line of 36" and 48" gas ranges have been designed in collaboration with the country's top architects and designers. With fully customizable color and trim finishes, the Caliber Professional Range provides unlimited possibilities for culinary enthusiasts." Caliber Pro Range 36"Caliber Pro Range 48”Cooking OptionsChoose among even- heating, solid stainless steel griddles, powerful 25,000 BTU French tops and Caliber's iconic Crossflame ProTM grilling section.Optional Design FeaturesAmong the unique stand out design features available from Caliber

Huge Appliance Savings at Universal Appliance and Kitchen CenterSave up to $4300 on Jenn-Air$4300 savings on 3 or more Jenn-Air appliances. Read specifics from Jenn-Air below:"Purchase a select Jenn-Air kitchen appliance and receive $1300 towards another appliance.Buy a built-in refrigerator and get an additional $2000 towards another appliance.You will also receive up to $1000 towards installation of your new kitchen."Click to download rebate forms:UAKC APPLIANCE REBATESHere's a new Jenn-Air refrigerator you might want to consider. Available now at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center.Striking Obsidian Interior in Jenn-Air Built-In RefrigeratorInstead of being built with a standard white (boring) interior, Jenn-Air has jazzed up these built-in refrigerators with a black interior they call Obsidian. My first reaction was, "Duh! What were they thinking? Black is way too dark for a refrigerator interior." Well, my friends...that is not necessarily so. This refrigerator is loaded with cool LED lighting from the sides and even from above. Turns out, it's brighter, it showcases your food, and everything is easier to find. The look is elegant, and the features such as soft-close drawers tie in with the idea that the inside of your refrigerator can also be elegant, beautiful, and stylish.Jenn-Air's new refrigerators with Obsidian Interiors have also caught the eye of the design community. Here are a few notable comments:"Opens your eyes, every time you open the doors" - Provantidesigns.com"Gorgeous! Makes the color of the food really stand out as well." - Studio M Interior Design"Obsidian is very nice! Love it." - Schwarz­mann Eu­ro­pean KitchensThere

DIY Kitchen RemodelingBeen There - Done ThatHaving remodeled two kitchens in the last 5 years, here's some advice for Do-It-Yourself kitchen remodels. Don't.Seriously, unless you're an electrician, a plumber, a painter, and a carpenter, who can lay tile, and install cabinets, and granite countertops you're going to need help. In my case, I wasn't any of these. For my first kitchen remodel I hooked up with a designer. She saved me a lot of money with some great ideas and connected me with a general contractor. He took care of the trades while I took care of the materials with an assist or two from the designer.I later sold that house, and moved into a small older home that was perfect for us, but needed a complete update. In this case, I didn't use a designer. We did a complete gut job, but there was not much design work - just remove and replace. New floors, new paint, etc. In the kitchen we replaced everything, but kept the basic layout. If you choose to go this way, get ready for a very long process. In hindsight, I would have done everything the same, except I'd have hired a project manager to inspect the work in process and keep the job moving forward in a more timely fashion. If you decide to manage your own remodel, I'd recommend at a minimum that you stick with professionals for the work you can't handle yourself. I had a handyman scrape the popcorn ceilings,

Vanities from Robern will Beautify and Organize Your Bath Known for their quality in bath storage and grooming solutions, Robern Vanities offer a host of products that will handle your storage and organization while beautifying your bathroom environment. Here's just one example: Shared Family Bathroom with Robern V14 Vanity A blissful bathroom experience is possible, even in the busiest of bathrooms. By installing V14 Vanities in a shared family bathroom (or multiple ganged V14 Vanities), every member of the family can store and find their personal effects within the large, organized drawers. Removable glass bins ensure that the V14 Vanity can keep up with changes in people and priority and the glass exterior enables easy cleaning. Despite heavy usage, the quality construction and attractive features of the V14 Vanity mean your shared bathroom will enjoy luxurious appeal year after year. Designed to gang horizontally or stack vertically, the V14 Vanity lets you create a unique layout with smartly designed storage space. Vanities like the V14 can work great with any organizational style. With its modular design, the V14 Vanity line enables a homeowner to have a storage unit specifically designed to fit the space and handle each user's specific needs. Accessories include lighting, electrical outlets, and vanity tops available in Engineered Stone and Glass. Robern V14 Vanity Features:• Vanity widths: 24, 30, and 36 inches• Push-to-open drawer• Three drawer options: Plumbing access, full-width, and slim drawer insert• Aluminum trim on side panel• Built-in night light (optional) Colors:• Stock colors: Black,

Find the right place for your microwave Creative Design in the Kitchen One of a design professional's enduring issues with microwave ovens is where to locate them. Many designers fight the idea of locating the microwave over a range or in an upper cabinet. They argue (correctly in my mind), that it is not ergonomically sound for most homemakers because it is too high, and it's certainly not ADA compliant in an over the range location. One solution is an oven microwave combination. It's certainly doable, but it does require a 24" deep cabinet top to bottom instead of the more common 12" upper cabinet over the counter. However, a microwave above the oven is also likely to put the microwave controls a bit too high, and certainly not ADA compliant or universal design. An option we've discussed before is an under counter installation. The main disadvantage of installing a microwave under the counter is that the microwave oven is too low. Manufacturers have worked to overcome this with a slide out drawer and/or controls that are rotated upward. That's a great solution. Here is another possibility that builders or designers could work into their plan. I really like this one. Nearly any brand or model of countertop or even drawer microwave oven will fit in this location. This particular Jenn-Air is designed as a built-in microwave, and is available in either a 30" or 27" width. The raised granite breakfast bar is also super convenient. Of course this design

America's Largest Design Event: Dwell on Design 2015Right Here in Southern CaliforniaWhat is Dwell on Design?Dwell on Design has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings in San Francisco in 2005. One decade and several cities and venues later, the largest design show in the United States, drawing more than 31,000 visitors annually, takes over the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. During the weekend of May 29–31, 2015, on a show floor encompassing 240,000 square feet, Dwell will host architecture, design, landscape, and building industry leaders for three days of discussions centering on four key concepts influencing the way we live in the modern world. It's great to have such a huge design show as Dwell on Design taking place right here in Southern California, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. On Friday May 29th, the show will focus on hosting the design trade, and include educational events specifically created for industry members. On Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31st the show will be open to the design trade as well as interested members of the public. In addition to the three day exhibition and conference on site, there will be several home tours.Here's a recap of what you can expect: 400+ Exhibitors presenting 2000+ products 250,000 square feet of Exhibition space to explore 250+ Speakers on 3 stages 3 days of Continuing Education Seminars 450+ registered Press 5+ Full-scale prefab homes 2 days of Ride and Drives International & Cultural Pavilions Student Design Gallery and MoreProfessional

New Miele Range a Winner in Las VegasMiele Appliances shown at KBIS/IBS 2015It's hard to come away a winner when you go to Las Vegas. But, the new Miele range was a good bet at the 2015 Design and Construction Week (*KBIS/IBS) show in January. Miele partnered up with some top kitchen brands (Haefele, Bauformat, and Cosentino) to showcase their luxury appliance brand. The new Miele Range, their first EVER, was a huge hit. (To clarify, Miele has been very successful in cooking products such as built-in cooktops and ovens over the years, but they've not ventured into the range business until now).Miele's range model line up consists of several configurations in 30", 36", and 48" ranges. The range line has been eight years in the making, and the attention to detail shows in the innovative features, and stunning Miele design, not to mention the durable construction. Miele's 30" range weighs in at 337 lbs. Compare that to the 160 lbs. of a typical Whirlpool gas range.You might also expect state of the art technology in a range of this class, and Miele does not disappoint. With a high-tech control panel that includes their exclusive MasterChef electronic controls, the new Miele features algorithms to perfectly cook many foods, and it will also store your own special recipes. Miele has taken a fresh look at every feature on a range. For example, Miele's unique range handle is designed to swivel from its vertical

Brizo Wins Gold at KBIS 2015Articulating faucets are latest trend While articulating faucets are nothing new, Brizo's styling on their lineup of articulating faucet is unique. Brizo says that the style is reminiscent of the design of an architect lamp. The cable design also brings to mind the boom arm on a crane or even an old draw bridge.Importantly, the functionality of the pull-down swinging arm along with the docking and undocking spray arm is a clever and effective method of maneuvering a faucet around the kitchen sink. The KBIS judges thought so also as they awarded Brizo's new Articulating Faucet their top Gold winner for Best in Kitchens. In addition, the Solna Articulating Kitchen Faucet won a Metropolis Likes award for innovative design.Brizo always has an eye-catching and dramatic booth at KBIS and this year was no exception. The display of articulating faucets was one of the highlights of the booth. The new faucet design will be available in the Spring of 2015 in the clean, contemporary Solna collection of fixtures. Shown above, the Artesso style, inspired by the detailed mechanical workings of early 20th century metal-works, will debut in the Summer of 2015. Check this blog often for more news on the many new appliance and plumbing products and ideas featured at the 2015 Design and Construction Week (KBIS/IBS). For the lowest prices and best availability on major appliances and plumbing fixtures be sure to call or visit Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center.  

Time to Get Smart Appliances? The Consumer Electronic Show (CES), and the Design and Construction Week (IBS + KBIS) are all being held this month in Las Vegas. New "smart" appliances are sure to be shown at each venue. What's a "smart" appliance? Maybe not what you think. When the word "smart" is prepended to the word appliance, it usually means that the appliance connects remotely to a device such as a smartphone to allow the device to communicate with the appliance and vice versa. So far, the appeal of smart appliances has been limited. Most of the very early smart appliances didn't do much. So you can control the appliance from your easy chair or maybe even from your car. Not exciting. But much more is on the way. For example, new smart refrigerators can send you a text message to tell you that you left the refrigerator door open. I'm not going to rush out of the house just to buy a new smart appliance...BUT if I'm buying a new appliance, and I can get one with smart capabilities, I won't laugh it off. If my new refrigerator can send me a note telling me that the power to my refrigerator has gone off, I want that! Here are just a few new developments in smart appliances coming soon: GE Currently GE makes smart wall ovens that allow you to pre-heat your oven when you’re on your way home. They're now adding smart appliances including a French door