apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Questions for anyone who reads Japanese or otherwise knows the answers. Still it's to see/steal these ideas.

Do they have a U.S. representative?

What does it cost?

Is a gas range possible?

Okay, I read Japanese...they do not mention a gas range and there is no room for an oven. Japanese kitchens RARELY have an oven, they just don't bake. What you do have is a small tray built into the cooktop that you can roast fish and vegetables in. It is like a mini-oven. No mention of price, no U.S. representation, either. And if you want to inquire they have a telephone number or encourage you to find a showroom. All showrooms are located within the country, none outside of Japan. It still is not impossible to get what you want. A year ago I did business with a Japanese company that never did business in the U.S. It is difficult and costly to do, so many companies do not make that move. There also is the language barrier and many trade/legal issues. It is not easy. We are blessed with the arrival of MUJI, but you would be surprised at how many wonderful companies there are in Japan that we will not see. I hope this was helpful...

Sort of a side note... as much as I love stainless steel, are we in danger of it becoming our generation's Avocado Green or Harvest Gold?

What a lovely kitchen! It looks so much better than those ugly ones you see in plunked into boats and dorms. Has anyone seen other nice mini-kitchens, or resources for smaller kitchens in general? I feel like every "small" kitchen I see in design books is bigger than my apartment.



I've started to wonder if stainless is going out lately too, but I think people are more likely to get annoyed at those graphite countertops that don't always work well and the faux-dressy cherry/mahogany cabinets first. Stainless steel is a more practical surface and cleans up nicely, and people associate it with those "professional" ranges that have twelve burners. When it goes out of style, I think it'll be replaced by a better material and different appliances rather than a punchline. When my mom bought her 70's era house, the kitchen cabinets came with these plastic silver bubbly doors that came down within the month. It also came with a mixer/can opener/food processor built-in that she kept until she renovated. The cabinet doors are up in the attic. The all-in-one appliance is going on eBay, where she's heard they sell well.

If you are looking for a mini kitchen, go to (none other than) Ikea. They have a $900 unit that combines cabinet, small fridge (hidden behind cabinet doors), a two burners sealed cooktop, stainless countertop and sink, and faucet. A bargain at that price, and available in Seattle Ikea at least, if not nationwide.

As for stainless, I agree that since it's not just about the decorative (at least not until recently) and that the lifetime of a subzero fridge, counterop, or professional range etc are so long, that it'll stay out of the kitschy for a while longer. But it'll definitely be associated with the early 00's.

wlai, can you post a link or name of the ikea mini kitchen?

thanks!

Found it, the ATTITYD. Somehow it won't let me post the URL, but just Google Ikea Attityd.

Granted, it's nearly as elegant a piece, but it's dirt cheap for all the features that you get.

Okay, try this www.snipurl.com/af8k (add http in front of it, the software is choking on the semi-colon for some reasons) It's the unit with the sink, pictured in the middle, though the Ikea website doesn't have any description or price of it, but Seattle carries it.

Better, and still from IKEA, is the VARDE mini-kitchen, see

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15576&catalogId=10103&storeId=7&productId=26802&langId=-20&parentCats=15576

not sure if it is available in the USA though.