Today is an official AT holiday. This means that you all have full permission to not read this blog too much and get other things done. We ourselves will be using the time to recharge, realize and the impact of just having put a hefty deposit down on a cool new kitchen from HenryBuilt for our rental apartment, and plant a dozen privet hedges our friend gave us at our summer getaway out in Springs, Long Island because, being a city person, landscaping and gardening whenever possible is one of our favorite addictions.
(Pic: Henrybuilt's cool Durat countertop is a thin, solid polyester based material that is composed of 50% recycled plastic and is 100% recyclable.)
ooo, those Henrybuilt kitchens look beautiful. When the holiday's over I'd certainly love to hear more on the site about your experiences with Henrybuilt, as I'm getting ready to re-do my kitchen as well.
Where in NYC did you purchase Durat for your counter tops? I would very much like to include this product for counter tops in my reno.
I've been doing some redecorating also in my rental apartment in NYC. But I haven't been doing things such as getting a new kitchen. I mean, how practical is it to make an apartment that nice that I will never own?
You'll be SOOOO happy with your Henrybuit kitchen--trust me, I had one installed last year and it is astonishing. And although it seems pricey, the value will rapidly make itself felt--their staff and fabricators and creative people are all first-rate. (If you get a chance, try to make contact with Virginie in their Seattle office--she's a design genius). In addition, their materials are sumptuous, flawlessly crafted, and--when there is even a hint of imperfection or client displeasure--immediately corrected. We spent about 35K on many, many custom features and the kitchen looks as though it cost triple that. A great American company.
By the way, I don't work for Henrybuilt!
Oh, wait a minute--I glossed over the most significant point raised by your post--we all need to know why you are putting such a high-end kitchen in your rental apartment. Is there a chance that you'll be buying it?
Landlords lose to raise the rent after you've remodeled their apartment. I hope you can at least take the kitchen with you when you move!!
privet is an invasive plant that is banned in most states in the us because of its destructive habit to the native environment. why it's legal in new york i dont know, but it is an extrmely irresponsible choice for an intentional planting.
yeah - looks like there are no naturally occurring privet species in North America. I guess if it's a fire-escape planting then maybe it's not so bad, but it doesn't sound like it's very good for the environment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privet
New York seems disorganized about producing a list of banned plants. Here's the spiel on privet from a source that the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation links to:
http://www.invasive.org/eastern/midatlantic/ligu.html
I like the source above because it includes native alternatives that give the same look without over-running the ecosystem.
Wish we had known about HenryBuilt when we did our kitchen back in 2003...it is gorgeous without being cold as many of the European kitchens can be...solid without being slick. Needless to say, I am very impatient for you to get this thing installed and post the pictures!!! (p.s. have you picked a crib yet?)
I am also curious about the Durat counter -- we were considering the Durat tubs and sinks for our bathroom reno.
Poor Maxwell, you thought you were just putting up this innocuous post on a summer day and instead you've gotten slammed for putting a pricey kitchen in a rental and contributing to the destruction of the ecosystem. I think global warming may be your fault too ;-)
Wait...seriously...Why did you do this in a rental?