Looking for Great Appliances? Think Jenn-Air!

Recently, I had the pleasure of being selected to be one of a handful of designers from around the country to attend a special two day designer forum presented and hosted by Jenn-Air and led by Ellen Cheever- a rock star in the world of kitchen design. It was an exciting and enlightening couple of days! Jenn-Air put us all up in a lovely boutique hotel in downtown Chicago called the Palomar. We were whisked off for an afternoon of demonstrations and of course food, at the beautiful World of Whirlpool penthouse in the Reid- Murdoch building. For those of you who don’t know it, it’s the building downtown with the big clock tower on it facing the river. We got to tour the inside of the clock tower and look out at the spectacular view of Chicago!

The following day was another intensive day filled with demonstrations of the vast product line that Jenn-Air offers. Here are some of the insights that I came away with:

  • Jenn-Air is a premium line of appliances, but with prices that usually fall below other premium brands.
  • They offer some fabulous ovens that can even remember your favorite recipes!
  • If you’re looking for a new cooktop, consider induction as opposed to gas or electric- it’s 90% efficient as opposed to 55% for electric and only 45% for gas. It also remains cool to the touch.
  • Ventilation can be cool! (no pun intended ☺) Jenn-Air offers down-draft that is quiet, powerful, and can be duct-free.
  • Have you ever seen a refrigerator with an Obsidian interior? You should check out http://jennair.com/obsidian-refrigerator for a peek!
  • From your morning coffee until your final clean-up after dinner, Jenn-Air has the appliances to make your life easy and entertaining fun!

Here are some photos! For more photos, see our pinterest board.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Isn’t ice a wonderful thing?  If you live in Chicago, it’s particularly welcome considering the hot, hot summer we’re having.

I recently got to experience the magical capabilities of Jenn-Air’s newest ice-maker.  If you like ice, and lots of it, it’s an appliance that I’d definitely recommend finding a home for in your butler’s pantry, bar, or kitchen.

Fab Features:

  • Clear cubes, no air bubbles!
  • Mineral free, so doesn’t affect the pure taste of your favorite beverage
  • Small size cubes, but don’t melt quickly
  • Makes 50 lbs of ice in 24 hours!

Jenn-Air JIM158XXRS

And it’s good looking too!  Check out more features at: http://www.jennair.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/JIM158XXRS-Ice maker/

What’s your favorite beverage that requires ice??

 

Fresh Findings for Your Kitchen II

Last week I wrote about the Kitchen Trends seminar that I attended recently.  It was hosted by Jenn-Air and presented by Ellen Cheever.  This week, I’d like to talk about the third piece of the puzzle- the cooking zone.  Here are 3 great ideas to keep in mind when planning new appliances:

1.  Induction cooktops are becoming more prevalent.  They are more popular in Europe, but are catching on here.  What’s great about using them is their low heat output (your kitchen doesn’t get heated because just what’s in the pan is getting heated), ease of clean-up as the surface doesn’t get hot, and you can put individual units in several places in the kitchen.

Jenn-Air Induction Cooktop

 

You can read more about induction in my previous blog:

https://catherineschagerdesigns.com/2010/06/introduction-to-induction/

2. Microwave/Convection oven combinations allow for smaller kitchens to have one large oven and still have the ability to host a crowd.  Jenn-Air makes a model that can steam-cook, has a combination convection/microwave setting, and a speed-cook setting.

The Jenn-Air convection/microwave

3. Wall Ovens- are becoming packed with features to make it easy to cook even if you’re not the best cook!  Jenn-Air even has one that you can program favorite recipes into and it can convert a standard recipe time to Convection mode time.

Combination of wall oven and microwave

 

So what’s your favorite new trend?

 

Fresh Findings for Your Kitchen

I recently attended a seminar on kitchen trends hosted by the folks at Jenn-Air and presented by Ellen Cheever, a renowned expert on kitchen and bath design.  It was an informative and interesting day, packed with inspiration and lots of wonderful food!

Ellen discussed new ways of organizing the appliances in different areas of the kitchen, namely the cook, prep, clean-up and storage areas.  I’d like to talk about 3 of these today; prep, clean-up and storage, and touch on the others in later posts.

1. Due to the emphasis on healthy eating, more fresh food is being prpared, with a need for sometimes as many as three sinks in the kitchen.  One for prep work and possibly serving, one for clean-up and one for a dedicated beverage center.  There are a multitude of new sinks on the market today that can perform a number of different functions.  Here’s a really cool one that I was introduced to by Rick Glickman of Dream Kitchens in Deerfield.

Ok, this is my dream sink! Watch the video of how it works by clicking on the link below.

 

http://www.thegalleysink.com/promolong.html?action=showdetail&pic_id=184

 

2. The dishwasher is also showing up in a number of places, and people are tending to opt for more than one.  The butler’s pantry is a great place for an additional clean-up sink and dishwasher as is a dish drawer in a beverage center.  As we’ve been discussing Age-in-Place issues, a new trend is to also separate the dishwasher from the sink and then elevate it by adding a drawer beneath it.  This allows for easy access and less bending.

 

3.  One of the most interesting trends is in utilizing food storage (refrigeration and freezers) in multiple places in the kitchen.  Gone are the days when there was only one place to grab a beverage.  Undercounter refrigerated and freezer drawers can be incorporated into prep areas and beverage areas.  Individual refrigerator and freezer units can be separated to allow for maximum storage in the most convenient place.  For instance, there was one design that incorporated a full freezer out of the main kitchen and in the butler’s pantry.  There are now great options for combination units like wine and beverage storage in the same undercounter units.

Courtesy of Jenn-Air, a combination wine and beverage fridge

 

I enjoy keeping up to date on the latest trends and ways to help my clients make the most of their kitchens!  Which idea strikes your fancy?