Q: We are trying to update our tiny (6-by-9-foot) apartment kitchen without making structural changes. Mainly, we're adding new countertops and lighting, and flooring.
My question is about lighting: What's best in a kitchen? I'm confused by all the new kinds of bulbs ... halogen, LED ... what?
A: You're not alone. I'm confused, too. So I turned to a pro, New York designer John Buscarello (synonymous with New York!), who specializes in small kitchens.
"You need as much light as you can get in a kitchen, even a small one," says Buscarello. His advice is to use more than one light source: a ceiling fixture with a 300-watt halogen bulb — "Put it on a dimmer switch so you can vary the brightness."
Then add supplementary lights under the cabinets so they illuminate the work surface below. If you have glass cabinet doors, lights inside the cabinets would be an extra, elegant touch. Also, take advantage of the lights that come built into appliances, like a wall-mounted microwave and over-the-range hood.
When you start scoping out all the lighting sources now available, you'll run into the latest — LEDs — which Buscarello sees as a great new option.
"Three years ago, LEDs were horrible! But the technology is changing every day," he explains. "Now I wouldn't use anything but LEDs when I can."
Among the advantages of LEDs: They run cool; last "forever"; can be mounted on wires so flexible you can use them inside cabinet doors and drawers; and they now come in a warmer spectrum of light.
Buscarello has practiced what he teaches in the kitchen we show here, designed for a "gutsy" client who wanted dark, rich colors. Because dark colors soak up the light, he combined three light sources: halogen in the center fixture, LEDs under the cabinets and track lights around the perimeter of the room, which can be adjusted to shine where more illumination is needed.
This kitchen is somewhat larger (it's not in Manhattan) and very much darker than most, thanks to the warm cobalt blue walls, ceiling and tiles. So Buscarello incorporated extra brightness, from the hood over the stove and via the reflection from the natural stone top on the center work island.
To be illuminated by more of the designer's kitchen magic, go to www.buscarello.com.
Q: It's market time around the world. In the U.S. and abroad, designers and manufacturers are introducing their new ideas for home in 2015. So what's trending?
A: We'll know more next week. We're off to Paris and the exciting, sometimes-edgy and always intriguing Maison & Objet trade show, offering acres of what's new and why. Lots about that next week.
Meanwhile, news is literally being made right here at home, according to Ira Mayer, publisher of the highly regarded Licensing Letter, which keeps track of trends in licensed designs and products.
In the U.S., says Mayer, the new emphasis is on what's local. Think "Made in America."
"It's the locovore movement expanding to other categories," he adds. Ditto, other countries, especially Italy, France and Germany, where there's new emphasis on local crafts and craftsmen. Homemade has never been so chic.
Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style," and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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