Our #ProjectLakelife Kitchen - My Favorite Appliances Part 2

Hi again from Lake Cherokee where I sit enjoying the beautiful view of the sunlight reflecting off the water. But behind me sits my pitiful kitchen that is half torn up waiting for it’s moment to shine like the sun.

I have clients battling the appliance waiting game as they are getting year long lead times from many of the heavy hitters in the luxury appliance realm. In my case, I was lucky when the vendor I selected had anticipated a growing demand and had ample stock sitting in their New Jersey warehouse. So my appliances are all here in Richmond waiting on my kitchen to be completed. In my case, it’s my cabinets that are holding up the process. But I’m pretty sure it will be worth the wait! And my trip to KBIS in Orlando a few weeks ago reassured me that I made the right decision about my appliances.

Enjoying the SKS booth at KBIS with my design besties, Jana Donohoe and Sarah Wilson.

In 2019, I had the pleasure of traveling to Napa, California with the Designhounds to tour the Signature Kitchen Suite Experience & Design Center. Check out my blog post about this amazing trip HERE and learn more about the beautiful SKS Napa EDC. This year at KBIS, Signature Kitchen Suite continued it’s streak of introducing ground breaking luxury appliances with its 48” French Door built-in refrigerator which won the Best of KBIS Award.

The refrigerator boasts two freezer drawers, a convertible drawer and a drawer housing the dual icemaker. The functional and innovative convertible drawer offers five preset temperatures ranging from 41⁰ F to -6⁰ F allows for precise food preservation across five temperature settings: chilled wine, fridge/deli, meats and seafood, beverage, or drop the temperature all the way down to make it a freezer. The dual icemaker provides options for both frustum ice and the slow-melting, spherical Craft Ice elevate beverages of all kinds. This 48” model will not hit the market until the end of 2022, so I’ll be installing the 36” version which is just fine for our empty nester lifestyle. But, this 48” version would have been amazing when I had two kids at home, both athletes.

The star of the SKS line in my mind is still the 48” Dual Fuel Pro Range and I’m excited to say that this beauty will be the star of my new kitchen!

I have clients that go back and forth between gas and induction when we’re designing kitchens and it has become a contentious debate. But with the SKS Pro Range, you can have both! There are four gas burners and a two zone induction cooking area. But the third zone on this cooktop is the one that has me the most excited … the sous vide! My husband and I discovered sous vide about 6 years ago when we had some of the best steaks prepared in a sous vide in a Nashville restaurant. Until recently, the only means of cooking sous vide (latin for “under vacuum”) was with a portable wand that would heat and circulate the water to the desired temp. We started experimenting on all kinds of things and quickly became obsessed. We went on to send sous vide wands to our whole family as Christmas presents. Now we’ll have the sous vide built into the top of this amazing range.

In addition to all of the capabilities this range presents on top, it also boasts an 18” steam combi-oven and a full size convection oven on the bottom. I can’t wait to incorporate this steam oven into our repertoire! My husband became even more sold on the 48” Pro Range when we enjoyed a virtual dinner party via Zoom during he pandemic with SKS Executive Chef Nick Ritchie. I’ve had the pleasure of watching Nick cook both at the SKS Napa EDC and at KBIS. You should check out some of his cooking demos and the Pro Range in action on the SKS YouTube channel.

So hopefully I’ll be able to bring home my refrigerator, this magnificent pro range, the SKS power steam dishwasher and the SKS microwave drawer soon! I’m excited to see this kitchen transformed!

This rendering shows my plans for the new kitchen. I can’t wait to see my vision become reality!

So, I’ll end with one more cool thing about sous vide. You can make some killer craft cocktails in it! Here is a fabulous recipe, courtesy of SKS, for a Carmen Miranda cocktail.

Our #ProjectLakelife Kitchen- My Favorite Appliances

Hi everyone! As I’ve shared, we are renovating the house that my husband and I recently purchased and there isn’t a room that isn’t getting some love. But of course, the kitchen is at the top of my list and the one that I’m most anxious to complete. To that end, I’m focusing several of my updates on this oh so important room in the house.

I recently traveled to Orlando Florida for the 2022 KBIS (Kitchen and Bath Industry Show) and IBS (International Builders Show). This is honestly my favorite trade show of the year. I’m truly like a kid in a candy store and I get the chance to connect with my design besties from all over the country.

Over the past several years, this show has become the battle of the appliance companies. Gone are the days that you just go down to Sears and pick out your suite of Whirlpool, Kenmore or GE appliances. There are so many other American and International players in the appliance space now that are bringing so many more options to the market. And if you’re building a custom home or undertaking a significant renovation, you’re likely considering appliances from some of the luxury manufacturers. And these manufacturers are in a fierce competition to bring to market the most innovative technology and jaw dropping styling! I could write for days on all of the players, but I’m going to focus on two of my favorite companies.

Monogram Appliances always knocks it out of the park at their KBIS booths creating an experience like no other and this year it won them the KBIS Best Booth Award. There was such a frenzy about this space that there was a waiting line to get in!

Villa Monogram, the Monogram KBIS booth destination showcased the brand’s latest innovations and collaborations in a variety of luxury living scenarios.

Villa Monogram Farm incorporates Monogram’s new 30” Fully Integrated Wine Sommelier and Monogram 30” Smart Flush Hearth Oven

Villa Monogram Mountain showcases the new Monogram Rotisserie Oven.

Villa Monogram Beach features the 30” Smart Electric Convection Single Oven and the 36” Integrated Panel-Ready Column Freezer and Refrigerator.

In addition to the Villa Monogram vignettes showcased above, Monogram also launched it’s first Designer Collection. Renowned interior designer and Monogram Creative Director Richard T. Anuszkiewicz created the collection in collaboration with the brand. It showcases two aesthetics, Brass and Titanium, and incorporates beautiful custom furniture style hardware. Another ingenious design detail were the 96” tall brass and titanium refrigerator column panels. With so many new homes being built with 10’ ceilings, these taller panels are a much better scale!

It was such a sexy look (and who ever thought I would use the word “sexy” when talking about appliances! Just look at the gorgeous hardware!

But Monogram is also about more than just looks! I did a hands on training session with them in their Chicago showroom a couple of years ago and I was very impressed by their technology and the breadth of their various options. We recently completed our studio kitchen and incorporated Monogram appliances so that we could share some of their more innovative designs with our clients and visitors.

We installed their 5-in-1 smart wall oven with Advantium Technology, their 30” integrated glass door refrigerator with the two convertible drawers at the bottom and their 36” induction cooktop. I wanted to highlight some of their more unique offerings so that we could bring our clients options that they didn’t normally think about. We’re in the process of planning an event where we can hopefully show off the muscle of this 5-in-1 oven with a live cooking class. If you’re not on our email list, you should join now so that you’ll be sure not to miss an invite to this event or any of our other regular events.

Well, that takes care of one working kitchen for me! At least I can go to the studio and cook on my Monogram induction cooktop! Now, if only I could get my kitchen finished at #projectlakelife. As I said above, Monogram is one of my two favorite appliance brands. Join me next time for a spotlight on the other brand and the one that I’ve chosen for my own home. I’ll also share some of the great new award winning introductions this brand brought to KBIS 2022. After everything I discovered at KBIS, it makes me want to design a whole new house just to be able to use all of these great products.

Chilling With Signature Kitchen Suite

So why Napa? Why did Signature Kitchen Suite develop their Experience & Design Center there? Perhaps it’s their dedication to the vintner’s way of life and the Technicurean’s passion for great wine. It is said that the Paris Tasting of 1976 put Napa Valley winemakers on the map. In a blind tasting, two American wines, a Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon fbeat out the best wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Since then, Napa Valley wineries have grown from just over a dozen to several hundred today, and along with the vineyards grew Americans’ love and appreciation of the wine culture.

This year at KBIS, the National Kitchen and Bath Association launched the inaugural “30s Choice Award.” The NKBA honors an outstanding group of young professionals as part of its Thirty Under 30 program. At KBIS, the incoming class was tasked with scouring the KBIS show floor searching for the most innovative products, ideas, and technologies in 10 categories which are selected as the NKBA 30s Choice Awards. The new SKS integrated wine column refrigerators were singled out for this prestigious award in the Smart Home Integration / Wi-Fi Enabled Product category..

I love this shot of the dining room at the Signature Kitchen Suite Experience and Design Center with the wall of integrated wine columns. Who wouldn’t want this in their dining room? They surprised us all in this room with a cupcake party to end our second evening there.

Unique to the brand’s new integrated wine column refrigerator series is Wine Cave™ technology, designed for precise wine preservation, inspired by the traditional, historic old-world caves of wineries, located in Napa Valley, Calif. Carefully tailored to mimic these ideal environments, the exclusive Wine Cave design significantly reduces vibration – a primary impediment to wine preservation, which causes chemical imbalances affecting the quality, flavors, aromas and texture – as well as minimizes temperature fluctuations, limits light exposure and locks in humidity.

The 24” wide integrated wine column holds up to 113 bottles and can accommodate up to three different temperature zones for reds, whites and sparkling wines.

SKS has also launched the True Sommelier™ app that helps wine collectors manage their personal collections, including making pairing suggestions, remembering favorites,and suggesting alternatives when your favorite is unavailable.. Being in Napa, we certainly couldn’t overlook the importance of wine in our culinary culture. Vineyards have become more plentiful throughout the US. We enjoy really nice ones throughout Virginia, but nothing compares to the grapes grown in Napa Valley! For the true wine lovers and collectors, it’s important to have the very best equipment to protect the wines they’ve collected from favorite local vineyards or their travels.

The 18”wide integrated wine column holds up to 71 bottles and offers two temperature zones.

If you’re not a wine collector or just don’t keep your wine around long before drinking it (yours truly), SKS has developed the perfect French door refrigerator for you. The two bottom drawers have the ability to set the temperatures to serve as either a freezer or a wine drawer!

Signature Kitchen Suite has put the same innovative “True to Food” philosophy into action with their refrigerators. They offer “Speed Freeze & Speed Chill”. The faster something freezes, the smaller the ice crystals — meaning less disruption to your food. Freezing fresh food as quickly as possible, Speed Freeze helps retain original flavors, vitamins, nutritional value, and appearance. Speed Chill uses the same innovative thinking in the refrigerator, quickly bringing the temperature back to optimum level after the door is opened for an extended time.

And talk about a smart appliance, the SKS freezers offer Adaptive Defrost. Meet the freezer that gets to know you. Adaptive Defrost measures the number of times you open the door and ambient temperature to select the best time to defrost. When you are away, it will defrost less often, saving energy and reducing freezer burn.

As the love for excellent food grows, so grows the need for space. Fortunately, the Signature Kitchen Suite 30-inch Integrated Column Refrigerator is brilliantly engineered to provide the industry’s largest capacity column, featuring 18.0 cubic feet of storage capacity. Food deserves to stay fresh as long as possible through optimum temperature. Ingenious features like a linear compressor and engineered all-metal interior help to minimize temperature fluctuations to maintain food freshness — brilliantly engineered to help you do your part in the battle against food waste.

One of the coolest features I discovered with these refrigerators and freezers is the integration of cleverly hidden True-Illumination™ Lighting. The LED lighting is within each shelf and moves with the shelves which ensures that the spotlight stays focused on the food, not shining in your eyes.

Time to wine down! After a great few days of learning and marveling at all of the ingenious features of the SKS line of appliances, we were ready to relax a little and of course, enjoy more wine! We ended one evening here at Zach’s Lounge, named for SKS General Manager, Zach Elkin.

We had a wonderful time connecting with each other, making new friends both among the designers and the SKS team. Everyone from Signature Kitchen Suite was so gracious, knowledgeable and passionate about their brand. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to visit their absolutely stunning Experience and Design Center.

And a big thank you goes to the wonderful ladies of who put together these amazing opportunities! Your hard work and dedication to providing terrific educational and brand partnership opportunities is greatly appreciated!

Veronika Eagleson, Flo Von Pelet and Sarah Harman

Now I’m off to open a bottle of Cabernet with all of this talk of wine!

This post is sponsored by Signature Kitchen Suites, as they paid for my trip with the Modenus Designhounds to Napa. All opinions and commentary are my own.

JSI Raves: Getting Steamy with Mr. Steam!

I recently had the privilege to travel to the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Orlando as part of the Modenus Blogtour team.  As a member of this team, I was introduced to some fabulous vendors with new product introductions that blew me away.  I came back inspired with new visions for ongoing and future projects and I'm really excited to share these discoveries with anyone who will listen to me.  One terrific surprise was getting to know Mr. Steam and the people behind this terrific company.

If you're considering a bathroom renovation or planning a new construction project, you definitely need to consider adding a steam shower!  My next bathroom will most assuredly have one.  Most people know the benefits that steam has on your respiratory system but I was floored to learn of all of the other great benefits.  Learn more of the benefits of steam therapy by clicking this link! 

KBIS was all about smart technology this year and Mr. Steam was right on point with their new iSteam®3.  Delivering unsurpassed swipe-touch functionality and sleek, contemporary styling, the iSteam®3 control from Mr. Steam offers a variety of exciting new options designed to perfectly adapt to the preferences of every bather, seamlessly personalizing the steam shower environment.

Now available in black and white finishes, iSteam3 now provides the option to choose a black or white display screen mode, fully accommodating the user’s tastes and steam shower design.  Designed for exceptional performance in the hot and humid environment of a home steam shower, the iSteam3 control offers a superb user experience and intuitive navigation. The bather can control a wide array of features with the simple touch of a finger, including temperature, duration, AromaSteam, ChromaSteam®3 and AudioSteam®3. Additionally, users can control functions of the steam shower on the go with the free SteamLinx App from their smartphone or mobile device. The iSteam3 is design-matched to the high-grade AromaSteam SteamHeads and pairs seamlessly with the industry-leading Mr. Steam E Series Residential Steam Generators.

And after you've luxuriated in your new steam bath, you'll definitely want to grab a nice warm towel.  Mr. Steam introduced their new Lexington Collection of towel warmers.  With wider bars to extend the warmth on towels, the Lexington Collection towel warmers are perfect enhancements for contemporary spa bathrooms.  Made of high-quality stainless steel in polished or brushed stainless finishes, the five wall-mounted models of the Lexington Collection come standard with a digital timer allowing for convenient pre-start and automatic shutoff.

Ready to update your bathroom and garner all of the wonderful health benefits of steam bathing?  Give us a call and we'll introduce you to all of the wonderful customizable steam experiences that Mr. Steam has to offer!

Please note: According to FTC rules, I need to disclose that my trip to KBIS was sponsored.    While I did not get paid for my time at KBIS, my hotel, airfare and some meals were covered.  As I write about our sponsors  I wish for you to know that I do not receive any additional monetary compensation for doing so.  And please note, the views expressed in this blog are totally mine!