Kitchen

Svara på: Here's EZ Stone Care's Tip of the Month: Stone Tip of the Month One of the most common questions we get is "How do I remove this stain?". Many times, these stains involve some sort of natural tannin, such as wine, coffee, tea, wood and sometimes ink. All of these types of stains can typically be treated with one common mixture: Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and Hydrogen Peroxide (HP). DE is a very fine, absorbent powder that is used for pool filtering, killing insects and many other uses. HP is commonly bought at the corner drug store and has a 3% concentration. You will want 40 Volume Developer, which is 11-12% concentration. This is the same stuff used for bleaching hair at salons, and can be purchased at a beauty salon supply store. Using gloves and a mask, mix the DE with the HP in a plastic cup into a paste-like consistency that is easy to spread. Apply the paste to the stain in question, overlapping the outside of the stain by approximately 1/2", and making the paste about 1/4" high. You can either leave the solution uncovered, or cover with plastic or Saran Wrap. In hotter, dryer climates, it is recommended to cover the solution to prevent premature drying. Leave for up to 72 hours, or until dry, then discard dry powder into a trash bin. Do not remove solution before it is dry. If the stain has only been partially removed, allow 1 day to air dry, then repeat process until stain is gone. 

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Svara på: I would do the beige color in the soprano unless you are going for an all white look.

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Svara på: I would like to add that the Frigidaire Pro is a matte black and not the shiny black that you are used to seeing. Fingerprints and such are not a problem. Yes, occasionally the knobs need cleaning, nothing new there. The digital display above the knob is large and easy to read. The knobs are very easy to turn and glide. One other consideration for us was the amps. Our kitchen cook top amp is rated 40 amps at the box. The Frigidaire Pro is rated 40 amps but the others were 50 amps. Didn't want to upgrade the wiring, or, in the case of fire (unlikely) give the insurance company an excuse not to cover us.

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Svara på: Haha...OK, thanks for the thoughts, melting clocks- OH NO!! I just can't get past how breaking up the 8x8 looks when isolating it just to the range. So I have to choose a 6x6 or go the full wall. My husband seemed to come around to the idea of the full wall, he's definitely not the biggest of my issues. If I were to go the full wall- I'm trying to think how I would finish the end to the left of the range. If I do the course of subway underneath, I could wrap a bull-nose subway tile up the side. Or I could do a Schluter edge there. I will likely finish all of my other edges where there will be subway tile with the bull-nose edge subway. If I were to use the bull-nose on that side of the range wall- on the other side where it dies into a corner, should I just run the decorative tile to the corner? The sink wall would have subway. In other news, I was playing around with another 6x6" tile. I like these, the thing that was keeping me away before was the flower in the center- I just wasn't crazy about it. I like this one relegated to the range area and with the pattern being smaller, it doesn't look as offensive ended on a half tile as the 8x8 did. Here are other 6x6 choices, any that look flowy, not too Mexican style, and would look good in more subtle color choices? OB2B- My top drawers are flat panel. I was using a previous layout plan to mock these up. As far as the hood- black?? Ahhhh, can't go black. I have nothing else black going on and I already made it all white to blend in with the surrounding cabinetry (from it's previous walnut/white look). I think it's staying as is. Maybe I'll ask about losing the vertical detailing?? Not sure if that is possible.

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Svara på: I'll have to look that countertop up. I ended up going with a very soft greyish-taupe 3x9 tile. (Jeffrey something, Jeffrey Scott maybe) It blends nicely with the flooring and wall color. It also pulls the same color out of the veining in the quartz. Since it contrasts the white there's no problem with different whites next to each other. I was finding some white subway tile was looking pink in certain lights.

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Svara på: I like my Frigidaire Pro very much. The knobs are great and very easy to use. Highly recommend the knobs. There is a low hum on the higher settings but not so much as to bother my tinnitus. I was worried about that with induction in general. Had to purchase new cookware as my older Farberware was not induction compatible. There are 2 basic choices in stainless steel: fully clad and disc bottom. I am a home cook, retired, with weaker hands/wrists. I suggest bringing a magnet to the store when you shop. The fully clad are much heavier, even empty, that I couldn't manage. I found a popular European made brand (EU standards) of disc bottom cookware called Silampos (Home Goods) that has worked out wonderfully well. For a 12 in. frying pan I purchased a fully clad Cuisinart in the French Classic collection. It is made in France to EU standards and has the helper handle. For eggs I found an inexpensive small coated frying pan at Tuesday Morning made in Italy (EU standards) called Domo. These cookware review articles are very comprehensive: https://www.centurylife.org/cladded-sidewalls-vs-disc-bottomed-cookware-which-is-better/ and https://www.centurylife.org/is-all-clad-worth-it-is-it-still-made-in-america-why-does-it-cost-so-much-what-are-some-alternatives/ I am not finding that cooking on induction not much different than on my old solid element electric cooktop. Timing is different so there is a learning curve as to which setting to use for simmer, how long to melt butter, etc.

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Svara på: Here are some pictures of LG Viatera Aura, it's another of the newer colors in their "masterpiece" collection. It's another sort of marble-ish look, kind of reminded me of Super White. Definitely greyer with more going on. I like it a lot, even more so than Muse on its own, but with the initial samples I thought it might have been too busy for the kitchen. In retrospect, probably would have been okay but the quieter Muse was definitely safer. This is from our new master closet which is the second story of our kitchen/mudroom addition. Carpet just went in yesterday, still needs a few finishing touches such as a vanity mirror and stool, but is pretty much done.

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Svara på: I had Muse installed a few weeks ago. I was going to use Minuet initially, but things took a lot longer than initially planned and by the time I was ready to finalize a quartz selection there were a few more patterns available. I liked Muse better since it had longer veining and a whiter base. It's quiet without being boring, imo. Karis isn't all that much different, but it is definitely busier and if I remember the samples correctly (and this was a couple months ago, say I may not be remembering correctly) creamier white in background. I also installed another new color LG Viatera Aura in a different location in our house, I can post some pictures of that too tonight or tomorrow. I'm not thrilled with these pictures in terms of how they capture the countertop, the lighting isn't great as it was kind of early and overcast outside. I might try again with DSLR camera and an aux light. From a distance it looks white. The kitchen is essentially done, just waiting on a custom duct cover over the hood. For reference the sink is Kohler Sea Salt and the backsplash is MSI Whisper White with polyblend bright white grout. The painted perimeter cabinets were matched to SW Repose Grey but seemingly turned out a little lighter.

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