FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Do you want to see a grown man cry? Have him select a color from more that 3 selections…he will drop to his knees in tears. I’m beginning to think that choice is highly over rated.

The scariest words in the English language most be…”would you like fries with that? Shoestring or country, crosscut or curly, salted or unsalted and god forbid if you should ask for their selection of dipping sauce. And what about coffee? What happen to a plain old cup of Joe? I mean…what the hell is a half-caff, non-fat, sugar-free vanilla latte and while I’m at it, what happen to just a medium cup? Choice is everywhere and there seems to be no escape…we have too many buttons, options, selections and app’s.

The kitchen industry has not been spared from this curse, but it seems that we as an industry have embraced choice with gusto. On the cabinet side of the house we have more variety of wood species to choose from than ever before…what happen to oak, pine, maple and walnut? Now we can offer Wenge, Rosewood, Zebra and Pear as well as exotic veneers and technical veneers…all in different cuts and finishes. And colors…there was a time you had 4 or 5 standard color selections and some companies may have even offered up to 20, but today with computer color matching, there are over 2000 variations to choose from. And what about features and accessories? Drawer options, waste options, cutlery dividers, pan storage, tall storage options, lighting options, interior and exterior. And when we look at the appliance side of the house the mountain of choice is even higher…convection oven, micro-convection oven, steam-convection and just plain radiant heat. And the choices of refrigerators would make your head explode…24”, 30” 36” and 48”, available in single and double door, side by side French doors and ice options that would dazzle any Barman worth his salt. Not to stop there, what about our choices in cook-tops? Gas, electric and induction as well as combinations of all three. And the selection of dishwashers available with sensors, onboard computers and wi-fi connected and with enough technology on board for a manned mission to the moon.

What brought this all to head was a presentation I was giving for a new kitchen. We were going over each detail, what wood, what finish, what handle, what accessories and features, what lighting and at one point…the client threw up his hands and shouted “enough!” and said, “Kevin…why are you asking me all these question…you’re the expert…what am I paying you for?” It was a clear cut case of “sensory-overload…too many selections, too many options and too many choices.

Thoreau once said “simplify, simplify!”…I say just “Simplify! (period)”. I truly believe that we have so over complicated the process that our clients are paralyzed with fear. We need to take greater control of the process. In another presentation, while we were going over every detail in the kitchen…how many drawers, hinged left or right, which side of the sink would they like the dishwasher on, what knob or pull, I looked up at the client with her eyes half rolled up inside her eyelid and when she noticed me looking at her, she sat up-right, gathered herself together and said to me…”Kevin…it’s going to look like this…right?”…pointing to the display and she said…”fine…how much do you need to get started? 

Keep your sales approach simple…nothing complicated. Your showroom and displays should educate your client to the benefits and value of your product or service as well as create an atmosphere of trust and dependability, Keep your options to a minimum…how many cabinet and appliance lines to you really need to show, what are the 3 or 4 finishes that make up most of your business? What counter-top material do you always specify? You will find, if you go back over your projects for the last year or two…you will see a pattern of design elements, appliances and finishes.

So take control, lead your client, and don’t drown them in details, but simplify their lives and you will see your jobs close faster and that your clients will be happier. I think that DEVO, the iconic 80’s band, said it best…”What we want is Freedom from choice”.

IS IT EVER WRONG TO DO THE RIGHT THING? AN EARTH DAY MESSAGE

Forty-five plus years ago, while still living a post-hippie lifestyle, I attended my first Earth Day in Los Angeles. I was working at one of the first 24-hour gas stations in Los Angeles, where gas was 25 cents a gallon. A couple of bucks would fill the tank of my, mint condition, 1955 VW Bug, almost to the brim.

I was invited to attend a day in the park by a young woman who wrote for an ecological magazine, a “commie rag”, as my father would say. She would come in late at night to get gas and we would talk about movies, politics and the world around us. Her passion and main train of thought was about the environment and her involvement in the upcoming Earth Day festival. At the time, Earth Day had the overtones of a “love-in” or anti-war rally of the sixties with music and speeches, but instead of the war in Vietnam, the direction had shifted to the environment.

The focus of Earth Day in 1970 was about the quality of our air and water as well as the use of pesticides in farming and toxic waste being dumped in the ocean. And on that sunny spring Saturday in the park, with the sun shining down, out of a clear blue sky, global warming or the thought of climate change was far from the minds of this eclectic group of people, holding hands and singing along with Joni Mitchell’s, 70’s hit and anthem of the fledgling environmentalist movement, "Big Yellow Taxi", one of the most prophetic songs ever to be written.

During the day’s event of music and speeches, my friend invited me to the podium to say a few words during an open “mic” period in between sets. I remember my stomach feeling like it was tied in a knot, as I had never spoken in front of a large group before. A light breeze blew through my shoulder length hair and I can still feel the way the sun played upon my face. I don’t remember much of what I said that day, a blessing of time I think, other than these few words, “the future is deeply rooted in the actions we take today”, and from that moment forward I become an environmentalist.

Now after all these years the movement is under attack from all sides, challenging and dismissing years of recorded data, attacking the credibility of thought-leaders, scientists and engineers, but the worst part is that the confidence of the American consumer has been shaken and they have begun to question an idea that had touched their lives. Simple things like recycling their trash or driving a fuel-efficient car or purchasing energy star appliances has begun feel silly as if they were the butt of a secret joke.

It all became very clear for me one evening as I sat at the kitchen table, helping my son with his Earth Science homework, when he asked me “what if all these things we do around the house, don’t change anything?”  POW!...right between the eyes by one of my own. It was like being asked if I believed in GOD. I sat dumbfounded for a minute or two and looking him straight in the eyes I said…”Is it ever wrong to do the right thing?

I explained to him that we, as individuals can make a difference, by the choices we make and the actions we take, we can make a lasting impact on the world around us. So, yes…the things we do around the house to lower our carbon-footprint, like taking shorter showers or changing out light bulbs or compositing or bring our own bags to the market…do make a difference.

So even if climate change or global warming were not an issue, I ask, is it wrong to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and seek alternative energy resource? Is it wrong to want a more energy efficient automobiles or home appliances? Is it wrong to conserve and protect our limited natural resources? Is it wrong to want to make a difference in the world around us? No, it is not wrong to want and expect these things, but we have to take action and we cannot wait for the government or a group or committee for the answers, we, as individuals, hold the power to make a difference and by the choices we make and the actions we take, we can alter the course of life on this planet, now and for generations to come.

Happy Earth Day 2019

THE NEW AMERICAN KITCHEN

Free and easy, open and inviting…these are the new adjectives that best describe the modern kitchen. A room with out boundaries or barriers, a room free from conventional thought, a room seeking a new name to clarify its new role in the American home. A room that has gone from the “heart of the home” to the  the new command center for daily American life.

The modern kitchen is open to the rest of the home and as such the room most function on several levels, from food preparation to social interaction, from entertainment center to living-room. The modern kitchen must blend seamlessly into the living and family areas of the home, it must impress as well as be useful, successfully achieving the delicate balance between form and function. To this end, extremes must be avoided, volumes must be contained and styles measured.

It is a given that the kitchen must look nice, but the cabinetry and appliances must be of the utmost efficiency, creating a space that is neutral in character.

The modern kitchen, in its new domestic role, finds itself reflecting a family style based on the sharing of traditional roles and function. The living area embraces the kitchen as a multifunctional arena, were food is prepared, people talk, homework is finished and guests are entertained.

ABOUT: Designer, speaker, writer, Kevin Henry has been actively developing the luxury kitchen community for over 30 years. He is recognized by both the the kitchen+bath as well as the luxury A+D communities as an influencer and mentor. Kevin is currently the US Director of Business Development for noblessa|usa and can be reched at kevin.henry@noblessa.org

THE NEW KITCHEN MATRIX

With space at a premium, imagine a kitchen without boundaries or barriers, an environment free from conventional thought and restrictions, a kitchen created to successfully achieve the delicate balance between form and function, reflecting the needs and life style of the modern homeowner.

The new "kitchen matrix" allows for maximum usage of space with the focus on utilization and optimization of the interiors and exposed work areas, allowing the homeowner, apartment dweller or loft inhabitant to maximize the usage of the space at hand. Like the Roman God Janus, who could see the past and future at the same time, the modern kitchen is centered on the duality of purpose and space.

The new approach to kitchen design is to challenge the way we look at space, so we may better understand the problem. Modern kitchen design must move away from a one-dimensional approach to design and to think of the kitchen as a multi-dimensional canvas. The static, cluttered, restricted and unchanging kitchen of the past must now evolve into a living stage, a place where it is possible

to create an environment that alters old beliefs about space and structure and infuse new concepts that reflect the needs of today’s modern homeowner.

Today’s kitchen has grown far from its primary function of food preparation to that of “the social center of the home”, the family, both nuclear as well as tribal, still gathers to share, rejuvenate and commune together. The walls have come down and this once hidden and isolated feminine domain has now become apart of a

larger social arena. It serves as a meeting place, a dinning room, a home-office as well as a place to do homework or crafts with the kids; it can even serve as a hide away for quite reflection, or a place to gather for family fun and social entertaining.

In its new domestic role, the modern kitchen finds itself reflecting a family lifestyle based on the sharing of traditional roles and functions. The living area embraces the kitchen as a multifunctional arena, were food is prepared, people talk, homework is finished and where family and friends sit by a modern hearth to bath in the warmth of community.

Today’s kitchen is open to the rest of the home, and as such, the kitchen now must function on several levels, from food preparation to social interaction, from entertainment center to living-room. More furniture, than cupboards, the modern kitchen must blend seamlessly into the living areas of the home.