...still waiting to find out if a mostly unused kitchen is going to be deemed filthy if only cleaned about weekly. ;) I need to know if the mister will have more chores to do or not. ;)

I only brought up mixers on the counter because it seems they're being used as decorations, color coordinated of course.

I was just wondering if the mixers were still heavy. I wouldn't mind one for my baking.

Yes, they're still heavy and they're still not my brother.

I keep that alien looking mixer(reminds me of the Alien movie), in my appliance garage. When we pull it out of the garage it is an event, but an even bigger event trying to get it back in there - because it is so heavy. I am always afraid that I am going to drop it on my toe(ouch - just thinking about it).

Okay, okay, I dislike the gigantic KitchenAid Stand Mixer and yes I have one too! It doesn't fit anywhere! It has been on the counter. It has been on the shelf. It has been in the back hall by the trash until my husband rescued it because, well, it's THE mixer in his non-cooking, non-baking mind. It's one of those things everyone says "you've got to get one" and you start to think their cookies must be better than your cookies because they have this mixer. Here's a funny thing--my kitchen even has a ridiculous cabinet with a pull out raising platform meant to hold this mixer. Bleeeecccchhhh! Have you ever mixed something on a heavy thing suspended mid air by two weird metal arms? It still shakes. It gets dirty and sticky. There's not a good place to put down the stuff you're trying to add. Just another stupid idea kitchen designers sold people 15 or 20 years ago.

Instead I can now finally admit that I adore my mother's old Sunbeam hand mixer from somewhere around 1978. It still works perfectly even though it's 1978 Sunbeam yellow and doesn't match anything and the speeds are almost unreadable due to rubbing off. It fits in a drawer and I don't get a hernia trying to use it or clean it. It's not heavy. The beaters are fun to lick. It makes the best cookies. I reach for it every time. :)

When I buy things now, I only think about maintenance. Do I want to clean that? Store it? Usually, no, and I go for the simplest option.

Ninigret I like both your kitchens even though I technically "don't like" your contrasting island or your mixers. So what! I bet your cookies taste just as good regardless.

mrykbee....this is funny, because I just had my kitchen cabs installed today and what do you think I have in there? That's right...a mixer pullout thingy! My intention is to use it for my food processor. When I pulled it up and out of its compartment, I said to my builder, "wow, that's pretty shaky", and that was with nothing on it! I am going to learn to LOVE it.

i bake every bit of bread we eat, and a hand mixer just can't do that. (i've got a weird autoimmune arthritis, some days i can hand knead but mostly its the dough hook for me.)

i never could see the sense of the mixer lifts, either.

i like to bake, my husband likes to eat. match made in heaven.

ninigret- I like to eat too;) *wiping drool* that bread looks fantastic. OH and the subway tile is a perfect back drop;)))

ninigret, I use my bread maker on the dough setting to mix my dough. I still do some hand kneading but very little. I rarely use it to make a baked loaf of bread though, except for making stuffing bread at Thanksgiving. It is one of my must have appliances.

margo, i figured if i made my kitchen match my 1870 house, it cant get dated, right? sadly, the look is in style now, i'd have preferred it wasnt. shallow Mythic Future Buyers will say its dated. i'll have to shoo them away. *hands margo a slice of warm rye bread*

functionthenlook (and don't i agree with THAT sentiment!) i do have a bread maker but the capacity is a lot less than the kitchen aid. what i love about it is it can be put anywhere to make some bread, when the kitchen is being used full tilt for other things.

I bought a kitchen aid stand mixer at a garage sale because of high encouragement from a friend. Even as I was lugging the heavy thing home, I was dubious about the purchase. While I don't bake a lot, I have enjoyed using it (French Chocolate Silk Pie requires 15 minutes of beating) when I do. Since it is stored on a pantry shelf and an event to get it out, I have considered installing a mixer pullout thingy. So glad to read these reviews.... I can mark that off my to-do list!

nini, i use the bread maker, i adore them. we love the bread and that we can leave out most salt and sugar. anyone who does not make their own bread the maker is well worthit.

you all hit it on the head those mixers are a guy's idea of the perfect 'tool' . the only one that weighs more is the one the stepdad bought my mom. top of the line in 60s, still works, weighed like 50 lbs. it has a removable top mixer so you could use it as a hand mixer, rather like holding my dog in one hand it weighs a mimimum of 15 lbs. and she is only 5', we had a blender too. sat on a top shelf, where it could be gotten with guy at home. needlesss to say it was not used. when we moved, i covinced him to leave in fl. fine he says, 7 years in he whines about how we need a new one. recently i said ok, redoing the kitchen do you need one now. uh, no.... I like my old hand mixer -80s and my emulsion blender thingee.

This thread is a couple months old, but I'm building a house and every model is white and gray. They are all starting to look alike to me, there was one time we walked in one and realized we had already seen it. That's pretty much the only reason we are building- to do our own finishes. When I re-did my cabinets at my current home we did a maple with a cinnamon stain, I love the "warm" look of stained cabinets but I think my look is out of date, so I'm a bit overwhelmed. I'm starting to look on Pinterest which is totally not my thing.

Gail, I agree, I actually like the grey a lot. But it just feels like any minute now the next best thing is going to make all the gray dated. Although rehab beige stayed for over 20 years...

Don't be shy of quality wood cabinets, I have seen a few of them starting to pop up in magazines and even HGTV

Gail, go with what you love and you will always like it. Don't design to suit everyone else, do it for you.

painted wood furniture and kitchen cabinets. I have a house full of quality Mennonite made solid oak furniture and I love the look of natural stained wood.

We did our kitchen 3 years ago and used stained maple. Love it. Real wood is a warm and classic look.

Warm cabinets are making a come back. I saw some on our local Parade of Homes this year. On the kitchen section of the gardenweb, posters frequently show their finished kitchens and at least a third are stained cabinets.

The designer kitchens are using quarter sawn white oak like in the pic below, but I've also seen maple and also cherry and oak in craftsman inspired kitchens.

A friend of mine has a brand new (probably $80K+) kitchen - rich, medium stained cherry - absolutely gorgeous and timeless!

Another friend, planning to build in the next few months is doing a "dark" stained oak!

auntthelma, I really like the little windows under the cabinets. Bet those are great for extra light and when something gets a bit smokey

Aunt Thelma - lovely cabinets! Thanks for sharing!

Also, I agree with the poster way above about the trend of the offset toilet in its own little room. That is one thing that I'm trying to think of a way we could change in the floor plan of the house we plan to build. The toilet is on the inside wall so we can't add a window to that room. I think I'd feel claustrophobic in there with the door shut. And to the person that made the point of no fan or windows.... yeah... I'm wondering if I should just ask them about leaving the door off that room. My husband and I rarely need to be in the bathroom at the same time anyway.

woodteam - we had to lose a big window to get the cabinets we needed. I didn't want to give up the afternoon light, so I put those windows there. I love them and yes, we do crank them open when it gets smoky in the house. We have a vent fan in the microwave, but the windows help.

Gail, thank you. Like everyone, I looked at white, then at painted blue and decided the house wanted maple. It's an antique Dutch Colonial in Northern New England.

I had to laugh at the ones that posted they don't like word signs in the kitchen like "Eat". I'm sitting below this right "kitchen - heart of the home" sign right now, and 10 years ago (15?) it was cute, but I agree, wall decorations that tell you about family and eating are pretty annoying. We'll be painting soon, so it's on its way out ;) However, back when I put it up it was part of my project of replacing my apple border, so it was a definite improvement, haha.

jhmarie. Thanks for posting the picture of the cabinets. That kitchen looks so beautiful. When I first looked at the pic, I actually gasped. I love the ceiling, the pendants, the wood cabinets, backsplash and windows. If I ever can afford a kitchen reno, this pic will be an inspiration. I havethe post bookmarked...forget how to add the pic to mykitchen ideabook.

day2day - here is the link for that pic. I am not sure why the links aren't coming up - Houzz has another kink to work out.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/art-collectors-transitional-kitchen-jacksonville-phvw-vp~93916891

Here are some others:

Same designer of that first pic:

Different wood:

All the above are in my "wood kitchens" idea book.

Thank you, jhmarie.

I thought I had just forgotten how to add to idea book but you are right...the links are not showing.

I have wood cabinets that were built in the 70s. I kept thinking that someday I would paint them or get more modern new ones. Now, I would like new wood ones or maybe a refinishing done. Unfortunately, the $$$ are needed elsewhere.

I'm sure I'm alone on this one!

Porcelain tile that looks like wood all over the house!

and,,, people who say I shouldn't have a TV in the kitchen or bedroom! haha

day2day - totally understand. My house is from the 70's. Some of the original cabinets I painted and put in the laundry. A few of the the lowers I refinished last year (they had been stored in the garage) and used in my basement kitchenette. While I like the painted in the laundry, I didn't want white in the basement. My main kitchen has late 90's cabinets which I refreshed similar to auntthelma. It is too cloudy and snowy around here for me to paint them white, though I did do everything else in light colors. I also used a "short apron" farm sink that helps blend older "country" with a fresher look.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~93784356

I sometimes consider new doors - more craftsman style, but no plans to make changes at this time.

Here is another refresh of an older kitchen that I think came out really well:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4512247/finally-finished-with-kitchen-updating

Bathroom and bedroom coffee bars! You can't wait to drink your coffee? You can't even wait until you walk to the kitchen?

Also can't stand those Christmas light projectors that so many people have! They make some houses look like a crime scene with blood spatter, and they're EVERYWHERE!

regarding wood tile. no I do not like, not sure how to express, but can we not enjoy tile for what it is? Same with wood? etc. And i spent much time by myself and got use to tv in background. i question the various coffee bars and the light projectors, I think something great might have done, but they went to the least common demonator.

The biggest trend I dislike, is people asking "what's the trend? " I grew up in a family where simply having a roof over our heads and heat in the winter was a big deal. My folks were decent, hard working people, but life was a struggle when I was a kid. The thought of going into massive debt just to have a designer kitchen or bathroom appalls me. Fine, if you've got the money, and it doesnt impact on your kids' college funds, go ahead, but the concept of redoing your kitchen or bathroom every 10 years, as some of the pros seem to think is appropriate, strikes me as environmentally unfriendly, fiscally insane, and morally decadent. Hrmmph.

Hmmmm....I wonder if the pros change their bathrooms and kitchens every 10 years. I have other things to do rather than wondering if my red dining room is out dated, or my BM Cork colored kitchen and family room are not the latest.....PLZ!

jmm1837, I'd like to know who those "pros" are that tell you to redecorate every 10 years??? I redecorate my home room by room when I feel the room needs it (and would never tell a client to change anything unless he/she wanted to). For me that's usually that's every 25 years! If you do what you TRULY love, then you don't get tired of it even if the "trends" change. I happen to love 18th century English and American style, with some early American colonial/primitive thrown in. It's SO OUT right now, but I purchased my very high quality furniture many years ago and have no intention of getting rid of it to keep up with the new trends. I love antiques, and so love authentic distressing on old pieces as well. I actually hate when things get so worn/old/broken that I have to replace them because I love them so much!

Getting back to the original question, there are so many "trends" today, but the one that really gets to me is "transitional" design. What the heck is that? From what are we transitioning? To what are we transitioning? Totally meaningless style designation.

I think the biggest trend i hate are these huge houses owned by faboulously wealthy and the only thing they can think of is to have a sitting and eating area in everyroom with a tv in every other. i see myself running from side to side with my cups of tea trying to get the perfect light or something. large amounts of money are just wasted on some.

Not necessary to waste time and energy worrying about wealthy people "wasting" their own money. Think about it this way - there has to be a certain number of people who are willing to spend their money on new products, or technology, or luxury items, before those things will ever come down in price for the general public to be able to enjoy. But that is part of why we all have cell phones, over sized tvs, smart appliances, higher end finishes in our homes, and endless other things.

I don't care about wealthy people "wasting money." It's their money, after all. I do care about ordinary people imagining that keeping up with trends is worth compromising college funds or retirement investments.

Oddly, one of my experiences with "new technology" - specifically cell phones - was that the growth was driven by poorer countries that didn't have the landline infrastructure, and simply short-cut the investment required for that and set up towers (cheaper to build than laying lines down the street) to deliver mobile phone service. Much of the developing world, has followed that model. You still can't get reliable land lines in a lot of places but boy, everyone has a cell phone.

Oh so true Mary E. I remember when digital watches first hit the market. One of the doctors at work came in after Christmas showing one off. It cost a pretty penny. I few years later you could buy one at the dollar store.

Oh I remember having one of those "reliable land lines"....in North Dakota, following a blizzard, followed by an ice storm, followed by a flood...all in the same week. No phone for 10 days!

My cheeks hurt from smiling while reading this thread. I'm comforted to know I'm not the only one who dislikes many new trends. I've been thinking it's my age. I remember looking at houses many years ago--buying our first house--and wondering why so many older owners had such "dated" houses. Now I know--they still liked it. Now I'm in the same spot. I still love my colonial Williamsburg furniture. I have changed colors several times over the years but my "bones" :) are the same. I choose what makes me smile. Soon we will be listing our house. I hope my stale style doesn't negatively impact the sale.

now what do we think of all these big california houses being sold during these fires? Is it a trend? Do they carry special protection? Or am I just not brave enough?

'big Calif houses being sold during these fires"....'special protection'....what does this mean?

I am trying to understand why you would buy a home in an area, which they just predicted massive fires every month of the year? or is it just me?

I think they are used to "fire season" just like homeowners on the East Coast live with the possibility of hurricanes every year, and in the Midwest deal with tornados. Pick your poison.

The view when the house isn’t actually on fire and the wind cooperates can be amazing.

California has a long history of seeing long years of drought and then torrential rains, of being foolish about how water is obtained/saved/allocated even in the farthest northern coastal reaches, protecting the environment cannot be a policy applied randomly or without thought to future consequences. There are agricultural practices that have been going on over decades which only now do we have the science and knowledge to understand the harm we have been doing. Ground water can’t just be endlessly tapped into with no change to the geology and land, there is also a desert of considerable size that has been there since long before the earliest humans arrived in the Americas, and who knows what the planet has got planned using a time table that takes billions and trillions of years to accomplish - we can count on plate tectonics that move us one millimeter at a time towards the point of Los Angeles eventually being in the San Francisco Bay Area. One thing we do know is that it is geologically impossible for the state of California to break off from the North American plate to slide to it’s watery doom under the ocean or become an island. The whole center of the US was once covered by an inland sea, and the continents have formed supercontinents, broken apart and come together again many times. Oceanic crust that is subducted into the mantle was once massive rock, then becomes smaller and smaller till it is part of the stuff that will turn up as the next mountain chain to be born in a place far from its previous incarnation. And it’s not like anyone alive now is going to be there to see these changes in our planet at the point they will next have been completed.

It depends upon where you are on the East coast for hurricane season. Most East coasters do not have to worry about hurricane season.

we are east coasters musing on the uptick in 'fire season' in CA as our daughter just accepted a job in SF.... her husband's family lives in marin county (north of the golden gate bridge) and i have to say, its so beautiful there i can understand folks who are risk takers not wanting to leave there. but give me a blizzard or hurricane any day, you generally have a 4 day warning before it happens.

Every area has something from Mother Nature to keeps them on their toes. I am a east coast state and we don't worry about hurricanes, fires, tornadoes or earthquakes. Ours is water or exactly sometimes to much water. Our city is hilly with rivers and creeks that are never dry. All homes no mater if it sits on a hill or in the low lands has to take water drainage on their property seriously. What cracks me up is the people who buy homes on the flats close to the rivers or creeks. It isn't a mater of if you will get flooded, but when you will get flooded. Then they get on the news complaining of how their homes flood and demand help. Then why did you even buy a home in a flood area if you can't afford the repairs and replacement from the flooding? The same area has been flooding for centuries. It's your dime, not mine. Engineering can only do so much to reduce the the impact. They will never be able to eliminate it. Mother Nature has her own plans.