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October 2015 | KitchenBathDesign.com | 41 SENIOR DESIGN PROFESSIONAL BOWA MCLEAN, VA Storage trends/philosophies: "People want to have less cluttered counter- tops, so they want to tuck away items like stand mixers, toasters, etc. That requires designers to come up with creative solutions that hide them but still keep them accessible. "Roll-out shelves make such a diference for storing items in base cabinets, as well as in pantries. An- other alternative is an appliance garage, which has evolved from the 1980s connotation. Now doors can be aluminum, and they can swing out, pocket in, or tip or lift up. There are so many more hardware options available that we can be creative and our clients can leave appliances on the counter behind doors so they aren't a cluster of small appliances that makes the space feel cluttered. "The DC area is also very tra- ditional and very transient. People come and go and, when they remodel, they have to consider reselling their home so they don't tend to go way out. Because of that, and because of the formal nature of the homes in this area, we don't see many open shelves. But I do see people putting glass doors on upper cabinets, whether or not they want to display anything." Most difficult storage challenges: "The kitchen has become the drop zone. It's where kids do homework and where people pay bills. That can create problems related to paper, so I am putting in more document storage, whether it's fle drawers, a series of small drawers or cubbies. So much can be done on the go these days…mail can be sorted and bills paid while cooking, so the kitchen desk has evolved into a miniature home ofce. "The kitchen is also a 'family' room, so I might include a television or speakers for Sirius or Pandora, although putting electronics in the kitchen is really a mixed bag for my clients. But, for those who do have them in the kitchen, there are ar- chitecturally decorative electrical accessories to accommodate them." Favorite storage element: "Concealed trash cans and recycling bins in a cab- inet may be considered accessories, but they are must-haves for me. I've also been doing more cutlery dividers in drawers and, at the sink, I always try to have a tilt-out with bins. Roll-out shelves are also key where anything is deeper than two rows. I also like tray dividers that allow you to store cookie sheets and cutting boards. All of these are part of a basic kitchen for our designs. "About a year ago, one of my de- signs had a very deep drawer in a base cabinet. To keep items acces- sible, we split the drawer into two shallow drawers accessible behind one drawer front. Shallow drawers are great for storing things like serv- ing platters, mufn tins and cooling racks. When drawers get too deep, you end up stacking everything and it is difcult to get to what is at the bottom. That is really the beauty of accessories…they keep things within reach. It is our goal to make the cook- ing experience more fun and easy." Favorite storage tip: "Take the time to plan properly. It might mean long meetings and taking inventory. But then you can account for everything and make sure storage is adequate. Although aesthetics are often what drive people into doing a remodel, storage plays such an important role in how the kitchen functions, more so than what the cabinet doors look like. And, these days, we can enhance the aesthetics with proper storage. "Spending time in the planning stage also forces you to look at the details. It's not always fun, and it can be tedious, but it's so rewarding at the end when the client says the kitchen is the best area of the house. That's why I do what I do. However hard or long those meetings are, they are all worth it when clients are happy." To keep small appliances hidden yet readily accessible, Valery Tessier likes to use appliance garages, which are available in a number of diferent materials. In this kitchen, frosted sliding panes conceal the homeowner's small appliances. Photos: Bob Narod Photography