Make a Big Splash (in Your Kitchen)

(Kitchen courtesy of MCKB)Janet Ramin - When designing kitchens, plenty of planning and energy go towards choosing the most efficient appliances or the best looking countertops or the most organized cabinets - but what’s often neglected is that wall separating your cabinets and appliances. I started looking into this much more closely since my friend mentioned how bored she was with her kitchen backsplash. 

Now, mind you, her kitchen is relatively new – it's only a few years old, but since she bought a condo, she really didn’t have much choice in the design plan of her kitchen. She had a choice of two wood finishes for the cabinets and a few more with her granite countertop. But that’s it. Some condo owners don’t even get that much.

I viewed her kitchen again – see photo below – and found that the walls really didn’t have much going there. They extended the granite countertop to create a short backsplash and the rest was just painted plaster walls. Time for a makeover!

(Kitchen, courtesy of Maxwell Place)

I headed over to some of my favorite kitchen showrooms in the city to check out what they had to offer for those kitchen walls. At Manhattan Center for Kitchen and Bath (MCKB), I found some very colorful unique kitchen wall treatments. To emphasize their circular theme, MCKB designers used round ceramic tiles of varying sizes as the backsplash for their very mod peephole cabinets (see top photo). In another installation, MCKB uses glass tiles that are designed to look like bamboo. Glass is highly functional as it’s easy to wipe off any liquids or food stains - and additionally, it’s recyclable.

For a very elegant and contemporary style, take a look at this kitchen designed by Regina Bilotta of Bilotta Kitchens. She created her backsplash using copper-backed glass tiles, called Treble, in a very sexy, ogee-shaped tile pattern. The varying hues of copper, ochre, and reds project a warm, inviting glow. She also applied a cream color glass tile for those who want a more neutral color scheme – see both photos below. Both tiles are available from Artistic Tile. 

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Architectural Salvage Yard Heaven

Photo: Nova Colette BronsteinNova Bronstein - As an artist almost always looking to make something from something else, I'm always smitten when I can make it over to Ohmega in Berkeley, CA. This architectural salvage yard has ample supply of inspiration! 

Whether you're looking for items with which to decorate your home or, as I more often do, looking for motif-rich items from which to find reference for my art and jewelry making, you'll find myriad items that catch your eye at this or any other architectural salvage yard. 

Antique Steel Grate: Nova Colette BronsteinSmall items cover door knobs and pulls, skeleton keys, ornamental hardware, all variety of metal placards and plates to medium sized items like plaster sconces, tiffany light fixtures, sinks, and large items like claw-foot tubs, pairs and pairs of french doors, sheets of marble and granite waiting to become countertops. The possibilities are near endless.

When I go to Ohmega, I never know what I'm going to find. Take for example the antique grate pictured (left) for the starting point for a piece or collection of pieces of jewelry. I love to work this way and often reference grate or steel-work when making my jewelry pieces. It's not much of a stretch to imagine interpreting this grate on a smaller scale. Say you shrink down the frame to an inch + half or two inches in length, and make it out of sterling silver or copper wire. The circular or flourish details could become accents out of metal or colored beads... Are you starting to see jewelry pieces taking form?  

Photo: Nova Colette Bronstein

Other times when I go to Ohmega, I find I'm most inspired by combinations of colors I see grouped together. Like with the grouping of rusted steam radiators pictured here. To me the play of tone-on-tone moving through a range of color from dark sienna into cool grays and silvers is particularly compelling. The combination of surface detail and repetition of form in this cluster offer rich fodder for jewelry inspiration. The result of these elements have a particularly urban and stunning effect. Wouldn't you love to have or create a piece of jewelry that pulled from this inspiration? 

Photo: Nova Colette Bronstein

Ohmega salvage is a short trek from both University Avenue and 3rd Avenue shopping areas and stretches into two lots on either side of San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. A salvage yard of this size and as comprehensive as Ohmega never has a shortage of items to ogle, a rare find in this central and urban location.  

Photo: Nova Colette BronsteinNo matter what your goal, Ohmega (or your local architectural salvage yard) offers a stunning array of visual sustenance. And, if, like me, you're interested in jewelry design, you may find that it's easier than you think to find inspiration for jewelry there. Happy designing!

Interested in making some of your own smashing jewelry? As a jewelry design instructor at the Sheffield School in New York, I encourage you to take the matter of making jewelry into your own hands! Check out the newly launched Jewelry Design Course offered at the Sheffield School.  With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any other school in the world.

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