Kitchen Archives - 12thBLOG

Bright colors stimulate the part of our brain that is responsible for creativity, for thinking up new ideas. Without a doubt the color schemes in our kitchens play a role in our lives. You will find brightly colored kitchens where the relationships are strong and warm, where all members of the household have a good sense of humor, express a positive attitude, and are active and friendly.

The combination of bright colors not only creates a special atmosphere in your kitchen, but also reveals the host’s character. Even though the use of intense colors demands not only stretching of one’s imagination but also exhibiting a prudent, cultured approach. But above all don’t be afraid to try bold experiments!

1. Rainbow colors
Enthusiastic eccentric and daring personalities will adore bold colors. Combining all colors of the rainbow into the kitchen cabinet veneers, accessories and even walls will come together so nicely. This design approach would suit perfectly well-lit rooms with less furniture/clutter; spaciousness is the key for this scheme to work perfectly. To finish the image it is best to use an area lighting scheme.

2. Make an accent
For those who are the “Type-A”, always-in-control person as regards major decisions but are not into flamboyant design, I would advice to make more subtle accents on just one or two of the walls. You may either paint or wallpaper. Still there are other possible ways for wall decorations. You can choose between posters, amazing wall decals, stickers for kitchen furniture and colorful wall murals. The open shelves on walls instead of traditional wall hung kitchen cabinets with doors, will highlight your ingenuity and imagination as well.

3. Bright Floor
In kitchens where light walls must dominate and you have more subdued furniture, try adding zest to the environment by installing a mosaic or solid color tile floor that will enhance the room ambiance and yet be a nice complement to the rest of the decor. Other options can be splashy linoleum or wood or imitation wood laminates that can offer amazing contrast to the subdued walls. There is a wide choice of floor materials nowadays. You will want to consultant with flooring professionals about the pros and cons, taking into account the general age of the building and the current condition of the kitchen floor. After choosing the material (tile, wood, linoleum, etc.), look through the different manufacturers. They offer wide range of colors, styles and grades of material. These days all of your wildest ideas can be brought to life.

4. It’s all about accessories!
Plates, cups, glasses, hot pads, vases, flowerpots, books, spoons, scales, clocks, figurines, bottles, napkins, etc., all can do amazing things to colorize a room. Bold details will help to change the mood of interior design especially if you are still not determined about the color. You can easily change them any time not wasting too much money and they will help you define appropriate color.

5. Go green!
The green color in your kitchen design will create a positive mood and atmosphere. It is a color of nature, harmony, relaxation and evenness – not humdrum but alive yet tranquil. And know that it always stays in style. If you are eager to make your kitchen more creative use different shades of green. If you are afraid it will be too much, just combine green with another color. But trust me, there cannot be too much or too little of this color. In addition, scientists believe that light green shades and colors in eating area allow you to eat right and you will be full after small portions.

6. Make a contrast
Using a combination of contrasting colors in the interior of the kitchen, you need to be extremely cautious. For in this case, you risk making the kitchen design too aggressive or not in the best taste, where it becomes garish and out of control due to “over-coloring” In this case the room is not bright and interesting but is causes visual overload for all who come into the room. So avoid the flashy over-colorizing.
As in relationships where opposites attract, the combination of opposite colors in the spectrum can be a great decorating idea. This kind of high-contrast kitchen decor looks stylish and fashionable. The point of reference when modeling the kitchen design should be furniture. It has to be darker than the walls and lighter than the floor.

7. Gadgets
Still not ready for bold decisions? Not a problem! Give zest to your kitchen with the help of stunning accessories (the toaster, the blender, the coffee maker or kettle) can be matched to achieve something amazing to the eye. Nowadays famous brands provide wide range of colorful appliances.

8. Enduring Designs
One of the most fashionable and tasteful designs over the years has been the French Country Kitchen and speaks to all the facets of designing a beautiful kitchen. It is all about color that will make your time spent in the kitchen among the happiest. This style of kitchen is all about open cupboards, high contrasting color and unbelievable style where your imagination can run wild as these two examples illustrate.

9.Coordinating/Matching Colors
White – combines the best with blue, red and black
Beige – Fits blue, brown and white
Gray – boring color that nevertheless, is the perfect base. It goes well with dark pink, red, purple and bright blue
Pink – this color suits brown, white, olive, gray, turquoise
Red – blends perfectly with the yellow, white, green, blue, gray and black
Brown – with bright blue, cream, pink, green, beige
Orange – with purple, blue, dark blue, violet
Yellow – blue, dark blue, purple, black, gray
Green – comes with a golden brown, yellow, black, light beige
Blue – with white, red, gray, yellow, orange, pink,
Dark blue – suits the purple, red , green, orange, yellow
Black – universal elegant color. Looks good with all the colors. Best combines with orange, pink, green, white, red and yellow.

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15 Essential Kitchen Tricks and Tips

TheMan — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 01:34:12 +0000

We all know that cooking is a tricky thing sometimes. Women spend a lot of their time preparing food, but very often they just waste time. Because there are a lot of tips and tricks that can make our life easier. You’ll be surprised how these tricks can simplify your daily life.

1. How To Keep Vegetables Fresh

You’re a fan of healthy eating and buy a lot of vegetables. So you know how it’s hard to keep vegetables fresh for a long time. One little trick- put paper towels on the bottom of the vegetable box. Towels will absorb moisture and vegetables will stay fresh longer.

2. How to Keep Your Greens Fresh Longer

Don’t leave greens in produce bags, put them in plastic tubs with paper towels. Also you can put greens in vacuum packages and put them in a freezer. Don’t pre-wash greens and they’ll stay fresh for a long period of time.

3. Freeze Leftover Sauce

Have you ever thought about this? It’s just a simple idea but really useful. You don’t need to pour the leftover sauce, just freeze it. And you’ll have a sauce every time you need! You can make the same with coffee and then put coffee ice cubes in a cup of milk and get a tasty cocktail.

4. How To Keep Ice Cream Soft

If you don’t want to wait and like soft ice-cream, this trick is for you! Take a plastic freezer bag, put an ice-cream, push out air from the bag and put it in refrigerator. Ready!

5. Make Your Own Yogurt Pops

No, you don’t need to cook it. You need 5 minutes, yougurt and popsicle sticks. Put sticks in yougurts and put them in a freezer. There you go!

6. Peel Ginger With A Spoon

Ginger skin seems tough, but you can easily take it off with a spoon. Leave your knife and try this method!

7. Opening Jars Easily

Now you don’t need to ask your man or wait for him to get home from work to help you with jars. Take rubber kitchen gloves and see how easy it is. Don’t let a jar piss you off ever again!

8. Wooden Spoon Trick

It seems unreal, but it’s a proven method. Just put a wooden spoon across the top of a pot and it’ll prevent water from boiling-over.

9. Save an Oversalted Dish

Don’t get upset if your soup is oversalted, it’s easy to solve this problem. Take a piece of a raw potato or apple and leave the soup cook for 10 minutes. Potato and apple will absorb the excess salt. If a soup is too salty-add a spoon of sugar or apple vinegar.

10. How To Decrystallize Honey

Your honey crystallized and you’re thinking about buying a new one. Don’t hurry. There is a simple way to decrystallize and eat this sweet dessert again. Just heat it in a microwave for at least 30 seconds-and the result will surprise you.

11. How to Keep Champagne Bubbly

Don’t hurry to throw away a bottle of champagne if bubbles have gone flat. There is a little secret – add one or two raisins in a glass and the champagne will make bubbles reappear again like magic. Cheers!

12. How to Prevent Bananas From Browning

You know how fast bananas can spoil and after this you’re making banana bread. But there is a simple way that you can prevent these fruits from browning. Buy a bunch of bananas and keep them this way, don’t separate these fruits until you want to use them.

13. How To Save Your Cheese

So there are a lot of cheese left after a wine party with your friends. The best way is to freeze this delicacy. It should be wrapped tightly. When the cheese must be served, defrost it a day before.

14. How To Combat Meat Toughness

If you want your steak to be more tender, just add vinegar, beer or lemon juice. Meat will be more soft and tasty as well.

15. How To Prevent Pasta From Hardening

If you cook more pasta than you can eat, put the leftovers in a sealed plastic bag and then refrigerate. The day you want to serve it – boil pasta for a minute and you get a ready and tasty dish again. Bon appetite!

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Make a Face Mask With Just 4 Ingredients From Your Kitchen

TheMan — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 22:58:51 +0000

When it comes to Fall beauty, pumpkins have obviously stolen the spotlight. While we love that great orange gourd, there are so many more delicious scents and ingredients that deserve a little love this season. After all, pumpkin isn’t the only Fall-forward ingredient with beauty benefits. We’re huge advocates of all things cinnamon (it’s just so festive!), and our friends at all-natural beauty brand S.W. Basics feel the same way.

If you haven’t tried the Brooklyn-based beauty brand, you’re missing out. Each product consists of just a few simple ingredients, making it easy and fun to customize each formula, so it’s right for your skin care needs. The body scrub is literally good enough to eat . . . yes, we tasted it (more than once). S.W. Basics whipped up a custom face mask just for us, using just a few things you can find in your kitchen. Trust us, the mixture smells amazing, but the glow you’ll get after using it is even better. Bonus: you can double the recipe to use it as a body scrub. The caffeine in coffee grounds works wonders on sagging, lackluster skin.

Here’s all you need:

1 heaping tablespoon leftover coffee grounds
2 tablespoons ground oats or S.W. Basics exfoliant
1 heaping tablespoon creamed honey
1-2 generous shakes of cinnamon

Combine antioxidant-rich coffee, exfoliating oats, blemish-fighting honey, and skin-brightening cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir until a paste forms, then carefully pat the mixture onto your skin (no rubbing!), taking care to avoid contact with your eyes. Leave on for up to 20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. Bask in your fresh-faced, luminous, “I just got back from a brisk jog amongst falling leaves” glow. If you have sensitive skin, reduce the amount of cinnamon or omit entirely — you’ll still get radiant results.

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Kitchen Gadget

TheMan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:16:06 +0000

Source

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