I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about what my next home would be like. I’m always dreaming ahead like that, changing my mind along the way, filling in with new products I see on the market and learn about.
The last item I was sure I would want to have in my next home, was an induction cooktop or range. After I visited the Monogram showroom in Chicago for a two day intensive on their appliance offerings, I was sold on induction cooking.
I didn’t want gas anymore as I’ve had a few close calls with an open flame AND the hubs and I both have left a burner on low, on more than one occasion. :-/ Induction has such even and accurate cooking too, it is hard to beat!
I still love induction cooking, but I want induction along with reliable gas. After this big freeze and the power outage, I never want to go without having a gas burner or two in my kitchen.
Gas For Cooking
Our gas cooktop really kept us going. We were able to boil water for coffee, hot chocolate, cook hot meals, and we even kept big pots of water boiling on the cooktop with lids, to create heat in the kitchen. And let me tell you, it worked!
Here’s one of the pots of boiling water we kept on the cooktop to heat up the kitchen. It worked!
My husband cooked us up a big batch of spaghetti on the gas cooktop on one of the frozen nights with no power.
I cannot imagine not having that option when it was so freezing cold.
There are many new products out there today, that feature combination cooking options at the luxury level. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I love dual fuel ranges and marrying gas burners and induction cooking on a single cooking surface really appeals to me.
If you can do a big range, here is a great product from Signature Kitchen Suites Appliances, the 48-Inch Dual-Fuel Pro Range. It has induction, 4 gas burners AND sous vide! I learned about these amazing appliances when I attended a two day workshop in Napa at the beautiful SKS showroom.
SKS also does this in the rangetop version, in either a 36” or 48” unit.
Here are a few pics of this range from their showroom and KBIS 2020.
Signature Kitchen Suites Appliances 48-Inch Dual-Fuel Pro Range with gas burners, induction cooking and sous vide on the top.
Signature Kitchen Suites Appliances 48-Inch Dual-Fuel Pro Range with gas burners, induction cooking and sous vide on the top.
The 36” rangetop from SKS Appliances with 2 gas burner, an induction surface and sous vide, built in.
Thermador has a 48” range as well, with induction and gas burners.
Gas Fireplace For Heat
The other item I would not ever want to risk living without in a future home, and believe me, I’ve often thought about it not really being a necessity here in Texas, is a gas fireplace. That is definitely something we needed when the temps started dropping in my house.
My mother-in-law lost power in her senior living facility and they just let those elderly sit in their apartments in the dark and cold. They don’t have gas anything in those units and most of them don’t have a lot of food or cooking ability as two meals a day are provided by the facility. It was a full night and into the next day before the power came back on over there and then there were rolling black outs (later they had over 24 hours without water because of burst pipes).
I can’t imagine her moving around in the apartment even in the dark, much less being cold all night. She had a flashlight, but the battery was dead and she didn’t have another. She had lanterns but couldn’t remember where they were. Luckily we are nearby and were able to pick her up and bring her to our place.
My mother-in-law cozied up by the fire at our house when we all lost power and the temps dropped so low.
Even though we didn’t have heat, she and I slept in the living room by the fireplace all night, bundled up. It was a better situation for her than staying put, for sure.
My mom’s memory care facility DID have a generator and they were able to keep things running there. Be sure to ask about generators in any senior living situation when you check those out for family members!
Generators To Keep Things Going
I’ve always considered having a generator as kind of a wimpy thing to have, like you can’t get by for a short time without all your creature comforts. :-)
However, we are definitely considering a generator now too, considering Texas’ poor track record on providing power. :-/
We do have a lot of power outages here, because of hurricanes and storms periodically. Generators take gas that you have to fill up to run, so they can be kind of a pain to operate.
Before this cold weather snap, it was tolerable not to have a generator, even though it is usually super hot in hurricane season here and uncomfortable for sure. Usually you lose food in the freezer, etc. The cold, however, and then the burst pipes that cause so much damage, are a bigger problem during winter.
Preparedness is fast becoming the biggest design trend of 2021!
These days we need multiple ways to cook, heat and survive in our homes! Having all eggs in one basket is not a good thing! And having these items built-in, already in place when you need them, is a real form of luxury and piece of mind.
More preparedness items to consider:
Not only the weird weather but the pandemic has affected how I design and how my clients use their homes. Touchless faucets and bidets are becoming a big trend too!
I’ve been thinking about some of the plumbing fixtures I’ve seen come out in the last few years, in the midst of this virus health crisis we are going through.
Some of these would really be handy, in light of current events. See some of these faucets and bidets that I think we should all be considering in the near future!