Sub-Zero & Wolf

 I recently had the opportunity to visit the Sub-Zero & Wolf factories and headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin with a group of designers from the Southeast and wanted to share my experience about what I learned and saw with you. First, who is Sub-Zero & Wolf? They are a family owned, American company that designs and manufactures luxury cooking and refrigeration appliances. Westye Bakke founded the company in 1945 and invented the technology to store foods at below freezing temperatures. That’s where their refrigeration company gets the name, Sub-Zero. They are known throughout the industry for their innovation and quality. It is not unusual to find a 20 year old refrigerator still running well in kitchens around the world. It’s difficult to get most refrigerators to last 5 years these days let alone 20 years! They then added the Wolf brand to the company with cooking appliances and have just launched their dishwasher brand, Cove.

During my visit to the factory, we got to see first hand the production of cooktops, ranges and refrigerators. The factory floor was so clean and organized. Their turnover rate of employees is very low and they have many second generation employees working there. That’s a testament to the excellent work environment and benefits that the company provides. We also visited the testing and research and development departments. It was incredible to see the very in depth testing and quality checks that each appliance goes through to ensure that a quality product is shipped to each client.

We also had the opportunity to cook on all of the appliances in their fully functional on site kitchen. That was great fun! It was nice to have hands on experience with each of the appliances to fully see how they work and what some of the best applications are. We learned in depth about induction cooking and steam ovens.

It was great connecting with other designers but also learning about these great appliances and all the options they offer for our clients and different applications. Oh, and they had lots of great food for us to enjoy! Have any questions? Email me at jessica@webbercoleman.com

Polished Nickel vs. Polished Chrome

One question that often comes up when selecting plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware or light fixtures is should we use a polished chrome finish or a polished nickel finish? Today we will explore the differences and when you should choose one over the other.

Polished chrome is generally less expensive than polished nickel. It used to be easier to find, but today most things are also available in polished nickel. Polished chrome has more of a grey, cool undertone while polished nickel has more of a gold, warm undertone.  Generally when using cool grey paint colors and white Carrera marble, you would want to use a polished chrome finish. If you are using warmer cream toned paint and Calcutta gold marble, polished nickel would work better.

Do you need to match every finish in a space? That’s a big question for another day, but no, your cabinet hardware, faucets and light fixtures don’t all have to match. You can easily combine a polished chrome faucet with brushed nickel hardware or polished nickel with other oil rubbed bronze accents. I love the look of a bright and shiny faucet. There’s something just so clean and fresh about it.

So before you select polished nickel over polished chrome, take a moment to evaluate the other colors and finishes in the space. You may find that polished chrome works best…and you can save a couple of bucks. Questions? Email me at jessica@webbercoleman.com. I’m always happy to answer questions or give you further information.