I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of the celebrity kitchen
designer Stephen Rabinowitz who designed a kitchen for Frank Sinatra??
Tell me if it is just a fluke that she knows, but my mother-in-law
says she used to watch Chef Tell in the 1980s and that was a
Poggenpohl kitchen designed by Rabinowitz that was featured on the
television show. I was looking on eBay for something to give my
husband for Christmas who is a chef and wants to get our home kitchen
redone, especially since he loves Frank Sinatra. He always talks
about how 99% of kitchens are poorly designed and how you can't just
have an inexperienced person at Home Depot or Lowe's design your
kitchen on a computer videogame and expect to get a well thought-out
design....

A hand-drafted design from a famous designer seems so cool. I feel
like I should jump on it before it goes up. The link's below. Any
thoughts???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=23646430 64

Rabinowitz evidently gives speeches all over the world about "ill
conceived kitchen designs." It looks like he will design one person's
kitchen in a while as he is in his 60s now (he studied Frank Lloyd
Wright and Aero Saarinan in the 1950s and onward at Yale I think) and
has attained a
level of success.

It seems like it would be a good Christman gift to get our kitchen
design for my husband because he could work closely with the designer
for a while and get exactly what he wants and then we can actually go
to the more
major expense of the kitchen itself at our leisure. And he can
re-experience the gift every time we are in our kitchen. And on top
of that, I think it would increase the value of the house more to have
a kitchen designed by a famous designer... Any thoughts on that too?

"Famous"? Just because I've never heard of him means nothing, but Google
appears to be strangely silent on this guy ... beware.

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Last update: 9/21/03


"Michelle" wrote in message
I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of the celebrity kitchen
designer Stephen Rabinowitz who designed a kitchen for Frank Sinatra??
?

Like I would pay $4500 bucks to let someone draw pictures (ok cad) of a
kitchen. Give him some tools, tell him to bring the cabinets then I'll fork
over some bucks..........................maybe!
"Swingman" wrote in message
news.com...
"Famous"? Just because I've never heard of him means nothing, but Google
appears to be strangely silent on this guy ... beware.

--
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Last update: 9/21/03


"Michelle" wrote in message
I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of the celebrity kitchen
designer Stephen Rabinowitz who designed a kitchen for Frank Sinatra??
?

David Babcock responds:


Like I would pay $4500 bucks to let someone draw pictures (ok cad) of a
kitchen. Give him some tools, tell him to bring the cabinets then I'll fork
over some bucks..........................maybe!
"Swingman" wrote in message
tnews.com...
"Famous"? Just because I've never heard of him means nothing, but Google
appears to be strangely silent on this guy ... beware.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/21/03


"Michelle" wrote in message
I was wondering if anyone's ever heard of the celebrity kitchen
designer Stephen Rabinowitz who designed a kitchen for Frank Sinatra??

Wonder if Sinatra ever used the kitchen? Kitchen design isn't the most complex
art going. Spending 4500 on that and then going for the extra thousands for
cabinets, appliances, flooring, etc., seems a bit over the top to me.

Charlie Self

"I have one yardstick by which I test every major problem-and that yardstick
is: Is it good for America?" Dwight D. Eisenhower

Charlie Self wrote:

Wonder if Sinatra ever used the kitchen? Kitchen design isn't the most complex
art going. Spending 4500 on that and then going for the extra thousands for
cabinets, appliances, flooring, etc., seems a bit over the top to me.

Charlie Self

"I have one yardstick by which I test every major problem-and that yardstick
is: Is it good for America?" Dwight D. Eisenhower

But then is HWMO is a chef, this might be his equivalent of a PM66 or
somesuch (granted that it would have a 6 speed tranny and a fox tail on
the antenna at that price). The fact that none of us plumbers has never
heard of him means nothing. Is there a designer group like the
architects have that one might consult? High end furniture/appliance
stores often have design services. Perhaps they may have heard of him.

Basically, I say keep looking for a recommendation (or whatever the
opposite is). If money is no object, this might well be the Christmas
present of a lifetime.
mahalo,
jo4hn

"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...

Wonder if Sinatra ever used the kitchen? Kitchen design isn't the most
complex
art going. Spending 4500 on that and then going for the extra thousands
for
cabinets, appliances, flooring, etc., seems a bit over the top to me.

Charlie Self

Definitely an auction for people with more money than brains, and
specifically for those fitting that description who spend little time in a
kitchen. I find that most serious cooks and chefs have very distinct
preferences in style, layout and amenities in their kitchen, and to have
some guy long-distance a pen-and-ink drawing for almost five grand seems a
bit retarded, when you can do it yourself. I am very serious about cooking
and will make the kitchen in my new house the focal point and heart of the
house. I don't need to fight with some yahoo across the country who will
undoubtedly suggest something very strange to me, and pay him to do so.

Of course, there's always your celebrity types who want a well-designed
kitchen for entertaining and don't care what it costs. To them, five large
for a design is peanuts compared to the $150,000 you *could* spend on a
custom kitchen.

--
Jon Endres, PE
Reply To: wmengineer (at) adelphia (dot) net

Believe me when I say that you can and while spend a ton replacing any
kitchen.
After having just done my kitchen, (all the labor by myself I might ad),
what with high end cabinets, new stainless appliances, and hightech
countertops, it still cost me over $30k. The commercial stove cost $3k
alone. Now If I can only teach SWMBO to cook...............actually she's
not that bad, but when we entertain, the utensils are held by me.

Dave

"Jon Endres, PE" t wrote in
message . ..
"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...

Wonder if Sinatra ever used the kitchen? Kitchen design isn't the most
complex
art going. Spending 4500 on that and then going for the extra thousands
for
cabinets, appliances, flooring, etc., seems a bit over the top to me.

Charlie Self

Definitely an auction for people with more money than brains, and
specifically for those fitting that description who spend little time in a
kitchen. I find that most serious cooks and chefs have very distinct
preferences in style, layout and amenities in their kitchen, and to have
some guy long-distance a pen-and-ink drawing for almost five grand seems a
bit retarded, when you can do it yourself. I am very serious about
cooking
and will make the kitchen in my new house the focal point and heart of the
house. I don't need to fight with some yahoo across the country who will
undoubtedly suggest something very strange to me, and pay him to do so.

Of course, there's always your celebrity types who want a well-designed
kitchen for entertaining and don't care what it costs. To them, five
large
for a design is peanuts compared to the $150,000 you *could* spend on a
custom kitchen.

--
Jon Endres, PE
Reply To: wmengineer (at) adelphia (dot) net

At the current price of $300 it's not a bad deal. Unfortunately my
experience with the well known architects is that they tend to tell
you what you want rather ask you what you want.

I would recommend going into a design place that sells cabinets rather
than a big box store that pays Walmart wages. Probably the sales
person is a licensed cabinet designer. Try a couple places until you
find a person you can work with. Your cabinets won't be any more
expensive if you compare apples with apples. I can equal Lowe's on
price, beat them on quality, and blow them out of the water on a
quality installation.

mike

"David Babcock" wrote in message
news:QjRAb.331230$275.1104039@attbi_s53...
Believe me when I say that you can and while spend a ton replacing any
kitchen.

Oh yeah:
Custom cherry cabinets: $26,000
Corian countertops: $ 5,000
Appliances: $18,000
Satisfaction of using it: priceless

We did the design ourselves, but not the work.
One great tip we got from a friend: go with lost
and lost of drawers in the base cabinets. So
only a few of the base units have doors. It
may be less efficient use of the space (but with
a big enough kitchen, we don't miss it), but when
you can just open a drawer and pull a stewpot
out of it, well, I don't miss shelves at all.
--
Dennis M. O'Connor

It would be interesting to know what that breaks down to per linear foot for
both uppers and lowers and a combination thereof?

Thanks.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/21/03



"Dennis M. O'Connor" wrote in message
"David Babcock" wrote in message
news:QjRAb.331230$275.1104039@attbi_s53...
Believe me when I say that you can and while spend a ton replacing any
kitchen.

Oh yeah:
Custom cherry cabinets: $26,000
Corian countertops: $ 5,000
Appliances: $18,000
Satisfaction of using it: priceless

We did the design ourselves, but not the work.
One great tip we got from a friend: go with lost
and lost of drawers in the base cabinets. So
only a few of the base units have doors. It
may be less efficient use of the space (but with
a big enough kitchen, we don't miss it), but when
you can just open a drawer and pull a stewpot
out of it, well, I don't miss shelves at all.