KraftMaid® Cabinetry Takes Center Stage in Rockefeller Plaza for 5th Annual House Beautiful "Kitchen of the Year"

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- KraftMaid Cabinetry joins House Beautiful magazine to bring the latest kitchen trends to life through the 2012 Kitchen of the Year in New York's Rockefeller Plaza. Through its partnership with House Beautiful, KraftMaid demonstrates how homeowners can achieve a custom look without breaking the bank. The public is invited to experience the beauty, style and flexibility of KraftMaid cabinetry through the lens of Mick De Giulio, one of the very best kitchen designers in the industry. The 1,000-square-foot fully-functioning Kitchen of the Year is open to the public July 16–20 and will serve as the backdrop for culinary demonstrations, design trend presentations and interactive programs for design enthusiasts throughout the week.

"The Kitchen of the Year showcases the best of kitchen design and inspires homeowners with ideas they can bring into their own home," said Kate Thompson, lead KraftMaid designer on the project. "The beauty of KraftMaid is its flexibility, superior quality and vast selection so homeowners can achieve a similar look, or one that is all their own."

The cabinetry in the 2012 Kitchen of the Year exemplifies KraftMaid's style and design leadership and product innovation. Whether designing a high-end kitchen for entertaining or an intimate space for family gatherings, KraftMaid offers homeowners virtually thousands of options to choose from when designing their own space.

Cabinetry Sets the Stage for Kitchen of the Year

The Kitchen of the Year represents transitional style. One of the highlights of the space this year is the Butler's Pantry, featuring Dove White painted Sedona, one of KraftMaid's most popular cabinet door styles, with glass doors and matching interiors. The surrounding kitchen has a dynamic look with varying heights of cabinetry, incorporating Slate stain. These provide a stunning contrast and pair well with the polished nickel hardware and accents throughout the space.

La mattina, which is Italian for "morning," is a breakfast preparation area located in the main kitchen. The sink base in this section of the kitchen is KraftMaid's innovative CoreGuard™, made of an engineered polymer designed to help safeguard cabinets against minor spills and make clean up easier. CoreGuard™ also helps protect the kitchen investment from minor plumbing leaks that commonly occur under the sink.

All KraftMaid cabinetry features the new Whisper Touch™ System, so the cabinet doors and drawers close softly and quietly every time. Unlike other silencing devices, the soft-close feature is integrated into the mechanism, resulting in a cleaner overall appearance when the door is open.

"We're so proud of our partnership with KraftMaid in creating dream kitchens on Rockefeller Plaza for four years now," said Kate Kelly Smith, SVP, publishing director and chief revenue officer of House Beautiful. "Every year our kitchen expresses a precise and distinct design environment. KraftMaid has the depth of product and the design experience to bring to life the visions of America's top designers and chefs, as well as homeowners who draw inspiration from the kitchen."

Beginning Monday, July 16, through Friday, July 20, the Kitchen of the Year will host non-stop presentations on the most influential design trends, interactive programs with designers, craftsmen and lifestyle leaders, and up-close culinary demonstrations from an incredible array of celebrated and innovative chefs. The Kitchen of the Year is located on the North Plaza Block of Rockefeller Plaza (50th and 51st Streets, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues) and will be open to the public daily. For a full list of the week's events, visit housebeautiful.com/KOTY.

Follow the onsite events through KraftMaid Cabinetry's social media channels—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the KraftMaid By Design blog, and Pinterest—and find inspiration and tools to help design a kitchen of any style and budget on KraftMaid.com.

About KraftMaid

KraftMaid leads the semi-custom cabinetry industry in innovative product design, offering the flexibility to create a space the perfectly fits any lifestyle and budget. With a robust collection of more than 150 trend-on door styles and more than 70 furniture-quality finishes, KraftMaid helps customers create the home of their dreams. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and manufactured by Masco Cabinetry, KraftMaid brand cabinetry is backed by a limited lifetime warranty. For more information, visit www.kraftmaid.com.

About House Beautiful

House Beautiful is the leading authority on American home design and decoration, reaching more than seven million readers every month.  Founded in 1896, House Beautiful is the oldest continuously published shelter magazine in the United States.  In May 2012, House Beautiful won the American Society of Magazine Editors award for General Excellence in the Lifestyle Magazines category. In addition to its U.S. flagship, House Beautiful publishes two editions abroad.  Readers also can interact with the brand digitally on House Beautiful mobile (m.housebeautiful.com) and through e-editions on Zinio, iPad, B&N Nook and Kindle Fire. House Beautiful is published by Hearst Magazines, the largest publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. (ABC 2011), which reaches 82 million adults each month (Spring 2012 MRI). Follow House Beautiful on Twitter at @housebeautiful.

About de Giulio kitchen design

de Giulio kitchen design has two Chicago area showrooms, including one at LuxeHome in Chicago's Merchandise Mart. The company was founded by Mick De Giulio over 25 years ago and is internationally recognized for innovative interior architecture and product design for kitchens. In addition to designing an extensive array of signature products under the de Giulio Collection label, Mick De Giulio has designed several best-selling product lines for the German kitchen cabinet manufacturer SieMatic, and a collection of sinks for Kallista (a Kohler company) which includes the Multiere, named Best of Year 2011 by Interior Design magazine.  Mick is a frequent speaker at industry events, his work has been extensively published both nationally and internationally, and in 2010, his first book, Kitchen Centric was released by Balcony Press. For more information on de Giulio kitchen design, visit www.degiuliodesign.com.

About Tishman Speyer

Tishman Speyer is the co-owner and manager of Rockefeller Center, the world-famous real estate, shopping and dining complex in the heart of midtown Manhattan.  Rockefeller Center is the site of numerous public exhibits and events, including large-scale installations of public art by world-renowned artists including Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons and Jonathan Borofsky. Tishman Speyer has earned a worldwide reputation for innovative utilization of public art in its signature commercial properties, which include Rockefeller Center and Chrysler Center.  Tishman Speyer is committed to the preservation and restoration of Rockefeller Center and the historic Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center, one of New York's top attractions.  Each day an estimated 350,000 people visit the Rockefeller Plaza complex, which during the holidays is home to the most famous Christmas Tree in the world.

SOURCE KraftMaid Cabinetry