Kitchens and bathrooms are by far the most important rooms in the house when it comes to remodeling, selling and buying. Interest in these highly specialized and technical areas of the home gobbles up a huge portion of HGTV and DIY Web sites, and is a specialty among designers like me.

Put simply, an induction-cooker element ("burner") is a powerful, high-frequency electromagnet, with the electromagnetism generated by sophisticated electronics in the "element" under the unit's ceramic surface. When a good-sized piece of magnetic material such as a stainless steel skillet is placed in the magnetic field that the element is generating, the field transfers ("induces") energy into that metal.

In hopes of avoiding the last minute scramble to try and make the virtually impossible happen for a client, I wanted to provide a post on basic tenant fit-out costs in NYC. We want our potential clients to be armed with the proper information to plan wisely, from both a timing and a budget standpoint.

I had never been to the USVI before, and as I was in awe of their beauty, it got me thinking about inspiration from nature. Living in the Urban Jungle, winter in New York can literally be black and white. But as I commonly think of "natural" colors as being fairly neutral, my surroundings on St. John were anything but. The islands inspired me to think of color in an entirely new way, and to add a dose of tropical inspiration to my designs as we venture into the long winter ahead!

Which got me thinking...Although it's never an exact science, there are a few guidelines we can use to determine what your project will end up ROUGHLY costing before even beginning the design.

A Certified Interior Designer (CID) licensed in New York plans, designs, supervises and/or consults on various aspects of interior spaces including: * layouts and planning of interior construction * furnishings and fixtures * cabinetry, lighting and finishes * other aspects of interior construction not materially related to the main structural building components or systems To safeguard people and property, certified interior designers incorporate construction, fire, safety and accessibility codes and data into their design services.

Is the designer qualified to practice? Make sure the interior designer is properly licensed by New York State. Ask your Designer for their NYS license number or go to the New York State office of Professions to check if the designer is on the list.