Kitchen and Bath Design News, the premier industry magazine for kitchen and bath designers and industry suppliers, featured 50 top innovators in the kitchen and bath industry in their October issue. Main Line Kitchen Design’s President Paul McAlary was selected as one of these top innovators.
The Bio from the article is below:
Paul McAlary possesses a voice that resonates far beyond the boundaries of Philadelphia’s western suburbs and the city’s prestigious Main Line – the location of his well-established Delaware Valley design firm. McAlary, president and senior designer of Bala Cynwyd, PA-based Main Line Kitchen Design, is an internationally recognized kitchen design authority who has won more than a dozen local and national design awards, including being named a 2017 Viking Appliances Designer of Distinction. Beyond his achievements as a designer, McAlary has also forged a burgeoning reputation as the creative force behind the “Main Line Kitchen Design Blog,” a unique online forum and social media resource that is read by more than 40,000 people each month and has been honored as one of the top kitchen design blogs in the world. Main Line Kitchen Design’s videos and blogs address a wide range of kitchen/bath-related topics aimed at sparking a constructive exchange of ideas among both consumers and design professionals. McAlary, whose kitchens and comments often appear in trade magazines and on social media sites, is sometimes at odds with the kitchen design establishment, but he maintains a distinct sense of humor and is known as a fierce advocate for design standards, ethics and transparency in the kitchen design trade.
Paul being mentioned in an article is refreshing in that he is often a critic of The National Kitchen and Bath Association. So, including him among the innovators is the type of transparency that we appreciate. Giving our customers honest appraisals of our designs and the products we sell even when those appraisals are negative is something we always strive to do.
Hoping our industry and the world in general continues to become more transparent. As always, a hearty . . .
Bon Appetit!
Paul, Julie, Ed, Chris, John, Lauren, Tom and Stacia
Main Line Kitchen Design
6 Replies to “Paul McAlary selected as a Top Kitchen and Bath Innovator”
Betsy Apel
What are the downsides of 15 inch deep cabinets? I only have two 30 inch wide, 42 tall upper cabinets in an L-shaped kitchen (because of wall of windows), and am contemplating making them 15 inches deep. The countertop beneath will not be used as a prep area since there will be an island behind. Thx in advance for your insights.
Also, what is the island size in the Bala Cynwyd kitchen.
ITSAdmin[ Post Author ]
Hi Betsy,
The down side to 15″ deep cabinets would be:
That due to added stress on the cabinets (because the stress from the weight inside a wall cabinet increases dramatically as it gets deeper) that they would fall apart and crash to the floor. This is even more likely with only two wall cabinets because wall cabinets get screwed to each other to spread out the stress, but because you only have two cabinets they might only be supported on one side. Screwing the cabinet to blocking attached to the ceiling would help a lot. Frameless cabinets or poorly made framed cabinets would be a bad choice for increasing cabinet depth.
Keep in mind too that food products are made to fit inside 12″ deep cabinets so cereal boxes, pasta boxes, and other containers that are deep you won’t fit a second row inside the cabinetry. Even soup cans that you might fit 5 deep instead of 4 in some cases will gain you less extra storage than you might have expected.
If you are fighting for storage in a kitchen eliminating gadgets and conveniences like Lazy Susans, mixer bases, roll outs, and pull outs gains you about 25% more usable storage space in each cabinet. But of course, you lose the convenience. Subdividing cabinets into smaller ones to get tray bases, spice pull outs etc also wastes storage. Adding tray dividers over an otherwise difficult to reach 24″deep wall cabinet over a counter depth refrigerator is the most efficient location for cookie sheets, trays, and cutting boards. Extra large appliances could be on your wish list, but besides being much more expensive, in a kitchen fighting for space they might be inadvisable. Wall ovens and cooktops vs a range also eats up space.
Most importantly try to control yourself from making the amatuer mistake of trying to jamb ten pounds of sausage in an eight pound wrapper. Less sensible people ignore space constraints and justify their decisions to overcrowd their kitchen with rationalizations like “we are going to get very small stools for our island” or “my kitchen now is even worse than what I am getting. Bad ideas are bad ideas, even when they are less bad than what came before. It is the size of human beings that determines space requirements, and you get little relief from shallow island countertop overhangs or tiny stools.
Denise Ciangetti
Hi, I wish I lived close enough to work with you in remodeling my kitchen. I live in Babylon, NY
In your list of cabinets for quality and price I didn’t see Echelon Cabinets, previously Armstrong Cabinets. A contractor recommended these cabinets. I have never heard of them. What is your opinion of these cabinets?? I was thinking of going with Kraftmaid. How do they compare ??? I would appreciate any advice you could give me. Thank you.
Denise C
ITSAdmin[ Post Author ]
Hi Denise,
Kraftmaid is a better line than Echelon.
Denise Hotz
Paul, this is so well deserved !! Your design work is Impeccable and your willingness to share your secrets and your views are always a treasure.
My sincere congratulations !!
Denise Hotz
Executive Director
NARI DelChester
ITSAdmin[ Post Author ]
Thanks so much Denise. DelChester NARI is such an exceptional NARI chapter and you are a very big reason why!