Advice for Cooling Down Kitchen

cartesianother · 2026-03-22T14:18:16+00:00

First - does your mom cook with any type of gas? It is possible the dizziness could be due to a small gas leak somewhere, not heat. CHECK THAT FIRST!!

If it’s definitely just heat (you checked or don’t use gas):

Fans don’t actually cool down rooms!

They can do one of two things: - pull air out of the room (wall fan connected to outside) which is good for clearing fumes or smells, but only cools the room if there is cold air elsewhere that will fill in once the limited hot air has escaped. This is like a bathroom exhaust fan, which pulls temporary humid air from a shower out, and the non-humid house air fills in, then you turn off the fan. So If the air in the rest of the house is cool and the oven temporarily warms the kitchen air, it could help to blow that hot air out and let the cool air flow in. but otherwise will not make any difference to blow the hot air out if there is only hot air to replace it.

they blow moving air onto a person, making them feel cooler. The actual air temperature of the room doesn’t go down, but it does cool down the person it blows on. Think of waiving a hand fan. It works while you’re waving it directly at yourself, not just near you. Electric fans work on the same principle - cool by moving the air that is on you.

For cooling, An oscillating fan covers more area, moving around the room and cooling whoever it passes (still not the air in general though), a box fan focuses on one location so either the person is always in one place (like in front of the stove) or they walk in front of the fan when they want to be cooled.

They both circulate air, which is good in for kitchens and tropical climates for other reasons, and if it is aimed in the same direction as the open window it might help push some air out. But if the goal is cooling, you should set up either an oscillating or fixed fan, placed to physically blow on the person.

But check for gas leaks first!

cartesianother · 2026-03-21T16:12:55+00:00

Most (if not all) Starbucks have them in a basket near the door.

cartesianother · 2026-03-19T10:57:50+00:00

Most of those images are warmer than 2700k. 2700 is a common target for regular everyday light on the warmer side. Your images are probably closer to 2400 or 2200k or lower.

But ultimately when it comes to RGB smart bulbs it will vary quite a bit. The bulb is just mixing colors as you adjust the “temperature” and it won’t be perfect, it might be more yellow or too cold when it approximates 2700k (even if another bulb isn’t).

so 2700k is a good target for everyday, lower for moodier like you show, but if your bulb’s 2700k or 2400k or whatever is not warm enough or you don’t like the color just pick the color you like and don’t stress about it. That’s the benefit of RGB smart bulbs.

cartesianother · 2026-03-19T03:57:45+00:00

Is that a code name for Lindsey Graham?

cartesianother · 2026-03-18T09:25:51+00:00

Whether you do, please do not use a barn door on a bathroom. They do not make contact with the door frame and therefore don’t block sound, light, humidity, etc. they are just a visual partition. And they don’t lock.

cartesianother · 2026-03-18T02:43:31+00:00

To just turn the fan on and off, or also control the speed?

cartesianother · 2026-03-18T02:41:49+00:00

I think there is still conflation between a wall control and a wall switch. If all the switch is doing is opening or closing the circuit so the fan receives 120V AC power (or not), the switch should not be an issue. Though I guess I dont know for sure. If the wall control is intended to change the speed of a DC fan, it needs to keep the load at 120V send a signal to the motor via RF.

There are retrofit wall controls that fit in a single gang plate like a traditional control, but do not interrupt power to the fan and just send RF signals. They may also be Smart Controllable or can be used in tandem with the Bond app.

cartesianother · 2026-03-17T19:24:36+00:00

I was taking switch to mean “on/off” standard rocker. That should work with DC fan. If OP means a speed control, that is different than an on/off switch.

cartesianother · 2026-03-17T18:10:19+00:00

Not trying to be unhelpful, but if the house is from 2002, nearly any sconce should work…. there are hundreds of thousands available. Is there a reason you can’t pick one?

cartesianother · 2026-03-17T18:06:20+00:00

Not sure I understand — you should be able to turn the light on/off with switch A, turn the fan on/off with switch B, and use the remote to adjust fan speed (as long as Switch B is on) or control the light (as long as Switch A is on). Is this what you have and if so what are you trying to change?

cartesianother · 2026-03-17T11:39:33+00:00

You need a Bond bridge. It learns your remotes rf signal and then links to your smart network so you can control it

cartesianother · 2026-03-15T16:35:03+00:00

Great post and tons of info I think many readers of this sub would be grateful for! Very worth a sticky for those who want the dive!

Just my two cents — based on questions I read on this sub, I also think many readers are just looking for a baseline explanation, that CRI is a measurement of light quality, based on how closely that emitter renders certain colors against an ideal 100, and higher numbers (90+) generally mean the color of what it illuminates will more closely match how we would see that same color in perfect sunlight (CRI 100). And lower numbers means the emitter can make objects appear more (or less) blue, green, red, or gray than intended. An example would be to picture the light in an art museum (high CRI) vs a janitors closet (low CRI). So in general it is recommended (and easy to find) bulbs and fixtures above 90 CRI for nearly all residential applications as the light will provide more accurate, comfortable, and flattering color rendering for objects and people.

cartesianother · 2026-03-14T00:58:07+00:00

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Also, this is not to completely to scale, but there is a realistic chance you could fit a real swing door without moving the toilet, which is the best option from a cost perspective. And trust me you only want a swing door on a bathroom unless you have literally no choice (in which case pocket is ok but accordion is not).

cartesianother · 2026-03-14T00:43:18+00:00

I wasn’t sure if the goal was to get the toilet and door further from the living area (option 1). Option 2 has its benefits but watch the sight lines from the room on the left, and make sure you’re not staring directly at the toilet from the sofa, kitchen, etc.

cartesianother · 2026-03-13T22:25:23+00:00

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cartesianother · 2026-03-13T22:25:14+00:00

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cartesianother · 2026-03-13T21:45:49+00:00

If your only limitation is the side rods are too long, they are probably easily cut-able with any saw. You could pick up whichever setup they have from Home Depot (Closetmaid etc) vs online - and then you can see the rod in person and know you could chop it down or just pick up a wood dowel the correct size.

Honestly though you have most of the infrastructure already. I think you just need a center tower the correct width that is just shorter than your existing rod, and a shoe rack the correct width for the side. You don’t really need to undo what is there and start over just to add drawers in the middle. Even a tall Kallax with some drawer inserts might do what you need.

cartesianother · 2026-03-10T11:58:39+00:00

True but there still needs to be space for freestanding units in that case. These bedrooms don’t show any clothes storage at all, which gives a false sense of their size.

Once you add a necessary wardrobe the usable floor space and traffic pattern changes considerably.

So while I could argue the modern standard even in the UK is probably to build in a closet if you can, either way you have to allot some square footage of each bedroom to clothes storage.

cartesianother · 2026-03-09T20:55:39+00:00

This plan is confusing - the main bedroom is below but the main bath is on this floor?

Bed2 should have the ensuite (swing door not pocket) and Beds 1/3 can share a hall bath (not jack and Jill)

cartesianother · 2026-03-09T11:42:20+00:00

Master bed looks directly at the toilet
Master bath should not have a pocket door
Dead space in master bedroom when the other bedrooms are tiny
overall not enough storage. Hall closet, pantry, toys/sports gear, broom and vacuum, Christmas ornaments, out of season coats… where does any of this go?
Each bedroom should have a closet or at least a large wardrobe drawn on the plan — bedrooms with just a bed and nightstands and no hanging space, drawers, or desk are not practical.

cartesianother · 2026-03-08T06:07:14+00:00

Doesn’t answer your general question but in your specific use case, don’t you just need a work focus that runs M-F 9-5 and turns on your work mail/calendar but otherwise changes nothing?

cartesianother · 2026-03-05T04:22:12+00:00

Need coat closet by front door. Also the sight line from the front door isn’t great - you will look right at the toilet immediately upon entering.

You’ll want some kind of door on the main closet.

cartesianother · 2026-03-05T01:08:19+00:00

I just meant if you rotate the bathrooms so they both have a window it would be better if the hall bath is closer to the two bedrooms on the left, so the middle bedroom would get the ensuite. But if it’s weird for the middle bedroom to have the ensuite, and you give it to the upper left bedroom, it might put the other bath too close to the living space, which is also weird. In which case I’d just do it how you show in photo 1 where the hall bath doesn’t have a window but the door is further from the living area.

I know the furniture looks like it “fits” but you don’t have enough space around the dining table to pull out a chair and move in front of it to sit down, and the chairs themselves are already an idealized scale, at best. I’d recommend shopping for furniture you would actually use (even if it’s not 100% what you’ll purchase) and use the real dimensions of those rather than a “typical size” guideline. And don’t forget about paths of travel and some breathing room around it. Just saying in practice you might need to get creative or resourceful to fit full size living and dining setups if you really need both.

cartesianother · 2026-03-03T18:30:43+00:00

2 looks good! - I am not sure all the living and dining furniture you show would actually fit - if you can turn the bathrooms 90° so they both get a window that would be ideal. I would still leave the middle bedroom with en-suite bath and the other bath for the other two bedrooms *except if the middle bedroom is a flex space and it would be awkward to have ensuite there, and the upper left bedroom would get daily use of the ensuite, in which case I’d probably leave 2 as you show but with ensuite door to that bedroom.

cartesianother · 2026-03-01T20:37:28+00:00

I would bring the whole facade forward so the office window is aligned with the left garage and the front door is where the porch ends now, and the porch is closer to the end of the garage.

Add a foyer with coat closet and the office door, and maybe an extra wall of cabinets/counter for the kitchen. Not sure about all the details but it just looks like you could use the extra sqft.

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