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Expert Advice from Home Builder Bob Dunn For most people, there is nothing like walking into a kitchen full of big beautiful appliances.

Bob Dunn is the owner of R. P. Dunn Contracting, Inc., a builder of high-end custom and luxury homes in Prescott, AZ.

The 60-inch Wolf range, with its flashy red knobs, or the beautiful burgundy finish on the Viking 36-inch double ovens are, without a doubt, eye catchers. Though it is true that the “big guys” get the excitement started, it is more often than not, the “little guys” that keep the excitement and interest going.

As a custom home builder, it has always been intriguing to watch what really piques my customer’s interest. The big appliances are corner stones in any luxury kitchen. What is a kitchen without a cook-top, oven, and dishwasher? But integrating the smaller, more obscure appliances into a kitchen is what makes that kitchen one’s own.

The under-counter wine cooler is perfect for the wine enthusiast who cares enough about their wine not to just stick it in the refrigerator. The Fisher & Paykel dishwasher drawer is a definite conversation piece. You can stack them to look like a standard dishwasher but only use one drawer at a time, or you can separate them and put one on either side of the sink and wash your crystal glasses in one and your Tupper Ware in the other. How about adding a pot filler at the stove so that you can fill your pasta pan where you are going to cook it instead of having to get a helper to carry it from the kitchen sink. The warming drawer keeps your pancakes warm on Sunday morning. The smaller house hold may opt for refrigerator drawers that mount under the counter instead of a standard refrigerator. Whether it is a coffee center or IceBox television under the counter, the list of small intriguing products goes on.

Though my primary focus has been the kitchen, it cannot go unmentioned that the number of products and gadgetry for the whole house is amazing. The home is no longer a bunch of walls with ceiling fans as the biggest piece of technology that exists. There are now a number of appliances and electronic items that can make any home a veritable technological playground. The laundry room has washers and dryers that are now twice as big and twice as effective, saving both time and energy. The family room can house an 80-inch retractable projection television screen that, with a touch of a button, rolls away into the ceiling. Its side kick, the plasma screen television, can hang on the wall like a piece of art, and for most men and women too, this piece of art is better than any Picasso. The nucleus of your new technology playground is the whole house network system; it keeps all of your electronics working together. With the inclusion of a structured wiring system, your television, computer and audio systems can work together to make your home run like a well-oiled machine.

With the continued technological advances that the appliance and electronics industry continues to make, there will be no shortage of fascinating products to aid in the desire to make your home and especially your kitchen your own. As a custom home builder or a customer interested in future resale, there is nothing better than a home that has had some thought put into it to take advantage of current and future advances in technology. Of course, the kitchen will always remain the heart and soul of the home, and with a beautiful, custom kitchen with thoughtful design and quality products installed, it will surely catch the buyer’s eye. More Editorials