HGTV's Candice Olson will discuss kitchen designs during an appearance in Chicago on Friday at the Merchandise Mart. The event will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Conference Center. Admission is free.

Olson is host of "Divine Design" on HGTV. She also writes the syndicated column "Divine Design," which appears in the Sun-Times Real Estate / Homelife section.

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A Consumer Reports survey gives suggestions on the best appliances, counter tops and flooring.

She attended the University of Calgary, where she simultaneously worked on her bachelor of science degree while traveling the globe playing volleyball for the Canadian National Team. Later, she attended the School of Interior Design at Ryerson University in Toronto.

She has described her designing style as "contemporary modern with a touch of the unexpected."

The Merchandise Mart is at Wells Street and the Chicago River. The event is sponsored by Silestone, a natural quartz by Cosentino.

For reservations to the Candice Olson event, call (773) 523-0203, or e-mail: production@i4designmagazine.com.

Eighty-one percent of women do most of the cooking, while 54 of men usually clean up after cooking, according to a new survey.

Fifty-six percent always eat dinner as a family, while 26 percent always watch television while eating, notes the report by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, which polled 1,009 adults about their kitchens.

The survey also found:

••42 percent of kitchens have a recycling area.

••35 percent have a music system.

••28 percent have an island.

••24 percent have a television.

Consumer Reports is presenting its annual kitchen guide in its August issue. The publication gives suggestions on the best appliances, countertops and flooring with the real-life remodeling experiences of many homeowners.

Also, engineers spent months sizing up refrigerators, running dishwashers, staining countertops, and punishing flooring. Some products impressed, while others fell flat.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center asked 8,000 readers nationwide about their kitchens. One survey focused on subscribers who recently remodeled what worked and what they wish they could do over. Most were highly satisfied with their new kitchens, but almost half had some regrets about the products or pros they chose.

So before you start planning your new kitchen, the magazine notes six things you can do to save money and aggravation.

Plan before you pay:Part of the joy of planning a new kitchen is exploring the options. Keep a running file of appliance picks, paint chips, countertop samples and the like so you can slowly piece together your dream kitchen. The most common regrets mentioned by readers who hired help stemmed from rushing into their remodeling. Eleven percent said they should have done more research, and 12 percent wished they had chosen different materials.

Save green with green:Most readers chose eco-friendly products that save money. For example, 84 percent opted for energy-efficient appliances, 43 percent picked water-efficient appliances and 38 percent used fluorescent lights. Those appliances will cut utility and water bills over their entire lifetime. But just 10 percent put down eco-friendly flooring, and 2 percent installed green counters.

Run a background check: Forty-one percent of readers who hired a contractor reported some problem with their project, including shoddy installation (13 percent), late starts (13 percent), sloppy workers (11 percent) and poor coordination (12 percent). So you'll need to research your contractor.

Be wary of low bids:Homeowners going with the lowest bid found that, while those contractors didn't necessarily go over budget, their workmanship wasn't as good.

Design it yourself: If you will be working within the room's existing dimensions, as 65 percent of the readers surveyed did, you have got a great excuse for avoiding some expensive design fees. Nearly half of all readers who hired tradespeople handled the major design decisions themselves. Most replaced appliances. If you're knocking down walls or drastically rearranging your floor plan, local codes might require input from an architect or a designer.

Say no to pro appliances: As in years past, tests have shown that many kinds of ranges perform well and have stainless-steel styling for much less than the $4,000-plus price tags of the upscale brands.

Build in a cushion:Even the best contractor can't see through walls or ensure that products arrive on time. One in five homeowners who worked with a contractor paid 10 percent more than estimated, and 36 percent of those projects took at least two weeks longer than anticipated. So leave between 10 and 15 percent of your budget for the unexpected and set up a makeshift kitchen with your old fridge and microwave.