Kitchen Cabinets of Every Color in the Crayon Box
It used to be that kitchen cabinets came in two choices: natural wood or all white. Well, those days of dull, boring kitchen cabinets are a long-lost thing of the past. Today’s finest kitchen cabinet manufacturers are offering the same durable and high-quality wood species homeowners have come to expect but with a colorful twist: finishes in every hue of the rainbow … and then some!
Just ask the Wall Street Journal, which recently ran an article titled “Kitchens by Crayola: Cabinets, Appliances Offer More Ways To Make a Loud Personal Statement.” Therein, instead of naming this season’s hottest kitchen cabinet hue, the author asserted there is none. In fact, today’s color trend is in the eye of the individual kitchen owner.
The article elaborated on this prediction by stating, “This year, more manufacturers are offering dozens and, in some cases, hundreds of vibrant color finishes, (thereby) making for some eye-popping kitchen conversation pieces. The message to consumers is: Make a bold individual statement with color.”
It went on to point out that “According to Becky Spak, senior designer at Sherwin-Williams and a director of the International Color Marketing Group, which selects the palettes manufacturers use to coordinate products throughout the home, people are tired of ‘dirtied down’ colors and (are) open to bringing the eye-popping hues now seen on cars and fashion runways into their homes.”
Fire-engine red, Nordic blue and pumpkin were some of the specific colors cited, but even if you are not the loud, statement-making type, you’ll find much to cheer about when it comes to the current crop of kitchen cabinet color choices.
For example, kitchen cabinet glazes add shimmer and glow to the wood surface with just a subtle touch of color. Available in luscious options like bisque, butter rum, cashmere, vanilla bean, pewter, porcelain, patina, amber, chicory, malt, ginger, wedgewood blue and garnet, they are visually appealing without being too overpowering.
For those who want the full-on color treatment, however, kitchen cabinet manufacturers are not disappointing. Full paint palettes that include such enticing hues as praline, caramel, sunset, cabernet, autumn blush, peppercorn and onyx are also lending vibrant pizzazz to today’s kitchen cabinets.
The Wall Street Journal cautions that such Crayola creativity in the kitchen will cost the homeowner, in some cases dearly. By way of example, it mentions SieMatic. In 2006, this German kitchen cabinet manufacturer “began offering 1,950 color options for its lacquered flat-panel kitchen-cabinet systems, for an extra $5,000.”
Cost-conscious homeowners, however, are beginning to see more and more affordable manufacturers of kitchen cabinets offering up a color full feast of kitchen cabinet finishes. Some of the most renowned online kitchen cabinet retailers, in fact, include a wide array of color finishes in their current crop of kitchen cabinet options.
Move over, Crayola! Leave the crayons to the kiddies and let the adults do some imaginative coloring of their own in the kitchen. In this case, writing on the walls-or the cabinets, as the case may be-is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!
Use a Proper Kitchen Tile Design For Your Kitchen
Would you love the tiles of your study room to be messy and look separate from the rest of the study? Nobody in their right senses would like that. The housewife spends a considerable amount of her time in the kitchen preparing various delicacies for you and your family. Hence it is reasonable that the kitchen tile design of her domain should be pleasing and should provide her with comfort as long as she is in the cooking room. Properly selected tiles should merge themselves with the kitchen and should not be loud. When you go for selecting tiles that will be used to cover the walls of your kitchen, it is best that you take your wife along, for it is she who has to spend the maximum number of hours in the kitchen.
Selecting tiles for the kitchen is very difficult. Kitchens are not like all other rooms and certain parts of their walls, especially those that are near the over and burners will be subjected to a lot of heat. Hence one needs to select tiles that can withstand heat without expanding too much. Then there are the porosity factors. Regardless of the exhaust and the chimney that you use in your kitchen, there will be oil fumes and they will eventually deposit themselves on top of the tiles. In these cases properly selected tiles help a lot. They will ensure that you do not have problems while cleaning your kitchen tiles. You should know that the walls of your kitchen are probably the ones that take the maximum abuse.
Spill over spill outs adhere themselves on the walls and unless the tiles are stain-resistance, you shall be facing a tough time cleaning them. Do not use a single color for the tiles of your kitchen. Mix them up judiciously so that they brighten up the environment of the kitchen. There are many different types of tiles that are available for the kitchen and they come in various colors. Visit more than one shop to ensure that you can get the best tile available for your kitchen. If you have problems understanding the type of tiles required in the kitchen, just take a glance through many illustrated books on kitchens. They will help you have an idea about the type of tiles that you can use.
There are some tiles that are chemically inert and these are recommended for use in your kitchen. Use a combination of colors that gel with the floor of your kitchen and also the ovens and other equipments you have in your kitchen. If all of this is confusing you, why not consult an interior designer? They might charge some consultation fee, but their expertise will assure that the kitchen tile design that you select for your kitchen is soothing to the eye and will help to lift your spirits during your sojourns to the kitchen. You could also use some decorative tiles to brighten up your kitchen.
Remodeling Your Kitchen In The French Country Kitchen Design
You do not have to be in France to achieve a French look in your kitchen. This type of design comes from the south of France in Provence. It offers a simple, practical, and elegant style. There is fun and easy ways to transform your area into a beautiful European kitchen.
If you want to extensively change your whole kitchen, you should start with the colors. Favorite colors found in French country include Mediterranean blue, terra cotta red, warm yellow, and green. If you are going to keep the same wood work, adding a natural stain is also commonly found in this style. Adding a backsplash with the common colors noted above will help improve the look you are going for.
Roosters, sunflowers, leaves, and grapes are just some of the popular themes with French country. You can easily find a variety of decor for each style. Clocks with roosters, sunflower towels, and much more can be found over the internet or at your local d
Kitchen Remodeling ROI – Return On Investment
The cost for your kitchen remodeling project should be based on the value of your home. Investing too much could lead to a poor return on investment or a home valued outside the local market expectations. 15% of home value is a good rule of thumb for a kitchen remodeling budget. Following 15% of home value, it is not inconceivable to get 80% to 90% or more return on investment.
Usually you can expect a lower return on investment for more major remodeling projects due to the increased cost involved in a major remodeling project. If a kitchen has been neglected or is dilapidated you can expect a lower return on investment because much of the cost is consumed by bringing the kitchen to a livable standard rather than actual improvements.
A 100% return on investment is possible. But rather than working designing towards that figure, consider livability as a major component in your kitchen remodeling project budget. Especially if you plan on living at the home for some time to come. You might even love your new kitchen so much that you forget about any notion of selling and moving out.
New kitchen appliances can often be all that is needed in a kitchen remodel project, and can be relatively inexpensive since there is no labor involved other than delivery and installation. Plus, since new, good quality appliances are pleasing to prospective buyers, they can have a favorable return on investment.
Your homes size and your neighborhood should be considered too. If your improvement or remodeling project are extensive compared to the rest of the neighborhood or size of the home, then a high expectation of return on investment may be unrealistic.
You can also consult a local real estate agent to get a good idea of how extensive of a kitchen remodeling project to fund. A good real estate agent with knowledge of your neighborhood should be able to give a good indication of your remodeling project ideas effect on the value of your home. Even if your remodel project is for your own satisfaction, and you have no intent on selling and moving, a real estate agent will usually have a good idea of how much previous clients spent on their kitchen remodels, and the resulting increase in home value. Consider offering the agent a flat fee for their opinion if you have no intent on selling.
To summarize, a kitchen remodeling project can greatly increase the value of your home, and make it sell faster. Return on investment may, or may not be important to you depending on if the project is for your own satisfaction or for selling the home. But do be carefull that your project does not price your home out of the neighborhood.
Tips For Accomplishing an Inexpensive Kitchen Makeover Plan
According to home makeover experts, the kitchen is generally viewed as the heart of the home, and is truly an integral asset. A kitchen makeover or improvement project should be an opportunity for homeowners to bring out their personality, and create the appropriate look and feel to this part of the home. Depending on whether you are building a kitchen from scratch, or reinvigorating an existing one, making sure that the materials or patterns you use complement and blend well with the existing appliances and cabinets, if only to make it a more appealing area and to significantly increase the value of your home as well.
Determine Your Exact Budget: Before implementing a kitchen makeover project, the first thing you should do is to fully determine the space you need to remodel or rework on. A kitchen makeover would largely depend on whether you’re starting from scratch or building a whole new kitchen. Planning your budget before hand will truly help, since you need to know how much cash is on hand before you start buying your favorite appliance or other kitchen gadgets. It’s important to list which items to buy first, and prioritize the purchases that you need to make.
Crafting The Kitchen’s Layout: It helps to first ask yourself, how would you wish your kitchen to look or feel like? Ponder on how you will make use of the kitchen for everyday. In addition, find out whether you need to follow the traditional work triangle or not or if the usual patterns make sense to you, and if they are workable as well. According to kitchen experts, the triangle pattern is generally formed by the location of the sink, stove and refrigerator. If you’re having a hard time doing this, you could always ask for professional advice. You could start by surfing the Internet, and browse through online web sites and programs that offer advice on designing and improving kitchens, ranging from advice on which appliances to purchase, lighting patterns, tiling preferences, and other concerns. The worldwide web is literally full of helpful resources for those who wish to either change the kitchen’s floor tiles, countertops, appliances, or overall layout. You may also call on these online home improvement consultants, which generally are more than glad to offer free advice on remodeling and other kitchen makeover concerns.
Shop Around For The Best Choices: For those who have already figured out their budgets and decided on which appliances or materials to buy, start shopping around. It helps to have an overall layout plan before purchasing the stuff you need, as well as to determine your kitchen’s color scheme in order for you to attain the kitchen you truly deserve. The best places to shop for the necessary materials in a kitchen makeover project would be the nearest hardware store, design showroom and appliance store. You may also wish to drop by a friend or relative, and see how they planned for their kitchen, and see which types of tiles they used, what were the colors of the countertop or sink, or which appliances they bought. By doing so, you’ll have a clear idea of how your own makeover project will look and feel.
In addition, it’s important that homeowners consider floor space as a vital aspect in any makeover project, so that the improvements or add-ons you make will fully maximize the available space, allowing for easy movement, and enhancing the kitchen’s usefulness as well. It’s also important that you select the appropriate accessories that will match or complement the room’s existing color patterns. Finally, remember that your kitchen’s overall layout should be as clutter-free and slip-free as possible, so that it would be a safe area for your family and visitors as well.
How A Kitchen Island Can Solve 3 Kitchen Problems
Nearly every kitchen has three big problems – how to get more storage space, how to get more counter space and how to make the kitchen look fantastic. Luckily all three of these can be solved with one simple piece of kitchen furniture – the kitchen island.
Just because your kitchen doesn’t already have a stationary island that matches the cabinets doesn’t mean that you can’t make use of this convenient kitchen device. There are plenty of islands that you can buy which are both portable as well a stationary and can blend into kitchen and make it look great. You can buy them in all types of cabinet finishes including white, black and stainless steel and with a variety of countertops even ones to match your existing kitchen. An island can help your kitchen look great by adding some pizzazz to a big open area as well as creating a gathering spot for you to sit at or prepare food.
It seems like there’s never enough storage space or counter space no matter how big your kitchen is and an island can solve both of these. You get the extra counter space on top of the island and some even have pullout sections that can add even more prep space. In addition, you can have cabinets shelves and drawers which can add to your storage space.
Kitchen islands come in a large variety of sizes and you want to choose one that works for your kitchen. What you need to do is figure out where you would want the island to go and measure that area. Then decide how much room you need to walk around the island and buy an island that is sized to fit inside that area and leave the required walking space. If you want an island to be in the middle of the kitchen only at certain times but you feel that it will really take up too much room at other times, you can get one that has wheels and simply wheel it away when you want the extra space. Islands for the kitchen come in sizes that are under 25 inches to over 56 inches so there’s sure to be a size for almost every kitchen.
Here are some other things to think about when choosing an island for your kitchen:
Drawer space – if you need extra drawer space then you want to pick an island that has plenty of drawers. You can get them with big drawers, or little drawers, lots of drawers or just a few drawers. Figure out what you need and get the island that suits your needs.
Shelf Storage – islands can come with open shelves or closed storage shelves with cabinet doors. Do you want some open shelves to display some of your better looking kitchen items, or are your pots and pans such a mess that you need to hide them away? Think about this one you are looking at islands and buy accordingly.
Counter Top Material – the counter tops on your kitchen island can be made from a variety of materials and you may even be able to get something that matches your current counters. Other popular tops include butcher block, granite and stainless steel which really go with everything.
Bells and Whistles – when buying your island you might want to think about the extra bells and whistles you want such as hooks to hang pots and pans, a hanging knife rack on the side, towel racks and slide out counter top extensions that pull out much like the leaves on a table and give you additional working space when you need it.
A kitchen island is a great thing to add to your kitchen, and if you choose the right one, it can help enhance your decor while providing you with extra work area and more storage.