Things to Add To Your Kitchen This Year

Designing and creating your dream kitchen can be a tricky endeavour, but with some solid inspiration and knowledgeable guidance, it’s a snap. Nowadays, the kitchen is not built just for cooking. Rather, it is becoming a multi-purpose room that simultaneously allows restaurant-level meals to be made while also acting as the hub of all conversation, dining, social gatherings and festivities.

Bring on Bold Colour

Give your kitchen a bold upgrade this year. Add a little colour to your décor where you might not have expected it before. Sometimes it takes the creation of contrast to get the aesthetic look you’re aiming for. Try painting your cabinets a bold shade (dark or light). These attractive colours naturally draw the eye and create a focal point.

Be sure to pull all of your primary kitchen features together in an upgraded and modern fashion by balancing bold colours with lighter neutral tones throughout.

Industrial Lighting

Your kitchen needs to be well lit not only to keep up with your culinary adventures, but also to provide the perfect place for conversation and mingling to happen at get-togethers. Industrial-style lighting is very on-trend.

Industrial Kitchen Island

The hot kitchen trend is very much an industrious one. Kitchens are taking on a new personality thanks to popular cooking shows that exhibit industrial kitchens outfitted with all the restaurant-quality fixings. Mobile kitchen islands are all the rage and there’s a clear reason for their rise in popularity. Built with function and efficiency in mind, a mobile island gives you the benefit of extra counter space without restrictions on your kitchen floor plan. Kitchen islands that can be moved from place to place open up opportunities for space in your kitchen that you wouldn’t have with a stationary island. The style of island has begun to mimic a more industrial standard with steel wheels and stainless steel shelves.

High Efficiency

Efficiency is all the rage. There’s no better place to put efficiency into practice than with your pantry shelves. Your kitchen pantry holds all your most essential kitchen items, and should be a priority when it comes to your kitchen upgrade. Pull-out pantry shelves not only make the search for the right ingredient easier, but virtually painless. Shelves that pull out mean you’re able to see everything at once and just as easily rearrange. Make this the year that you eliminate kitchen stress by adding a set of pull-out pantry shelves.

The Top 6 Ideas for a Kitchen Remodeling Project

Kitchen remodeling is a major home improvement project involving significant time and expenses. When undertaking this work, make sure that you include the best features. A number of cool designs have made their way to the top of homeowners’ wish lists for renovation projects.

1. Countertop Garage

Driving your car into a garage may be something you barely consider. A countertop garage offers similar benefits for certain large appliances, such as a stand mixer, food processor, or blender. These tools often come out several times a week in a busy kitchen to help you prepare food for the family. Instead of storing them on the counter in full sight, stash them away conveniently in a countertop garage. Simply push up the door to access the appliances. When you finish using them, slide them back into the garage and close the door. This leaves ample counter room during the times when you aren’t using the appliances.

2. Corner Storage

Storage is a premium commodity in many homes. Use every inch of available space in the kitchen by incorporating corner storage into the design. Without corner storage, these areas are typically unused and wasted. With corner storage, an efficient Lazy Susan rotates to house items such as pots and pans. Simply spin the carousel shelving to access items you need and then close the door again.

3. Baking Drawer

Cooks who enjoy baking often have a generous collection of tools and supplies, which necessitate extensive storage space. Add a baking drawer to a kitchen remodeling project to house these important necessities. The deep drawer with dividers will house cookie sheets, muffin pans, cooling racks, pie and cake pans, and more. Position the baking drawer close to the oven for added convenience.

4. Pull-Out Trash Drawer

Stow trash away in a pull-out trash drawer. Keeping trash out of sight can be appealing, but the trash receptacle must be easily accessible as you cook and clean up. To make recycling easier, choose a drawer with separate bins for trash, paper recyclables, and other recyclable items.

5. Island Cooktop

It’s common to separate ovens from cooktops with a kitchen remodeling project. With ovens located in another area, consider the convenience of placing the cooktop on an island. Standing at an island to cook provides enhanced convenience to all stations in the kitchen. You can also utilize expanded preparation areas near the cooktop within easy access of the burners. A warming drawer located under the cooktop can be another feature to add.

6. Electronics Enhancements

Add a screen to your food preparation area to enable you to watch television or DVDs as you cook. These plasma screens offer sleek functionality and high-tech designs that fit right in with the kitchen environment. Some screens even combine with cooktop and ventilation equipment, incorporating lighting and an exhaust fan into the design. A wireless charging station built into a countertop is another popular option.

If you’re spending the money and time on an extensive kitchen remodeling project, make sure that it includes features that will make this process worth the effort.

Why You Need Kitchen Remodeling

Decades ago, kitchens were designed with modern technology in mind, however, modern technology today is very different from the technology which was used years ago. Today’s kitchen users have very different needs from the needs of those who originally designed the kitchens. Therefore kitchen remodeling is becoming more and more popular. Remodeling is the art of redesigning and renovating a kitchen to make it more suitable for the needs of the homeowner.

Today’s homeowners are trying to deal with a much larger range of tools and gadgets than homeowners used to have. Trying to find somewhere to put these things can be difficult if your kitchen is designed incorrectly, or with a previous era in mind. Kitchen remodeling can help you to make better use of the space that you have available. Although some people are able to have their kitchen extended, others are forced to work with the limited space which is available. A professional remodeler will be able to come up with an appropriate design. This can include making extra space for the things you need, by taking out all of the things you don’t need. For example, when you renew your kitchen, you can choose to install a range of all in one gadget, rather than having separate tools. Other ideas may involve innovative fold away solutions.

Older kitchen spaces also sometimes fail to take health and safety concerns into mind. Kitchen remodeling will allow you to make great improvements that can help to protect you and your family. This can include childproofing areas which toddlers could hurt themselves on or putting in different flooring so there is less of a slip and trip hazard. If your current floor is a slip or trip hazard, you should take action because accidents in the kitchen can have serious consequences. Another concern is food hygiene and storage safety. If your kitchen is not designed correctly, the oven and the fridge could end up being right next to each other. This can be dangerous, because the food in your fridge may warm up as you cook. This can encourage bacterial growth and is a major food poisoning risk. Professional kitchen remodeling experts will work with your ideas to help to mitigate risk.

Having a kitchen environment that you enjoy can also help to improve your health. Research has shown that people are more likely to spend time preparing food in a kitchen if the space is suitable for them, and meets their needs. Spending time preparing fresh food rather than having takeaways or ready meals is a great way to improve your health because you can take charge of what you are eating. If you intend to cook for yourself and your family regularly, kitchen remodeling can help you to create the kitchen of your dreams, meaning that you will actually enjoy spending time there.

Signs That Indicate It’s Time for Remodeling the Kitchen

Are you really happy or just really comfortable?

When it comes to the kitchen, a homeowner chooses comfort over happiness. If you are comfortable with the layout of the kitchen, you may not want to change it. But, remember that you must pay attention to the kitchen because it is the heart of your home.

If the kitchen is old and dingy, it can attract the growth of mold and mildew. Also, an old kitchen with a broken countertop or damaged cabinets can cause injury to your family members. As a homeowner, if you are unable to make a decision about remodeling the kitchen, do not worry. Here are a couple of signs that will indicate it is time to take care of the kitchen:

· There is no Use of Existing Appliances

Do you have kitchen appliances that you no longer use? It is important to remember that appliances take up the maximum amount of space. And, if there are several appliances that do not function properly, it is time to discard them. You should also make a list of the appliances that do not satisfy your needs completely. For example, if the size of your family has increased, your old microwave will not be sufficient to defrost a large turkey or a chicken.

When the appliances start restricting your cooking experience, it is time for remodeling the kitchen. By upgrading the kitchen and buying modern appliances, you will be able to reduce the energy bill as well as decrease excess consumption of water.

· The kitchen is crowded

Technology has invaded the kitchen space. Today, a homeowner uses several kitchen appliances that were non-existent a few years ago. As a result, old kitchens have become crowded. If you find that the kitchen counter-top and the dining table is covered with kitchen appliances, dinner plates, glasses, cooking pots etc., start thinking of hiring a renovation contractor.

If you hire an experienced contractor, he will able to suggest you with modern ideas for increasing space in the kitchen. Ask him to make optimum use of the free space by adding more cabinets in the kitchen.

· It is Uncomfortable for Family Members

With the increasing number of family members, the need for a large kitchen increases. If you are going to get married in the near future or expecting a child, it is best to consider the requirements of new family members. If the kitchen is not suitable for a large family, do not think of buying a new home. Simply consider remodeling the kitchen to increase its space.

When you have small children in your home, it is best to baby-proof the kitchen. Ask the renovation contractor to build sturdy cabinets that do not cause any injury to small children. He will address your safety concerns effectively and build kitchen cabinets keeping the safety of your children in mind.

· It is time to sell your Home

Are you interested in selling your home? If your answer is yes, it is essential that you upgrade the kitchen. If you think that remodeling the kitchen is a waste of time and money, remember that roomy, well-lit and modern kitchen is important for every home buyer. A dull kitchen will not fetch you a good price. So, it is wise to invest in upgrading the kitchen.

By remodeling the kitchen, you will be able to show the kitchen space in new light. The renovation contractor will take care of faulty plumbing as well paint the kitchen walls beautifully. If you are putting your home on sale, it is essential that you discuss simple remodeling ideas with the contractor. Do not opt for highly-customized ideas because potential home buyers may not like them. Instead, choose simple and elegant ideas that will make the kitchen look beautiful.

A kitchen is an important part of every household. But, homeowners ignore it because they consider remodeling it as an expensive and unnecessary task. If you ignore it, you will have to spend money on expensive repairs in the future. So, it is necessary to look for signs that indicate the need for remodeling the kitchen.

The Difference a New Kitchen Makes

For years I had been promised a new kitchen and had all but given up hope of getting it. The old kitchen was old with brown coloured cupboards that I had painted white. Mice were frequent visitors, although there seemed to be no way they could get in. Spiders were often hunted down and cockroaches had started appearing out of nowhere. The cupboard tops were always in need of cleaning and everything was just inconvenient for my age.

One day a man came to measure up for the new kitchen. Hooray, I thought, as he wrote down his figures and discussed colour schemes, and so on. he gave me a time of about six weeks for the job to start. As that time came and went I had actually forgotten about it.

Some months later a doctor treated my extremely painful foot with an injection of the cells he had taken from my own blood (stem-cells). He was attempting to stop the pain and sent me home with strict instructions to rest the foot for a good 24 hours or so for the treatment to work properly.

Barely had I stumbled into the house and sat down when the phone rang. It was the guy to do the kitchen. It was Wednesday and he informed me they were coming on the following Friday to start work. What! I begged for more time, knowing that the entire kitchen had to be packed up.

He said they could not wait because they already had the kitchen on the truck and on its way down from Sydney and they would have no-where to store it. It had to be started on Friday.

From that moment on and for the next day and a half I rushed around on my foot packing things into boxes, loading furniture and other things into the spare bedroom, and finally emptying the fridge and loading its contents into an esky. By Friday I was almost a cot case when they arrived right on time at 7.30 a.m.

They started by hauling out the cupboards and sink. It was then that the big shock came. Behind the cupboards there was no wall. A large gaping hole went straight into what would have been the wall cavity and of course here is where the vermin were entering the house.

The large pantry that had been installed a few earlier was to be kept and moved to the other side of the dining room where it could be utilised as a sewing cupboard. The men hauled it into position but it wasn’t fixed. Later that night as I walked past it down it came right on top of me. Pinned between the cupboard and boxes of stuff from the kitchen I was trapped.

Slowly I managed to grab a chair and pull myself out but then another dilemma. Everything was locked up including the side gates and front gate. The keys were on the other side and so was the phone. Still trapped by my circumstances I gingerly had to crawl over the heavy pantry cupboard to get to the other side.

Finally, all was done and I look at the new kitchen. No more vermin come in, all the holes in the wall were covered or repaired, and the new cupboards reach to the ceiling so their tops never need cleaning. The beautiful new kitchen is a pleasure to work in and the extra room it has given me is marvellous.

Despite the pain and the cupboard falling on me the effort was well worth it. A new dishwasher and micro-wave were also installed and it is so good now it made a new woman of me.

Transform Your Kitchen Into a Great Place

Your kitchen must be a place where all your cooking is done. Apart from cooking, important activities like storage, washing, etc. are also done in the kitchen. All these activities simply increase the importance of a kitchen. Here we will give you some ideas on how to improve your kitchen and make it a very beautiful place. It must be a place where you feel welcomed and also get a homely feeling. This can be done by adopting all these ideas in an organized manner. There are many ideas that can come in your mind once you think about renovating your kitchen.

Kitchen ideas and tips

Below are a few tips that must essentially be adopted.

Lighting

The lighting in your kitchen must be as appropriate as possible. It must match with your walls and must make your kitchen look welcoming. Lighting can influence the appearance of any room to a very great extent. This is because without proper lighting, you will not be able to cook also. Thus always make sure that you take this matter into consideration. It will help you a lot in the long run.

Cabinets

In your kitchen, the cabinets are also extremely important. Here you will be storing all your important items that are related to your kitchen activities. The important factors that are concerned with cabinets are the storage space and the opening and closing of the cabinet doors. The storage space must be adequate in order to store everything in a safe as well as comfortable manner.

Space for utensils

There must also be an area in your kitchen where you store all utensils that are utilized on a daily basis. This will make it extremely easy for you to locate them from time to time. There is no need to store these utensils in a cabinet as it will make things difficult for you.

Take advice

Visit close friends and relatives houses in order to gather more information on how to design your kitchen. This will give you a first- hand information and knowledge before you actually renovate your kitchen. As it is a very important process, you must make sure that everything is done in a very organized manner. Advice cannot help you much if you do not practice them in reality. Always make sure that you adopt these advices in the most suitable manner. It is one of the important things to remember.

General Design Ideas For New Kitchens

Interior design of kitchens is a widely discussed area. Here are the general aspects that must be incorporated:

Make It Blend Into The Home

Sometimes, you may want to change only the kitchen in the entire home. For an open plan kitchen, you may have to touch up some sections of the adjacent rooms to match the new look. You might get away with the ‘face-lift’ if you have a traditional contained kitchen.

Get Extra Space

Space is one of the most valuable factors in design. While extra storage units may work, they may end up looking bulky or obstructing pathways. Think of new places to add pull out soft drawers and paneled cabinets. Discuss these with your kitchen installer so they incorporate it into their plan early enough if possible. You can get ideas from visiting showrooms and studying kitchen galleries.

During the ‘scouting’ period, it may help to get the installer whose ideas you love to do the job for you. They are the ones who know how they do it. It may prove disastrous sometimes to ‘hop’ and collect ideas. It does help to look around and settle for the most impressive however.

Lighting

Never compromise on lighting. In fact, the more the better. If you have a large kitchen, one central fixture may not illuminate all corners. Discuss the viability and impact of having more lighting in as many areas as you can. This not only makes the room look bigger, but it also improves the safety and comfort of those in the kitchen.

Where the kitchen is to also serve as a dining area, you can have adjustable lighting to make mealtimes warm, pleasant and cozy.

Environmental Compatibility

Make your designs, materials and appliances eco-friendly. Have energy efficient refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens and freezing units. The Australian Government recommends that all households use environmental friendly products, with appliances having Energy Rating Labels. This is to make it easy for consumers to know which appliance is best for their homes and the environment as a whole. The tagline says ‘the more the stars, the more the savings’.

The best part of getting a new kitchen, apart from finally walking into your dream room, is having the minute details handled by a professional. Good installation firms will oversee the little things and diligently execute the bulk tasks for you. There are shady firms which do shoddy jobs but cover up on the surface. Get an installer with a proven excellent track record and glowing reputation. For one, you may need to actually see a sample of their work that has been in place for a considerable length of time.

Once your new kitchen is done, the idea is that it is built to last at least a generation before you feel the itch to get a new one to renovate. That need for a change is quite expected. Why else would you be getting new kitchens if you’re not moving into a new home?

As for the style, anything goes. Only make sure it suits your needs. Take into account your family size if you have one and of course, your tastes.

Finding Affordable Prices With an RTA Cabinet Store

Everybody is going to purchase their products from a different source. Some of the cabinets that are purchased for a home can be ordered. An RTA cabinet store is going to be able to give them better prices because the cabinets will be in a ready to assemble form instead of already assembled.

Many of these companies will be able to give their customers a better price when they are purchasing ones that are not fully assembled. This makes the shipping much easier as well as storage. There are a lot of options that people will consider when they are choosing RTA cabinets.

There are instructions included with each cabinet also. Everything will be measured and cut to the proper size. Most of the pieces will also be labeled to make the process much easier for everyone.

Everything will be included that is necessary to put the cabinets together. This is something that is very important. Cabinets should be affordable, yet durable.

Just choosing something that is within a budget is not always going to be a good idea. It is very important to make sure that people are getting something that is also going to be durable. Every company is going to offer something different so it will be extremely necessary to check out what a person is purchasing before they pay for a cabinet that they will not be able to use.

RTA cabinets may also be customizable from some companies. A cabinet store may be able to let their customers choose a certain type of wood or certain size. The type of doors on them will also be important to consider.

Every feature of each cabinet will be something that somebody will want. Not everyone likes every single cabinet. That is why there is a variety of different ones to choose from.

Many homeowners want to increase the value of their home by choosing certain types of cabinets. Bamboo cabinets are growing in popularity also. This is because they are very durable and moisture does not bother them, like it does other types of wood.

Every home will also need to have a different sized cabinet. The size can also affect the cost. There are some rooms of the home that will need several different cabinets, but others will only need one or two.

The kitchen is usually where most of the cabinets are going to be found. It is important that the ones that are chosen are going to be functional. If they are not, then it could be a waste of money.

Some of them will be mounted on the floor while others are mounted to the wall up above. Every home will have different places that these could fit. There are a lot of people that dream of having a lot of kitchen cabinets to store away all of their dishes, pans and small appliances.

The size of the kitchen often affects this though. It is not necessarily something that is easy to change either. Every homeowner will come up with a solution to try to get their kitchen easily accessible and with lots of storage spaces.

When somebody is remodeling or building, they will have a lot of things to think about. They will need to make sure that they are carefully planning everything. Every kitchen and bathroom will need to have certain things in them so that everyone is able to do what they need to.

Every RTA cabinet store is going to have a different selection of cabinets to choose from. Finding the styles and colors that a person wants is going to be very important. Every style is going to be available in different sizes as well. Some of them will allow them to order custom sizes that they need, but not all stores will allow this.

Choose the Right Kitchen Design for You

The kitchen remains the most visited place of every house. Especially for your mother, this place is very important as she spends the most part of her day cooking and preparing food for you. It is also the first place which a buyer will want to see if you are going to sell the house. That is why it is sensible to choose the proper design for your kitchen.

Finding the right design for your kitchen area is quite difficult. There are a lot of designs from which one can make a choice. The numerous colours, textures, materials can almost make you lost and unable choose one out of the many.

Things that you should be keeping mind while you are designing your kitchen area is that what are the things you are going to have in the kitchens? Consider the taps, sinks, cooking appliances, the electronic appliances. Accordingly, make space for your kitchen. Ask your electrician to make extra plug points so that you do not face any difficulty in using more than a device at a time.

Make enough storage places to store the containers. Make separate place to keep dishes and other utensils. Ensure all these places are within the reach of the user. This will make pit easy to work in the kitchens and also make the working smooth.

There are particularly three types of kitchens, namely the ex-stock kitchens, made-to-fit kitchens and bespoke kitchens.

The ex-stock types are ready design that can be delivered to you within a short time. These fit according well to the composition and the dimensions of the kitchen. You can pick the colour you want but there is almost little scope for changing as the things are already available for installation.

Made-to-fit kitchens are those that can be customized according to your wishes. These are less restricting than the ex-stock kitchen though have to admit that certain limitations are there. You can choose the base patterns but not the individual design of your kitchen.

The best option to choose is the bespoke kitchen. This is because it allows maximum choice of the users. Though a bespoke kitchen takes a long time to get prepared but you will get all the things the way you want it to be.

For better analysis and use of your kitchen space you should hire a professional designer. They will take measurements of all the depths, heights, and angles and deliver you the kitchen that you have always dreamt of having.

Why Buy Ready to Assemble Cabinets for the Home?

When it comes to redecorating any room in the home, there are many choices to make in regards to selecting the right furniture. This is especially true when it comes to installing cabinets in the kitchen or the bathroom, as these are not only big investments, but are also somewhat more permanent fixtures that it is important to get right the first time around.

One of the options that is now widely available on the market is that of ready to assemble cabinets – or RTA cabinets as they are widely known. These items, rather than being delivered whole and already constructed, are able to be assembled on site before being installed right way. There are advantageous this particular type of furniture.

The first is that they are generally far less expensive options than cabinets that have already been constructed by the manufacturer. The reason for this is simple – the person who is buying the RTA cabinets is actually doing a great part of the work themselves, and therefore does not need to pay the manufacturer to do this.

This, of course, can also be an inconvenience for those who do not have a lot of free time or who lack the physical ability to put together their own cabinets for their kitchen or bathroom. Regardless, this represents a very cost effective option for those who feel up for the challenge, are relatively physical able and want to make some significant savings.

It should be noted that those who are interested in the savings that RTA cabinets represent but are not up to taking on the task themselves still have a third option – paying for a professional to assemble the cabinets at their home for them. This is actually a very popular option, and many retailers of these types of ready to assemble cabinets will offer this service for a supplement.

Another major advantage of RTA cabinets – which ties in very closely to the cost savings that can be made – is the fact that they are very easy to transport compared to ready built cabinets. They can be packed flat, and can therefore be delivered for much lower delivery charges than items that have already been constructed.

This results in not only significant cost savings on shipping these items, but is also a more environmentally friendly option, with many items able to be shipped at the same time, thus reducing the amount of fuel burned per cabinet transported.

Another major advantage of RTA cabinets is that, as they are built for assembly by the purchaser themselves, they are generally very easy to not only assemble, but also install. Manufacturers and retailers will generally supply excellent instructions for installation, and all the person assembling them will need is a screwdriver, hammer, and perhaps a few other simple tools.

This can also lead to a great deal of satisfaction for the person who is installing their own kitchen or bathroom cabinets. Rather than having to rely on a professional to do the job, the person doing the work themselves can tackle the project at their own pace and then take pride in their own work once they have completed the job to their own high standards.

Lastly, another major benefit of these types of cabinets is that, as ready to assemble furniture is so popular today, the variety of different products on the market is exceptional. This means that everyone can find something that suits their tastes and decor ideas.

Anyone interested in purchasing RTA models can find a large number of excellent manufacturers from all corners of the globe making products in a vast range of colours and styles. With this much ease, this much choice and impressive cost savings to be made, there are some very compelling reasons to choose ready to assemble cabinets to decorate your home.