Remodeling Pays You Back Financially and Emotionally

Remodel Kitchen

Home remodeling is not just about increasing your house’s value in the marketplace. It is about the happiness the remodeling provides to you and your family. In a recent edition of The Wall Street Journal Sunday, columnist Jonathan Clements wrote an article entitled, How to Throw Away a Lot of Money. He listed seven ways we unwittingly waste…

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Custom versus Semi-Custom Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen Cabinets

Choosing between semi-custom kitchen cabinets, (factory-made cabinets) and custom kitchen cabinets can be difficult. True custom cabinets are the top of the line. They almost always cost the most. But they do give you every style, option, color, and finish possible. But most budgets can’t handle the cost. So what are you giving up by choosing…

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A “Magic Corner” Makes Kitchen Corners More Usable

Kitchen Cabinets

Ugh! I hate wasting that space in the corner base cabinets in kitchens. The term “base cabinet” is the term the kitchen industry uses when referring to the cabinets below the counter top. When base cabinets are arranged in an “L” configuration, you end up with a “dead” corner with no easy way to access…

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How to Design a Kitchen That Is Efficient and Beautiful

Kitchen Design

People who know how to design a kitchen are keenly aware that the first goal is to make the kitchen functional and efficient. Naturally, you want your kitchen to be attractive. After all, we spend a lot of time in our kitchens. But first and foremost, your kitchen needs to fulfill its purpose of being…

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Small Kitchen Design is a Puzzle Waiting to Be Solved

Small Kitchen Design

A small kitchen design is a tough challenge. The kitchen is the most complicated room in any house. Small kitchens should still follow the planning principles of any good kitchen design. They must hold many different items, such as appliances, sinks, work surfaces, eating areas, and storage cabinets. They need to be workable and facilitate…

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Good Kitchen Design is Critical, It’s the Heart of Your Home

Kitchen Heart

A good kitchen design can mean the difference between an average house and a really great house. The kitchen is often the center of family life. It’s probably the room that’s most commonly Remodeled and updated. It’s the most expensive room, square foot for square foot, in the entire house. And it is also the…

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How to Make Your House Your Home

Flowers in Home

Recently, a client of mine sent me this nice photograph. Her note simply said, “The beauty of the sun in my kitchen.” This photo and note pleased me more than I can describe. She and I had been working hard to design a large home that denied its size and felt small and cottage-like. An…

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A Question about Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets

Refinished Cabinets

I received this question concerning changing the color on existing kitchen cabinets and I thought I would share it with everyone. I get a lot of questions regarding cabinet colors, wood flooring selections and how they should “work together.” The question was: I have new medium cherry cabinets in a new home that we have…

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Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets – Paint or Stain?

Paint or Stain

I received an interesting question about refinishing or painting kitchen cabinets on another blog post. Since more people are refinishing and remodeling in these difficult economic times, I thought this topic might be valuable to several more people, so I decided to give it it’s own posting. Joyce L. asked: Thank you for the wonderful site! I am…

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Make a Standard Refrigerator Look Like a Built-in

Fridge Handles

It seems that kitchen design continues to trend in the upscale direction. People are looking for better cabinets, granite or solid surface countertops, and professional looking appliances. One of the icons of the upscale kitchen is the Sub Zero refrigerator. The name Sub Zero has come to symbolize not just a high end kitchen. Having…

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