Archive for the 'Kitchen Designer' Category
By Vivian Martin
Filed under: Budget,Countertops,Kitchen,Kitchen Designer,Kitchen islands
Plastic laminate, once the standard surface for postwar home kitchen countertops, still has a big market share due to affordable and maintenance-free options in loads of colors and patterns. Check out the basics and special considerations here to see if a plastic laminate counter might be right for your kitchen.
***Budget Consideration***
When building a new home, it is easy to get caught up on high-end finishes. While granite or solid-surface countertops may be on your wish-list, good quality laminate countertops may keep your build budget down and can be replaced as your budget allows. Conversely, things like upgraded insulation in your walls and attic are best done at the time of building. Just something to consider!
Read the rest of this entry (No Comments »)By Vivian Martin
How to light an island is a subject of endless speculation and worry, but it needn’t be a subject so fraught with uncertainty. It helps to understand the three main types of home lighting: Ambient lighting, the general illumination you get from ceiling lights and some wall-mounted lights; accent lighting, which draws attention to a feature of a room, and task lighting, like pendants and under-counter lights.
In a working room like a kitchen, task lighting takes on an importance that’s hard to overstate. Pendant lights, especially when suspended over an island, get all the glory and rightly so. Even though every room and lighting goal is different, here are some examples of island pendant lights done well:
By Vivian Martin
You’ve decided to remodel your kitchen. Now what? Not knowing where to start, many homeowners fall into two camps. Some start by looking at appliances. Others start by collecting inspiration photos. Both are steps any homeowner can take without the commitment of hiring a professional, and sometimes a homeowner will find themselves in this stage for a year or longer.
Once you’ve simmered in this phase long enough and you’re ready to green-light a kitchen remodeling project, then what? Here we’ll start with the first 10 steps:
By Vivian Martin
The kitchen is one of the most complicated spaces to design in a house — and figuring out how to design an island can be confusing for homeowners. Houzz’s discussion boards are full of users asking for help on how to decide on a kitchen island size.
Kitchen islands are often the heart of the home, frequently preferred to a more formal dining area and definitely a hub during social gatherings. While there’s no set formula for figuring out how to size an island, some measurement guidelines can help. Think function, appliances, storage, counter height, layout, design resources – all of these are important to creating an effective and enjoyable kitchen island. Follow the slide show below for these six basic considerations you should have when planning your kitchen island…
By Marie-France Roger
Nowhere else in the home does design and functionality need to be more harmonious than in the kitchen. This is the most-used room of the house, one where we spend most of our leisure time, one that gets the most attention from potential buyers and where we invest most of our dollars in renovation budgets.
A kitchen renovation costs an average of $ 20,000 with a potential 73% return on this expenditure at the time of resale. A more major renovation costs an average of $58,000 and provides a recovery potential of approximately 68% of the expense, according to a study conducted in 2010-2011 in the United States.
When you spend so much money on a renovation, you want to choose the improvements that achieve multiple objectives including efficiency, functionality and beauty. Some types of upgrades are more expensive, while others are easy and relatively inexpensive.
These five kitchen renovation elements will greatly improve functionality and beauty, while allowing you to recover your maximum investment upon the resale of your home:
1. Counters
In every kitchen, the counter is an important design element and must provide foolproof functionality. Counters act as work and storage areas, and surfaces on which to present food and beverages while playing a crucial role on the overall look of the kitchen. Replacing old laminate countertops with more upscale options such as granite can improve the appearance and usability of your work surface. Even if you opt to replace the old laminate with the same product, you will improve the overall look of your kitchen.
2. Lighting and ventilation
Effective lighting and ventilation in a kitchen will not only allow you to appreciate more the beauty of the room, they will provide a safer and more comfortable work environment. Under-cabinet lighting, internal cabinet lighting, task lighting and the addition of lights over the lunch counter will improve usability and beauty of your kitchen. Skylights, if operable, can assist in the removal of heat, moisture and odours while providing additional natural light. Accessories like decorative blinds with remote control, allow you to adjust the amount of light that enters your kitchen, while dressing your decor.
3. Cabinets
Upgrading your cabinets can be an expensive prospect, but well worth the investment because they serve as not only a major design element in the kitchen, but are essential to the effectiveness of cooking and convenience of all occupants. There are several options to renovate your cabinets, from total replacement with custom cabinets to simply repainting or resurfacing existing cabinets.
4. Equipment and accessories
The cabinet hardware and faucets are the jewels of your kitchen. Replacement of worn or dated materials – including knobs, handles and hinges – is a fast, easy and cost-effective way change the look of the entire room. In addition, you can improve the functionality by choosing larger pulls that are easier to use and replace the old hinges with modern varieties that close quietly and smoothly, or are completely concealed behind the cabinet door . Replacing the kitchen faucet is an easy way to freshen up the kitchen at low cost.
5. Appliances
Your car could not function without an engine and tires… Likewise a kitchen cannot accomplish its mission without proper appliances. If your appliances are more than 10 years old, chances are they getting tired and outdated. There is also a good chance they are less efficient than newer models. Kitchen appliances represent nearly 20% of the energy consumed by the average home, according Energystar.gov.
By Vivian Martin
The title is not a typo… One of the Internet’s fastest-growing social media sites is Pinterest (interest with a “p” in front). I have to admit that it took me about two seconds to reach my own personal “Aha!” for the value this tool could provide to our readers.
Planning a new home build or renovation is challenging and sharing your vision with your builder/kitchen designer/interior designer, etc. can be very frustrating. But what if you could build a virtual online scrapbook? And what if all of the photos in your virtual scrapbook could lead back to the source of web origin? And what if you could sort your inspiring images of beautiful rooms by any category or grouping you choose? You could compile the best of the best from the entire internet instead of snipping, printing or saving links and all in a convenient and visual format!
Looking for luxurious bathrooms?
Source: stylecarrot.com via Drummond on Pinterest
Modern Contemporary House Plans?
Source: blog.drummondhouseplans.com via Drummond on Pinterest
Source: drummondhouseplans.com via Drummond on Pinterest
The above boards are just a sample of the visual categories we are building for you. When you look at the images, they will include a link at the upper right to get to the webpage they came from to learn more.
Because a picture is worth a thousand words, it is easy to share your vision without having it lost in translation or interpretation.This is why Pinterest is becoming so popular with professionals in the design industry. You will notice the Pinterest icon popping up on most online design magazines and many, many blogs and websites.
DrummondHousePlans has recently joined Pinterest with English and French pages and will post images regularly to inform and inspire your design process. You can follow our Pins individually or by themed “Boards” for easy reference. If you are looking for a specific idea, we’ll even pin ideas to suit your requests.
If you are wondering how to get started, Pinterest provides a Pinning 101 section on their site. From practical experience, it is faster to sign up by invitation than to do so on the Pinterest site. If you need an invite, we would be happy to oblige to open this wonderful world to you. Just leave a comment on this post and we will send you an invite. I cannot emphasize enough how helpful it will be to your project planning!
We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
By Vivian Martin
Large or small, a kitchen has to function well for you to get the most out of it, whether that means great meals, great entertaining or both. Accessibility is the main ingredient. And one element that is globally useful, whether you’re a top chef or an ace sandwich maker, are storage features that pull out or pull up.
Designing a high-performance kitchen requires an in-depth knowledge of your household’s unique needs and habits. In a large kitchen, you don’t want to have to run from one end to the other while trying to prepare a meal. In a small kitchen, unpiling and unstacking is cumbersome and irritating when you’re trying to get things done. Pull-up or pullout components have the power to increase your kitchen’s usability tremendously.
Read the full article for some clever kitchen storage options…
By Vivian Martin
Craftsman style, which arose in the early 20th century, was a reaction to the mass-produced fussiness of the Victorian era, and its wholesome simplicity still resonates today. And nowhere is its signature warmth more evident than in the kitchen, the heartbeat of a Craftsman home. It’s impossible to separate form from function in a space done in this style, but Craftsman kitchens are anything but utilitarian — they’re as comforting as a fire on a cold day. Read on for the essential elements you’ll need to create the look.
By Vivian Martin
Filed under: Asian Influence,Design Ideas,Kitchen,Kitchen Designer,Zen
The appeal of an Asian-style kitchen lies in its fundamental sense of serenity, spiced with a touch of the exotic. Materials with a strong connection to nature, smooth and harmonious lines, and an unexpected surprise or two add up to a space that exudes peace and balance yet whispers of an underlying strength. Follow the slideshow to learn how to translate the look for your kitchen.
By Vivian Martin
2012 trends include tall, solid-surface backsplashes, smarter storage, handy task stations and sheen instead of shine
This year, the driving force behind what we want in our kitchens is our need for calming spaces and improved functionality to reduce stress in our busy lives. All of these trends either make our kitchen-related tasks easier, or they aesthetically move the look just a little more in a minimal direction.
If you are getting ready to build or remodel — or even if you just want to freshen up your kitchen a bit — here are 9 features to consider for your dream kitchen.
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