Advanced Cabinetry Information

Kitchen Trends for 2015

Design Ideas

One of the biggest trends in cabinetry is, well, the lack of cabinetry. Open wall shelving is becoming increasingly popular among people who prefer their kitchens to have a more airy look, or who just want to show off how much cookware they have. Don’t start mourning the death of the cabinet, though. Closed cabinets aren’t going anywhere. They’re more often paired with open cabinets for a mix of the traditional and the new.

Color and Wood Choices

Two separate trends are sweeping the design world at the moment, both on opposite ends of the chromatic scale. In an era where design as a whole is shifting towards minimalism, it’s only appropriate that the two most basic colors should be all the rage in kitchen design.

Kitchens with black as their primary color create an aura of class, taste and ultra-modern sophistication and are very popular with urbanites. (Not to mention it hides dirt really well.)

Meanwhile, white shaker-style doors can create a light look in a kitchen and are perfect for making an already sunlit kitchen look even brighter. It’s most popular with people who are going for a rustic look in their kitchen, but flat white doors can also lend themselves very well to a contemporary design.

Kitchens incorporating both black and white are also great for creating a very striking, stark look.

Whoa, watch for splinters! In all seriousness, polished wood is finally starting to loosen its grip on the cabinet market, with rougher wood lending a rural touch to kitchens whose owners are going for a warmer look. Paired with brown or gold metals like copper and bronze, they can go a long way toward pulling it off. Woods that are currently popular include cherry, walnut and birch.

Islands

Possibilities include putting your kitchen island on legs and pretending it’s an heirloom chest, adding panels to it and pretending it’s a set of cabinets or adding a contrasting top and sides.

Comments (0)     

How to Care for Your Granite Countertops

Granite has become one of the most popular countertop materials for kitchens, baths and more. It is a beautiful natural material that adds value and visual appeal to any home. Granite is durable and is fairly low maintenance.

You might not know this, but granite is a porous material that can stain, scratch and even crack without the proper care. You can prevent all of these from happening to your cherished countertops with some easy maintenance routines.

First, clean-up any spills immediately; allowing a spilled liquid or sauce to sit on your granite can mean stains. Properly sealed granite will repel most stains if cleaned promptly. Here’s how to do it:

1.       Blot the spill, don’t wipe (wiping can spread the stain)

2.       Flush the spill with warm water and a mild detergent

3.       Rinse thoroughly and then dry

4.    If you can’t get the stain out with the above directions, you may have to use a poultice – a fine, non-acid, absorptive clay cleaning powder that removes deep-set oil stains, grease and light cement grout haze from polished and unpolished natural stone. This may dull the shine of your granite, but that can be restored with marble polish.

Second, seal your granite. Depending on how much use your countertop gets, you may need to seal up to every 6 months. Most granite companies recommend sealing once a year. If your granite is used infrequently, you could go as long as every two years.

1.       Clean the surface thoroughly making sure to remove any stains

2.       Let the surface dry for several hours before sealing

3.     Spread the sealer over the surface. You can use paper towel, a soft brush, or a rag.

4.   Allow the sealer to penetrate for 5 – 10 minutes. Add more if the sealer is absorbed completely by 5 minutes

5.      After 5 to 10 minutes blot any remaining sealer

6.       Buff the stone dry with a clean terry cloth

7.       Let the surface dry for a full 12 hours before using it

Keep your granite clean and use trivets or heat pads underneath ceramic dishes or pots to prevent scratching. While granite can tolerate heat well, too much exposure to extended lengths of extreme heat can crack the surface. Avoid leaving hot pots or pans on the surface for long periods especially in the winter. Every day cleaning is simple:

1.    Mix warm water and a little dishwashing detergent in a cloth to wipe down the surface.

2.       Rinse thoroughly with clean water

3.       Dry with a clean towel or cloth

Granite may be one of the world’s strongest surfaces but it still requires care. With these easy steps you can keep your granite looking brand new for many years of enjoyment. 

Comments (0)     

Comments (0)     

Kitchen Trends on the Rise –

White White White – White cabinetry, white countertops white backsplashes. Do or don’t? Believe it or not, there are a lot of designers and homeowners alike who are doing it. White on white on white has come back. Done right, this less-is-more design aesthetic can work well in either contemporary or traditional styles.

If that’s too much white for you here’s what designers and homeowners are doing to spice this style up: colored glass tile backsplashes for added dimension in the walls, glass inserts in the cabinetry doors with interior lighting to showcase your beautiful dishware, artful pulls and knobs cleverly chosen can appear to be the jewelry of the room, an eye catching countertop of granite or quartz to anchor it all together and lots of beautiful molding and accent pieces in the cabinetry for a rich and personal style that makes your cabinetry feel more like furniture.

Wait, is that laminate I see making a comeback? Yep, laminate has come a long way from its older-cheap-and-boring-square counterpart from the 60’s thru early 90’s. New edge styles combined with amazing new laminate designs and finishes have turned laminate into a cost effective alternative that will make your kitchen the envy of your family, friends and neighbors.

Lastly, mix up your cabinets – another new trend on the rise is mixing up wood stained cabinets with wood painted cabinets or using two different stains. White and wood, black and wood and even the latest color trends with wood are accentuating our lives and bringing a warmth and character to our kitchens like never before. Use a lighter stain on your base and wall cabinets and then go with a more dramatic color in your island, or use a white cabinet for the base cabinets and go with a wood stain on your wall cabinets.

In today’s kitchens, there are limitless possibilities for making your kitchen a reflection of your own taste and style. Don’t be afraid to customize your kitchen to making a dramatic statement that any guest will love. Kitchens are one of the most well used areas of the home – it’s easier than ever to individualize yours to a style and level of functionality that suits your daily needs and lives to impress.

Comments (0)     

It’s Friday November 9^th and that means there are only 13 short days before Thanksgiving. Holidays seem to always sneak up me making me wonder where all that time went. If you’re anything like me, you always try to prepare ahead of time for the big day, but somehow life has a habit of getting in the way.

Comments (0)