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Increasing the Value of Your Home With Kitchen Remodeling
Aug 28th
A properly planned and executed kitchen remodeling project can add value to your home. If you’re like most people, your kitchen probably gets a lot of use, even if you don’t do a lot of cooking. Kitchens are used today not only as places to prepare meals, but places to gather with friends and family. Home buyers are looking for features in the kitchen that will make it a place to gather and chat with friends. These are the features that you’ll want to focus on when you remodel your kitchen with an eye towards the marketability of your home in the future.
One thing that has impacted kitchen designs is people working from home. It isn’t uncommon for more than one person to be working in the kitchen, preparing meals for the family. When it comes to kitchen design, this means that work areas and traffic flow have become important issues to address. With two, or maybe three people working in the kitchen at once, it’s important that there is enough counter and table space, and that the people working can get from one part of the kitchen to another without disrupting the others. You may also want to consider adding a second sink for food preparation when you plan your kitchen design.You’re making a wise move, remodeling your kitchen.
Another issue you need to consider when designing your new kitchen is kitchen storage. Some older kitchens do not have enough storage space for all of your pots and pans, utensils, and food. If you look at older kitchens, you’ll notice that those that have not been remodeled recently have a shortage of storage space. Because of this, adding storage space is a good idea for a remodeling project. A pot rack, attached to the wall or ceiling can provide storage space for pots, pans, and utensils. If there is space, a new cabinet will add more storage, or maybe there is room in the corner for a pantry unit or some shelves. Adding additional storage space can help to instantly raise the value of your home.
Updating your appliances is also a good idea when remodeling. This can increase your home’s value. Homebuyers, when looking for a new house, often look at the reliability of the appliances. They’re going to be paying a lot for a mortgage, and they will want appliances that will last for many years, rather than having to pay a lot of money to replace old, broken down appliances as soon as they move in. New appliances can be a huge attraction to home buyers. So, if you can afford it when you remodel your kitchen, replacing the appliances is a good idea.
Other smaller remodeling projects can add value as well, and won’t cost a lot. Look at updating cabinet hardware, changing the old grimy cabinet pulls for new ones is a quick and simple project. Paint, new flooring, new fixtures… these are just some easy and simple ways to update your kitchen, and add more value to your home. Even if you don’t plan on selling your home in the near future, these projects will give new life to an old kitchen. Who knows? With a new kitchen, maybe you won’t want to sell.
Get more kitchen remodeling and decorating ideas at Kitchen Decor Ideas.
Author: Tim Sousa
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Kitchen Remodeling – Think Before You Act
Aug 12th
Many people, without thinking, want to initiate the process of kitchen improvements primarily to achieve a more comfortable and welcoming home. Convenience, style and elegance are the most important objectives in any kitchen remodeling endeavor. A trip to your local library’s home improvement section can be worth a million dollars. It will provide an opportunity for you to think before you act. In addition, most home improvement magazines will, without a doubt, prove to be an invaluable source of information for you to consider before starting your own home improvement project.
A kitchen home improvement project can easily become overwhelming to an inexperienced homeowner who has not taken the time to think before he acts. It is difficult to envision everything that might be affected by changing one simple element in your kitchen. For example, you may decide to simply repaint your walls. That’s it! Project finished. Or is it? Now the color of the floor tiles clashes with the color of the walls. Ok, we will go for a new floor. Whoops, we damaged the cabinets while installing the new floor. And on and on and on we go. In other words, a homeowner who is embarking on a kitchen improvement venture MUST first participate in a great deal of investigative planning prior to the start of construction. Or, he might have to face the possibility of being thoroughly disappointed with the outcome of his kitchen improvement venture.
Therefore, the investigative time you devote to your kitchen improvement project can definitely be correlated to the degree of your satisfaction with the end results that you were able to obtain. No one wants to invest a huge amount of money, time and effort only to be disappointed with the outcome. It is always better to think before you act.
John is the author of Flat Fee MLS articles for Flat Fee Listing. You can find more information at Flat Fee MLS Listing.
Author: Jonathan R Richards
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Kitchen Remodeling Isn’t Just For the Pros: You CAN Update Your Kitchen Yourself!
Jun 6th
Kitchen remodeling is one of those major projects that homeowners are afraid to tackle themselves, but with a little sweat equity and help from the local home improvement store, anyone can renovate their own kitchen. Don’t be intimidated: if I can do it, so can you!
When I bought my current house, it hadn’t been updated since 1973. There was sculpted shag, white and gold linoleum… you get the picture. The flooring was an easy change. I ripped out carpet and put in Pergo Select, scraped up linoleum and laid heavy weight vinyl tiles that look like slate, and hired someone to replace the carpet in the bedroom. But the kitchen also looked like a blast from the 70s. After some thought and major design planning, I decided to tackle the renovation myself. The process was easy and my new kitchen cabinets look fabulous!
Step one was to assess the current state of my cabinets… I soon learned that the cabinets weren’t solid wood, meaning I couldn’t sand off the dark stain. That meant priming and painting! A light scuff roughed up the cabinets enough to take the primer, and then I painted the cabinets an antique white. To give them that professionally finished look, I took out the shelves and painted the interior, too. The shelves were finished off with a coat of paint on the bottom and contact paper on top.
The old cabinet doors didn’t have knockout center panels, so to get the glass-front look I wanted, they had to be replaced. I chose unfinished oak frames, doors and drawer fronts from my local home improvement store. To place my order, I measured each existing door and drawer carefully–measure, measure, and measure again to make sure your new cabinet doors will fit! I also made a diagram so I would know which doors went where.
Once delivery day arrived, there was still tons of work in front of me. I got out my trusty measuring tape and measured the cabinet door frames for the glass inserts. I gave the Delphi glass rep the measurements and the number of pieces, and she figured out how many sheets of glass I needed. Then, while I waited for the glass to arrive, I sanded and finished with doors with a satin, water-based polyurethane for durability and a beautiful finish.
Cutting the glass was easy, if a little stressful. Mark your glass with a grease pencil to make sure you get the layout right! This ensures you have minimum waste and you get all the pieces you need. When your glass inserts are cut, run a bead of clear silicone caulk around the inside edge of the cabinet door frame. Lay in your glass and secure it with glazing points; leave it flat until the caulk cures.
When the time came to install the new glass-front cabinet doors, I got lucky-my new doors lined up with the screw holes from the old doors. If yours don’t, simply measure the difference and drill your new pilot holes before hanging. The drawer fronts are not difficult to remove. and you can use the same holes to install them. You will have to drill the holes for attaching your pulls, though, so measure, mark, and pre-drill them before attaching the drawer fronts.
That’s all it takes: a few simple steps, very basic home improvement know-how, and the desire for affordable, beautiful new kitchen cabinets! My new cabinets are glass on top, solid doors on the bottom and look truly gorgeous. At a cost of $800.00 plus labor (all mine!) they were less expensive than all-new cabinets. I have a great-looking new kitchen and I’m proud that I did it myself.
Mary Freeland is an entrepreneur and founder of Just What I Want. She loves finding affordable, stylish home accents that make it easy to update her decor and has a passion to help others do the same. You can share these great finds by visiting http://www.justwhatiwant.biz and get helpful decorating ideas and tips on her blog http://www.justwhatiwant.biz/blog She would love to discuss personalized decor ideas with you-just e-mail her at tuscanhdd@comcast.net to make an appointment: find just what you want or figure out what you can do with what you have!
Author: Mary Freeland
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Kitchen Remodeling Budget Preparation
Jun 3rd
When planning on a kitchen remodeling project, the budget is the first thing to consider. A realistic, thoughtful budget serves as a framework in deciding the extent of your kitchen remodeling project. Without a remodeling budget, your cost can easily exceed return on investment, not to mention affordability.
As a good rule of thumb, figure that 15% of your home value is a reasonable figure that you can expect decent return on investment. But the 15% figure is only a guideline. The actual figure would depend on individual circumstances. Personal enjoyment and livability are factors too, and you need to consider how long you intend to stay in the home.
One big budget factor is the ability of the homeowner to Do It Yourself or DIY. With a minimal skill level, any homeowner can save a great deal of money. Depending on circumstances, this could mean that more extensive remodeling becomes affordable. But DIY will take some of your time, and materials cost. It all depends on your ability, and the cost of labor in your area.
Don’t forget to seek advise from friends, or neighbors who might have already been through the process. Their outlook can save a great deal of time and money – especially if they advise you to avoid DIY and a particular job. Also they may know of any good deals, coupons, or promotions going on.
Speaking of coupons, you can always find some good promotions going on at home show fairs. For the tasks you do decide to hire a professional for, these fairs are a great source of package deals or coupons. Collect brochures from each company represented, and also think about which ones you feel most comfortable with. You may prefer a set, defined package deal, or you may prefer more flexibility with the offerings made available.
Even if you are uncomfortable with any level of DIY, there are still ways to save money and bring your budget in line with what you want to achieve. You can, for example, purchase the building materials yourself, which can save whatever markup the contractor might add. After all, it takes time to go out and load up on materials, so it’s perfectly reasonable for a contractor to do add a markup on materials.
After all the information is collected you can begin to put all the pieces together, and figure out how you can balance your kitchen remodeling project desires with you budget restraints. You’ll know where you can save money by using DIY or avoiding materials markup. There is one other thing to mention – and that is the satisfaction and pride of saving some money, and getting your hands a little dirty.
Scott Hares writes for http://kitchen-remodeling-pictures.com/kitchen-remodeling-budget.htm A free informational resource for anyone considering a new kitchen remodeling project.
Author: Scott Hares
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Ten Questions to Help You Avoid Common Kitchen Remodeling Mistakes
Apr 20th
Remodeling your kitchen is a huge undertaking, and if you want successful results, a lot of preparation should come before you jump in with the sledge hammers to tear down those walls.
Asking yourself some very important questions can help you set realistic expectations, make the process more predictable, and give you positive results.
Consider these 10 questions before you begin:
1. Why do you want to remodel your kitchen?
First of all, decide why you really want to remodel your kitchen. This is a major project, so deciding which improvements you really want to make in your kitchen will help you get your planning off to a good start.
Spend some time in your kitchen and decide on the major goals you want to accomplish with your kitchen remodeling. List the areas of your kitchen you want to improve and then prioritize them. Later in the process, if you have to cut corners to stay within your budget, you can go directly to the items at the bottom of your list!
2. How will the remodeling process affect your life?
Living in your home while remodeling your kitchen will present some inconvenience. So be realistic about this before you begin and make alternative plans before you get into the middle of it. Talk with your family ahead of time and make sure everyone is on board for a little inconvenience until your kitchen is back in working order. Plan ahead and think about where your temporary “kitchen” will be. Decide where you will wash dishes – guest bathroom maybe? Think about eating out more often, and planning to use the grill and microwave for meals at home.
3. To gut or not to gut?
Don’t bite off more than you can chew, as the old saying goes. If you go in and tear out, you have no choice but to replace everything. So be certain of your budget and the actual cost of replacement before you go into it in full swing.
4. Is your perfect schedule realistic?
No matter how well you plan ahead, unforeseeable events can interfere with your plans. Delays in receiving materials and other unplanned circumstances can, and probably will, affect your perfect schedule.
The best idea is to keep some padding in place as you schedule each aspect of the process. For instance, if you’re scheduling your sink to be installed on the day after your counter tops are completed, add an extra day or two in between. Also, order your cabinets, appliances, tile, etc., before you begin the project.
5. Whose recommendations will you follow?
You’re going to be dealing with a lot of different people in your kitchen remodeling project – possibly an electrician, plumber, painter, decorator, installers of all types.
It is important to listen to the recommendations of the experts, but don’t be swayed to make decisions that are beyond what you need and beyond the price you can afford. Try to stick to your list of priorities to make sure you get the most from your project and don’t skimp on the quality of the things you want most.
6. How do you find a reliable contractor?
First of all, don’t tackle this project yourself if you aren’t experienced; you’ll be glad to have professionals when it’s all said and done. Don’t settle for the first contractor you speak with. And don’t just go with the cheapest estimate.
It’s ok to have more than one estimate, and you should be sure your contractor is qualified, bonded and insured, and experienced. And get it all in writing to avoid complications later. Getting recommendations is always a smart move on your part.
7. Have you measured thoroughly?
One of the most disappointing and costly mistakes you can make in a remodeling project is to order appliances or cabinets, get the work completed to prepare for installation and then find out your appliance, sink or cabinets won’t fit into the space.
Do yourself a favor and work with an architect or kitchen designer who can draw up your plans. Then choose professional installers who can understand and implement the plans effectively.
8. Does your dream kitchen fit with the rest of your home?
One of the worst decorating mistakes you can make is creating a dream kitchen that absolutely doesn’t work with the rest of your home. Don’t create a sleek contemporary kitchen if the rest of your house is traditional.
You can find a happy medium and have a great style that will compliment the rest of your home and still fill the needs of an updated kitchen. Be reasonable in your choices and think about balancing the style of your new kitchen with your existing décor.
9. What kinds of appliances are realistic for your needs?
Unless you’re a gourmet cook, you might not need the most expensive stove with all the bells and whistles. Again, balance is the key to good choices. If you enjoy cooking and you’ve always wanted a gas stove rather than electric, that’s reasonable.
Don’t go overboard with any one appliance just because you see it on the cooking network. Choose the types of appliances that will actually suit your purposes and bring efficiency and style into your new kitchen.
10. What about lighting?
Good lighting makes a huge difference in the ambiance of your kitchen. But you also need useful lighting for the work areas.
One of the most popular types of lighting in today’s kitchen is recessed lighting under cabinets. If you choose this kind of lighting, make certain the cabinet bottom is also recessed so your light fixtures won’t be apparent.
And don’t forget about a plan for your electrical outlets. There’s nothing more disappointing than great kitchen appliances with no logical place to plug them in.
There is a lot to think about when you plan to remodel your kitchen. If you take your time, do your homework, plan ahead, and remain flexible, you can survive it and end up with a great new kitchen as a gathering place for family and friends to enjoy for years to come.
DirectBuy carries a large selection of brand-name kitchen cabinets, appliances and countertops at wholesale prices direct from the manufacturers and their authorized suppliers. A one-stop shop for all your home building, furnishing and remodeling needs, DirectBuy has virtually everything – including the kitchen sink – for in and around your home.
Author: Nancy M. Lambert
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smiling shark
Home Improvement Remodeling – What Does it Include?
Feb 17th
Home improvement remodeling is basically making some changes and innovations for your home. This is like recreating some or everything in your house, like remaking your bathrooms, kitchens, garages, home offices, decks and patios. Home improvement remodeling is often done because people are looking for an ideal home to live in. People who aren’t comfortable or satisfied with their homes usually do home improvement remodeling so as they can actually have or achieve what they really want in their homes.
Home improvement remodeling may include rebuilding your attic, basement, bathroom, decks and patios, doors, drywalls, kitchen and roofing. It’s like a total makeover for your home. Here are some simple tips to follow in home improvement remodeling. Primarily, you have to know what you really want or what you have been dreaming of and try to take note of it. Moreover, one should take into consideration the impact of the remodeling to the appeal of your home.
Next, get some ideas from others’ experiences. It would be very helpful because you would already have a bird’s eye-view of what is going to happen. After that, one should plan ahead because you now know what you want and you have an idea of what’s going to happen. Then, recognizing financial constraints comes next. Be sure to spend the budget wisely as everything might go wrong if you fail on this crucial step. It is also an important note to prepare for future problems and making preemptive. Home improvement remodeling is a big project so it’s not at all impossible to have frustrations and setbacks. Most importantly, one should be satisfied with his/her work.
To elaborate further on the simple ways of doing a home improvement remodeling, here are more detailed instructions:
To start with, you should design and a plan for your reconstructions. Make it to a point that your design and plan will fit in your budget. Furthermore, you should also know the things that you can do all by yourself and those that you need an expert’s help.
Next, you should make sure that you built a sturdy foundation, roof, siding and windows so as to avoid problems in your future remake. As it would be a hassle in your future remake if one of these parts will collapse.
The third step would mark the start of your home improvement remodeling. It would have to start with the demolition of the parts that you want to remake or remodel. Be extra careful while demolishing the parts that you are going to remodel. Moving ahead, you will now have to deal with structural carpentry. You may need help from an expert in this field for this step of home improvement remodeling. This step may include moving or constructing walls, making changes with your windows, stairs and as well as your doors.
Then, you would have to deal with your flooring. You need to install flooring after making other renovations so as to avoid damage on your flooring surface. Then you would have to install or replace your windows. After that, it is now time for you to make your interior designs. Then you can now place your sidings.
Finally, you can put the additions you want like the sunroom or swimming pool. So now you are done with your home improvement remodeling project.
Author: David Patullo
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Bumper guardian
A Superb Layout Idea – Galley Kitchen Layout
Feb 17th
A kitchen is considered to be the central part of the house where a huge array of tasks are performed. You will find almost all the family members coming in the kitchen and it is also a showplace that you want to show to the guests coming to your home. It is your arsenal where you need all the equipments to be placed in a fine way and in smooth condition. A thoroughly planned and properly laid out kitchen reflects a good image in the minds of the viewer about the well being and the management style of the owner.
Nowadays there are different kitchen layouts present in the market that can add on the beauty of your house. The range varies from U-shaped, L-shaped, Galley, G-Shaped, Double-L Shaped, Island Kitchen and to Single Wall Kitchens. Amongst all the alternatives the Galley kitchens are more preferred as these are spacious and allow you to work freely with an added feature of supporting multiple workers at a single go.
Introduction To Galley kitchens
The Galley kitchens are very popular due to their efficient designing which is constituted of two rows ensuring problem free cooking. It is well accepted from the professional cookery experts and chefs, the reason behind is the convenience clubbed with it. It requires smaller space and just because of this the appliances are close together. The near availability of equipments saves time that we generally spend in searching out for them and thus results in to a lowered food preparation time. This shape is made of two rows that are two walls opposite each other but these rows are joined together, not opened. In the Galley arrangement there is a less area opened as storage and counter space.
The Benefits Offered By The Galley kitchens
There are countless benefits that we can draw out using the same but some salient ones are listed as below:
1. It is ideal for the single cook.
2. A professional and modern way to cook.
3. It takes lesser time to prepare food using this pattern.
4. The walking distance between the walls is short to travel.
5. It avoids much traffic to be gathered in the kitchen area.
Observing the above benefits you will surely find this a better one or a great idea to design your kitchen. This design offers you more space to decorate and place the essential stuff close to you that actually saves your precious time and energy.
Author: Louise Harman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Gadget reviews
Use Creative Bathroom Wall Decor to Make Your Bathroom Look Stunning
Feb 17th
Recently, a creative and new guitar shaped toilet pot has been introduced. Whether you are a music lover or not this innovative design is sure to impress you. Nowadays bathrooms are being decorated with creative designs to make the place look pleasant as well as attractive. With each passing day new ideas are cropping up and just like the guitar shaped toilet pot there are several other designs from which you can easily choose the one that you like. Not the toilet seat even the designing of the entire bathroom has undergone a change. Hence, these days you can opt for creative bathroom wall decor.
Ideas for bathroom wall decor
Always remember to buy accessories for your bathroom which cannot be damaged by water. There is one more thing to that should be taken care of. The items for decorating must have smooth surface. There is always a fear of water clogging inside the intricate metal or wood work.
- Bathroom lighting can make the walls glow with the kind of color that you like. People usually go for white or yellowish lights when they are decorating a bathroom.
- Hanging pictures in this place can give you a pleasant feeling while you get refreshed. You should always select those pictures that you love most as you will be watching them daily.
- Nowadays tiles are a very good option to beautify the walls. You can use light colors like sea blue or beige that are soothing and looks clean as well.
- The light fixtures in a bathroom can put different effects on the walls. Some people like dim lights inside this space. They can use wall sconces which have frosted glass shades to produce soft light. Decorative sconces with simple designs can also be used to enhance the interiors.
- Mirrors are a necessary item in bathroom. You can decorate the space by placing a smart looking mirror. It is associated with some additional advantages. It will make your room look bigger and will also make the place brighter by reflecting light.
Other accessories for bathroom decor
Along with the above ideas you can also go for decorative accessories that are required in bathrooms.
- Designer soap cases
- Decorative lotion dispenser
- Ornamental tissue boxes
These are necessary items which are available in beautiful designs to add glamor to your bathroom.
Author: Kilian Allen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Duty on LCD/Plasma TV
Using Eco Friendly Products For Decorating and Design
Feb 16th
Over the years I have been gifted with enough patience to renovate numerous homes I have owned and lived in. Moving on with some was difficult because of the memories attached to them. But eventually I let them all take their respective new owners.
Back then either I wasn’t concerned about or didn’t take the time to research healthier ways of doing my renovations. I guess in the process of the process I was too focused on colors and patterns and flooring
and getting it done.
Today things are different. Everywhere there are emerging eco friendly products for renovating and decorating our homes. It’s inspiring now to see how companies are getting the big picture about our health and the health of our planet. I’m sure they’re still making money and good for them and doubly good for them for promoting safer alternatives to the consumer.
Some of the eco friendly products available are:
- Paint
- Paint strippers
- Counter tops
- Cabinets
- Flooring
- Fabrics
- Accessories for decor like bedding, rugs, shower curtains, mirrors
- Building materials
As you can see the market has burst open with new alternatives. Soon all the toxic chemical elements we’ve been using will be a thing of the past. Imagine living in a home without all the allergy producing, off gassing, air polluting stuff we tolerate now. Breathing fresher air cleaned naturally, with yes, plants instead of dust collecting silk plants. I had them too.
Think of some of the projects that can be done with a more eco ethical approach:
- Instead of purchasing a new dresser, end tables, shelving units and the like recycle them by refinishing them. Use all the eco products mentioned above.
- Learn how to paint kitchen cabinets properly for a professional finish
- Reupholster existing furniture pieces with eco friendly fabric and natural foams.
- Buy recycled glass tile for back splashes in kitchens and decorating a bathroom
- Paint over existing tile
- Search the second hand and re-stores for anything you can recycle and refinish like frames, lamps,
cushions for living room decorating ideas - Recycling is no longer considered cheap it’s considered responsible and earth friendly.
I’ve refinished and reupholstered many pieces of furniture over the years out of necessity. I had to learn and I’m glad I did. Now I can do it eco friendly
Good luck with all your eco decorating projects.
Author: Margaret Zobatar
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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