I hate the word Trend! However, there is no better single word to explain a new progression towards a particular trait in design. So…. trend it is. I have been writing for years about not filling your kitchen with upper cabinets. I have always loved the open airy feel of having big windows with open shelves. The open space helps give a relief to the eye and keeps the space from looking top heavy. Plus it’s just cool! Another thing I am in love with these days are old pantries or hutches with lots of glass uppers. This gives the same open airy feel, because you see whats on the shelves, not just wood doors.
These beautiful retro pendant lights found at HudsonGoods.com can really make your kitchen unique. Whether remodeling from scratch (demo-ing the whole space) or just wanting to change things up a bit, try to find lighting that speaks to you and not just the same old stuff from the big box stores! A row of these beauties or even just one in a key location will set your kitchen apart from the rest. While they are a bit more expensive than the big box stores, they will not set you back that much and will be a great…. Continue reading Unique lighting choices will give your kitchen a bold original new look!→
Changing the center panel of your cabinets can make an old kitchen look new again.
Another DIY idea for the small budget (short of doing a new kitchen design) that has big impact is to spruce up your old dingy cabinets, for the time being, by popping out the center panels of the wall cabinets and replacing them with any number of the decorative products mentioned below. Or you can just paint the center panel (if it is flat) with a chalkboard paint to add an artistic and interesting place for art or grocery lists etc.. If you decide to replace the center panel with any hard material like glass, sheet metal, lattice, embossed metal tiles or resin panels, just to name a few, you will need to remove the cabinet door from the hinges first. Continue reading Little things you can do to your old “in need of a face lift” kitchen cabinets to make them look unique! DIY Quick Fix→
Ok, so you have decided not to hire a professional to design your new kitchen. That’s OK, but please do me a favor and heed my advice. Unless you’ve done this before successfully, without do-overs or mistakes…. use a designers technique to look at the big picture first! Get all your surface materials and paint colors together and lay them out on a neutral colored surface and live with it for a few days before you pull the trigger and order any of those items for your remodel. You might be saying…” oh I know what I like “. Well, I’m sure you do and you probably have great taste most of the time, but not everything in your closet goes with each other does it? You bought all those items because you like them, and they are most likely all very nice! However, that doesn’t mean that the brown and pink paisley shirt goes with the teal green striped skirt! They are both nice, but don’t work paired with each other, now do they? Continue reading Use design boards in your kitchen remodel…. especially if you’re a DIY(er)→
