So you think it’s time to remodel your kitchen? The kitchen design…… the form part….or how it looks, can be done by you, the homeowner if you are a creative, do it yourself type. And if you have done large remodel projects before, you have probably made some mistakes and learned what not to do again.
Many of my clients ask me…..”which is better, having local custom cabinets made or purchasing one of the well known semi-custom manufactured brands”? Well, I’m sorry to say I do not have an easy answer to this question. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and I usually ask a series of questions to find out which would be better for each client. Some people do a lot of research before hiring a designer and they have already decided on a well known cabinet manufacturer. Other times, my clients have a friend of a friend who had their cabinets made locally by a custom cabinet builder.
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)→
Maybe Paint or Stain your old Cabinets to brighten up your old space if your not quite ready for the big remodel.
This is part of a series of articles on how to do a temporary quick fix in your kitchen if you know you will be able to remodel in a year or two, but you just can’t stand how it looks right now. The previous article talked about the most minimal thing you can do…. change the hardware, which is a great option with a big impact. (see Quick fix …….Hardware) But lets say your kitchen is more needy than just new knobs. Maybe it’s time to paint or stain your cabinets (just to get you by till the big remodel). There are a couple of things that you can DIY (do it yourself) with some sweat equity and about $100 bucks. If your cabinets are stained and you don’t want a painted cabinet, Continue reading Paint Or Stain your Old Kitchen Cabinets… DIY Quick Fix→
