Kitchen Remodeling
Today kitchens are used for food preparation, family gathering spot, a computer station and for entertaining guests. For that reason, the principal remodeling challenge is for a kitchen to be both functional and esthetically pleasing.
Kitchen remodeling can involve significant expenses. It is a complex undertaking and is actually by far the most disruptive home improvement project a home owner can embark on. As far as investment is concerned, the Appraisal Institute of Canada estimates that remodeling the kitchen can provide an average payback of 72 percent. With so many issues to think about, work it through in your mind and on paper. With sufficient planning guided by a realistic but affordable budget, your new kitchen will give you years of enjoyment.
What if you don’t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars to remodel? Try some lower-cost quick fixes such as updating the lighting, replacing the cabinet doorknobs, or installing new counter tops. The payback will be lower, of course, but it might just tide your kitchen over until you’re ready for a major overhaul.
It is important to consider some of the pointers given below before you start your kitchen remodeling.
The Information includes; kitchen layout basic, finish material, and kitchen lightning all of which can help you make an informed choice in you’re the remodeling project.
Basic Kitchen layout
Kitchen layout design is important in ensuring an efficient and enjoyable work area. Let’s look at kitchen work triangle concept use by kitchen designers to optimize space in your kitchen.
Kitchen Work Triangle The classic kitchen layout concept is the kitchen work triangle. The concept of kitchen work triangle connects the three main areas of a kitchen - storage (refrigerator), preparation (cook top or stove) , and clean-up (waste disposal)
These three primary areas make up the work triangle in a kitchen layout:
1. The food storage station - Your refrigerator and pantry are the major items here. Cabinetry, like lazy Susan or swing-out pantry units add function and convenience. Options like wine racks, spice racks, and roll-out trays help to organize your groceries.
2. The preparation/cooking station - Your range, oven, microwave, and smaller appliances are found in this area. Counter space is important in this section. Conserve space by moving appliances off the counter with appliance garage cabinets and space-saving ideas like towel rods and pot lid racks.
3. The clean-up station - This area is home to the sink, waste disposal, and dishwasher. Cabinetry for this station is designed to organize with the trash bin cabinet and roll-out tray baskets for storage convenience.
Kitchen Flooring
Selection of a kitchen floor material is important as flooring not only establishes style but also affects functionality too. Generally, material that is hard such as stone or ceramic tile can be uncomfortable to stand on for long period of time. Resilient flooring such as wood or sheet vinyl is more comfortable because they are more flexible than the others, having some degree of play and give.
One important factor to look into is your cooking style when selecting a kitchen flooring material. If you prepare long, complex menus and are on your feet for extended periods of time, it may be wise to consider comfort over style.
Maintenance is another factor that should affect you decision about kitchen flooring. You will have to weigh the different types including their aesthetic and practical values, for yourself. Now lets us take a look at some kitchen flooring material before you begin shopping
Kitchen Cabinet
Kitchen cabinets come in many different styles and design and have a tremendous impact of the appearance of the kitchen. The main factor to look into before deciding to replace your existing cabinetry or simply spruce them up with new doors/drawer fronts or a new paint finish with some fancy knobs is the cost. If you are working with a generous budget, get the best quality kitchen cabinet that you budget will allow, otherwise consider products other than natural wood or, least expensive, even giving you cabinet a facelift.
With so many choice around nowadays how do you start shopping? The following are some essentials of kitchen cabinet construction and different types of kitchen cabinet door design to help you make the right choice.
Kitchen Cabinet Constructions
Cabinet construction can be breakdown to 2 categories.
- Framed construction
- Frameless construction
Framed Cabinet
Framed cabinets have a traditional look with full frame across the face of the cabinet box that may show between closed doors. This secured adjacent cabinets and strengthens wider cabinet boxers with a center rail. Hinges on framed cabinets may or may not be visible. The door face may be ornamented with raises or recessed panels, trimmed or framed panels, or framed-glass panes.
Frameless Cabinet
This type of kitchen cabinet is built without a face frame and sport a clean, contemporary look. There is no trim or molding with this simple design. Closed fitting doors cover the entire front of the box, no ornamentation appears on the face of the doors, and hinges are typically hidden inside the cabinet box. One notable advantages of frameless kitchen cabinet is it provide more storage space than framed cabinet
Cabinet Door Design
There is a wide variety of door and drawer front designs that you can choose from, several drawer construction details such as slow close, metal sides dovetail joints and also slow close doors. In addition, hinges vary in style, European being amongst the most popular.
The following are a few basic door styles:
 Recessed panel |
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Kitchen Countertop
Kitchen countertop is one of the hardest working surfaces in the kitchen. Kitchen countertop is constantly subjected to knocks, scratches, water and food spills. It an ideal world it should be stain and scratch-proof and very easy to clean. The countertop is also, however the most visible part in a kitchen so we also want it to look good. Choose a material that you like and can afford and weight up the pros and cons. If you are desperate to have a sleek sweep of glossy glass, you must be prepared to protect its surface with pot stands and separate chopping boards, or you may prefer a laminated worktop you can simple wipe clean to a solid wood countertop which will need a fair bit of after care. Before you make your final choice make sure you have got all the necessary information about waterproofing, fitting and upkeep on the type of material from the supplier
- Granite Countertop
- Concrete Countertop
- Tile Countertop
- Laminated Countertop
- Stainless Steel Countertop
- Wood Countertop
- Glass Countertop
Kitchen Sink
Kitchen sink come is all sizes, shapes, and colors and are typically fabricated from enameled cast iron, stainless steel and composite materials. The trend is to include the largest sink that you can accommodate. Deep bowls make it easier to deal with awkward oversized items such as large toasting pan and tall pots used for pasta and help cut down splashing.
How many bowls?
Consider how you use your kitchen sink. Do you wash a lot of baking pans? If so, consider a large single bowl kitchen sink or a dual level sink w/ enough room to lay the pans down to soak. Most dual level sinks feature an oversized bowl to wash or soak things w/ another smaller sink for rinsing or a garbage disposal. Make sure both bowls are large enough to meet your kitchen needs. If you share kitchen responsibilities, consider two kitchen sink. One can be used for food prep & the other for cleanup. An island or bar sink, usually a smaller single bowl sink, is the best option.
What are the features to look for in a Kitchen Sink?
steep, straight side walls
Deeper bowls kitchen sink can accommodate soaking & rinsing large pots & pans. A relatively flat kitchen sink bottom increases usable bowl space allows dishes & glasses to be safely stacked.
offset drains
Placing the drains to one side provides more flat space for stacking dishes & glasses & creates more usable space under the kitchen sink. Offset drains also allow water to drain even if a large pan or tray is soaking in the sink.
web or divider
For double bowl kitchen sinks, make sure the web or between the two bowls is lower than the outside sink walls. This will provide overflow protection by allowing water to flow from one bowl to the other.
Type of kitchen sink mounting
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under mount kitchen sinks mount directly to the underside of countertop material. This installation provides a flush mounting making it easy to clean. |
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tile-edge kitchen sink corners are squared off to more closely resemble the tiles on countertop. The sink is mounted flush w/ the tile & sealed in w/ grout. This type of installation also makes it easy to clean directly into the sink. |
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self-rimming kitchen sink have rounded corners & mount on the surface of the countertop material, the easiest type of installation requiring only adhesive caulk. |
Kitchen Lighting
Kitchen Lighting is important as it set the atmosphere of an entire room. With one switch your kitchen can transform from a bright, efficient working hub to a softly lit setting for a quiet meal. A good kitchen lighting design begins with knowing about the different types of artificial lighting.
Ambient Kitchen Lighting
Ambient or general kitchen lighting is illumination that fills an entire room. The source is sometimes an overhead fixture or group or fixtures, but light does not appear to come form any specific direction. The most obvious example is fluorescent strips; covering over the strips hides the source and diffuses the light.
The key to good ambient kitchen lighting is making it inconspicuous. Ambient kitchen lighting should merely be the backdrop for the rest of the room not t he main feature. It always provides light but should never become obvious. Ambient light used during the day should blend with the natural light that enters the room. During the evening you should be able to soften the light level so it does not contrast jarringly against the blackness outside.
Kitchen Task Lighting
Task light is purely functional. Task light should be installed in specific area to cater for specific function such as rolling out dough in baking area, reading area for recipe. It is important to note that task light should be installed directly over the side of each working area i.e small lights mounted to the under side of a cabinet. Task light should never be place directly overhead as your body could create shadows as you bend over the work surface.
Another point to take note when installing task light is the switch for this kind of kitchen lighting should be separated from general lighting of the room. With task light the ideal is to be able to turn on and off easily when you need it.
Accent Kitchen Light
Accent kitchen lighting can play the role of drawing attention to a particular element such as interesting decorative objects. The used of accent light will add personality to the room. Light a cooking alcove or focus attention on a custom range hood. Install recessed light fixtures within a ceiling core. Show off a pretty stemware inside a glass door cabinet by mounting small lights inside the cabinet box and spot light wall art.
Accent kitchen lighting are purely optional, but without it there is no focus, no character to the kitchen space. With accent kitchen light the room become an exciting and rich environment.
