From the Floors Up

How to Salvage Your Kitchen’s Existing Cabinets

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Let’s be honest; kitchen remodels can be expensive. In fact, budgeting to upgrade your kitchen is essential to make sure you prioritize your needs over your wants. Perhaps you are looking to renovate your whole kitchen from the floors and countertops to the appliances and cabinets. If you can save money in one category, you can free up some of your budget in another area. Recognizing what areas you can salvage can save you money. And since cabinets can be very pricey, salvaging them is a thrifty yet effective way to enhance the aesthetics of your kitchen. So if you are thinking of refinishing your cabinets, this is everything you should consider:

Fixing Any Damage

First, you need to recognize if your cabinets are damaged. For instance, can the scratches or dents be repaired? If so, you may decide that it is best to fix your cabinets instead of replacing them altogether. Painted cabinets have become more and more trendy and can make a stunning appearance when done correctly. Just make sure you patch any scratches, chips, or dents with epoxy or putty before painting.

Painting or Staining

Next, determine whether you are sanding or simply staining your cabinets. Stain can deepen and enrich the wood grain again, yet paint can also hide any flaws and give your kitchen a completely new look. First, sand the wood with the grain and remove any doors then paint intricate areas with a brush.

Just Replacing the Doors

If you hate your door and drawer design, consider just changing out the cabinet doors. You can purchase new cabinet doors and save money. Make sure that the wood or vinyl replacement is similar wood to your prior cabinets. Different woods, even the same color, will stain differently. If you are planning on painting them, you will not have to worry about this.

These simple tricks can allow you to save money in your kitchen remodel. Remodeling a kitchen is a significant investment that can increase the market value of your home. So, determine if salvaging your existing cabinets is right for you.

Should I Match My Kitchen Cabinets to the Floors?

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You may be pondering the question, “is it best to match the kitchen floors with your cabinetry?” This is truly the million-dollar question. The answer all depends on personal preference and what type of style you desire your kitchen to reflect. By installing flooring that does not match your cabinetry, you create contrast. When used appropriately, contrast helps make things more visually interesting. For instance, if you already have hardwood flooring, you can create a visual contrast by having white cabinetry. To further explain, we are going to dive deeper into the topic. Let’s get started!

Expert Suggestions

While the decision is ultimately up to the homeowner, some design experts feel that using colors that are similar in nature on the cabinetry and flooring will result in material confusion. Going at least three shades lighter or darker than your flooring will prevent your kitchen from becoming aesthetically-confusing. That being said, if you are set on using a wood material on both your cabinetry and flooring, you might want to consider using different grains to contrast the tones. For example, if you have dark, rich cabinetry, you would use a light grain on your floors such as maple or hickory.

Matchmaking Flooring to Cabinetry

Matching your floors to your cabinets can create a unified look. On the other hand, achieving an exact match is nearly impossible. If you were to select oak flooring to match your oak cabinetry, the chances are high that the grains will not be identical. A single wood type can have small variations in color and grain. The finishes used also gives the material a different personality.

If you are installing new would cabinetry to match your existing hardwood floors, you have to take into consideration the quality of the existing floors. Do they show visible or excessive signs of wear and tear? If so, having already aged floors can further complicate things.

In conclusion, before purchasing anything, you should get samples of your floors and cabinetry. This will let you see how it all looks in the light and determine what looks good for your kitchen. All in all, it is the homeowner’s decision, and oftentimes, homeowners change their minds once they see the samples in their actual space. Therefore, the answer to the beginning question is it depends on your space, your design preferences, and your style flexibility.

Glass Pendants in the Kitchen

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Lighting takes on a number of different roles in the kitchen. It can be task lighting for chopping and preparing food, or ambient lighting for dinners at the island counter.  Pretty glass pendants make this functional lighting feel special.  Pendant lights combined with recessed lighting and lighting under the cabinets creates a well-rounded lighting plan for every kitchen task.

These glass pendant lights over the island look to be hand-blown.  Their warm color shifts between creams to a deep amber, casting a warm light over the island through the glass and a strong, clear light directly below.  They also add a nice spot of color in a neutral kitchen.

White cabinets and dark ebony stained wood floors are great bones in this traditional kitchen. Adding color with the lighting is a nice way to introduce it into the room while keeping the main elements neutral.  The yellow tones of the glass look wonderful with the cream and black. The sunny yellow accents really warm up the kitchen, as well.

Mixing the handcrafted, almost contemporary style of the glass pendant lights breaks up the traditional feeling of the kitchen.  Adding a few handmade or handcrafted design elements like these glass pendants makes the kitchen feel a bit more eclectic and personalized.  Traditional style pendant lights or vintage schoolhouse style pendants would also work in this kitchen.  Green metal shades or black shades would look great with the cream and black elements of the kitchen.  Whatever style you choose, pendant lights over the kitchen island can be the perfect solution for lighting up this essential workspace.

Where Do You Find Inspiration?

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24021915Those who are familiar with Greece will recognize this typical street scene. The bright white sun-washed stucco walls provide an inviting contrast to the vivid blues that pepper the country as doorways and railings.

One couple wanting to remember their dream vacation decided to use these images as a starting-point for their kitchen renovation. This is a fun approach to designing – thinking beyond the traditional sources of inspiration by drawing on memories and photographs of a favorite country, season or moment as the foundation of any room in your home.

Take a look at the kitchen they designed in the photo below. You can see many aspects of this street scene echoed in the room. The flooring is the most exciting match – finding a good quality vinyl with a similar pattern of grey stones against the white concrete edging was a stroke of luck. The stones pictured in the kitchen are smaller, which suits the smaller proportions of a kitchen as opposed to a street.

30485736The white stucco walls are reproduced here as white cabinets, and the rich cobalt blue that is uniquely Greece covers the back wall. The softer blue of the door to the left is reflected in the countertops, and even that splash of turquoise with the upper right railing comes into the kitchen with a vase in a lighter tone of that same hue.

When you plan a redesign or choose options for a new home, take advantage of the opportunity to think outside the traditional box. This couple made a daring choice, and has the chance to be reminded of the trip of a lifetime every time they step into their kitchen.

Professional Kitchen Designers

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For a full down to the studs kitchen remodel or an update, working with a professional kitchen designer can be a great idea. Professional kitchen designers can help you design your dream kitchen or choose new countertops for a quick update.

 

Flooring, counters, back-splashes, cabinets, appliances and lighting can each change the look and feel of a kitchen. On their own they can update the kitchen; together they will give your kitchen a whole new look. Selecting a single one of these to work with your existing kitchen can be tricky. Choosing a combination of new counters, cabinets and flooring can be downright daunting. Enter the kitchen designer.

 

Kitchen designers can help you select a stone backsplash that coordinates with granite counter tops that also work with your existing cabinetry. Larger guts and remodels can be planned by a kitchen designer to change not only the look of your kitchen but its functionality.  These designers can recommend changes to floor plans that can up the function of your kitchen without expanding the floor plan.  For major projects an in home consultation to take measurements is a must.  Even for surface changes, a home appointment should be done for measurements and color samples.

 

To hire a kitchen designer you can begin by asking friends and neighbors for recommendations who have recently remodeled their kitchens. If there is a local kitchen showroom, visit and ask for a consultation. Get several estimates before deciding to make sure you find the right kitchen designer for your home and budget.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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