A Fresh Start (Part 1)

It has become clear to me that I have a major design dilemma at my house. I used to love to sew when my daughter was small. (She’s 26 now) At that point in my life, I also wasn’t as busy and had more time for this relaxing pastime as well as so many other crafts I enjoy. I realize even now, I could be enjoying it more if I wasn’t inclined to avoid this messy space.

Mid Continent Updates

Mid Continent is a production line of cabinetry that we've used for many years. We've seen them expand their offerings over the last decade and continue to maintain a very attractive price point. In a letter we just received from the Vice President's of Sales, Jack Laninga and James Buller, it looks like Mid Continent will continue to bring more new products to market in 2011 while maintaining good cost control.
 
Some of the new product offerings we saw in 2011 included:
·         Ten new door styles
·         Five new finish options
·         Hundreds of new cabinet types, sizes, and accessories
·         New programs including custom backs for islands and a new vanity program
 
Mid Continent will also continue to offer their promotions and incentive programs through April 29, 2011:
·         APC – 33 percent off
·         Decorative doors – 15 percent off
·         Free Glaze finish
·         Solid Center Panel doors – 5 percent off
·         As always, standard paint colors have no up charge

If you are interested in seeing a full array of Mid Continent products please stop by our showroom in Merrifield Virginia.

LuxGuard by Crystal Cabinetry

Exclusive to Crystal, Lux Guard is the new top coat with enhanced depth of color durability and a touchable silky feel like no other. Crystal has been hard at work along with Valspar to develop a coating that gives their finishes a hand-rubbed effect with more depth and luster. The new coating offers a better coverage than ever before, increasing the actual thickness of the finish - you can really feel the difference! The LuxGuard coating is applied to all of Crystal's stains and Signature paints in standard or flat sheen.

New Slate Stain - Crystal Cabinetry

Looking for a unique stain color? We are excited to introduce Slate, our exclusive new stain for maple! The stain has a gorgeous, dark-grayish tone, giving the wood an almost silvery look! Available in all product lines for every budget!!

Crystal Cabinetry continues to develop unique stains that are also eco-friendly. They have also recently introduced 4 new lighter maple stains - Fawn, Prairie, Toffee and Prailine. We will be getting samples of all the new stains for our showroom soon. Until then you can have a closer look at the Crystal website.

How much would a new kitchen cost? (Part 1 of 3)

This is a question I rarely get asked. Clients who visit our showroom to look at cabinetry often are either nervous about this question, or they already have a good idea about what these things will cost. Sometimes people go into shock when they hear me tell them what they might like to budget for the cabinetry portion of the project. This can vary wildly in what percentage of the overall cost of entire project runs. I have seen cabinetry exceeding half of the entire budget, or using only about 20% of it. This certainly is determined by the level of quality that a client is expecting and which items are priorities to the client as well as how large the room is and how many cabinets there are. If the budget is tight, but the client wants commercial grade appliances and exotic stone for the countertops, there may be only enough money left for cheaper cabinets. The truth is, people usually want better cabinetry, and many are surprised to hear that what they thought was good quality often is less so.

"Production quality" is good for many remodeling projects. This product is a money and time saver as the cabinets are produced quickly (literally 2 days in some cases) and shipped quickly. Depending on the brand, there can be many beautiful door styles and the choices in finishes continue to get nicer looking as these factories do battle with each other to get your business. The fact is though, that if you intend to stay in the house for over 5-10 years, you may want to look to one of the next levels which we call semi-custom and full custom. For the sake of today's blog entry, let's focus on the production variety.

These cabinet companies often print expensive gorgeous literature and hire excellent designers so that the visible parts of the product are great looking, mainly the doors and the drawer fronts. This is what you find in the Big Box stores in a variety of quality levels.

The least expensive has particle board in various thicknesses as the main construction material including the drawer bodies, sides, bottoms, tops, and shelves. Purchasing these cabinets for your project is a great way to save money on getting a home ready for quick sale (flipping), although due to the nature of the construction, these are more liable to suffering shipping damage.

The Perfect Sink (Part 2)

Kitchen sinks come in lots of materials other than stainless steel. I love stainless myself, but I do have clients who don’t and want to know which way to go on this extremely important part of their new kitchen.

When I replaced my counter tops (10 years ago??) I chose DuPont Corian for various reasons. (the stuff of another whole blog post) I wanted stainless steel under-mount sinks in my new tops, but was over-ruled by my husband and daughter. The seamed-in Corian sinks I got are cool as there is absolutely nowhere for grime to hide. If you close your eyes and feel the area where the sink and top are joined, you will not be able to feel a seam at all. It is quite hygienic, and for that reason doctors and nurses seem to be especially drawn to that feature. My objection to Corian as a sink material is that it is white (or off white). I don’t know about your house, but the stuff that hits my sink is rarely white. It’s coffee, tomato sauce, grease, berries, meat juices and all sorts of dark staining stuff. A bit of “Soft Scrub” with bleach is all it takes to make it look new again though. I did manage to gouge a spot at the bottom by bringing the barbeque grids in and trying to clean them in the sink. When it’s clean you really can’t tell, thank goodness.

Other choices for sink materials exist, and if you don’t want stainless, you owe it to yourself to explore them all. The porcelain cast iron sink is certainly substantial, and does come in some lovely colors. It may take two people to carry it in the house as they are so incredibly heavy. Kohler is the big manufacturer of these and they come in a huge array of shapes and bowl sizes. The surface can be scratched or even chipped, but you’d have to drop a brick on it to make a big mark. The surface is high gloss so cleans
up brilliantly. If you under-mount one of these behemoths, (which you should) be prepared to pay your installer extra to build an armature below it to support the extra weight. These sinks are heavy on their own, but imagine what one will weigh when it’s full of water.

Take a Stand

When I go to a client’s home for the first time, I take pictures and careful measurements. I note what is stored where. I’ll ask what kind of cooking goes on there? How many people are eating in the kitchen at one time? What about the daily communications? I often find that 70’s style “Mom’s Desk” off to one side. It typically consists of a lap drawer “knee hole” with a small cabinet above it. I even see the old NuTone communication system above it, where apparently Mom was able to speak to all the family members while she was sitting there planning the weeks’ meals and cutting coupons. The phone is always there too, and often still with a cord holding it there like a captive. It’s clear that no one sits there anymore. The chair is often gone, and sometimes a wireless phone has long ago replaced the old corded one. We all have to have an area for our communications. The calendar, schedules, mail, weekly school packets…it all has to go somewhere, right?

That was then and this is now. Sometimes it takes some convincing, but my job is to point out new ways of doing things, and there is a better system for keeping all the stuff of a desk handy, but doing away with the chair. We call this the “standing desk”. Ever since the cordless phone was invented, the Mom’s desk became mostly obsolete. We now can take the phone (or laptop!) elsewhere to make the call, write the e-mail, or chat on the phone while multi-tasking. Checking e-mails is usually done at the breakfast table or island bar where there is more room. The eliminattion of that ball and chain makes it possible for us to get the whole area working harder. I typically place base cabinetry with upper drawers where the knee hole used to be. The stamps, paper clips, tape, scissors, envelopes, pens and paper tuck away here. All the stuff of a desk, without the knee hole or chair. Perhaps we need a file drawer or two there too. No Problem! The cordless phone can dock when it’s charging, and all the directories, phone books, etc can live in nice normal size wall cabinetry above. I point out that all the chargeable devices (cell phones, I-pods, cameras, GPS devices, etc) can be tucked into a basket on a shelf in there as well, with the outlet conveniently place there by an obliging electrician. We now have a hidden “recharge zone” right where we want it, but it and it’s nest of snaky wires is not on full view any longer.

The Perfect Sink (Part 1)

After multitudes of client meetings here in our showroom, I find homeowners are almost all looking for the best information they can get about all the materials for their new kitchen. Almost everything they are purchasing is expensive, visible, and has to last a long time with daily hard use, often by many family members. No other room in the house will have so many items that are so difficult to change later.

Everything you select is critical to the overall satisfaction with the finished kitchen: Appliances (the power tools), Countertops (the work surface), Floor (daily grind), Cabinetry (beautiful storage furniture), Hardware (function), Good Lighting (absolutely crucial).

The missing link- Plumbing fixtures (water appliances)

I like to think the cabinetry is a priority, and all the other vendors of various materials think the same way about their products. But truthfully, there is nothing else in that finished room that is more important than that sink and faucet. If you did a time/motion study of how you use your kitchen the sink rates close to 70% of your time. Even a bachelor who doesn’t cook will stand there to open take out food, put it on a dish, then rinse the dish and put it in the dishwasher. All sink work.

If you have lots of room and want double bowls, get at least one that has 21” of width inside so you can lay a roasting pan or cookie sheet flat to scrub or soak there. If you have room for only one bin, consider getting the largest single bowl for the space you have available. I had one client take her largest cookie sheet to the plumbing supply showroom to make sure it fit into her new sink. Smart cookie!

Winter Promotion

Now through February 28th 2011 Crystal Cabinetry is offering several amazing free upgrades to their custom and semi-custom cabinet lines.

◦ Free Highlight or Glazing on all Crystal product lines (Crystal, Quest, Encore and Keyline). Excludes Keepsake, Rub-thru, Homestead & Brushing.
◦ Free upgrade to Inset styling in Crystal and Keyline.
◦ Free upgrade to plywood box construction offered in Quest, Keyline and Encore product lines.

Please feel free to visit our showroom for a closer look at the award winning line of Crystal Cabinetry. We have ten Crystal displays and hundreds of samples to inspire you or your clients. If you would like more information about Crystal Cabinetry or any of our other cabinet lines please contact us and we will gladly mail you a product brochure. Or visit Crystal's website for more product information.

The New "Old World" Finish from Shiloh Cabinetry

NOW AVAILABLE IN SHILOH! Introducing the new Olde World finish. Featuring seven beautiful colors shown in the images below. Each color features a mocha highlight with a brown undertone. Standard finish techniques used (no modifications allowed) are worm holing, edge and panel gouging, glazing, wearing, dry brush glazing, rock dents, crackle and water spotting.