Kitchen Renovation Includes Light Planning
When it comes time for a kitchen makeover, keep in mind that any kitchen renovation should include planning for additional lighting or light restructuring. The modern kitchen has transformed into a multi-functional area where numerous activities, besides preparing meals, have become commonplace.
Many modern kitchens are now used as family gathering areas or as entertainment areas for guests. They often contain corner nooks which are utilized for meals, reading areas or playing cards with friends. Some have built in snack bars that separate another room for added openness in conversation, or stools seated around a kitchen island for chatting while preparing a meal. Adequate lighting should be a top priority in providing for these needs in any plan for a kitchen remodel.
The highest consideration in planning kitchen lighting is in its functionality. Kitchens are generally busy places where a lot of slicing, dicing, shuffling and reaching take place. Having sufficient light to accomplish the task at hand is a necessity. Installation of overhead fluorescent lights is standard kitchen issue. However, there are some other creative ways to light up work areas that may be blocked or positioned farther away from overhead light.
Under cabinet lighting is a popular addition to a modern kitchen, providing a bright illumination to work areas on countertops and around cooking areas. Dome lights or sconces positioned on either side of a sink are other popular uses of lighting fixtures to give that extra splash of brightness to a heavily used area.
Once the main lighting has been planned, consideration should move to areas where other types of light might be needed. Recessed puck lights could be a good option to illuminate a corner nook, or strip lights positioned above a breakfast bar might do the trick for those areas.
Take into consideration also, the blending of natural light with indoor lighting. Throughout the day, various amounts of outdoor light filter into a kitchen area to produce different indoor lighting needs. Placing dimmers on a couple of light sources could assist in maintaining sufficient amounts of light for various tasks during the day. This will also help in conserving energy when full artificial light isn’t needed, say on a cloudy day for instance.
Today, technology supplies a vast array of energy and cost saving lighting products, both in the bulbs themselves and in the housing fixtures. It’s never been easier to adequately provide for all the lighting needs of a kitchen while conserving energy and saving money at the same time. So, the next time kitchen remodeling is on the agenda, sufficiently plan for all its many lighting requirements before getting started.…
Tips For Planning a Home Renovation Project
If they offer a good bid, one which is affordable in the budget that one has for the renovations, then hiring them is the smart choice. If their bid is too high, one can always choose to do the project themselves.
If one is like thousands of home owners, who want to get renovations started on their homes, have the funding to do it, but do not know where to start, here are some tips for beginning a project. First, how well do you like the layout of your living room space? If your home is like many, there is probably a wall between the living room and dining room, which divides the space, but also makes the house look smaller than it is.
Consider either taking out the wall completely, if the support beams and walls of the house will allow such action, or cutting an archway in the wall, if the support beams still are necessary in the house’s design. Should the wall still be needed and an archway be the option that you choose, fill the remaining wall with shelves that can display favorite family pictures, collectable items like classic cars or figurines, or the children’s artwork from school. Either way, you have opened up the space between the rooms and given a fresh look to the house.
Second, do you live in an area of the country that sees very little cold weather, like the desert southwest or southeast? Do you have a feature in your home, like a fireplace, that you use perhaps twice to three times a year and is completely not functional in your home? If so, consider having it removed and replace it with an entertainment center.
How nice would it be to have all the stereo equipment, the big television, the gaming systems for the children, and the family computer in one place where they can all be closely monitored by you and you would not need to worry about what the kids are watching on the internet or what they are listening to in their IPODs. Shelving can be utilized here as well for DVD and CD storage, which can be customized to however many you own at that time, or think you will own. There is also a shelving option for knickknacks that you like to collect, like Precious Moments or classic cars.
Because this shelving is being built for your equipment, you can customize it to fit exactly, or you can give your television space some room to grow. It is all up to you and depending upon your end goal, it can be tailored to your exact needs.…
Creative Kitchen Renovation Ideas
Cooking is an everyday job from which we have no recluse. And cooking food regularly in the same old kitchen becomes monotonous and boring. Reinventing your kitchen is a great way to get rid of the daily monotony of kitchen. With few simple kitchen renovation ideas you can give your cookhouse and cooking an entirely fresh mood. First of all the renovating idea should germinate in your mind. Perceive the kitchen the way you want it to be and then look into different home improvement magazine to take ideas from there as well. Depending on your kitchen style and the accessories you already have in your kitchen you can collect ideas for reinventing your kitchen.
For renovating your kitchen, first pick up things that you will no longer like to see in your kitchen and throw them out. Now look for the places to change. One of the simplest ways to change the existing look of the cookhouse is to paint the kitchen. There are ingenious color options available at budget friendly price. However, cookhouse is an area that requires lots of light so choose some subtler hue. As I said, any kitchen small or big requires light. So the best way to give a new look to the kitchen is modify the lighting of your kitchen. Emphasize on the ceiling of your kitchen so that the light spread evenly throughout your kitchen.
Another unique and cute cookhouse renovation idea is to decorate your kitchen with wallpapers. Wallpapers can convey different types of themes to your kitchen. If you have kids in your house you can choose wallpapers with cartoon characters or flowers. Similarly, if you are a nature lover you can choose natural designs of wallpaper. A very creative idea is to paste wallpaper at one side of the kitchen while paint the rest of your kitchen in different shade.…
Kitchen Renovation: Heart Surgery For Your Home
When it comes to home renovation, there is no greater return on your investment than renovating your kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of the home. It is a place where the family gathers and is nourished both physically and mentally. The renovations you make to your kitchen will depend on the reasons for renovating, budget constraints, and your future plans.
If you are renovating to sell, updating the kitchen will make your whole house more appealing. Basically, when renovating to sell, keep it simple. Scrub instead of paint. Paint instead of replace. Make the kitchen as appealing as you can without spending a lot of money.
Moderate or minor kitchen remodels are the wisest choice when renovating for potential buyers. Chances are the new homeowner will make changes of their own anyway. The following are areas that can be tweaked:
1. The ceiling and walls of your kitchen should be clean, free of dirt and grease and painted in neutral colors.
2. Countertops should be cleaned or replaced if damaged. If they need to be replaced, use a laminate instead of more expensive granite or stone finishes.
3. Cabinets can be very expensive to replace, but existing cabinetry can be resurfaced or repainted depending on the finish. New hardware is an inexpensive way to update cabinetry.
4. Appliances, fixtures and floors should be modern, sparkling clean and in good condition. If not, repair or replace them.
If you plan to remain in your home for a long time, then your kitchen renovation is only limited by your imagination and budget. Any kitchen renovation guarantees at least a 100 percent rate of return on your investment in case you ever decide to sell. The average kitchen renovation is about $45,000, but a good guideline is to set your renovation budget at 15 percent of your home’s value. If your home’s value is $200,000, then your renovation budget should be $30,000.
The biggest expense will be cabinets, followed by countertops and appliances. Other expenses will include flooring, electrical and plumbing labor costs, electrical and plumbing fixtures, design costs and permits. Moving a sink’s or stove’s location may significantly add to your costs since lines and pipes will have to be rerouted. Consulting a kitchen design specialist may add to your cost, but save you from costly mistakes.
Spend a little or spend a lot; a kitchen renovation is a solid investment adding to your home’s value and your family’s pleasure and comfort.…
Reduce the Cost of Waste Disposal of Your Home Renovation Project
So you’ve decided to pull out that old tired bathroom, install a new gourmet kitchen or put in that swimming pool that your kids have been asking for the last two years?
No doubt you have thought of the major items:
The materials you will need to buy;
The tradesmen you will need to employ;
The equipment you may need to hire
You probably have a ball park figure of how much each of these components is going to cost you and may have factored in a percentage for contingency. But have you thought of how you are going to get rid of all the old materials that you are removing? This can be significant ane while it may not sound like the most interesting area to spend money on, and indeed there is little satisfaction to be gained by seeing a full skip bin full of your old kitchen disappearing into the sunset – until that is, you consider what you could have bought with the money that it is costing you to dispose of the materials.
If you take the time to get an understanding of how things are disposed of though, you might well save a substantial sum:
First, you need to estimate the quantities of different materials being removed.
Bricks and concrete can often be disposed of cheaply as they are recyclable if clean of contaminants. If you have at least 2 cubic metres of either of these you many find a very cheap skip bin to dispose of these materials. You many even be able to take them to a concrete crusher (recycler) who will take them off you for a low rate. Ask first as some recyclers can take these materials together whereas others need them to be separated.
Soil can sometimes be disposed of more cheaply than mixed materials depending on how it is treated in your area. There are often restrictions on this, such as a requirement for the soil to be virgin excavated material (not to contain any foreign objects).
General waste which will be all the packaging, old cabinet work, gyprock and odds and ends will be often disposed of at a tonnage rate. These are relatively light materials and should be fairly cheap to get rid of UNLESS you mix in heavy items such as concrete, bricks, soil and tiles. If you do the, these items will not be recyclable since they will be “contaminated” and the general waste will not be cheap to dispose of since it will be ‘weighed down” by the heavy materials.
There are some cases where a skip bin supplier will sort through all their loads and in such cases they are often able to offer flat prices no mater what the load is made of. Ask your skip bin supplier about this before booking.
Another area where your waste disposal can become more expensive is if you keep the skip bin onsite for extended periods of time. Normally when you hire a skip bin, you get between 4 days and a week included in the price. If you keep it longer, there is often a daily or weekly rental charge applied. For this reason it is often better if you can corral the waste in a weldmesh pen until you are ready to get rid of all of it.
Good prices can be obtained online for skip bins and many companies can advise your of the best way to plan the waste removal for your project if you outline all your plans to them.
The information in this article is most relevant to Australia.…
Renovation Tips to Ensure You Have a Safe Kitchen
Tip #1 – Provide Enough Lighting
In order to make your kitchen a safe place, make sure that you provide enough lighting in the kitchen. When you have enough lighting and some good task lighting throughout the kitchen, it can help you ensure that you don’t injure yourself while you are cooking. Make sure that the lights don’t cast shadows on counters and that there isn’t any glare.
Tip #2 – Go with Flooring that is Slip Resistant
You should go with flooring that is slip resistant in your kitchen to prevent bad accidents. Water and other liquids can end up on the floor and the last thing you need is flooring that is slippery. If you fell with a knife in your hand or while holding a hot dish of food, it could be a very bad accident. Choose flooring that is slip resistant, such as ceramic tile that is soft glazed, laminate flooring, or vinyl that is texture.
Tip #3 – Choose a Cooktop that is Safe
It is also important that you choose a cooktop that is safe when you remodel your kitchen. The last thing you want is to get scalded with the steam, so a cooktop that staggers that burners is a great idea. Avoid an option that has the controls in the back as well. Look for an option that has the controls in the front or along the side for safety’s sake.
Tip #4 – Beware of Where you Place Electrical Plugs, Switches, and More
You need to beware of where you place the electric plugs, switches, and other electrical options in the kitchen. It is important that you have the receptacles grounded and that there are circuit interrupters that will cut off the entire circuit in the room if there is any moisture or a power surge occurs. Water and electricity don’t mix, so be careful where you put electrical items.
Tip #5 – Safely Make Use of Kitchen Space
Safely make use of your kitchen space when you are remodeling as well. Consider how the traffic is going to be able to go through the kitchen and make sure there is plenty of space when you are cooking in the kitchen. Go with slide out trays to make it easy to get items in bottom cupboards, avoid any sharp corners, and place microwaves where you won’t have to reach to get out food that is very hot.…
Great Kitchen Renovation on a Tight Budget
The very first component that most homeowners think about when planning for a kitchen renovation is the kitchen countertop. This is the heart of the kitchen. Without a great looking countertop, no kitchen is complete. I would suggest you take a look at concrete countertops. This is a new and emerging style of countertop. It is made of designer colored concrete and only second to granite in terms of toughness. It will give your kitchen a very unique and stylish theme.
The next most important thing is the kitchen cabinets. Make sure that the color and theme of your kitchen cabinets and your concrete counter top has a single theme. I would suggest buying prefabricated kitchen cabinets then hire a carpenter to alter it to match your kitchen theme because building a kitchen cabinet set from scratch is very costly and time consuming. This will only require us to spend for paint, cabinet handles and miscellaneous materials to match the cabinet with our theme.
Lastly, we need to select matching tiles to complete our great looking kitchen. For this purpose, it is better to use large sixty by sixty ceramic tiles for the floor and smaller ceramic tiles around the kitchen sink and countertop. This way, it would be easier to clean the larger tiles for any spills and stains in the future. Use small tiles sparingly and only in tight spaces around the countertop corners because they will be harder to clean than large tiles.
For the walls, I would suggest using a wallpaper instead of paint because oil evaporating from our cooking will stick to the walls and it will be next to impossible to remove them without damaging the wall surface. With a wall paper, you can just rip it off your wall and replace it anytime it becomes dirty.…