Kitchen remodel ideas before and after

Kitchen Remodeling

The heart and soul of any house is usually the kitchen. It receives the most traffic, the most wear and tear, and the most use. As such, making sure that your kitchen is clean, up-to-date, and well-designed will not only bring you tremendous personal satisfaction for the duration of your stay in the house, but it will also help you fetch a higher asking price when it comes time to sell. Almost any potential home buyer will instantly gravitate towards the kitchen area and view this space as a “microcosm” of the rest of the home. Today we will focus briefly on kitchen remodel ideas before and after.

Floor retiling and cabinet refacing are probably the most popular kitchen remodeling activities out there. But they are by no means representative of all you can do in order to improve your kitchen space. How are your light fixtures, faucets, and gas gauges? Is your current kitchen space optimized for maximum use? Is there room for an island? How is the ventilation? What about the wallpaper, paint, and ceiling? Is there sufficient natural light? Is your kitchen even in the best location? Would it be possible to convert another room in your house? Do you have modern kitchen equipment and appliances? These are just some of the ways one can improve his or her kitchen.

Unless you know what you’re doing 100%, it is almost always best to go with a professional contractor when it comes to kitchen remodeling. Not only can they complete everything in a fraction of the time, but they can also ensure that any changes (structural or otherwise) adhere strictly to state and federal regulations. True, professional kitchen remodeling often costs more than do-it-yourself projects, but guaranteed, the asking price, when it comes time to sell, will be substantially higher if your kitchen has a professional touch through and through.

Kitchen Sinks

Improve the look of your kitchen. If you are thinking of selling your home or you just want to smarten it up a little, then take a close, critical look at your kitchen sink. Kitchen sinks get a lot of use resulting in wear and tear. In many kitchens they represent a focal point – so if yours is not looking its best, then maybe its time to do away with a chipped, cracked or stained sink and invest in something that will give you years of service and brighten up your kitchen.

What types are available? Ceramic sinks are hard wearing and can take any amount of heat or harsh chemicals. They look particularly good in traditionally styled homes with a wooden drainer and brass faucets. Plain stainless steel is probably the most economical option; it has timeless appeal and will blend in with virtually any style. Steel is particularly durable, heat resistant, and stains can be removed easily.

The color of bare stainless steel cannot be changed. If you are looking to co-ordinate you kitchen sink with the rest of your kitchen’s color scheme, then you will need a man-made material or enameled steel. You can choose from all sorts of colors from green to blue, black, white, or cream. With general daily use, they will not crack or chip however cheaper products may not be heat resistant and some chemicals may damage them. Some companies provide a service where you can have your sink and drainer incorporated into a seamless counter top. This is the most expensive option, but the result is extremely durable and hygienic.

Kitchen Counter Tops

One of the easiest and quickest ways to add value to your home is to replace your kitchen counter tops. In every kitchen the counter top is a focal point as this is where your time is spent in the kitchen – working on the counter. Cabinets can be refaced, painted or stained, but when you have an outdated counter top style or a warped or cracked counter top there is nothing to do but to replace.

An experienced professional can replace your counter tops in an afternoon, no matter how elaborate your kitchen layout might be. If you want to include new kitchen counter tops in your home improvement project you’d do well to turn to the pros. With time, a house can warp and it’s not as simple as throwing the new counter top on and screwing and gluing it down. Frequently subtle modifications have to be made to fit cabinets and walls that aren’t level or straight. Additionally, many homeowners have damaged their cabinets by attempting to remove the old counter top themselves.

When considering new kitchen counter tops you’ll find that you have many choices: granite, concrete, Corion, and the most common – laminate, or Formica. Don’t think that to improve the value of your home you have to spend big bucks on fancy counter tops. Simply installing new counter tops will do a lot not only to your home’s worth, but also to your enjoyment of your kitchen.

Cabinet Resurfacing

Cabinet resurfacing, sometimes called cabinet refacing, is an inexpensive way to re-invent your kitchen or bathroom. Removing the original doors and drawer fronts that are attached to your wall, cupboard and drawer units and replacing them with new ones will achieve this. You also have the option of replacing the door handles and drawer handles as well as the cupboard hinges.

There exists a multitude of styles, materials, colors, textures and finishes from which you can choose in order to achieve your new style interior and the beauty of cabinet resurfacing is that you can avoid the time consuming and expensive process of employing a contractor to remodel your interior and instead replace just the front surfaces of all the units.

How cabinet resurfacing can increase the appeal of your home? By doing the relatively uncomplicated job of resurfacing your cabinets you save time and, perhaps more importantly, you increase the value of your home. The salability of the house is improved because the appeal of a fresh looking, up-to-date kitchen and bathroom will attract the house buyers that the old unattractive cabinets might have dissuaded.

You can choose from several different woods and explore the natural material route for transformation or you can opt for a laminate surface, thereby obtaining a more expensive look, such as mahogany for example, at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. Whichever look you decide to use, this improved interior styling will put your home into the higher price bracket reserved for modernized homes.

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing

If you’re looking for ways to spruce up your kitchen without spending a lot of money, then cabinet refacing is the answer. You’ll end up with a dazzling new kitchen design for a fraction of the cost of a full scale kitchen remodeling. The process is fairly simple – and one that can dramatically change the look and functionality of your kitchen. Kitchen cabinet refacing is a process that includes refacing the door fronts and drawers of your cabinets. Start by examining your kitchen cabinets. If they are sturdy, yet lack the flair of today’s cabinetry, then cabinet refacing is a good option.

A kitchen cabinet refacing company will do an evaluation that involves measuring your cabinets and discussing your goals. You’ll need to decide what type of wood species and style you want, whether it is contemporary, transitional or traditional, for example. Do you want white cabinets or a rich wood look?

There also are ways to enhance the functionality of your kitchen through a cabinet refacing project. You can add storage dividers, roll out drawers, decorative hardware and other helpful features. Many people also use this time to replace the kitchen countertop, sink and faucet, which can really enhance the whole cooking and cleaning experience. These types of kitchen upgrades also can increase the value of your home and make it more marketable for sale.

Kitchen cabinet refacing has become a hot project for many home owners, as it helps rejuvenate the kitchen without the mess, cost and disruption that comes with kitchen remodeling. The low cost is another benefit, as it allows many home owners to get the look they want without overstepping their budget.

Replacement Cabinet Doors

What are the Benefits of Replacement Cabinet Doors? If you are looking to spruce up your kitchen, but don’t want to pay for a complete re-fit, then consider the benefits of replacing your kitchen cabinet doors. Maybe you are thinking of selling your home, but think that the kitchen is looking less than immaculate and it might put potential buyers off – replacement of kitchen cabinet doors can make a huge impact for a lot less than the cost of a brand new kitchen.

Thinking of Extending your Kitchen? If you want to extend the storage space in your kitchen and cannot match the originals, then replacing the doors will give the effect of matching units. If you are trying to keep costs as low as possible, you can get pre-used kitchen cabinets, which work out a lot more economical than buying brand new units.

Can all Kitchen Cabinet Doors be replaced? So long as the cabinet carcasses are sound and a standard size, you can remove the doors and drawer fronts and replace them. The effect that replacement kitchen doors have can be stunning. You can turn a modern kitchen into a traditional colonial look with shaker style painted doors; or maybe raised and fielded pine doors with antique handles are more to your taste.

Alternatively you can produce a smooth and sleek style with flat panels finished with a metalized texture or you could go for industrial chic with chrome and brushed steel. Whatever effect you are after, replacement of the kitchen cabinet doors can be the foundations of the style you want to achieve at a very economical price.