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Welcome to the first post of ReliableRemodeler.com’s new feature: Expert Interviews. I am working to gather a wide range of experts in the home improvement and remodeling field to bring you their insight and experience. There is only so much I know, so bringing in experts and asking them about their specialities will get the best information to you, and hopefully give you some insight into a project you may have been considering.
Today we start with the kitchen, the heart of the home, and one of the most popular rooms to be remodeled by homeowners. I’ve asked Linda Fennessy ofKitchen Magicto lend her 5 years of industry expertise to our site by answering the following questions about kitchen remodeling:
1. What do you think is the most important feature of any kitchen? Why?
The most important part of the kitchen is its style. The kitchen should always reflect the lifestyle of its owners. If there are usually more than two cooks, then there should be ample space for more than one person in the general preparation area. If other tasks are done in the kitchen, (homework and arts & crafts) then there should be seating at the island for these projects. And finally, the style of the kitchen. This will resemble the style of its owner to a “T”—comtemporary, traditional, eclectic or colorful. –Kitchen Magic has hundreds of color and style combinations to choose from.
2. For a homeowner on a budget, what kind of kitchen project would you recommend for them to get the most change in look and function, and to get the most bang for their buck?
To get the most out of a kitchen budget, cabinet refacing, in wood or laminate, with Corian countertops is the best bet! Refacing saves up to 50% over all new cabinetry and you generally can’t tell the difference. 80% of what you see in your kitchen is doors and drawer fronts. If your cabinets are sturdy and the layout is staying the same, then cabinet refacing is the answer…The perfect solution for the kitchen.
Now that you saved with cabinet refacing, you can afford to upgrade the appliances or that dated old floor.
Example of kitchen cabinet refacing
BEFORE
AFTER
3. Are there any new products or materials on the market that you really like for the kitchen? Kitchen Magic has exclusive color and styles of laminate doors not offered by anyone else in their market area. Our new Vintage Glazed series has the look of a designer wood door, priced significantly less. Plus, laminate is more kitchen friendly and easier to clean.
4. What’s your best piece of advice for a homeowner about to start a kitchen remodel?
Don’t wait to have your new kitchen just because you think you can’t afford it. Often customers think a kitchen project has to be paid for all at once. Most people can’t remember the last time they paid for a new car in one shot. A kitchen is no different. We have great financing programs so all a customer has to do is budget an affordable monthly payment.
Thanks Linda!
In the coming weeks look for more expert interviews on topics beyond the kitchen.
While homeowners are becoming ever more conservative in their spending with the volatile economy, some see the downturn as a way to take advantage of great deals.
While clearance sales in malls seem to be catching some consumer’s eyes, the deals aren’t just in the retail sector. There are great opportunities to save in the remodeling industry too.
If you’ve been considering a remodel, this might be the perfect time to start. And the perfect project? It could be a bathroom remodel.
According to a recent article in Forbes Magazine, remodeling material costs are down. This is especially true for copper materials, such as the copper piping and plumbing supplies needed for a bathroom remodel.
While you’re saving money on materials, you’ll also be gaining value on your home. In the 2008-09 Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling Magazineshowed a bathroom remodel as one of the projects that increased in return on value compared to the 2007-08 report. Just under 71 percent of the cost was recouped with the bathroom remodeling project.
Even in a recession, it’s always good to look for the silver lining.
First of all, I’d like to extend a big thank-you to ReliableRemodeler.com for hosting my humble post on their blog. It’s great to be able to contribute!
I should tell you something about myself. I’ve contributed posts on our BuildDirect company blog, mostly about wood flooring and bamboo. I should say too that becoming a wood flooring blogger was not the last thing I ever thought I’d become, but it certainly wasn’t the first. Let me explain.
I am not a talented DIYer. I can barely put Legos together. So in this sense, my coming to write a blog about building materials wasn’t a sure thing to have put money on.
But, I do know a thing or two about the things that homeowners care about, since I am a homeowner myself. I’m interested in investing in my home, in making sure that my home not only increases in value in the long term, but also contributes to the improvement of my surroundings in the short term, too. I believe environments are important, crucial in fact, to quality of life and feelings of well-being. Actually, that’s what I’m really investing in.
This idea of positive transformation is important to most people. Further, I’d say it’s the primary thing that drives most people in life. And I believe that a great interior make-over is a very palpable expression of this idea. In the end, that concept is what I find so tasty when it comes to building materials, home improvement, and wood flooring specifically. In some ways blogging about it is easy.
I’ve come to see building projects and interior design projects as more than a series of tasks, or items on a budget. I think many, if not all, of those projects are life improvements, not just home improvements.
It’s an ugly duckling transforming into a beautiful swan - pretty powerful stuff!
Cheers,
Rob
Rob Jones: Rob Jones has been a part of the marketing department at BuildDirect for four years. He’s spent most of that time as a site content builder, with the effort in providing quality resources for BuildDirect customers and site visitors as his primary mission. More recently, Rob has been involved in driving the social media program at BuildDirect, where he serves as chief blogger of the wood and bamboo flooring blogs, as well as the manager of the company’s Facebook page, Youtube channel, and Twitter account. Rob lives in North Delta BC with his wife and three-year old daughter.
Making it Lovelyblogger, Nicole Balch, who also runs online store Pink Loves Brown, has renovated her Studio exquisitely from this:
To this:
The changes are amazing! Bamboo floors, new paint, and floral curtains really brighten and open up the room.
But what really caught my eye about this space is HOW ORGAZNIZED it is. In the New Year I always resolve to get more organized, and maybe if I had all of these cubbies, boxes, baskets, and areas to put things away I could actually stop talking about being organized…and….actually live clutter free.
Nicole uses her studio as the center of operations for online orders and packaging for her store. Who wouldn’t want to go to work if this was the space you got to go to.
Nicole’s blog tracks her process of renovating her home in Illinois, I definitely recommend checking it out for more inspiration.
And created this design maximizing their underused space by adding a gabled roof to create a loft space, and adding a bedroom office/play space and a bathroom to make a complete guest area:
The 400-square-foot final product:
In a time where the name of the game is not only waste less, but also spend less, this project epitomizes “smart remodeling.” Money is saved by using an existing space instead of creating a brand new addition, and of course fewer materials have to be used to create the space. More green for your wallet and the planet.
Instead of building a new home, many people are taking old buildings and repurposing them for their needs. It creates a unique space, helps preserve historic buildings, and minimizes waste from materials to build a brand new house from scratch.
Check out these immaculately executed building renovations:
Ladies’ Parlor of the former South Congregational Church in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
By repurposing old buildings homeowners get to incorporate unconventional parts of their building’s original purpose into their own modern use. The swinging institutional doors and the back staircase with the very ecclesiastical high windows are key elements from the building’s original function as a multi-purpose space for church social gatherings. It is these features that create design focal points, and which make living in a repurposed home so fun.
This barn was about to be demolished before the current owners bought it and moved it 45 miles to be made into a home for entertaining family and friends.
In renovating the building, Orion General Contractors carried out a green renovating plan that included energy efficiency and reuse of materials. Over 90% of the materials used for the project were either from the original structure or salvaged from other older buildings, this included most of doors and windows too.
The end product, well, I think it’s nothing short of beautiful, and encompasses much of the building’s original charm. This renovation also received major kudos from Professional Remodeler, for being on the best designs of the year.
The honest truth is that it’s not a quick or inexpensive prospect to buy an old building to renovate. But most homeowners agree that the journey through the project is part of the fun, and the results leave you with a lot to talk about and impress your friends with.
This year, everyone is looking for ways to add to their home without breaking the bank. If you have wood floors, you’d be surprised at the options you have for updating them. Don’t think you lack options when it comes to refinishing your floors…here are some cool out of the box ideas for spicing up the area under your feet.
Dark Paint or Varnish on Floors
Want these beautiful dark work floors yourself? Here’s a tip from Remodelista that I liked:
“To achieve a noirish effect, consider painting your wood floors with high performance, marine-grade Hollandlac Paint from Fine Paints of Europe. For a super-shiny look, top with a marine-grade clear varnish. We like black for the floors and Espresso for the walls.”
Stencil on Floors
On DesignSponge, the owner of these smartly stenciled floors said she chose this project as a temporary fix before she has the time (and money!) to refinish her floors completely. I love the look, and it’s a smart temporary fix, or permanent one.
From Emmas Designblogg, yet another intricate painting and stenciling option:
I like this unique, DIY approach to floor refinishing. How about you?
**UPDATE**: One more look to add to the post….just stumbled across this lighter, less modern, and more minimal use of paint on floors via Country Living.
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