Custom Cabinets and Countertops MN
As one of the most popular home remodels, kitchen improvements can represent a substantial return on investment (ROI) ratio; helping to bring top market value for your home. Modern, well designed kitchens are big selling point; where quantity and quality both count.
As the heart and soul of the home, the kitchen is one of the most used rooms of the house; of keen interest to potential buyers. In fact, real estate agents say a clean, well-designed kitchen with modern appliances and quality elements can sell a house quicker than nearly any other aspect of the home.
Simple touches that will grab the attention of potential buyers include recessed lighting and lit cabinets. Kitchens can be made to appear roomier by selecting a light paint color for walls, and freeing counter space of clutter.
While bathrooms and kitchens can represent some of the most costly types of home renovations, they are also more likely to pay for themselves. In neighborhoods where most of the homes have updated kitchens, remodeling an outdated kitchen will help ensure the house doesn’t sit on the market for longer than normal. Remodeling will also increase the sale value; oftentimes over and above the cost of construction.
When you can’t afford a complete remodel, give the room a facelift by updating key room elements. Even something as simple as bleaching grout, re-caulking around tubs and sinks, and repainting walls can make a huge difference.
Bathroom and kitchen renovation projects that help boost real estate house worth and increase your chances for a quick sale include –
Kitchen Remodeling Tips:
- Best kitchen remodeling idea of all – consider basic room functions. Make sure remodeling or renovation project will accommodate one or more of the room’s functions. For instance, the kitchen’s primary functions are food preparation, storage, and clean up.
- Include a breakfast nook area – one type home renovation making a big comeback! Select a cozy corner breakfast nook – comfortable and inviting. Or a secluded breakfast nook design built off the kitchen; a quiet retreat for thoughtful contemplation. Both types provide an informal dining area and a great family gathering place, sure to impress potential buyers. Design options – whether traditional or modern – are countless!
- Increase storage space – whether for laundry room storage, or storage anywhere else in the home. One quick easy way is to create cubby hole storage; installed in “blank walls,” between studs. Finish off the inside of the cubby hole with paneling; leave open, or make custom doors. Another option is to make doors from a framed picture on hinges.
- Utilize unused space in corners – install corner shelving and cabinetry
- Make sure the classic work triangle is incorporated into the kitchen floor plan – with the kitchen sink, refrigerator, and stove arranged in a triangular pattern. This layout saves unnecessary steps, while ensuring ease of movement and convenience.
- Add fresh paint– a time-wise project that makes a huge improvement in room appearance and more than pays for itself when it comes time sell your home. Consider washable wall paint in tan, or “time tested” butter colors and mossy greens. Stay away from trendy colors that may shortly become outdated.
- Replace old kitchen cabinetry doors with new, quality ones – cheaper than full cabinet replacement, while still yielding impressive results that will boost home market value. If your budget allows for custom cabinetry, however, go for it.
- Add a second kitchen work station – a hot trend that allows more than one person to work efficiently in the same kitchen at any one time. For instance, a free-standing butcher block as a kitchen work island; to increase work space and ease-of-movement while preparing foods.
- Install a granite counter top – or one made from other natural stone. Stone counter tops installed using quality workmanship improves kitchen appearance and usability. They can also be a huge selling point. If you can’t afford a real stone kitchen counter top, faux stone counter tops can be equally attractive and nearly as compelling to potential buyers.
- Incorporate space saving elements into kitchen design – for instance, a built in refrigerator, coffee maker, or other type built in kitchen appliance
- Kitchen counter top idea – if kitchen space allows, add a peninsula counter to increase workspace. Select a two-level top design; providing workspace for the cook, as well as an area where family members can enjoy a quick snack.
- For outdated metal kitchen cabinets – install a new solid wood kitchen cabinet design; a sure fire way to improve kitchen appearance and increase the fair market value of your home. Consider oak or maple options – or less expensive pine. Get the best quality your budget will allow; opt for dovetail joints (which generally last longer than butt joints), and metal draw glides instead of plastic.
- Replace old flooring with a hardwood floor – or if your budget doesn’t allow for conventional hardwood, consider laminate, or a bamboo hardwood floor. If new kitchen and bathroom flooring is completely out of your price range, restoring a hardwood floor is your next best option.
- Old appliance replacement with new energy saving kitchen appliance options – a great way to enhance household cost-efficiency and increase a potential buyer’s interest in your home.
- Add a kitchen pantry – a design that includes pantry organizer shelving and innovative food pantry storage is a great way to effectively utilize available space.
- Give old kitchen cabinet style a face lift with new kitchen cabinet hardware – updating cabinetry while improving kitchen appearance.
- If kitchen counter tops are old and you can’t afford new – don’t despair. Give your kitchen a cost-effective face lift; resurface your kitchen counter tops instead of replacing them.
- Build a mini herb pantry – the perfect addition for a gourmet kitchen design. This can be something as simple as a cubby hole built into the wall between studs. Or a closet area converted into an herb pantry with a glass pantry door; making visible the old world charm of bunches of herbs hanging from hooks.
Just as a custom-made shirt is produced to meet your exact measurements and color preference, custom cabinetry is produced on a job-by-job basis to fit unique specifications. Custom units can be made in virtually any wood species or color, and in any door-style or design you wish. A skilled cabinet maker can include all sorts of special accessories, like inserts, shelves, drawers, etc. that meet a specific requirement for your use.
Determining Your Kitchen Layout
If you are building new or remodeling your kitchen (as opposed to a refresh or “facelift”), your first step will be to determine the layout. To minimize expense, keep in mind that it’s best to plan around existing structural considerations (load-bearing walls, air ducts, etc.) and plumbing obstacles (location of sink, pipes).]
You will need a sheet of grid paper, a pencil and the measurements of your current kitchen for this step.
Ideally, kitchens are designed around what is called the Work Triangle. This Work Triangle cuts down on excess movement by centering the workspace. Moving from the food storage center (i.e., refrigerator/freezer, pantry) to the food preparation center (range, oven, cooktop and work surface) to the cleanup area (sink, dishwasher) should be effortless. You will also need to take into account traffic flows and direct them away from the Work Triangle.
A good rule of thumb in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of your Work Triangle is this: the perimeter of your triangle should measure no more than 26 feet and no less than 12 feet with no one side of the triangle being more than nine feet or less than four feet.
After you have identified your Work Triangle, it’s time to pinpoint the shape of your kitchen. Kitchens typically fall into one of four primary shape categories: Single Wall, Corridor or Galley, U-Shaped or L-Shaped. Determine which shape works best with the square footage you’ve got and which best accommodates your Work Triangle.
Single
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Galley
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L Shape
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U Shape
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