When you bought your house, odds are strong that you purchased a kitchen with “Builder Grade” counter tops. Formica or plastic based, they look good initially, come in multiple colors and are mass – produced. Eventually the color will fade, they may chip, or that Thanksgiving Day hot pan outline is permanently imprinted on the surface by the stove. It becomes time to replace, renovate, or upgrade that counter top.

It used to be that the counter top was just that – a counter top. Now it is a work surface, a statement, a way to bring design and color into the kitchen. The improved materials are changing our ability to work with a kitchen designer to customize your experience. Durability has been improved as well. Counters last longer. The color is as deep as the counter and the strength goes all the way down.

There are two very popular choices for counter tops: Natural Stone and Man-made materials. The natural stones; including granite, limestone, marble, and travertine (just to name a few); are beautiful and come in a myriad of colors. They have large variabilities in their tones and are often layered or have bands of different colors. You have to go and actually pick the individual piece that you want. It can sometimes be difficult to visually transfer the stone that you see in the mason’s yard to how it will appear in your kitchen. It is important to rely upon your designer’s experience in this case. Man-made stone is made up of natural materials (stone) that is bound together with man-made binders. It is more uniform in color and comes in a variety of thicknesses, widths and lengths. It is more predictable to work with. It can be easier to care for. We still recommend a designer for optimal results.

The costs depend upon the type of stone, the area of your counters, the complexity of your fit, and the amount of labor required to install the counter top. A good designer can find the sweet spot between cost and practicality, while preserving your vision. Whatever choice you make, will be your choice and puts your signature on your kitchen renovation

We are talking about upgrading sinks in your Alexandria home to add value to your kitchen and to add value to your time in the kitchen. If you ask anybody – cook, dishwasher, or spouse, nobody likes spending any more time at the sink than they have to.

Making a sink ergonomic is really important and really easy. But you have to plan your sink and you might need help to determine if there is already a solution to your dream. Sinks should be at a comfortable height for you to work at and not be so deep that it hurts your back to get to the bottom. Your counters should already be at a comfortable height for you. If they are not, come back to this discussion after you get your work surfaces where they need to be. If you can’t drop your counters, you can have your sink lower than the counters, or you can build in a level in front of the sink that meets your needs. Also try to find a sink that is as deep as your biggest pot that you will hand wash, and wide enough to get that pot in the water sideways. Don’t go get your deep steamer that you use once a year, but use that spaghetti pot that shows up every Friday night. Also consider whether you need one sink or two sinks side by side. Two sinks give you flexibility when you are washing and rinsing at the same time.

Part of ergonomics is cleaning the sink. There are three major sinks that we see in this area – stainless steel, ceramic, and soapstone. There are other types, but they are basic variations on this theme. The stainless steel is light weight, takes a beating, but scratches, and can be hard to clean with some of minerals in our local water. The ceramic sink is heavier, is usually white, is easier to clean, but if you drop something really heavy into it, the surface can crack. The soapstone is a natural material, usually grey and is assembled of 5 pieces or more of flat pieces of soapstone. The corners can be a little tricky to keep clean. Now, we are overlooking one major trend – cast sinks of fiberglass and other man-made materials. They have their place and their utility. We really recommend a designer to help with this choice.

There are whole companies dedicated to the manufacture of sinks. Look around at what works for your friends and in particular note what doesn’t work for them – or you. Keep track of the choices and it will help you to design what you want. There are lots of choices and it is not like it is “sink or swim”.

If you’re remodeling your Fairfax County  kitchen, then kitchen cabinets may be top on your list to replace. But be prepared – 70% of your kitchen remodeling budget will be wrapped up in the cabinets alone. That means it’s important to pick wisely when choosing new kitchen cabinets.

Where to Start When Choosing Kitchen Cabinets

You’ll find there are numerous choices when it comes to cabinets, with a host of different door styles, wood, finishes and options. It might seem a bit overwhelming deciding where to begin when choosing kitchen cabinetry, but here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Know Thyself – What this means is examine your Fairfax County kitchen layout and consider your family’s life style and cooking habits. Not only do you want beautiful kitchen cabinets, but you also need them to be located in practical areas.
• Not Sure What You Need? Contact an Expert – Ask for professional guidance in picking kitchen cabinets if you need it. Remember, 70% of your budget is going into your kitchen cabinets, so if you’re not sure, ask your Fairfax County remodeling contractor.

Finding Ways to Save Costs on Kitchen Cabinets

If you don’t have much money to work with, consider mass-produced kitchen cabinets rather than custom units. If the dimensions of your kitchen allow it, standard size stock cabinets save money so you can upgrade elsewhere in the kitchen, such as buying new appliances. You might not have as many finish choices by buying mass-produced kitchen cabinets, but they can still look stylish and be quite durable.

Five Tips When Shopping For Kitchen Cabinets

Once you have a plan for your kitchen remodeling project, consider the following tips as you start looking at new kitchen cabinets.

1. Make Sure They Fit – If your kitchen has ‘odd’ areas, spend extra money on custom units so they fit to exact dimensions of the space. Having kitchen cabinets that look out of place can be just as bad as keeping your old cabinets.
2. Pick Quality Finishes – It doesn’t matter if it’s maple, oak or cherry. You can spot quality kitchen cabinets when the grain matches from piece to piece.
3. Consider Durability and Warranty – While thermofoil or laminate kitchen cabinets are easier to clean and less expensive than solid wood, they are also less durable. It’s important to find out what the warranty covers when buying thermofoil or laminate kitchen cabinets.
4. Think About Beauty and Practicality – Pick kitchen cabinets that not only look beautiful, but are also useful. That means making sure they can withstand the pounding of heavy cookware and dishes, as well as countless openings and closings.
5. Consider the Dimensions – For example, doors should have 3/4-inch thick face frames and have 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick sides. Shelves should be 3/4-inch thick and made of veneer-covered plywood, which is less likely to warp than solid wood.
6. Note the Kitchen Cabinet Construction – Drawers with dovetailed joints are sturdier than stapled ones. Doors with fitted mortised corners are stronger than non-interlocking butt joints. When it comes to kitchen drawers make sure they extend completely and are equipped with self-closing glides rated to hold 75 pounds.

Budget Too Small For New Kitchen Cabinets?

If you don’t have enough money for new kitchen cabinets, another option is refinishing the ones you currently have. You might want to consider refacing, a process where just the doors and drawers are replaced. Another way to save money is to buy a less expensive wood, then stain it to look like your wood of choice. For example, if you don’t have money for cherry wood, you can buy pine and use a cherry finish instead.

Whether you’re buying new kitchen cabinets or refinishing ones you currently have, it’s important to remember two helpful hints. First, your kitchen cabinets are the focal point of your kitchen, so they should look beautiful. Second, kitchen cabinets serve a purpose, so they need to be useful, too. Keep these facts in mind, and you’ll find shopping for kitchen cabinetry is a breeze.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=N._M._Lambert

Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation If you are looking for a kitchen remodeling contractor please call us today at 703-961-1044 or complete our online service request form.

One of hardest things for a homeowner is trying to visualize what the various parts of a renovation will look like when they are put together. The designer knows because they have designed so many rooms. The general contractor knows because they have built so many rooms to match people’s dreams. The homeowner is usually trusting both of us.

Since we have been successful in the last 22 years, we have the luxury of being able to put together a show room of some of the best stuff. We can show you how things look and you can get even more and better ideas of what you want in your home. We have samples and also rooms that have been assembled to see how it could fit together.

Many contractors work out of an office, but not everyone gets to work out of their showroom. We feel good every time a client comes in, sees something we have, and immediately asks if they can have that item or look. We get to show them how it might work and they get to be involved even more in their choices for their home. They get a better product and we get a happier client.

So come on down and look at what we have to offer, even if you are planning your renovation for the future. We are sure that you will find something that you like.

The original use of a kitchen is cooking. Now the family spends time there eating, entertaining, and doing homework. But the heart of the kitchen is cooking food. The Oven Range is heart of cooking. It is one the items that renovations are designed around. The range is the rock that sets the tone for the rest of the kitchen.

First- Gas or Electric? If you have access to natural gas, it is the choice of many chefs. Electric is quick to start and has no combustion. There are even hybrids with gas cooktops and electric ovens. Gas and Electric have their own proponents; you should get what you want. The cooktops now have lots of options including things like grates that hold woks. The ovens have options that include temperature probes and convection cooking that claims to cook food faster and more evenly. There are even ranges that have microwave drawers to give you all three cooking methods in a single box.

There are drawbacks to the different options. If you drop a pot on a glass electric cooktop, it can break. Cleaning can be more difficult for a gas surface. If you have an option, gas has been cheaper in the last decade than electricity.

And the biggest option is color. Stainless steel is popular, but harder to clean. What porcelain is easy to clean. Don’t ask about Harvest Gold or Avocado please…

Kitchens are central.

 
We put everything that can fit in there. Stove, oven, refrigerator, sinks, cabinets, telephone, little Tvs… That fills up the room and the walls. Usually you get a window over the sink, but that seems to be an afterthought for most architects. So they put in lots of little overhead lights and they try to mimic the outside light. It is still artificial light. The push for food is natural and organic, so why not try to get more natural light into the kitchen to lighten space?

 
It’s really hard to make the window bigger. There are cabinets that fix the size of the window left and right. Up and down are tough because the sink is the right height for you to work at (if it isn’t, we need to talk further) and the ceiling in the kitchen is usually fixed. But, you can push the window out. The window can become a bay with space behind the sink. Now you have 50% more glass that brings light in from the sides and the front. You can put cool window treatments around the extra glass that brings the flow of the house windows into the kitchen. You can put plants on the new area behind the sink and seem to bring the outdoor greenery through the glass from the yard.

 
Another thing that you can do is to add a skylight to your kitchen and bring light directly in from the ceiling. It brings natural light straight in and is energy efficient. Oops – Kyle’s room is over the kitchen. You won’t be cutting a hole in his floor for kitchen light. But there is a clever thing called a “light tube” that ducts light into a space. Just as a furnace or air conditioner ducts hot or cold air into a room through ducts, a light duct collects light from outside and reflects it into the kitchen. It is very energy efficient and puts real light into a space where it has been missing.

 
So talk to your contractor and see how you can get more light on your subject.

You know what is easy and hard?

 
Cabinets.

 
Cabinets are perfect for renovations because that can be easy to update or they can be hard to replace. It depends upon what you are trying to do in your kitchen.

 
Case 1: You like your kitchen. The flow is good. The appliances work. It is where you and the family are comfortable. But you have had those cabinets for the last many years. Brightening up the kitchen would be nice. You call your contractor, you tell him where you stand and you talk about your budget. He suggests something easy. He will take the cabinet doors off, whisk them out of the house, strip, sand, and repaint or stain the doors to add accent to the kitchen. Changing the door hardware is a bonus and adds a newly installed look.

 
Case 2: You still like your kitchen. The flow works. The appliances have upstaged your cabinets. Call your contractor. Tell him about your kitchen with its unbalanced feel of panels and stainless. He listens and makes a few suggestions. Pull the doors. Put up new doors in a different style or color. Or – take the old doors, cut out the panels and replace them with glass or tin sheets. Make the cabinets support the appliances or counters or floor that dominates the room. Now the entire room works together on a single theme. This costs a little more than Case 1.

 
Case 3: You like your family. You are not so sure about your kitchen. The cabinets don’t work for you – too dark, too deep, in the wrong place, doors block access to the stove, or you can’t find anything. Call your contractor. Tell him of your woe. Tell him of your need to flow the kitchen so you can live and work in there. Tell him the truth. He is going to tell you that he can change them all out, change the sizes, put in slides, and make the cabinets work for you. He is telling you the truth, but it will cost more and you have to want to make the change.

 
Some of these decisions depend upon your budget, some upon how long you plan to live with the new kitchen. But it really depends upon what you want and how well you can work in partnership with your contractor to make it happen.

Renovation. It’s a great word. It sounds like Renewal. Refresh.
 

It’s what we do when you have outgrown a space or want to repurpose it to meet your new goals and needs. You renovate a kitchen or a bathroom. They are the best value in return on investment. They are the rooms with the most “stuff” in them. Yeah, a living room has a TV or a Flat screen or a stereo, but when you make a change there, it is usually furniture or paint of flooring. When you update a kitchen, you change the house. You can change color, shape, appliances, work flow, and the energy of a house. When you have a party, where does everybody end up? The kitchen. Kitchens are the center of a home. We start there with coffee, get the family together to eat, and review the day.

 
Kitchen renovations are the stuff that dreams are made of. Those House and Home Magazines show you the latest trends, colors, and stuff that goes into kitchens. Those guys have infinite budgets and access to the newest stuff before it hits the shelves. They have designers who want to make it a centerpiece of their portfolio.

 
When you plan a renovation, you are dreaming about what your ideal kitchen will look like. You want to make it a place where you are comfortable and actually want to cook and eat. You want everything, and you want it now. Then – reality sets in. The stuff in the magazine has not hit the market yet. The design that you saw is much bigger than your kitchen space. All that custom stuff costs more than you thought. All of a sudden, the dreams get dim.

 
Enter the Contractor. His job is to listen to what you want. His job is to help you find what you need. His job is to get it done within your budget. Not Superman, but Supervisor. The contractor may have a few tricks that make things happen or ideas or needs that you haven’t considered. An established contractor has to be doing something right, or they wouldn’t be working this long through this many economic cycles. So talk to your contractor, tell him what you want, and have him tell you what he hears that you want and how he thinks that he can do it. If you don’t like what you hear – take your dreams to another contractor. You’ll both be happier in the long run.

Think about it, the kitchen is among the busiest spaces in the household. Family members converge in the kitchen not just to get their food but also to bond and share family legacy recipes. It is a space for storing important utensils and kitchen wares. Also, all the food is stocked in the kitchen. The kitchen should therefore be responsive to all these simultaneously and effective in doing so. If not, it is time to consider doing Virginia kitchen remodel.

In planning for the kitchen remodel, make sure to factor in ease and comfort, effective room space utilization, and simplicity of design. The kitchen should be viewed as a haven and not a space for mess and disorder. By carefully planning for the kitchen design, such scenario will be avoided.

The following are the top tips for having a practical and effective Virginia kitchen remodel. These answers the basic questions that might be in mind, thus making the household ready for this necessary home improvement:

v  Carefully plan before proceeding. The home owner should know what he or she wants for the kitchen after doing the remodeling. The influences, themes, color schemes, as well as preferred texture should be clear in order to avoid excessive spending. With a definite plan in hand, the doing kitchen remodel can be practical and at the same time innovative.

v  Allocate a definite budget for the Virginia kitchen remodel. After allocating a certain amount, make sure to stick with it. Unnecessary adjustments can lead, at the ultimate, to wastage of materials bought. With a clear amount of investment in mind, one can actually plan how to get the most out of the investment.

v  Remember that the kitchen is a space for essential functions: space for storage, preparation space for food, and space for management of waste. These should be carefully integrated in the plan. A wise designer can actually explain to the homeowner the foot traffic inside the kitchen when it becomes too busy. Thus, with the specific functional space made clear, it can be carefully integrated in the plan.

v  Be smart in planning the use of space. Installation of appliances, cabinets, and sink should be carefully thought of. Purchase appliances that are not only affordable, but also space saving. Built in cabinets are more preferred than their loose counterparts, it saves you time in planning where to place them. Make sure to allocate enough space that can accommodate all kitchen wares and utensils. In choosing appliances, compact versions are more favored than the bulky ones, with space as the primary consideration.

v  Choose a good contractor. A good contractor can give you the best estimates and can do the job in the shortest possible time. Make sure that the contractor has an excellent track record in order to assure that the plan will be implemented well. Thoroughly discuss to the contractor what you exactly want to happen after the Virginia kitchen remodel.

With these tips, grabbing hold of the dream kitchen every one wants is within reach.

Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation If you are looking for Kitchen Remodeling in Virginia please call us today at 703-961-1044 or complete our online service request form.

In the previous years, bathrooms and kitchens were commonly seen in white or cream. It was the typical design and since it looked boring (although it looks clean), modern decorators made innovative changes and now, bathroom and kitchen designs come in many different styles and colors. If one is planning for a home improvement project, this article provides tips in choosing North Virginia plumbing fixtures that are suitable to the needs and lifestyle of different people.

Faucets and sinks used in kitchens are now available in many styles. Some are modern, classic, elegant styles, and there are some that are user-friendly and functional. Select a style that matches the overall design of the bathroom or kitchen. Be sure to know the specific function and features of each North Virginia plumbing fixtures. Choose a faucet or a sink suits the needs of its users. For example, if there are children in the house be sure to choose a shower faucet that has temperature and pressure control features perfect for their bath. When shopping for these things, check the durability and quality of these fixtures. Make sure they last longer and can stand with thorough dirt or everyday cleaning. It should be easy to install and easy to replace so that it will not be a problem if it needs a few fixing.

Of course, the cost of these fixtures varies too. Compare prices and features before deciding what to buy. However, an expensive plumbing fixture does not always mean that they are better and high-quality. Carefully search for other options in several stores and compare prices – one may find a good fixture at a lower price. A person should also take note of the manufacturer of these fixtures because reputable manufacturers are credible and are already known in the industry for their high-quality fixtures and better after sales service. This will guarantee that those fixtures will last for decades.

When planning to buy a bathtub, consider first the size of the bathroom. Make sure there will be sufficient space for the tub. There are several styles to choose from. There are old-type enamel cast-iron bathtubs, molded plastic bathtubs, enamel steel bathtubs and fiberglass bathtubs. It comes in different colors, shapes, and sizes to fit every bathroom designs. These range from $100 to $1,000 depending on the style, so check the budget too. Toilets, on the other hand do not necessarily need to be too classy. It should be practical and comfortable. Newly available toilets have higher capabilities of water used per flush. Some even have a toilet system with two flush buttons, one for removal of solid waste and the other for liquids.

Other North Virginia plumbing fixtures like bathroom faucets must be rust-free and durable and should last for many years without dripping. These parts – faucets, tubs, sinks, and toilets are just a small part of kitchens and bathrooms. But giving attention to these parts of the house for a home improvement project will definitely produce better and satisfying results – a quality and comfortable home.

Contact Us Today For A Free Consultation If you are looking for North Virginia Kitchen Remodeling Contractors please call us today at 703-961-1044 or complete our online service request form.