OfflineSo I was reading a post that discussed making sure that you did the right type of remodel in the kitchen if you lived in a more high-end neighborhood. This won’t be your typical starter home neighborhood flipper. Sometimes you need to step it up and get with the crowd and really sell your home through your kitchen.
If you do, I found this great article that can help you transform your kitchen into a nice kitchen that the stars would be jealous of.
Enjoy!
By Mary Boone December 6, 2013 11:37 PM
Sleek stainless appliances and shiny granite counters may get all the attention, but the real star in any kitchen is the cabinetry.
Cabinetry affects the way your kitchen looks, feels and functions.
“There’s a huge range in cabinetry today,” said John Morgan, 2013 president of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and owner of Morgan Pinnacle, a Maryland-based manufacturers’ representatives’ agency. “When I started in this business in the early 1990s, you could get oak or maple cabinets in a couple of colors, and your door choices were basically square raised or cathedral.
“Today, buying cabinets is a much bigger decision because there are at least 10 different wood species, 500 different door styles and hundreds of color combinations. The sky really is the limit.”
With all those choices at your disposal, it’s important to do your homework before buying what’s often one of the costliest components in a new or remodeled kitchen design. Cabinets, advises Morgan, should be both timeless in their appeal and durable enough to last for decades.
“There are absolutely, positively quality cabinets available at every price point,” Morgan said. “It’s like buying a car: It may be possible to find a mid-level Honda that’s got a higher quality rating than a BMW or Mercedes. They’re all quality cars that will get you where you need to go, but their styling and prices are going to vary.
“With cabinets, you may find a high-end manufacturer who’s using a three-quarters-inch plywood end panel and a mid-level one that uses a half-inch plywood panel. They’re both going to last 30 years, so you, as a consumer, need to decide if those little extras are worth the higher price tag.”
When setting out to select new cabinetry, Morgan offers these five tips:
Go with the pros
Morgan says the key to any successful kitchen design or remodel is to put together an experienced team you trust. “If you find a reputable designer, contractor and cabinet installer, they’ll steer you to quality products, no matter what price point you’re at,” he said. “Conversely, a poor or average installer can take the best possible product and ruin it for you.”
Finish first
When purchasing stained cabinets, be sure to examine the finish closely; a cloudy finish is a tell-tale sign of poor quality. With painted cabinets, ask about the brand of paint and the process. How many coats of paint are the cabinets getting? How are seams being treated? What kind of top seal are the cabinets receiving? A catalytic conversion finish, for example, is a baked-on factory finish that generally outlasts anything that could be applied on site; it’s useful in preventing stains from products such as ketchup and orange juice.
Insides matter
Morgan suggests rubbing your hand up and down along the inside edge of the cabinet frame. You’ll want to do this carefully because poorly made cabinets will have sharp edges, and you could end up with a handful of splinters. The inside of the cabinet doesn’t have to feel as smooth as the front, but it shouldn’t be rough or raw looking. While you’re looking inside the cabinets, check the shelves. You want three-quarter-inch plywood or MDF shelves; lesser-quality five-eighths or half-inch particleboard shelves may sag under the weight of heavy dishes and cans.
Move it
If any part of your cabinetry is going to fail, it will likely be hardware related. When shopping, be sure to check drawer guides, hinges and any other moving parts. Look for brand-name hardware and ask about lifetime guarantees. If something does fail, you’ll want to be able to get a replacement.
Check joints
Morgan prefers drawers that are made with dovetail construction on all four corners, but he notes other construction techniques (mortise and tenon, or glued dowel joints, for instance) are also used in quality cabinets. He suggests pulling a drawer out of the showroom cabinet and turning it upside down. If the bottom is simply pinned or stapled, it’s likely the drawer will fail. Well-built drawers have solid-wood sides and a plywood bottom that fits grooves on four sides.
I found another article that discussed kitchen cabinets that I wanted to share in this string.
By Christine Chang Hanway December 3, 2013 1:00 PM
Kitchen cabinets play a leading role in determining the look, feel, and functionality of your kitchen. If you're thinking of remodeling or are building a house from the ground up, no doubt you've got kitchen storage on your mind. As an architect who's navigated the process for clients and my own family, I always begin by asking these five questions:
1. Are you after a Ford Escort or a Rolls Royce?
Purchasing kitchen cabinets is something like buying a car: when it comes down to it, an economy sedan does the same job as a limo. In other words, there's a big world of good options. Start by thinking about the job you want your cabinets to perform, what you envision them looking like, and how much of your budget you're willing to spend on storage (maybe professional-grade appliances are more important to you, for instance). From readymade to custom, all kitchen cabinet begin as boxes kitted out with shelves or drawers and fronts. It’s the craftsmanship, materials, hardware, design details, and level of customization that accounts for all the differences.
2. What are the basic cabinet types?
There are three basic cabinet types: in-stock, semi-custom, and custom. While in-stock and semi-custom cabinets are pre-fabricated, custom cabinets are entirely built to your specifications.
In-stock cabinets:
The most economical choice, and the Ford Escort of the cabinet world, in-stock cabinets average $75 to $400 per linear foot. Pre-made (and often pre-finished), they're sold off the shelf in standardized sizes at home centers like Home Depot and Lowes and by online suppliers. Most require little more than installation (by you or someone you hire)—though some, such as Ikea's popular options, come flat packed and need to be assembled. Pre-made cabinet measurements range from 12 to 36 inches wide (changing in 3-inch increments), and make use of infill panels to cover up gaps. Counter heights are the industry standard 36 inches tall.
Semi-custom cabinets:
Averaging $150 to $900 per linear foot, semi-custom cabinets are selected from existing designs and pre-fabricated off-site in standardized sizes, but with many more options in terms of sizing, styles, materials, and finishes. Outfits that offer customizable designs generally provide crucial assistance from in-house kitchen designers and installers. This level of services comes at a price, however: the fabrication of your kitchen doesn't begin until plans are finalized and drawings are approved, meaning a long lead time (and longer still if you're working with an overseas manufacturer). From approval of shop drawings to delivery can take up to 12 to 14 weeks. Manufacturers worth exploring: Henrybuilt of Seattle and UK-based Plain English, luxury kitchen makers who have developed lower-priced lines. And, at the highly engineered, luxury end, check out Bulthaup, a German company with US showrooms, and Boffi, an Italian line with a highly refined aesthetic.
Custom cabinets:
Like having a suit tailored to your measurements, working with a local cabinet fabricator has many advantages (you can spec odd-sized cabinets to work with your room dimensions, for instance). The finished results average $500 to $1,400 per linear foot. Depending on the materials, finishes, and hardware you choose, costs need not be prohibitive, and average lead times of 6 to 8 weeks are considerably less than the wait for semi-custom cabinets. Plus, you can check on progress and make minor adjustments along the way.
3. How do I calculate the costs?
With cabinet prices ranging from $75 to $1,400 per linear foot, it's imperative that you scope your project wisely. Determine your guideline budget by measuring how many linear feet of cabinets you need (both above and below the counter). If you're remodeling an existing kitchen, you can do this to scale with a tape measure. If you're working on a new design, you'll need to use a scale ruler—and will probably want to enlist the help of an architect or kitchen designer. Multiply your number of linear feet by the quoted cost per linear foot, and you'll quickly arrive at your answer.
4. When do custom cabinets make sense?
The bespoke approach is ideal for kitchens with specific requirements (in a room with an irregular floor plan, for instance, or with counter heights that differ from the standard). For my family's own recent kitchen remodel, which involved general contracting work to remove walls and rewire, my architect husband and I went with custom kitchen cabinets for reasons that came down to design, cost, and coordination. After researching various options, our builder found a cabinet maker who could give us exactly what we wanted at much less than semi-custom prices
5. Built-in cabinets or open shelves?
Now that open-plan living and multi-functional rooms are becoming the norm, the kitchen with cabinets that run from wall to wall is no longer the gold standard. Like me, many people want their kitchens to blend into the surrounding decor. But while it may be tempting to do away with fitted cabinets altogether, they're valuable and efficient for storage, particularly if you have a small kitchen and a lot to pack into it. Instead of clearing the decks, find the balance that works for your needs. A popular compromise is to use fitted cabinets below the counter and open shelving above. But remember that what's in the open is on display—unlike what you tuck behind closed doors.
Happy Investing!
Matt W.