Basement Finishing Colorado – Kitchen Style

Considering kitchens?

 read on for some helpful pointers:

Functionality coupled with a stunning finish and rock solid construction. Not too much to ask from your kitchen…right?

Beautifully crafted cabinetry and aesthetically pleasing counter tops, often means barely affordable. But what if you could get the custom cabinets you want and not pay so much that it requires a second mortgage? Excellent installation and great functional design are key aspects of any kitchen remodeling project too. How can you get the kitchen remodeled and maintain your budget? Lets begin with a look at some things worth considering, before you sign your name.

Here are some tips and tricks for making your new kitchen more affordable and beautifully finished:

1) Plan more, fix less. Yes, that is the first part you need to consider when you want a professionally remodeled kitchen. Please don’t rush out to Home Depot or Lowe’s (not yet anyway) and buy the pretty looking cabinets you walked past last weekend. Before that, lets sit down and imagine what you like to do in your kitchen. Get a sense of what you feel will be perfect for the way you live. Try asking yourself these question first:

• Which part of your kitchen will you use most? Microwave, Cooktop, Oven, Refrigerator, Island for food preparation or perhaps the sink. Whatever you find is more commonly use in your home.
• How tall are your family? Considering the height you will store things plays a big part in planning for better functionality.
• Do you prepare much food? Sounds silly, but think about what kind of food preparations you do. Sandwiches, microwave dinners, 5 course meals, or perhaps you love to have a space that works perfectly for you to teach your kids to cook (for you at some point we hope).
• Are you light or dark? This question is about your love of light. Will you prefer a low light, subdued feeling in your kitchen, a bright and breezy fresh and clean look, or perhaps somewhere in between? This part is so important.
• Do you store more pots and pans, or dishes and platters? Knowing the balance of your storage needs will vastly enhance your functional design.
• Do you really need an office in your kitchen? You may like to open mail, write a note to the teacher, check out your facebook page, shop the internet or many little things you really don’t want to leave the kitchen for. Many times, you don’t want to leave the food cooking and go to your “office”. Having a spot right there in your kitchen could mean you can do that thing you just remembered, without risking a toasted chicken (that should really have been a roasted chicken).

2) Counter tops. While we will discuss several options for this, we don’t intend this to be an exhaustive guide. Rather the place to get some ideas about the counter top material you may like. Now you can go visit Lowe’s or Home Depot, The great indoors, or a place you like to browse, and touch the various materials and get a feel for how they feel.

Some notes about counter tops that will be useful to know;

Granite, while excellent for a cold surface when making pastries, granite does stain without proper sealing. In a tile format, you will have grout to deal with cleaning, or joint lines to maintain. We recommend use of a medium to darker shade of grout for long term looks as the stains and discoloration will less affect its appearance. If you are thinking of granite, consider this: Its very durable, but not unbreakable. Chips can occur in rare circumstances, and if it does you will not be able to easily replace or repair it. Slab is cut from rock that has grain patterns and once that “cut” of the quarry is done, chances are you will have to replace everything in your kitchen. Just a thought to consider about your new kitchen counter tops.

Tile is a similar solution to the where maintenance is concerned. On benefit of tile is you are able to have a much broader selection of finish options. If a piece gets broken, you can have spares in your basement storage area, and call in a professional tile setter to replace it. Of course, grout lines pose the same issue for tile as for granite tile. Namely you have to keep it clean and sealed well. As before, we recommend a medium to darker grout color to mitigate this issue. A benefit with tile counter tops is the choices of patterns. These can be used nicely as backsplash to your counter tops, as well as for the counter top itself. This presents myriad options for style and overall appearance.

Concrete is a relatively new medium in use. You may read this and initially ask “concrete, really?”, but it is one of the preferred solutions for a high tech look to many of the lofts and condo’s in Denver. Its advantages are the virtually unlimited colors you may use and the smooth surface that is easy to keep clean. Much like solid surface materials (more about those in a moment), concrete will be easy to clean and offers reasonable durability if installed well. Where concrete becomes less attractive is following about 8 -12 years of normal use. The surface will scratch and that can show once you have a small collection of them. You can resurface concrete, but it does cost a reasonable amount.

Solid surface will be one of the most durable, repairable, maintainable and clean counter top materials you can use these days. It offers a cold preparation surface and you can place very hot pans without scorching the surface (in many cases). Silestone (a brand of solid surface) and many types/brands of this material will offer colors that are easy to work with in most cases. They often appear as granite or marble, but don’t take stain, don’t chip easily and last as long as you will want them to. The down side is their appearance is rather uniform, but not quite a patterned surface.

3) Cabinet door styles: Lets talk a little about your style for this part. Its a good idea to begin this discussion by noting your personal tastes in furniture. That can greatly influence what you will find attractive as a kitchen cabinet finish. So, look around your home and ask yourself; Am I – traditional, modern, contemporary, early American, prairie, arts and crafts, Frank Lloyd Wright, classic, art nouveau, or something eclectic perhaps? Let this guide your overall direction in the style you choose. Its a good idea since you will likely be living in and working with these looks for many years.

Here are just a few cabinet door pictures to help define your kitchens style.

You can begin to see ideas and get a feel for what strikes you. You may not see something in these that you like, but that is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We can show you hundreds of options to suit your personal style, or even create a style that is all your own. Finding a cabinet style that is just right will be one of the fun parts of your kitchen remodel.

4) Cabinet boxes and drawers: While you won’t see too much of this once the cabinets are installed, it carries the functional integrity of your new kitchen. Although easy to overlook, the construction of the boxes that will hang or stand in your kitchen is the backbone of useful life. This is the part that will carry all your dishes, china, silverware, pots and pans etc. Sound advice here is to spend a little more of your budget having a construction type and material, that will hold together for years and years. One that is not susceptible to moisture causing crumbling shelves and loss of integrity.

We offer many brands that have a great structure and finish for your kitchen. From completely custom made cabinets, to off the shelf, its quite possible to have a decent box construction for your kitchen remodel.

Here is where we will pause and let you consider these options and questions about your kitchen cabinets. Take some time to know your tastes and preferences, then connect with us, or stroll through a few stores to get your feet wet. But come back and let show you the many possible ways to help your budget, and hlep find the style you want. When you are ready, we’ll be listening, helping to develop your ideas.

Enjoy the process and even more, enjoy the new kitchen.

 

Better service, Better basements.  303 681 9070