Kitchen Remodeling San Francisco

Green Kitchen Remodeling

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:18:32 +0000

Although the motivations for a green remodel are often the health and environmental benefits, these are only some of the positives. Energy and water-wise designs and products will decrease your monthly bills while increasing the value of your home. According to recent research by McGraw Hill, people looking for a green home were willing to pay about $18,000 more.

Despite the long-term financial savings, many hesitate to embark on the journey on account of financial barriers. But now is a great time to consider a renovation – the current state of the economy often makes contractors more open to negotiate on prices.

Really, a green remodel is realistic for any family, according to Verena, who speaks from experience. We’ll follow her story to learn the basic need-to-knows about giving your kitchen an eco-friendly makeover.

Going Green: Kitchens

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:15:28 +0000

Going green is popular when remodeling or designing a home. Although people go green for different reasons, a few of the positives of designing an eco-friendly kitchen include: using less energy, using items that are both functional yet fashionable, advancing technology that is continually improving, saving money in the long run, and of course posing no harm to the environment.

Popular green kitchen remodel trends include energy efficient lighting, hands free faucets, bamboo flooring, recycled countertops, green building products (including marmoleum natural linoleum, green fiber insulation, salvage butcher blocks, etc).

While many people upgrade their appliances during remodels, choosing an eco-friendly appliance reduces the amount of energy you use, in the long term that could save you thousands.

Having a countertop made from recycled products gives your kitchen a look unique to your home. Recycled countertops are popular to green kitchen design trends and can be made from recycled glass, marble, tiles, and waterproof recycled paper panels.

Lighting in a kitchen is a necessity, and one of the least expensive places to go green. Simple solutions like using energy efficient light bulbs can save money. Hands-free or sensor faucets make the list of green kitchen remodeling trends allowing for more conservation of water. They also add a sleek feel to the overall design.

While you can use many different eco-friendly products for flooring, bamboo has become the most popular green kitchen trend. Its durability, look, and resistance to stains are among the top reasons. Its also a renewable resource and very low maintenance.

Kitchen Necessities

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:11:09 +0000

Here is a guide for outfitting your kitchen
Non-stick pans have a relatively short life and can release dangerous toxins when heated to high temperatures. Opt for stainless-steel coated pans instead. Metal baking pans will also last longer than silicone ones. For cooking utensils, steer away from plastics and choose wooden or metal ones.
Items : chef’s knife, paring knife, whisk, large stock pot, large skillet, wooden spoon, grater, vegetable peeler, meat thermometer, tongs, and mixing bowls.
Glass containers make it easy to see what’s inside and will help keep you tidy. Ceramic canisters store pantry essentials like sugar, flour, and pasta also help to keep your cabinets and counter tops well organized.
A pantry filled with the basics will help you use your new kitchen more often. Martha Stewart has an excellent kitchen pantry checklist.
Around the kitchen use natural cleaners. Method and Seventh Generation make green cleaners that are available at most markets. Avoid harsh chemicals and insecticides in the kitchen. Put dish soap and hand lotion in matching containers to give your kitchen a special touch.
If your city mandates recycling, dedicate bins for garbage, bottles and cans, and paper.
Coordinate rugs and dishtowels to complete your kitchen. Flea markets and garage sales are good places to look if you have a vintage aesthetic in mind. Larger retailers like Ikea and Target have a wide variety of textiles to choose from. Keeping your kitchen clean, organized, and fully-stocked with the basics will help you enjoy it for years to come!

Outdoor Kitchen

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:08:20 +0000

Try decorative concrete for foundation flooring and patterned concrete inlaid with colorful tile work for the countertops. Install a Italian grill and oven, a stainless steel refrigerator and dishwasher with matching sinks and fixtures.

Add a vaulted cedar-beamed roof with ceiling fans that circulate the air and cedar posts with pull-down panels that fasten securely in case of weather changes.

Match the cabinets with cedar lining for a sweet smell and bug resistant property
Outdoor kitchens are like enjoying the great outdoors with the comfort of your own bed and bath.

They can be built to allow for an open view of the pool area so that you are no longer shut away in the kitchen cooking while others play. An outdoor shower with a view of your garden can complete the transformation.

The cost of an out-door kitchen is much lower than the indoor type and also adds value to your home, so for those who never want to be stuck in the kitchen on a beautiful day again, start planning!

Kitchen – Hot or Not?

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:18:57 +0000

When considering to makeover your Twin Cities kitchen did you know that many prize winning designs were done at the low and mid-level price range? Its like cooking, its not the ingredients that count as much as how you blend those ingredients.

For example, I recently saw a beautiful Mission Style oak cabinet install, it was a pretty golden stain and the hardware was an antiqued bronze knob. The homeowners then did a very intricate Italian tile mosaic on the back splash, beautifully done by their contractor and well lit by the under cabinet lighting. Uh Oh! The style of the cabinets and the Italian mosaic back splash was like wearing a plaid shirt with a grey business suit. It left you wondering if something along a simpler install might have shown off the cabinets better. These people spent $20,000 on cabinets and your eye was immediately drawn to the back splash, which would have looked great with a raised panel mitered door, but looked out of place with their Mission Style Cabinets.

On another kitchen we had installed a beautiful Maple cabinet with a natural glaze, the homeowners had picked out a black granite top and the contrast was dynamic. When the stainless steel appliances arrived it was just so clean and modern looking and done on such a reasonable budget we knew we had a winner. Except, the homeowners daughter purchased the handles from a big box store, they were a shiny brass handle with a white porcelain center, it drew the eye away from the beautiful cabinets and granite top to looking at the handles. It blew the whole look, and not in a good way. Picture a woman going out wearing a simple but elegant black dress, an understated pearl necklace and plastic flip flops from Walmart.

My point is, your getting ready to spend some serious money and once something is glued or nailed in place its too late to change your mind, unless you want to pay to do it over again. So put your package together carefully, don’t rush.

The National Kitchen Bath Association has kitchen guidelines you can download for free, they also offer some help on style selections.

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Build Your Own Cabinets

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:17:52 +0000

Do you want to learn how to make your own kitchen cabinets? Building kitchen cabinets is not as hard as you might assume it to be. With the right materials and the right set of instructions, it is very much possible to build your own kitchen cabinet.

Apart from getting the satisfaction of building it on your own, you will be able to tailor that kitchen cabinet to your own style.

The Things You Need

The materials needed in building kitchen cabinets need not be expensive and extravagant. These materials should not be costly to be proven durable. All you need to make sure of is their resilience and sense of permanence that you can find out by asking around from people who know better, or by researching the net for materials that are reasonably priced but are of quality. Below are what you must have in order to construct your own kitchen cabinets and the steps that you will need to take.

Materials needed:

Dowels
Table
Saw
Jigsaw
Router
Drill
Sander
Sandpaper
Clamps
Wood Glue
½-inch Plywood
1×6 Lumber
Drawer Slides
Measuring Tape
Hinges
Knobs
Flathead Screws
Finishing Nails
Wood Putty

Steps to Be Followed:
1. Get your measurements – In building kitchen cabinets, the first thing you will have to do is to ascertain the measurement of the section where you intend to install the cabinets. After doing so, move the measurements you got to the ½ inch plywood to be able to assemble the pieces later on. You can then use the saw to start cutting the plywood in accordance to the measurement you made. You can refer to the web for your desired cabinet designs.

2. Bring together the cabinet pieces – Put the cabinet pieces together with respect to your desired design by nailing the cut portions. Use the finishing nails for this process. Strengthen the frame of the cabinet pieces by using wood glue. Use the clamps for holding the pieces while waiting for the glue to dry.

3. Fasten a face frame to the cabinet – Bore holes to the fastened surface of the face frame. This frame will be needed eventually to hold the doors that will be connected to the cabinet. In order to do that, you will need four pieces of 1×6 lumbers for every cabinet that you wish to make. After doing so, you can now attach the lumber pieces by using wood screws to come up with a frame. Drill the necessary holes into the face frame then using nails, append it to the cabinet frame. After nailing, you may use the wood putty to coat the nail hollow.

4. Cut the doors of the wood – To make doors for the frames of the cabinet, cut the plywood into a size of ¼ to 3/8 inches extend beyond for the purpose of easy opening. The table saw should be used in cutting the plywood. The next thing to do is to sand the edges for a smooth outcome.

5. Apply wood stain – Apply wood stain and polyurethane finish to the frame and the door of the cabinet before attaching the door to the cabinet itself. Do the second coating once the first one is totally dry. Once the second coat is dry and ready for the final touch, apply your polyurethane coat to the cabinet. Let it try overnight.

6. Do the installation – When your cabinets are dry enough, you are now ready to do the last step in building your kitchen cabinets – the installation. Attach the cabinets to the studs in which you wish them to be at. Screw the cabinets into the studs and finally, attach the cabinet doors to the cabinets to complete the job.

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Kitchen Counter Materials

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:16:27 +0000

Let’s face it: no matter how much we invest in decorating and furnishing our living rooms, the kitchen undoubtedly becomes the true gathering space for the home. Dubbed the “workroom of the house” by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the kitchen is likely to get a lot of use—and everything in it needs to stand up to years of abuse by hot pans, sharp knives, dropped dishes and whatever else might happen. Especially counters. And since counters take up a large proportion of space in a kitchen, they definitely need to look fantastic.

Below is a guide to the some of the most trendy kitchen counter materials:

Artisan Tile
Custom designed tile mosaics are ultra chic. Using top-quality glazed artisanal tile on the backsplash areas of sinks and counters is a way to add a pop of color into a kitchen and make it truly unique.

Granite
Durable, attractive, and long-lasting, this material is as trendy as ever for kitchens. However, there have been recent reports (like this one from the New York Times) that says some of the granites used in may countertops emits elevated levels of radon, an odorless gas linked to lung cancer, though the industry maintains their product is safe.

Wood
If your kitchen gets heavy use, and the recipes in your repertoire call for pounds of chopped vegetables, a wood counter may be in order. Many home chefs are opting for kitchen islands made from the same materials used in chopping blocks.
Soapstone
Soapstone is a non-porous material, which makes it resistant to bacterial growth, requires no sealing, and is durable enough for you to place hot pans directly on its surface. And rumor has it that Martha Stewart has soapstone counters in her own kitchen.
Stainless-steel
This material is becoming popular in kitchens as it is very easy to keep clean and will not be marred by hot pans. It lends itself to a modern aesthetic and looks very sleek and industrial. However, the surface is easily dented.

Concrete
Concrete sounds harsh and industrial, but it won’t look like the sidewalks you tread on. It’s easy to customize in terms of color and doesn’t pose the radon threat that granite does while still being just as durable and heat resistant.

Green
Eco-friendly materials are gaining steam: recycled glass, end-grain bamboo and reclaimed woods like recycled old-growth lumber are trendy in eco-conscious and green remodels.

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Kitchen Remodeling in San Francisco

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:48:13 +0000

If your San Francisco kitchen has you down, get cooking on a new remodeling project. A simple facelift in your kitchen can help brighten your whole house. We’ve all heard of the remodeling drill from the home design magazines before: a fresh coat of paint, sleek chrome fixtures, the most modern appliances. But this is San Francisco, where ordinary remodeling just won’t do. Some things to keep in mind for remodeling in San Francisco are environmental concerns, how much the room represents you and your personal style, and—of course—how much it will cost.

One of the easiest ways to ensure your remodeling project goes off without a hitch is to have a clear plan. Head to a newsstand and pick up a couple of interior design and living magazines to find inspiration. Depending on your aesthetic, Sunset, Dwell, San Francisco Magazine, and California Home + Design are good titles to thumb through to help find a vision for your kitchen remodeling project.

After having a few ideas in mind of what you would like to achieve in your kitchen remodeling project, it is a good idea to speak with someone in a showroom. They can answer all of your specific recommendations and tailor products and ideas to fit your home and budget. San Francisco showrooms to consider stopping in include SieMatic on 1st Street and Bath & Beyond in Potrero Hill.

To keep your remodeling project as environmentally friendly as possible, consider using low-VOC paints, and sustainable materials like bamboo for flooring and cabinetry. A high-efficiency washing machine and dishwasher can help ease your monthly water bill while modernizing your space.
Consider changing the color and textures in your kitchen. Instead of monochromatic tiles, a mosaic of cherry colors can brighten up your kitchen. A stainless steel table surface is an unexpected touch and can contrast tile/ granite countertops and wooden cabinetry.

However you decide to remodel your San Francisco kitchen, there are certain questions to consider:

Will this fit into my remodeling budget?
Will this last?
How much maintenance will this require?
Does this represent my personal style and point of view?

By keeping these things in mind your kitchen remodeling project will be uniquely you and uniquely San Francisco.