Two Hammers

The freebies and discounted upgrades keep coming from the cabinet manufacturers.  Major players like Diamond Cabinets and Decora Cabinets have extended discounts on some of their upgrades thru February 2011.  Our favorite upgrade – all plywood construction – will be available at a substantial discount for the next two months.  The all plywood construction makes a great cabinet if exposure to water or heavy use is expected.  If there is a kitchen or bath remodel in your future, now is a good time to cash in on the specials.

The shaker cabinet styles are very popular this year, edging out traditional styles by a good margin.  The clean understated lines of the shaker cabinet works well in most kitchen remodels or new homes.  The style is well represented in the semi custom manufacturers lineups like Diamond Cabinets, Decora Cabinets, and Kraftmaid Cabinets, so there is plenty to choose from.  Increasing in popularity is the shaker style with wider stiles and rails, giving a more contemporary look to a timeless classic.  For a detailed discussion of cabinet styles visit our website.

We exhibited in a local home show over the weekend; and the attendance and homeowner interest was a surprise. Attendance was off a little from previous years, and some people could not get past our remodeling booth fast enough. However, about 25% of those which we had discussions with were interested in kitchen remodels. Our expectations were for nothing but small face lift and maintenance projects, apparently some homeowners are not restrained by the softening housing market.
The big hits for the show were convenience hardware and premade kitchen cabinets by Diamond Cabinets. The new turquoise rust finish from Decora Cabinets received a lot of interest; and to our amazement there was still a lot of interest in white cabinets. And the winner in the countertop area were quartz stones like Cambria.

The soft touch on cabinet drawers and doors has become the dominant hardware choice for homeowners.  The hardware has matured to the point that it functions reliably and can be installed with confidence.  Blum offers a very nice soft closing under mount drawer glide which is a must have for a new kitchen.  The second generation of Blum Door closers has a very pleasing motion and should be considered for all kitchen cabinet doors.  If you have already remodeled your kitchen, all is not lost, Blum offers a unit which will retrofit onto most of their European style hinges.  Call your local cabinet shop and get retrofits for your doors.

For a new kitchen remodel the soft close hardware is available on custom cabinets and premanufactured cabinet lines like Diamond Cabinets Decora Cabinets, and Kraftmaid Cabinets.

When it comes time to make major purchases there still is nothing like touching and feeling in a brick and mortar store.  As convenient as the internet is; customers still visit showrooms to purchase kitchen remodeling products and services.  When we opened our kitchen showroom it was a major boost for business for several reasons.  Firstly, it gives you a comfortable place to entertain clients, with all of your samples at hand.  Secondly, it shows that you are a bonified player in the game.  The obvious investment in time and money separates you from all of the other ‘home office’ interior designers and ‘pickup truck office’ contractors.

In Orange County, CA these are some of our favorite showrooms:

Glass Creek Inc. in Fullerton – A full service Kitchen remodeling showroom with cabinet and countertop displays.  Featuring Diamond Cabinets and Decora Cabinets.

Tuscany Tile in Brea, CA – A stylish tile showroom which carries more upscale tiles.

Central Plumbing in La Habra, CA – A plumbing fixtures showroom.

To find these remodeling showrooms in Google maps or , please follow this link: Remodeling Showrooms Placemarks.

Styling and warmth on the outside; convenience and function on the inside.  Soft closing door and drawer hardware is a must for any new kitchen, ending door slams and utensil crashes.  Pullouts and rollouts are a great way to store and access those larger pots and pans.  To accommodate the bulky Costco items there is nothing better than a pullout pantry, or a pantry loaded with rollouts.  And drawers still rein king for ergonomic access instead of large door cabinets.  Then of course, there is the required deep lazy susan in the blind corner and the recycling trash pullouts.

Hot door styles are the wide stile and rail shaker look; or a classical raised panel profile for timeless elegance.  Bucking the popular trend with the rustic look, stay away from the heavily grained and charactered species, such as, hickory, alder, birch, pine, and oak.  Unless it is a vacation home, then definitely use the local wood species.  The beautiful grain of cherry or clear maple underneath a semi transparent stain can not be beat. Medium light to medium brown stain colors (shifting more green than red with just a touch of black pigment) is a good choice.  The slight grey cast from the black pigment yields the coffee, espresso or mink looks.  A burnt umber or raw sienna glaze can give credit to detailed door styles while adding some warmth.  Black and chocolate should be used sparingly as accents.  If it has to be white, a cream or amaretto with a glaze can not be beat.  Decora Cabinets new Honeycomb on maple would be wonderful in a sunlight starved kitchen or bath.

Read the full article.

Homeowners – Are you looking for a reputable remodeling contractor?

Glass Creek Inc. – remodeling contractors.

We will work with you to design your project using state of the art computer design software, then build it to meet your expectations. Kitchen and bath remodeling is our specialty. We can supply manufactured cabinets by Diamond or Decora, or build custom cabinets to your specifications. Check out Glass Creek’s website at www.glasscreek.com.