What hits you in the eyes when you enter a kitchen? Yes, the cabinets. And whether you notice the beauty of the wood grain or that several cabinet doors sag on their hinges, you get an impression of good or bad quality. At some point, whether for a new home or a remodel, new cabinets can become a priority. So what you get with expensive cabinets versus less expensive ones?

Why expensive cabinets shine

Construction quality and customizable options make fine cabinets stand out. Here are some of your choices:

1.  Cabinet construction: The cases of better quality cabinets are made of solid plywood that has no voids rather than medium density fiberboard. This gives fasteners have a more solid and lasting grip and adds strength to the cases. Drawers have interlocking dove-tailed joints rather than butt-joints that pull apart. Suspension systems are heavy duty and drawers pull out to their full depth. Shelves are often 3/4″ plywood for sag-free durability.

2.  Sizes: Want to convert your breakfast bar to media storage, or create an 10″ deep pantry against a wall? The best cabinets can often be custom-sized to fractions of an inch.

3.  Woods: Inexpensive cabinets often offer three or four types of wood in a limited amount of styles, stains and finishes. Top quality cabinets will come in a greater variety of woods and a much greater variety of styles and finishes. Certain looks, like antique glazing, are hand finished. A glossy lacquered finish or Euro-designs with the grain running horizontally are among many options.

4.  Accessories: Here’s where high-end cabinets really shine in both functionality and beauty. Storage ranges from swing-up appliance cupboards, wine rack cupboards, spice rack drawers, slide-out or full size pantries, and much more. And of course, matching cabinet door panels that fit in the front of your major appliances are available. For beauty, choose from columns, corbels, crown moldings, carved accents, lattices, arches–you name it!

5.  Confidence: It’s not easy for local custom cabinet shops to stay in business. With top brand national cabinet makers, experience goes back decades. They can offer 50 year warranties and be fairly confidence that they’ll still be there to help you if you need a replacement or addition.

Cabinets are perhaps the last thing you’ll replace over time. New floors, appliances and even countertops are more likely to get changed now and then. If you have remodeling budget constraints, as most people do, put your money in your cabinets and save towards other upgrades. Your kitchen cabinets make an immediate, visible statement about the quality of your entire home. They’re an investment you’ll love every day of your life.

Looking for 21st century ways to improve your semi-Neanderthal kitchen cabinets? Homeowners can choose to simply replace the doors, or to also reface the cabinet cases with paint, laminate, or a wood veneer. There are good reasons for choosing a less expensive cabinet refacing job. Chief among these is the cost, including doing some or all of the work yourself. And your purpose for the refacing is important, too. There are design possibilities with less expensive refacing choices that can create a very “today” look.

1. Good old (new) paint: If your cabinets are already painted (perhaps a dingy, boring white), sand them down and do a creative color scheme, like butter-colored cabinet cases with royal blue doors, or dark painted brown cases with new wood-grain doors. If your cabinets are wood veneer, clean and strip or very lightly sand the veneer before painting. Do it yourself or have it done by a painting contractor.
2. Thermofoil doors: Thermofoil is vinyl that has been glued to medium density fiberboard with a vacuum press. You can get many styles of Thermofoil doors inexpensively. There are precautions. Heat (such as a self-cleaning oven) can cause the glue bond to separate, so you’ll need to shield cabinets adjacent to the stove. Surface scratches and dings can let water (from washing them down, for example) seep in and separate the bond. And colors may fade over time. But if there are no children in the home or you’re looking for a cost efficient upgrade for selling your home,  Thermofoil doors with veneered or painted cabinet cases are a good alternative.
3. Laminate: If you shudder at the thought of laminate-covered cabinets, it’s only because you haven’t looked at laminates lately. Laminating cabinet cases and even simple slab or Craftsman style doors and drawer fronts is well within the capabilities of home handyfolks. True, it will be easier if you take down the cases to work on them, but the flip side is that the creative possibilities are endless. Solid colors, textures, wood grains, and very hip patterns are possibilities for mixing and matching. Paint the cases and laminate the doors, or vice versa. And if you hire a contractor, it can be a very affordable cabinet refacing alternative.

If your purpose in kitchen cabinet refacing is home resale, it can be best to tone down the personal creativity a bit. Warm ivory painted cases with wood grain Thermofoil or taupe painted doors look current, yet are versatile. Unleash your wilder side for cabinets you plan to live with for a few years.

Creating an in-law apartment kitchen can be quick and relatively low-cost, or it can involve full-scale construction on a small space. Either way, your between-jobs son or your live-in elderly aunt can enjoy the convenience of a little kitchen of their own in your spare bedroom, basement or renovated garage.

Tips for creating a small, inexpensive kitchen

Perhaps your returning soldier daughter is facing a long rehab process. Or you’re going to telecommute from a new home office. There are many reasons for creating a small kitchen as quickly as possible. Here are some ideas.

1. Contractors: You can be your own hands-on contractor and hire a plumber for water and gas lines, and an electrician for safe power.
2. Appliances: Manufacturers like Summit and Acme make steel all-in-one units ranging from 39 to 72 inches wide. Smaller ones have one or two cooking burners, a sink, and an under-counter refrigerator. The current cost is roughly $1,400. Acme has a 69-inch kitchen unit with a 4-burner stove, an under-counter refrigerator and cupboard, a sink, overhead cabinets, a built-in microwave and range hood. The price is about $2,300. Fortunately, many units let you choose between a refrigerator, dishwasher or cupboard if, for example, you prefer a free-standing refrigerator. You could add a 24-inch deep, 72-inch high storage cabinet as wide as space permits. A kitchen cart with butcher-block top expands counter space.
3. Flooring: Use a water-resistant hard-surface flooring such as vinyl or a laminate surface for ease in cleaning the inevitable kitchen spills.

Creating a custom in-law apartment kitchen

Creating a rental apartment or permanent home for a family member is a small-scale home building project. Save money by situating the kitchen, bathroom and laundry facility back-to-back or above or below existing plumbed rooms.

1. Contractors: A kitchen remodeling contractor can help with layout ideas. You’ll need the services of all types of sub-contractors from framing and plumbing to painting and flooring. If possible, build 30 inches of counter space next to the sink and 24 inches on one or both sides of the stove.
2. Appliances: To save space, find a refrigerator that holds about 15 cubic feet — like this example from Summit (roughly $500), a 24-inch wide stove (approx. $450 to over $750), and an 18-inch wide dishwasher (about $300 and up).
3. Cupboards: In-stock cupboards from home improvement stores or un-assembled cabinets can save you money and time.
4. Flooring: Same recommendation as #3 above.

Whether you’re creating a rental unit or a landing place for someone dear, an in-law apartment kitchen adds convenience and value to your home. Enjoy seeing your plans become reality!

Who isn’t annoyed by older kitchen countertops made of small, white, uneven tiles? Perhaps you own the little devils and have had it with the uneven surface and stained grout. No, you don’t want to hold your children’s college fund hostage to granite countertops. Fortunately you can achieve a beautiful, updated look that is both easier to care for and budget-friendly.

What’s up with today’s tile countertops?

You’re not crazy to consider replacing tile counters with tile counters. There’s a world of difference in the look and practicality of today’s tiles. Here are the basics:

1. Porcelain and ceramic tiles: When you stop to think that dental work such as crowns and caps are usually made of kiln-fired porcelain, you’ll understand the durability of decorative porcelain tiles. Even then, porcelain (as opposed to “ceramic” tiles) can be fired at different temperatures, rated one to five by the Porcelain Enamel Institute. Five is hardest. Porcelain is made of very fine, water-resistant clay. Ceramic tile can also be fired with a moisture-spurning liquid glass glaze, but is not as dense and strong as porcelain. Glossy glazes provide less strength protection than low-sheen glazes. Choose an even surface to minimize tipping of tall, narrow objects like bottles.
2. Tile and grout size: Porcelain tiles used in current kitchen countertops are often 12 or 16″ square. This automatically creates fewer grout lines than the old 4- or 6-inch tiles. And if you choose a style that isn’t tapered or rounded at each edge, you can grout up to the tile edges and have an almost flat surface. As for grout, today’s tile  countertops often have a very thin grout line of 1/8 inch or less. Fewer grout lines + thinner grout lines = greatly reduced maintenance.
3. Maintenance: Unglazed tile or fussy stones like granite require constant resealing against food and water stains. Cleaning porcelain tile is a breeze. Use darker grout. Seal grout lines when you install tile, but everyday food debris can be cleaned easily with a soapy sponge. Tile is more heat resistant than many synthetic countertop materials. And should someone drop a bowling ball on it (after a lousy game), a cracked tile can be inexpensively removed and replaced from the extras somewhere out in the garage.

Porcelain tiles are available in many earthy patterns, solid colors, or stone-like and wood grain colors and patterns. Set 16″ tiles on the diagonal for rolling pie dough. Choose a different color, size, or pattern for countertop edges and/or backsplash. Go ahead — give your kitchen countertops a “tylish” renovation!

Whether you’re remodeling an authentic ranch house in Wyoming or trying to create a Western ranch kitchen in your suburban home, certain elements can help you achieve your goal. You don’t have to have everything custom made or visit countless antique shops, even if you have the patience and the financial resources. Finding real treasures certainly gives your renovation historical authenticity. But if you love the romance of the old West, you can create it in your own kitchen. Yes, even in Waukegan or Tuscaloosa.

What gives Western ranch kitchens that hospitable look?

1. Floors: Hand-hewn plank floors and cupboards made from local pine or oak trees were common in the old West. You may be able to find such floor planks at a reclaimed lumber warehouse. But today’s hardwood, engineered, and wood laminate flooring offers easy installation and maintenance along with choices galore from Bruce (R) and other brands. High end vinyl such as Earthwerks (R) Dakota, Legacy, Vintage Floral, Wood Antique and other planks come in very authentic-looking individual 4 foot by 7 inch glue-down planks. Surface textures faithfully follow every knot, saw chatter mark, and flow of wood grain.
2. Cabinets: You won’t find the appropriate knotted wood cabinets in all brands, but browse deWil’s Belvedere and Stonybrook in knotty alder, Timberlake’s Wyoming line in oak or hickory, and Aristokraft’s Ayden, Dryden and Harrison lines in rustic birch, among other brands and styles. Knotted wood cabinets are seldom made from pine because pine’s soft wood does not stand up well to wear.
3. Brick: A wide, shallow brick arch and rangetop alcove are often features of Western ranch kitchens. Consider extending the brick to the backsplash areas.
4. Cast iron: Hang a wrought iron cooking utensil or pan holder above your kitchen island. Use reproductions of cast iron door hinges, pulls and knobs. Choose porcelain coated cast iron sinks with apron fronts and countertop or wall mounted old West style kitchen faucets. Use wrought iron chandeliers and black, Western style track lights. How about a heavy iron rope footrest and similar support brackets for your breakfast bar?

Sure, create a space for a genuine antique or two–a butter churn, old branding or clothes irons, spurs and bits, scrub boards, or a pie safe cabinet. Add a life-size cardboard stand-up figure of  The Duke. Keep walls, curtains, and linens in earthy hues, and add small bright red, blue, or gold touches for some pop. When it’s all finished, invite your neighbors in for steak, beans, and Dutch oven apple cobbler. You’ll get that warm, expansive Texas feeling, even if you’re in upstate New York.

Well, okay, semi-custom kitchen cabinets may only seem to have endless choices, but your head will spin when you investigate your options. Yes, we’re talking high-end cabinet lines here, from manufacturers like Medallion, Thomasville, Omega, and others. Here’s what sets them apart:

1. Construction details: Hardwood cabinet case frames, plywood cabinet case panels versus fiberboard, thicker woods, dovetailed hardwood drawer boxes, sturdy hinges and hardware, and size increments to the fraction of an inch are among features you’d expect in semi-custom cabinets.
2. Styles: Architectural styles for cabinetry don’t end at Country, Craftsman, Contemporary, Euro-style and Traditional. Take a look at Medallion’s door styles which include those standard styles plus unique options like Fiji, Gable, Trinity, Yukon, and many others. Look at Dynasty/Omega’s Half Milford or Rothshire Rodenberg doors. You’ll notice in website photos that companies sometimes mix and match a simple style with a more ornamental one, or stained cabinets with painted ones.
3. Wood embellishments: You’ll weep for joy at the corbels, rosettes, turned and boxed columns, arches, shaped feet, glass door woodwork, wood appliance-front panels, crown moldings and other trim pieces to complement your Celtic or rustic leanings. Look at Thomasville’s custom accents, if you dare.
4. Woods and finishes: The woods run the full gamut of cabinet quality woods, but the finishes can be anything from a clear or oiled, unstained finish to a hand-rubbed, aged looking ebony, to “natural with frost glaze,” to a speckled Appaloosa.
5. Organizers: Slide out drawers and bins for everything from pots, lids, dinnerware, cutlery, silverware, canned goods, dry goods, waste baskets, and more are available. Study swing-out and pop-up appliance storage. Also pantry units in every size from under-counter to closet-size units that hide behind your beautiful door style. Enjoy the easy access of upper and lower lazy Susan corner units or deep-bin swing-out corner units. They’ve thought of everything.
6. Glass and other door options: Drool over (but preferably not on) more art and textured glass door inserts than you can imagine. Repeat your kitchen window swag fabric in door panels. Divide the glass door with ornamental leading or with wood mullions of various layouts and shapes.

There really isn’t much you can imagine in kitchen cabinets that isn’t available from finer national cabinet brands. Yes, your local cabinet shop can do much of the above, but there are economies in buying power, production facilities, and even experience when producing cabinets for a national market that (according to Pinocchio) may not be possible at Geppetto’s wood shop. Sure, compare prices and options. But give brand name cabinets an opportunity to customize your new kitchen to your heart’s (and your pocketbook’s) content.

“Hate this!” you grumble as you scrub away. “Why did I decorate my kitchen backsplash with these  #%~*&! sea shells? I’m always scrubbing them!”

Ditto many other kitchen wall decor items–your plate collection, cake molds, and even those very popular mesh-backed, mastic-installed stone or tile backsplashes. If they have rough, irregular, and or protruding surfaces, they’re grease traps. True, grime builds up on all kitchen surfaces. Yet there are many beautiful ways to express creativity on your walls while minimizing cleaning chores.

Easy-care tricks for decorating kitchen walls

1. Visual balance: Decide what the major visual focus will be and downplay other decor elements. If you have cabinets or countertops of your dreams, don’t have the floors or walls vie for attention. Choose a somewhat monochromatic backsplash tile that picks up the cabinet grain color along with some neutral or subtly contrasting hues. Easy-to-clean smooth stone or tiles, or subtle wallpaper abstract patterns can add interest without competing visually.
2. Paint: Go monochromatic, or choose a kitchen paint color that lets  cabinets “star.” Add a faux finish. Stencil a pattern in the backsplash or along the wall tops. Hand paint the backsplash area.
3. 3-D objects: To displaying your shells, wine corks, or framed produce art prints, place them where they’ll collect the least grime. Hang them above the wall cabinets. Create a grouping of them in the breakfast nook or family room.
4. Tile & stone: If you choose relatively flat, relatively smooth tile or stone for backsplashes, you can create extra focal-point interest by installing them on the diagonal or adding a row or insets of contrasting color, texture, or material.
5. Wallpaper: Select a wallpaperlabeled “scrubbable.” Keep designs simple. Even if you love country, update with a fabulous stylized floral design. If you choose a large or intricate pattern, use it on one wall. Paint the other walls. (Remember that all traces of paste must be scrubbed off if you eventually go back to paint.)
6. Alternate surfaces: Richly textured or patterned metals, reclaimed lumber, brick pavers, and your countertop material (granite, laminate) all make handsome kitchen backsplash decor that can blend or contrast with wall paint color. Go up to cabinet top height for drama. For cost control, paint walls and backsplashes but make a big, dramatic, easily-cleaned tile or graphic accent area on the wall behind your stove top. Put a band of narrow edging tile around it as a frame .

Tempted by these ideas but not confident? You’re not alone. Have an interior or kitchen designer consult with you. The fees are worth the expert advice, and you’ll love the results for years.

Today many homeowners sing the praises of kitchen cabinet refacing. Savings of 50% or more over new cabinets are not unusual. Often new doors are ordered and the existing cabinet cases get veneered to match. To save even more, apply the cabinet case veneer or laminate yourself. It isn’t rocket science, as this overview will show.

Preparing for DIY kitchen cabinet case refacing

·        Easy surfaces: Cabinet cases are usually rectangular with flat surfaces.  Doors, by contrast, have moldings, curves, and recesses require some finishing expertise.

·       Tools: Most are probably on hand. You’ll need a sturdy metal straight edge, a utility knife and blades, wood patching compound, a putty knife, wood glue, 150 grit sandpaper,  a small hand-sanding block, finishing nails, a short ladder, and a veneer smoothing blade (not a roller.)  The door refacing company will supply veneer or laminate to match your new doors.

·        Work in place: Remove existing doors and hardware. Gently pry off moldings. All cabinet cases can stay in place–yippee!

Steps for refacing kitchen cabinet cases yourself

1.      Prep: Wash surfaces with a very mild dish detergent and water solution. Don’t saturate cases or use solvents. Fill dings and hardware holes with wood putty. Dry, sand lightly. Gently hand sand all surfaces.

2.      End panels: The refacing supplier will send thin plywood end panels. Apply wood glue in broad squiggles on the back side. Fit them to the sanded cabinet ends, press them flat, and secure with finish nails.

3.      Stiles and rails: Cut peel-off veneer strips an inch wider than the vertical stiles, with the top and bottom ends extending two inches beyond the horizontal rails. Spray with rubber cement and set veneer in place.  Let the utility knife blade run flat against the stile sides as you carefully cut downwards. Score lightly behind the top and bottom overhanging tabs, fold tab away from you, and trim the crack line. Do the same with the horizontal stiles, letting the tab ends protrude right over the new vertical veneer strip. Using the metal straight edge, t   rim the overlapping rail and style ends by cutting through both at once in line with the stile edges.  Remove the cut-off ends and press down the “keepers.” 

4.      Finishing:  Use the smooth polycarbonate scraper to firmly press down all the new veneer/laminate.  With a small sanding block, sand all cut edges making gentle one-way strokes toward the inside or back of the cabinet. Hang your new doors and hardware.

Yes, it may take two or three days to do all this. Your time will not only greatly enhance your kitchen’s beauty–it’s truly money in the bank. Your bank.

Kitchen windows need to multi-function.  You need good light, quick ventilation, and protection from heat build-up. You need windows that work with, not against, your climate and prevailing winds. Today’s beautifully engineered new kitchen windows just happen to solve many problems while complementing any decor.  Your task? Match your window problems to their solutions.  Here’s how:

What’s baking–you?

If your kitchen windows face east or west, they’ll create heat build-up even in a mild climate. They’re like a car parked outdoors on mild, overcast days. In moderate climates, upgrade to double paned windows. If hotter areas, triple panes and/or invisible coatings can  greatly improve your kitchen’s comfort levels. Replacing  fixed windows with ones that opens for ventilation will also help. Cool!

Light up your life

Single and double-hung windows are divided horizontally, with one or both halves sliding up or down. Double casement style windows are hinged vertically at both sides. If your windows are small, the framing around each pane of these styles blocks a proportionately large amount of light.  Replace the windows with styles like an awning or single casement that have no center dividers.

A breath of fresh air

Stationary windows in a kitchen and nook can permit heat, steam, and odors to build up without the quick relief of moving air currents.  Even if the nearest ventable window is on the opposite side of the living area, installing operable windows will help air currents exhaust stale air. Any style of window from double-hung to awning can do this. If you live in a high precipitation area, awning windows that hinge at the top and swing outward at the bottom can circulate air even when Mother Nature is shedding copious tears.

Blow-hard climates

Some climates have strong weather patterns. These patterns may shift by day or by season.  Choose casement windows that are hinged on the dominant wind side to minimize dust and debris. If the pattern shifts often, use double casement windows and crank out whichever side is needed.

Inertia often makes homeowners put up with ongoing annoyances. New kitchen windows can make a surprising difference in your enjoyment of daily cooking chores. Today’s vinyl, aluminum, and fiberglass windows outperform wood with easy-care, pest-free, rot proof, energy efficient panache. Make that bundle of benefits your own.

What? Vinyl tiles you can grout? Vinyl tiles with lifetime warranties? Vinyl tiles throughout the great room? Aha! You’re thinking vinyl tile technology has stood still for 50 years while everything else got better. If new kitchen flooring is part of your remodeling plan, don’t cheat yourself out of beauty, savings and durability. Get up to speed with today’s vinyl tile.

Even vinyl styles without grout have the glossy or low-lustre sheen and the surface textures of ceramic tiles or natural stones. Some tile edges have the irregularities of authentic stone. Almost any choice is going to be super easy to clean and highly resistant to dents, scratches, and stains. The new flooring job is usually faster and cheaper than stone or ceramic tile.  Prices vary by quality level. Warranties range from 5 years to lifetime depending on quality.

“Choice” is spelled v-i-n-y-l  t-i-l-e-s

1.    Sizes:  Although 12 x 12 inches is a common size, sizes vary from 8 x 8 inches to 18 x 18 inches.  Scale your choice to your project size.

2.    Patterns: Your problem will be to choose among dozens upon dozens of mouth-watering vinyl tile styles. Bring home samples to view with your decor and the changing light. A few among a myriad stone-like choices include marble, sandstone, slate, granite, overall patterns, speckles, onyx, stained cement, limestone, and brick mosaics. Patterns that look like ceramic tiles with borders, contrasting “inset” diamonds, or other traditional looks are readily available. Or you maybe you drool over styles with the natural marbling and surface textures of fine ceramic tiles. (Drooling won’t stain tiles.)

3.    Colors: Stone-like patterns often come in more than one color choice. Color palettes from rich neutrals to exciting blends will tantalize you. Solids offer creative flexibility from the ever-popular black & white checkerboard to your own creation of, for example, a random three-color layout.  Traditional tile styles often offer more than one color way.

4.    Installation methods: Do-it-yourself with peel-off, press down styles, but wear rubber gloves to prevent adhering tiles to your skin. Oh yes, they’re sticky! Or order a pattern requiring the time-honored troweled adhesive installation, with or without grout.

5.    Manufacturers: Vinyl flooring brandslike Armstrong, Congoleum, and Mannington must be doing something right. They’ve been around for decades. Others include Mohawk, Shaw,  and Tarkett. Tarkett offers some very original flecked and overall patterns.

With vinyl kitchen flooring you choose the look, from elegant to country, from stone to ceramic tile, from earthy to high-tech. A quick dust mopping or sweeping sure beats dragging a vacuum cleaner around. It’s a win-win situation, budget smart and big-time beauty. Check it out.