Home Improvement Centers

Kitchen design has undergone a radical transformation in recent years. No longer created solely for the preparation and serving of food, kitchens have been opened and merged with other rooms, particularly the living space.

Typically, one vast space now incorporates the kitchen, the meals area and an informal living space, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a deck and back garden.

Open plan kitchens are preferred by designers and homeowners alike for lots of reasons including that they are spacious, are often bathed in natural light and the person cooking is not shut away and socially isolated in a separate room as in days of old. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without the traditional lunch; turkey and all the trimmings with the whole family gathered around the dining table. And what really makes that particular mealtime special is the effort that’s gone into making the table look just right for the big day — each place setting positively sparkling with festive joy.

So what can you do to jazz up your dining table for the big day this year? Read on for some simple tips that could just provide the finishing touch your dining room needs.

A plate for your plate

The addition to chargers to your dinner table may be a subtle tweak — but one that can make a huge positive difference to the overall look. Read the rest of this entry »

This article Silestone vs Granite should help you decide which stone material to refinish your countertops, backsplash, bathroom counter or even your floor with. We will go over both surfaces thoroughly but ultimately in the end you must decide. It’s your new surface we’re talking about here so let’s get going on Silestone vs Granite!

First a little history on both.

Silestone

What is Silestone? Silestone is a naturally occurring quartz. It’s known for its beauty and strength, which is why it’s so amazing for making kitchen silestone countertops with. Read the rest of this entry »

Tile has been around for many years and has been used in various areas of the kitchen. With all the new materials for tile, you can easily create a modern design. Use your imagination to develop the perfect tile design that suits your style in your kitchen.

Backsplash

The most obvious use for tile in the kitchen is for a backsplash. The choices for tile have come a long way and now include modern materials like glass and metal. Glass tiles, made from recycled glass, come in finishes ranging between glossy to flat. Creating an entire glass backsplash or just adding a few intermittently with ceramic tiles produces a sparkling accent to the rest of the kitchen. Glass tiles paired with large windows or glass-front cabinets put more focus on the translucent effect. Read the rest of this entry »

Many owners of kitchens are installing new cabinets to add more storage spaces or when they are looking for options if they like to change the look of their kitchens.

Old houses and kitchens are often equipped with dark colored cabinets. The cabinets, although in good, solid condition can be refaced. This is a common problem for many people who are living in homes built by their parents. Many people today, especially younger couples are opting for a lighter look and feel in their kitchens. Read the rest of this entry »

For most people, the kitchen is the lifeblood of the home. And for those of us who love to cook and to entertain, having a kitchen space that is comfortable to work in as well as utilitarian is absolutely essential. Unfortunately, for many setting out to improve a kitchen space is a daunting and intimidating task. Costs can run wild in your head as you ponder every desirable possibility for improvement, and rather than taking on such a big project, it gets put off another year. As a builder myself, I cannot recommend strongly enough that first, you take a step back and simply establish priorities before you begin, then proceed with informed choices based upon your specific budget. Read the rest of this entry »

Outdoor kitchens are one of the most popular large home addition and kitchen renovation jobs these days. More and more families are opting to extend their kitchens and build an outdoor cooking area for different reasons and purposes.

A growing family is a common problem among homeowners. When you realize that your current space seemed to have shrunk because your family hits a growth spurt, you tend to find ways and options to maximize the space. When every square foot of your kitchen area is eaten up, moving freely and safely becomes impossible. The first thing to do for those who have the money to splurge is to look for a new place and buy a new home. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to make your kitchen an eco-friendly zone, there are a number of methods you can adopt that will help to preserve the environment. It turns out that most items in your kitchen can be cleaned using baking soda, vinegar and lemons. You only need to look at the cleaners on the celebrity home makeover shows to see that when they clean, they use these three items.

The ‘off-the-shelf’ cleaning products have all sorts of hazard warnings on them. That should be a sign that is not good for your kitchen or the environment. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend my partner and I began to shop for a new kitchen for our family home. Like many homes, I’m sure, our lives and daily activities largely revolve around this one room – hence why such thought was put in to purchasing a new one!

Despite seeing some sunshine, moonlight and good times, our current 1970s style kitchen is unlikely to boogie without a much needed hip-replacement… or new cabinetry at least!

As an avid cook, I really do demand a lot from my kitchen, so I thought I might share some thoughts about what I believe a good kitchen should entail, and gain valuable feedback, before I decide to splurge a vast sum of cash on a new one.

First and foremost, my kitchen has to be practical and considerately designed to cater for my laziness when cooking. Unfortunately, if the Rosemary and Thyme aren’t easily to hand when roasting a chicken on a Sunday, I tend to go without. I like to have all of my equipment, herbs and seasonings within arm’s reach – much like a garden shed, in that respect. A revolving spice rack, useful revolving storage compartments and neatly organised cabinetry therefore greatly appeals to me.

As a father with a young child, I also need it to be hard-wearing. Really hard-wearing in fact. Although it pains me to say, I’ve learned that if you want your kitchen to be a room that the whole family can enjoy, you can’t be too finicky about it. My daughter loves to help her mum bake cakes and brownies; our current kitchen carpet is a testament to that! So having cabinetry that’s easy to clean, and preferably slam-proof, is almost essential.

Lastly, colour plays an essential role in the kitchen design and is a great tool for altering the mood. The kitchen is the first place we all visit in the morning and the first place we retreat to when finishing work in the evenings. For that reason, the colour needs to be bold, energising and able to lighten spirits even in the gloomy wintry days. I find brightly painted walls or cabinets ought to do the trick.

So with a combination of practical – anti-slam – bold coloured cabinetry, hard-wearing surfaces, useful rotating storage and quality spot lighting, I think I may have finally sussed the uncertainty of what makes a good kitchen. Now all that’s left is to pay for it.

Ian is a muppet currently investigating kitchen design and designer kitchens

Stone Italiana worktops, which come in a choice of 59 different, all equally beautiful and polished finishes, are available in three thicknesses – ranging from 20 mm through 30 mm up to 50 mm. They are produced within two state of the art facilities in Italy, with the original located in Zimella, near Verona, and the second facility being located in Villesse.

The available finishes range from plain white through a palette of pastel colours to yellow and orange through red, brown and blue into greys and black. Some finishes are very finely speckled, while others include larger particles of varying colours to add even more interest to the already amazing finish.

In other words, whatever the decor of a kitchen, bathroom or even the reception area of a hotel, or any other kind of business may be, there is a suitable finish within the Stone Italiana range. Few other materials are this versatile in their application.

Stone Italiana quartz worktops consist of 92 to 93 per cent quartz and around seven to eight per cent polyester resin. This combination renders them not only non-absorbent, but also extremely scratch and stain resistant. The hardness of quartz, which is only beaten by the hardness of topaz, corundum and diamond, also makes these worktops highly resistant to chips and cracks – so there’s really no other place to look if durability is a prerequisite.

As a result, these easy-to-clean, hygienic worktops are particularly well suited for kitchens. Food can be prepared straight on the worktop, without a need for chopping boards. Any spills can be easily mopped up with nothing but a damp cloth and even substances easily staining other natural stone surfaces will leave no trace.

Although this type of material, like most other quartz based materials, is also comparatively resistant to heat, it is advisable to use mats or trivets, rather than placing extremely hot pans or pots onto the worktop, in order to prevent potential heat damage.

Caring for the Stone Italiana worktops could not be easier. All they require to maintain their magnificent polished look for years is a regular clean with a solution of warm water and a little mild, preferably pH neutral detergent. After rinsing the worktop with fresh water, it simply has to be dried off to look like new every time. There is no need to polish the surface, as it will retain its polished finish just with the simple cleaning routine as described above.

Want to find out more about Stone Italiana worktops? Click here for further information.