Article Found on www.readingeagle.com – Lots of Good Information & Ideas!
With kitchens taking on a more family-centric role in homes in the past decade, focusing on upgrading accents is easily possible with small efforts leading to an impressive change in look and function.
Kevin Heebner, co-owner of Heeby’s Surplus in Maidencreek Township, said his most popular-selling kitchen upgrade component for the least cost with the most impact in overall appearance is handles for cabinets and drawers, with around 300 styles in stock.
“Handles are the first thing people seem to change when they want to upgrade their cabinets, other than totally changing the cabinets,” Heebner said, noting that a black matte handle is something many people are gravitating toward instead of shiny, silver-colored finishes.
Since replacing cabinetry can quickly become expensive, Heebner recommended sanding and repainting surfaces to bring a fresh throw of clean color into a kitchen setting without putting too much of a pinch on the wallet.
Heebner said he brings in more than 15,000 pieces of granite each year, meaning he can offer very competitive pricing on granite countertops, an element increasingly seen in kitchen remodeling.
This is especially appealing as homeowners either want to sell their houses more successfully in a difficult real estate market or due to many people planning to stay in their homes for a while, wanting to beautify and more efficiently develop their living spaces.
“The darker colors tend to come from Europe, while the lighter colors come from more toward China,” Heeber explained about different hues of granite.
Restaurant-styled faucets with pull-down spray features built into them are another upgrade taking a lot of interest with his shoppers.
Brightening the backsplash behind a sink is possible with ceramic, tumbled marble and glass tiles, Heebner said.
Other low-cost efforts for an enlivening shift in kitchen-views are changing or painting outlet covers, repainting windowsills and switching out bulky ceiling light fixtures to single-stem hanging lights.
Sales manager Jason Schaedler at Baldwin Kitchen & Bath Design Center in West Reading agreed that replacing countertops and backsplashes can make a notable difference in remodeling without needing to resort to an entire upgrade of the room now more known in a home for the purpose of social gatherings.
“If people are on a budget, the kitchen is still the safest place to put money when you’re doing anything to your home,” Schaedler said about the benefit to a house’s resale value. “People are now really focusing on what they’re going to be using in their kitchens for the next five, 10 or 30 years, for those assuming they’ll be staying in their homes.”
Steam ovens are something more in tune with healthy cooking in today’s evolving eating habits, Schaedler said about an appliance many people don’t realize is available.
For those who do want to move forward with revamping cabinetry, cabinet-faced dishwashers and trash compactors are a way to keep the flow of the kitchen counter’s lower levels even and matching with fronts and surfaces.
“Redoing lighting is an easy way to really brighten up a room,” Schaedler added, noting that people want as much light and space as possible, so knocking down walls is sometimes done.
At Empire Surplus Home Center in Bern Township, a few families per day ask to take advantage of the free design services offered for kitchen remodeling.
Kitchen designer J.R. Raab emails the homeowners usually about three different layouts so they have options to choose from and can get an idea of what will best suit their kitchen space and budget.
With unexpectedly affordable pricing on granite slabs, the upgrade to sleek stone countertops is a top-selling kitchen remodeling item in their storefront said Melinda O’Neill, in charge of sales and marketing at Empire.
Formica has also done a spin on the well-liked surface with its new 180fx line-countertops crafted from photographing marbled granite, Raab said.
“Crushed quartz is the second hardest stone to diamond, with a couple different companies making it,” Raab said about another countertop option taking on popularity similar to granite.
Undermount sinks are taking on an increase in sales, O’Neill added, with stainless steel still the usual choice of most homeowners.
Laminate flooring made to look like genuine hardwoods are a less expensive means of switching up where footfalls make their way around a kitchen, with the latest designs often difficult to distinguish from authentic wooden floors, O’Neill said.
But from the start, the most important factor to keep in mind in order to not become overwhelmed is a budget. It determines what options are approachable in bringing a clean and vivid transformation into a kitchen in the new year.
