Answer These Three Questions Before Choosing New Kitchen Cabinets
Going shopping for kitchen cabinets can be an intimidating experience. Because there are literally hundreds of different styles, colors, wood finishes, and other choices to choose from, in many cases a casual outing to your kitchen cabinet store can be more stressful than anything else.
To help make your kitchen cabinet shopping experience more pleasant, it’s a good idea to have at least some kind of idea of what you want. Don’t worry if you aren’t sure. Here are three questions to help narrow down your options.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Question 1
You may not know what you truly want in your new kitchen cabinets. But you probably have a good idea of what you don’t want.
Ask yourself this question: “What is it about my current kitchen cabinets that I really don’t like?” In many cases, it’s the color or style. But it also could be the size, configuration or the durability of the wood — or lack of it.
Understanding what you don’t like about your existing kitchen cabinets can help get you started on creating an idea of what you want to replace them.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Question 2
Another important question is: “How long do we plan on continuing to live here?”
If you plan on remaining in your house for many years to come, you want to choose cabinets that you like. But if it’s likely you are going to move soon, you probably are better served thinking about what potential buyers would like.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — What Kitchen Style Do You Want?
A third question is: “What type of kitchen would you like?” It might be contemporary or traditional, sleek or cluttered, city or country.
Thinking about the answers to these questions ahead of time can save you time and stress at the kitchen cabinet store. They may not give you all the answers, but at least they can help you narrow down your choices.
- Published in BLOG
Today’s Kitchen Cabinets are Non-Traditional
If the kitchen cabinets in your home are part of the original construction, odds are you have outdated cabinet design.
The past decade or so has been a time of great development in kitchen cabinet design as convenient new features have been implemented into a new generation of cabinets. If you haven’t been shopping for cabinets in a while, get ready to be pleasantly surprised.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Drawers
Take something as simple as drawers. The old type of drawers that ride on inexpensive rails or glued wood that frequently get stuck — in other words, the kind of drawers you probably have in your kitchen right now — are outdated. Today’s drawers feature modern hardware that allows them to open and close smoothly with just a light touch.
Contemporary drawers also come in a variety of sizes and styles so you can include those that fit your specific needs and design plans.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Trash Pull-Out and More
Modern kitchen designers also have finally solved the age-old kitchen problem: What to do with the trash can.
Pull-out trash slides allow you to keep your dirty, smelly trash and recycling containers hidden. Built-in cabinetry is space-saving as well as cosmetically superior to leaving your garbage out for all the world to see.
Vertical dividers are another contemporary element of kitchen design. These convenient inserts allow you to store cutting boards, cookie sheets, muffin tins, and other flat cookware with space-saving efficiency.
Similarly, spice pull-outs give you an out of the way place to keep your many spices, dried herbs, and other small packages without the clutter. Now you can get immediate access to exactly the right ingredients when you need them without having to search through the back of dark, crowded cabinets.
Today’s kitchen cabinets are a lot more efficient, and convenient, than the outdated cabinets in older kitchens.
- Published in BLOG
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach – Avoid These Common Mistakes
Choosing new kitchen cabinets for your home is an important decision. In most cases, the cabinets you choose will remain in your kitchen for years, or even decades, to come.
So you want to make sure you select the right cabinets. If you decide later that you aren’t happy with your choice, it can be a costly mistake.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Use Samples Wisely
Many homeowners will take samples home from the cabinet showroom so they can see what their new cabinets might look like.
When they arrive home they hold the sample up to their existing cabinets and try to envision what the whole kitchen will look like with that cabinet color and style. If they like what they see, they will so with those cabinets.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Consider the Time of Day
Big mistake. Kitchen cabinets are too big of a decision to make quickly after only seeing how the sample looks once. Your kitchen looks differently in the morning than it does at night. And it looks even more different at high noon.
So if you look at the same once at, say 4 p.m., you won’t really get a good idea of what your new cabinets might look like at 8 in the morning or 8 at night.
A better plan is to attach the sample to your existing cabinets using two-sided tape or a clip and leave it up for at least a day. As the light in your kitchen changes, note how differently the cabinet sample looks.
You can even ask for a couple of different samples so you can attach them to different areas of your existing cabinets. The cabinets on your west wall will catch the light differently than those on your north wall, for example.
This will give you a truer picture of what your new cabinets will actually look like.
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Brightness Matters When Choosing Kitchen Cabinets
Homeowners considering new kitchen cabinets have a lot of choices to make. There is the size, the style, the type of wood finish, and even whether they want box cabinets or custom cabinets.
But one of the most important decisions homeowners have to make has to do with the brightness of the cabinets. Typically, kitchen cabinets will remain in place for a long time. Sometimes, the same cabinets will hang in the kitchen for decades, through several different owners.
So if you pick cabinets that are too light or too dark, it’s a decision you may have to live with as long as you live in your home.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Cabinets that Are Too Light
Trends come and go in kitchen design. Right now, there is a movement toward lighter colored, modernistic cabinets.
The problem with light cabinets is that they can show dirt more easily. This is especially true if you have pets or small children living in your home. Unless you are prepared to constantly be cleaning smears, stains, and other dirt from your cabinets, you may want to consider something a little darker.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Cabinets that Are Too Dark
At the opposite extreme are cabinets that are stained a dark color, or even black.
The problem with dark colored cabinets is that they can make the kitchen look dark even in broad daylight. And if you have only limited sunlight in your kitchen — such as with a southerly or northerly exposure — you may never be happy with the amount of light the room gets if you have dark cabinets.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Just Right Cabinets
Many homeowners will compromise with cabinets that are neither too light nor too dark.
While these cabinets may not be the latest, most fashionable style, they often will pass the test of time and provide years or even decades of use without looking dated or causing other problems.
- Published in BLOG
Signs You May Need New Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are one of the more durable parts of most homes. In the life of a house, it may have only one or two sets of kitchen cabinets the entire time.
But kitchen cabinets don’t last forever. If you aren’t sure if it’s time for you to replace the kitchen cabinets in your home, here are some signs to watch for.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Damaged Hardware and Panels
Usually, the hardware is the first thing to go on any set of kitchen cabinets. That’s because things like hinges, handles, and clasps are what take the most abuse day in and day out.
The good news is that hardware can be easily replaced. Anybody with a screwdriver and a little know-how can replace all the hardware on your kitchen cabinets in just a few hours, in most cases.
The bad news is that worn or broken hardware is typically a sign of aging and could mean it’s time to start considering new kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — The Time Machine
If stepping into your kitchen is like going through a time warp, you may want to consider updating your kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen decor that was the height of fashion in the 1970s or ’80s is going to look dated today. Replacing your kitchen cabinets with a more modern style can significantly improve the appearance of your kitchen, as well as increase the value of your home.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — “I Hate My Kitchen”
If you simply hate the way your kitchen looks, if it makes you angry to go into your kitchen, or if you actively avoid using your kitchen because you can’t stand the way it looks, it’s probably time for new kitchen cabinets.
Pick out your new stylish and durable cabinets at CK Cabinets. Isn’t it time you started loving your kitchen once again?
- Published in BLOG
Practical Considerations When Choosing New Cabinets
When a lot of people come to the cabinet showroom, they get overwhelmed by the variety of choices. Today’s cabinets are more colorful, more diverse, and more exciting than ever before.
But homeowners should still bring a practical approach when choosing their new cabinets. Rather than trying to replicate something they saw on a design website, in a magazine, or even in a friend or neighbor’s home, they should think about what they actually need.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Start Simple
One of the first questions homeowners need to ask is how much cabinet space they actually need. The answer may surprise you.
Think about your current cabinet space. For many people, it seems as if there isn’t enough because their cabinets are jammed packed with stuff. But how much of this stuff do they actually use?
Try this experiment. Choose one cabinet and empty it out on your floor or kitchen counter. Now remove any item that you haven’t actually used in the past 90 days. Then return the remaining items to the emptied cabinet.
In most cases, it’s not that people don’t have enough cabinet space. It’s that they are holding on to too many things that they don’t actually need or use.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Color Considerations
Another practical consideration is color. There’s a trend today toward light colored or even white cabinets. They look modern, sleek, and European.
But if you have children or pets living in your home, white cabinets may not be the most practical choice because they are going to show every speck of dirt, every stain, and every impurity. You may end up cursing your cabinet choice as you constantly clean them.
Similarly, if there are a lot of people living in your home, you may want to spend a little extra on heavy-duty cabinet hardware that will last longer without breaking.
- Published in BLOG
Check the Weather Forecast Before Starting Your Project
In spring, the weather is at its most volatile. Depending on where you live, you can experience warm temperatures one day and howling winds, freezing rain, or even a hefty snowfall the next day.
Weather is one of the biggest variables for home improvement projects. If there’s a risk of precipitation or below freezing temperatures, most contractors will delay beginning a project. That’s why most builders are mostly idle during the winter, at least in northern climates.
Florida is a little better, but still not 100% reliable in the spring.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Sunshine State Weather
Even in Florida, weather can be an issue. While it’s unlikely to freeze or snow, in the springtime there is a higher risk of tropical storms or even a hurricane. The last thing you want is for your home to be exposed to the elements when something like that hits.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to schedule larger projects when the likelihood of consistently good weather is high. Winter and early spring are going to be more vulnerable.
Generally, by late April or early May, weather conditions have settled down enough to confidently start a bigger job.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Watch the Weatherman
It’s always a good idea to pay attention to the weather prior to starting a big home improvement project, whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor.
You want to be prepared for whatever nature throws at you. In some instances, a little rain won’t hurt but a lot of rain can cause serious damage to your home.
You can be sure that your builder will be tuning into the local weather forecast. If you do the same, you can be on the same page when a decision has to be made about whether or not to move ahead with your project.
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New Cabinets Are an Investment You Can Use Everyday
One of the fastest, easiest, and most rewarding ways to increase the value of your home is to upgrade the cabinets in your kitchen and bathroom.
When prospective home buyers are looking at houses, the state of the kitchen and the bathrooms are what make the biggest impression. If the cabinets in these rooms are worn, outdated, or in poor repair, it is highly likely that the buyers are going to take a “hard pass” on that property.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Investing in Your Future
Even if you aren’t planning on selling your home anytime soon, investing in new cabinets for your kitchen or bathroom is a sound financial investment. They essentially ensure that you will get top dollar for your home when you are ready to sell.
Plus, many homeowners can recover the cost of their new cabinets — or even a slight profit — by building it into the asking price of their house when they put it up for sale on the open market.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — A Useful Investment
Plus, unlike other financial investments like stocks, bonds, or securities, cabinets are something you and your family can actually use every day.
While cabinets can retain their value for years, or even decades, after they are installed, they also provide storage space, functional use, and add to the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen and bathroom. You will love the way your home looks for many years after you install your new cabinets from Creative Kitchen.
New cabinets for your kitchen, bathroom and other areas of your home offer the dual benefit of adding value and usefulness at the same time. Even if selling your home is the farthest thing from your mind, installing new cabinets now can improve your home’s resale price when you are ready to sell in the future.
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Things to Do Before Choosing Your New Kitchen Cabinets
First-time kitchen cabinet buyers are often surprised by the number of choices that are now available.
Today’s kitchen cabinets come in hundreds of different shades and colors, dozens of different design patterns, and even several different types of wood options.
If you aren’t prepared before you go to choose your cabinets, the decision process can be almost paralyzing.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Start Snooping
To get an idea of the type of cabinets you want for your kitchen, spend some time before your decision by snooping in other people’s kitchens.
This doesn’t have to be as sinister as it sounds. Simply start paying attention to the kitchens of your family members, friends, and neighbors, taking note of what you like and what you absolutely loathe.
Search online for kitchen cabinet ideas by visiting Pinterest or similar sites. Once you get started, you will find there is a rich treasury of ideas to choose from.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach — Be Prepared
Choosing new cabinets is more of a process than a single decision. Unless you absolutely know for certain what type of cabinet you want, it’s probably going to take at least a couple of trips to CK Cabinets’ showroom or our website before you settle on your final decision.
While you shop, think about things like what type of countertop you have, or whether you want to replace your existing countertop with an upgraded surface, such as marble or quartz.
Kitchen Cabinets West Palm Beach – Other Considerations
It’s also worthwhile to think about your kitchen’s colors, where the light comes from, and how you want your cabinets arranged in your kitchen.
You don’t necessarily have to keep the same kitchen layout. Moving appliances, sinks, where the utility lines are located, and the like can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.
- Published in BLOG