Give Your Kitchen a Vintage-Inspired Look

Give Your Kitchen a Vintage-Inspired Look

Kitchens play a key role in our childhood memories. From family dinners to helping mom cook for the first time, nearly everyone can recall not only what they did in the kitchen but how it looked, too. Even with today’s trends toward ultra modern appliances and fixtures, there’s still room to bring that vintage look into your kitchen. The term “vintage” generally refers to styles that originated between the 1930s and 1950s. Think bright colors, rounded edges, and designs that seemed very modern at the time. Here are a few ideas for mixing old and new in your kitchen:   Appliances On the larger side, an icebox freezer or oven with built-in storage cabinet can make more of a statement. Colors like yellow, blue, pink, and green, were popular in the 1940s and 50s. A farmhouse-style trough sink also evokes a vintage look. Choose from original appliances that have been Continue reading

Common Mistakes in Kitchen Design

Common Mistakes in Kitchen Design

If you’re handy with tools and construction, you might be tempted to perform a kitchen remodel in your home all by yourself. However, even the handiest person might discover they will make some big mistakes while redoing their kitchen if they do not have enough experience with design and planning. Here are a few of the most common mistakes in kitchen design made during remodels: Lack of counter space. One of the biggest complaints people tend to have about kitchen designs is a lack of counter space. If you’re doing the job yourself, it can be easy to underestimate just how much space you’ll need for preparation and for placing appliances and other devices. Putting appliances too far apart. You want your refrigerator, sink and stove to be regularly close to each other, as they are the three areas of greatest activity in any kitchen. You should have easy access Continue reading

The Benefits of Hiring a Professional Kitchen Designer

The Benefits of Hiring a Professional Kitchen Designer

There are a whole lot of homeowners who will take a look at a picture of a newly remodeled kitchen and think, “Wow, I should give that a try myself!” While there are definitely certain parts of a kitchen redesign project you can take on yourself, you are most likely going to need professional help with the bulk of the project to ensure it turns out exactly the way you want it to and to certain be that the end result adds value to your homes equity. Here are some of the main benefits of hiring a professional kitchen designer: You’ll save time. Unless you have a fair amount of professional experience and training yourself, attempting to take on a kitchen remodeling project by yourself will almost certainly take significantly longer than it would if you hired a team of professionals to do it for you. You’ll avoid a lot Continue reading

Practical Reasons to Consider Remodeling Your Kitchen

Practical Reasons to Consider Remodeling Your Kitchen

While many people choose to remodel their kitchens simply for aesthetic reasons, there are plenty of other reasons an upgrade might be necessary. Here are a few of the most common functional reasons people remodel their kitchens: Lack of space. A lot of people like to add more counter, cabinet or floor space to their kitchens, because they don’t have enough in their current setup. It could be something as simple as changing the shape of a counter or the position of a refrigerator, but adding extra space can make a huge difference in the functionality of your kitchen. Traffic flow. Do you often have guests over, or have more than one cook in the kitchen at a time? If so, adding more space around the main work area and turning your kitchen into an open plan design could be a great way to give you some added convenience and Continue reading

Large tiles for big impact

Large format tiles have been increasing in popularity for some time now. As technology has improved, manufacturers are able to produce thinner, more durable ceramic tiles in sizes not previously feasible. With that improvement in technology has come a corresponding reduction in price, making large format tiles something accessible to ever-widening audiences. From a design perspective, large tiles can serve a number of purposes: they can create the illusion of depth in small spaces, giving length and depth with their dramatic proportions; they can provide a more modern look, in contrast to the small, square tiles that have been available for millennia; and they can lend a clean, sleek look by minimizing the appearance of grout lines.   Photo credit: Hastings tile and bath Large format subway tiles in bold patterns create a dramatic and clean backdrop for a modern vanity.     Photo credit: Arizona Tile This bath shows Continue reading

Stainless Steel Still Reigns

Stainless steel has been the most popular appliance material for 15 years now and it’s not showing any sign of conceding. Manufacturers have been trying for years to come up with the next big color trend in appliances, but stainless isn’t giving up. That commercial look of stainless makes the most unseasoned of cooks feel like Mario Batali, and it looks good with just about any cabinet and countertop you can shake a stick at. With the most daring of consumers opting for even stainless steel countertops it seems like stainless owns everything except the kitchen sink… oh wait… While everyone thinks that stainless steel is great, nobody’s saying the entire kitchen should gleam like a medieval knight. Sometimes having that one strong stainless piece makes it all the more eye-popping. For instance, an integrated refrigerator plus a bold commercial stainless steel range with a sleek exhaust can give the Continue reading

Not Your Grandma’s Formica

The best designers of the day are working with an ever-expanding array of different materials, from natural stone to engineered quartz, and even… <gasp> laminate. That’s right, laminate is making a huge comeback right now, and it’s not without good reason. Laminate countertops, from such old stalwarts as Wilsonart and Formica, are a fantastic product that can lend verve and style to a kitchen or bath remodel in a way that natural materials can’t match. It’s not just for kitchens, either; laminates are being used so widely in commercial and industrial applications that few people realize just how commonplace they have become. Not only that, but it’s one of most cost-effective options to specify in a designer kitchen. When most people think about laminate countertops, the mental image is of the plastic-like material that was so commonplace in the 60s and 70s. In reality, there is very little similarity between Continue reading

The 3&1 Program Versus Traditional Design

Three Week Kitchens, Baths in a Week was borne of our appreciation of the necessity of good design coupled with the belief that it should be accessible as well as beautiful, as form should follow function. We understand that our clients look to us to provide a quick, easy and beautiful designer kitchen or bath update without the lengthy, exhausting and overwhelming traditional design process. 3&One was created is to simplify the process of selecting and specifying your remodel through all phases, from the first design meeting to the moment the project is finished. Rather than spending time at the stoneyard, the lighting showroom, the tile store and the appliance wholesaler, we’ve set out to streamline the selection process, and to lessen the challenges presented by the seemingly endless stream of choices. By choosing selections from an “a la carte” menu, our designers are able to show you the best Continue reading

The Remodeling Process Takes Time, Here’s Why:

“Why is my remodel taking so long?” This is something I hear a lot lately, and as a person who prides herself on exceptional customer service, it makes me cringe! But it’s a question that needs answering: why is it taking so long just to get these projects designed, bid, approved by the homeowners and into the production queue? I’ve got a few ideas. Getting into the queue: Since the burst of the housing bubble, if you’re still in business, you’ve trimmed your staff significantly. For a small to mid-size architectural/design firm, that means that you’ve cut back to one or two designers who perform most all the office functions; the designers are now acting as not only designers but they answer phones, work the front desk, serve as production assistants, estimators, etc. The owner might be taking care of the sales and administration on top of being the design Continue reading

How To Decorate Your Conservatory To Make It More Pleasant

A conservatory has potential to be one of the most relaxing and pleasant rooms in the house. Of course it has lots of large windows and a glass ceiling which enables you to relax and listen to the pitter patter of the rain when it’s wet, and that allows you to enjoy the sun when it’s warm. At the same time as a room that has no ‘purpose’ as such, you don’t need to take up lots of space with a big ugly TV or a large and inconvenient dining table. This is why it’s such a great room to really enjoy decorating. Here we will look at how to make the most of this opportunity. Wood Flooring First of all you will want to make sure that your conservatory feels natural and like a great place to relax and to this end you should try and surround the room Continue reading

Powder Room Pizzazz

Powder rooms can be the most challenging room in your home to decorate as they are usually small with no natural light. This is a space that should be opulent & luxurious and it’s an ideal space to step out of the ordinary. This room is a perfect venue to adorn your walls with a tame texture, delicate damask, fun floral or stately striped wallpaper. I know what your thinking wall paper in a bathroom “not a good idea”, however powder rooms have very little moisture build up due to not having a shower or bathtub. Many of us still remember the curse and horror of peeling and out-dated wallpaper that clung to the walls of our homes. It seemed like such a great solution to add a little pizzazz to your room but, as many good ideas go, wallpaper fell short. This once mainstream wall covering went by the Continue reading

What’s Taking So Long??

“Why is my remodel taking so long?” This is something I hear a lot lately, and as a person who prides herself on exceptional customer service, it makes me cringe! But it’s a question that needs answering: why is it taking so long just to get these projects designed, bid, approved by the homeowners and into the production queue? I’ve got a few ideas. Getting into the queue: Since the burst of the housing bubble, if you’re still in business, you’ve trimmed your staff significantly. For a small to mid-size architectural/design firm, that means that you’ve cut back to one or two designers who perform most all the office functions; the designers are now acting as not only designers but they answer phones, work the front desk, serve as production assistants, estimators, etc. The owner might be taking care of the sales and administration on top of being the design Continue reading