How to Increase Your Kitchen Space

Nothing is worse in a modernized kitchen than to have no place to store your larger items. There are easier ways than remodeling the entire kitchen by tearing everything out and starting over. When you want your countertop completely clear of items that need to be out of site; figure out ways to change things without changing everything.

For instance if your cabinets don’t go all the way to the ceiling, consider adding new cabinets above your current cabinets. Then if you reface your existing cabinets the entire kitchen will match and look new. Usually when a contractor does that, he gives you new doors and new drawers, and your kitchen not only looks new, it is new.

You can make other changes if you aren’t interested in the refaced look. A kitchen cart on wheels can be moved totally out of the kitchen and placed in an adjoining hallway or even the laundry room.  Most carts have storage areas where a large mixer or pan can be stored. There are also microwave carts with the same features.

Is there a hutch in your dining room? Is there room in the kitchen for the hutch? If so, there are normally glass doors with shelves, then bottom drawers for useful storage. You could also put the hutch in another area like the kitchen cart or it could even stay in the dining room with the treasured dishes on top and the larger storage areas in the bottom.

Another consideration would be to install drawers under the kitchen cabinets. When the drawers are in the closed position, it opens the countertop up for use. Whether you place the drawers on top of the countertop or attach them under the cabinets, either way you’d have new storage areas. In order to clear your countertop no matter how small, consider wall hanging knife racks, wine racks, or even a flowerpot that will brighten the area.

Nothing makes your kitchen seem smaller than stuff stacked on your countertop. It’s harder to clean and just looks messy. With a little ingenuity you can change all that by finding other places to store the things you don’t use every day. A spare bedroom or hall closet may have space, and that’s what you need. Bedroom closets usually have tons of storage space on top, so consider adding more.
If you’re tired of your kitchen looking like a jigsaw puzzle, contact a contractor who will give you new ideas, and you’ll be amazed at the amount of the storage space you’ve gained within the same space.

Home Improvement Guide specializes in home improvement specialists, local home remodeling pros and Orange County kitchen remodeling.

Kitchen Nooks for Your Family

Kitchens are the heartbeat of every home. It’s where everyone wants to gather, possibly because that’s where they’ll find the food. To insert a kitchen nook into a kitchen brings the family closer together, and when everyone has their own place to sit meal- time becomes communication time as well.

You’ve probably heard it said that the family that prays together stays together. The same holds true when families gather for a meal. Rules should apply for that gathering and it shouldn’t be a place where arguments start or cell phones answered. The kitchen nook will be in everyone’s memories as the place where they grew closer to one another, whether two, four, or more.

The dining room has its own place in a home and many prefer the relaxed atmosphere of the kitchen nook. Formal dining rooms may be the place for business meetings, but the kitchen nook is where they’ll seat the kids for larger family gatherings.  The kids may look forward to sitting at the grown up table, but their best memories will be sitting in that kitchen nook with other kids.

When it comes time to clear the table, the task is easier because you’re right there in the kitchen and everyone should help. When there are spills, the floor is easily cleaned without damaging carpets like in the dining room.

You could use the kitchen nook table for numerous other things. Like school projects or homework. Board games come to mind where Scrabble or Monopoly could fill the hours on a dull rainy day. You could use the table for cooling cookies, writing menus, or grocery lists.

In other words, with a little planning, the modern kitchen nook built specifically for your own family will fill hours of reminiscence of the past and plans for the future.

If your kitchen is too small for a nice kitchen nook, look around. Is there an out of the way space where nothing seems to fit? Possibly it’s outside the kitchen door or even part of the family room.
What if you removed part of a wall where the kitchen nook would fit nicely? Many homes have such a space and when you find that it would be more than you could do, there are always people out there hungry for work. Check out a business that is capable of changing the space in your home where the kitchen nook would be a perfect place for your family.

Home Improvement Guide specializes in general contractors in Orange County, Irvine home improvement services and kitchen remodeling in Orange County.