by Milcarsky's Staff | Apr 8, 2020 | Design, How To's
More and more people are taking an active approach to decrease their personal impact on the environment. One way to do this is to change the way you do things in the kitchen. While all kitchens will continue to register some impact on the environment, there are a number of steps you can take to minimize these effects and help to conserve the global environment for future generations.
Reduce Your Water Usage
You can conserve water in the kitchen by making a few small changes. One suggestion is not starting the dishwasher until there are enough dishes to make a full load. You may also want to refrain from thawing frozen foods with water. You can leave these foods in your refrigerator overnight and achieve the same results.
New faucets are also something to consider if you want to save water in your cooking space. There are several benefits of installing new faucets that can help make your kitchen more sustainable. Some new faucets will help with water usage by reducing the maximum flow of the faucet. A new faucet will also eliminate any drip that is present with your kitchen sink that might be wasting water.
Use Natural Cleaning Products
Green cleaning products are available for you to clean your kitchen without the use of chemicals that can harm you, your family, and the environment. These cleaners are made using substances that are nontoxic and biodegradable. Sustainable manufacturing practices are also used in the making of green cleaning products. Other benefits of using natural cleaning products include better air quality in your kitchen and support for an anti-bacterial environment.
Use the Whole Plant
It is possible that you are one of the countless people who cut the greens from their beets or chops off the top of a celery stalk before eating it. There is no reason to throw these plant parts into the trash. If you do not wish to eat these parts of the plant, they can serve a variety of other purposes.
The number of ways you can productively use vegetable scraps is seemingly endless. Some suggestions include making vegetable stock, creating body scrubs, and using them in compost.
Transitioning to a green kitchen is a solid way to do your part to protect the environment from the burden placed on it by human beings. If you are unsure where to begin this transition, the three suggestions explained in the article are a great place to start.
Looking for energy efficient appliances for your home? Browse options here.
by Milcarsky's Staff | Mar 25, 2020 | Design
While there is no one set of kitchen upgrade solutions that will appeal to everyone, it is safe to say that a more desirable kitchen is something on the minds of many homeowners. The type of upgrades that interest you will be influenced by the property you maintain and the lifestyle you live. However, most kitchens can benefit from having the following upgrades completed immediately.
Update Your Appliances
One way to positively affect both the appearance and functionality of your kitchen is to update the appliances. One important consideration when selecting new appliances for your kitchen is energy efficiency.
The best way to ensure your new appliances are saving you the most money possible on energy expenditures is to purchase appliances that possess the Energy Star label. These appliances are designed to help protect the environment while saving consumers money on energy costs. Some kitchen appliances that contain the Energy Star label include dishwashers, refrigerators and electric stoves.
Replace Your Flooring
The number of options available when choosing new flooring for your kitchen can cause the process to become a bit confusing. However, your decision can become simpler if you concentrate on the concepts of functionality and durability. According to Floors Direct, traditional hardwood flooring isn’t ideal for kitchens because the amount of moisture kitchens produce can ruin the floors. Waterproof vinyl, ceramic or laminate flooring is great for families with chronically wet kitchen floors.
Lighting
According to YLighting, many homeowners will be shocked to learn what a new lighting scheme will do for their kitchen. Lighting will change how the shapes, colors and contours of your kitchen appear. A surefire way to add a bit of style and personality to your kitchen is to replace traditional ceiling fixtures with ones that have a little more flair. Hanging lights with unique geometric shapes can be installed in your kitchen with nothing more than a screwdriver. Another idea is to place LED light bars beneath the cabinets in your kitchen. These light bars come in a variety of lengths and are installed directly beneath the cabinetry. They are perfect for illuminating prep areas and countertops.
Every homeowner possesses his or her own ideas when it comes to the perfect kitchen for his or her home. The scope and variety of potential kitchen upgrades allow each homeowner to indulge his or her unique vision for the kitchen. However, homeowners who complete the three kitchen upgrades profiled above will only regret they didn’t complete them long before they decided to do so.
If you’re revamping your kitchen, check out these great appliances you could add to it!
by Milcarsky's Staff | Feb 27, 2020 | Design, Uncategorized
Accessibility is important to any space. Whether you’re rehabbing an existing kitchen or building a home, incorporating features that will make life easier as you age is a good investment. Even little changes can make access in a wheelchair possible. Here are some kitchen design tips to consider when accommodating you or a loved one’s physical limitations.
Specialized Utensils
If you have limited finger dexterity or grip strength, investing in pans with helper handles opposite long handles can make it easier to stabilize a pot. Also keep an eye out for pans with silicone grips for comfort and ease. To avoid having to dig through a crowded drawer, invest in magnetized kitchen storage tools so handles are easy to get to.
Invest in Lighting
As we age, our ability to see is slowly reduced. Adding task lighting to your kitchen workspace can reduce the risk of injury when working with knives. To make task lighting even simpler, put these tools on a motion sensor so they come on exactly where you need them. You can also install task lighting that you can turn on via remote control. These tools will save the need to fuss with switches.
Clean and Clutter-Free
Many kitchens feature canisters and other tools that line the back wall of the countertop. However, if your mobility is limited, reaching these tools can be a challenge. To keep things organized, it may make more sense to put storage tools on a rolling rack in a lower cabinet. They would be out of sight until needed but easily accessible when the user is ready to start cooking. Improving storage access isn’t just for those with visible limitations. Studies estimate that over 11% of Americans suffer from chronic pain. Easy access to the necessary features of a kitchen would be a good investment in most any home design.
Bring Things to User Level
For users with limited strength or reach or those confined to a wheelchair, being able to bring tools to their working level is critical. Heavy duty pull-down dish racks and prep surfaces will give users of all heights a workable kitchen. Roll-out storage will also provide easy visibility for spices, tools and canned goods. This way, users can work in the kitchen on their own without having to ask for help all the time. This increases their independence.
Age, illness or injury can seriously impact our ability to function in the kitchen. It’s important to design your kitchen with accessibility in mind. By incorporating design features that allow for users of varying capacities to work in the space, you can design a kitchen that will please all cooks.
For quality appliances for your kitchen, let Milcarsky’s help you!
by Milcarsky's Staff | Nov 26, 2019 | Design
A great way to update your home and increase its value is by taking on a kitchen remodeling project. There are a number of areas of your kitchen that you can change fairly easily. Your kitchen cabinets may be one of the projects that aren’t exactly easy to swap out, but they are a big focal point. At one time, wood cabinets were the main choice for homeowners. Now, there are many other options that may be better for creating the look you’re going for.
Thermofoil
Many manufacturers are using thermofoil as a cabinet surface. This is a material that few people are familiar with — Camtech describes it as a thermoformable laminate made from PVC that can be manufactured in a variety of patterns and textures. It usually has a wood core. The quality of wood doesn’t typically matter, so fiberboard is the most commonly used. Thermofoil provides a very high-gloss sheen, working very well for a modern and vintage kitchens alike. If you crave a change of scenery later down the road, thermofoil can be painted over with little problem.
Laminate
This is a very popular material for many different areas of the home largely because of its affordability. A thin film of material is laid over an exterior surface of a cabinet. The interior of the cabinet is often made of wood or pressed wood. According to Empire Custom Kitchens & Countertops, laminate cabinet doors are easy to maintain and impact resistant. This material comes in a lot of different styles. It can even be made to look like wood. It’s much easier to maintain than other surfaces. Commonly used as a flooring option, this is the material that is used for floors that look like hardwood but are not. Laminated flooring is a lot easier to install and to take care of.
Melamine
Melamine is a plastic-like material that has been popular for many years. Melamine can be used to make dishes, cabinets, and toys. As a cabinet material, it provides a pretty robust surface that is incredibly easy to clean; you simply wipe it down periodically. Caustic chemicals shouldn’t be used because this can harm the finish of the cabinets. You could end up taking the final shine off of a product. Molly Maid recommends installing shelf liner to help keep your shelves pristine longer.
Before choosing the material for your kitchen cabinets, it’s important to think about the rest of the design that you have come up with. While laminate cupboards can be a beautiful option for a kitchen, they don’t always fit in with a style such as farmhouse décor. You want to make sure that you pick and pair everything together before you make your final installations. At that point, you can’t really affordably make changes.
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