by Milcarsky's Staff | Nov 8, 2019 | Design
Your kitchen is the busiest room in the house. If you love to cook, it also needs to be the most well-organized room in the house. Layout, features, and appliances all need to be considered when you’re planning a quality kitchen
Cabinets
Plan your cabinet layout and storage options to suit the primary cook. If you’re tall, add roll-out bins to the lower cabinets. If you’re short, consider adding pull-out bins that both extend out from the cabinet and drop to make it easy for you to see what’s inside. Reliable Iowa Construction points out that since cabinets are the most useful storage features in your home, it’s important to choose cabinets that are clean, sturdy, functional, and attractive. If your kitchen is open to the rest of the house, consider incorporating a few cabinets with glass fronts that you can use to display your most beautiful dishes.
Countertops
Your countertop surface can help or hinder your progress as a cook. Consider investing in surfaces with a high tolerance for heat and a great seal against stains. According to The Countertop Place, there are synthetic quartz countertops that tolerate heat, resist stains and can be custom-molded to suit your island or peninsula. Recent design trends are toward more muted colors on kitchen countertops. Custom quartz countertops offer excellent durability in muted colors and patterns.
Flooring
When you shop for flooring, look for something with some spring to it. You’ll be on your feet a lot in your kitchen, and your body will thank you for a floor that gives a bit. In addition, anything you drop has a better chance of surviving if it lands on vinyl or cork than if it lands on porcelain tile. Also, consider your family’s needs. If your children are small, a durable vinyl floor will tolerate drips, spills, walkers, Big Wheel trikes and other aspects of living with children. This flooring can also be easily replaced. When your kids are older, invest in your dream floor. According to Floor Critics, cork is very forgiving as a standing surface but is at risk of dents or puncture damage. It will also need to be sealed at regular intervals. Engineered hardwoods often look terrific, but they can be hard on your budget.
Your kitchen will likely see a lot of use, and your family’s needs may change over time. Plan with an eye toward updating items, such as appliances, as your household’s needs change. Each update can get you another step closer to your dream kitchen.
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by Milcarsky's Staff | Oct 16, 2019 | Design
There are lots of great reasons to update your kitchen. Walking into a newly refreshed room every morning is an incredible mood booster. A properly done upgrade increases the value of your home. No matter the reason for your update, there are a few tips to remember.
Your Appliances Need Love Too
Old cabinets, floors and countertops can definitely make a kitchen look dated. But remember to think about your appliances as well, as they can have good resale value. Appliance details, such as color and size, go in and out of style. Honestly assess whether your stove and fridge look outdated or even damaged. If your dishwasher always seems to need repairs, this may be a good time to replace it. Even if your older appliances are working well, they may use too much energy. Replacing them with more energy-efficient models will lower your utility bills and can increase the value of your home.
Make Room For Storage
It seems there’s never enough storage space, especially in the kitchen. As you’re replacing and updating items, make sure you have enough room for all your cookware and other items. Sometimes going for a sleeker, simpler look can cost storage space. If your new countertop or cabinets will take up less room than the old ones, think about using an island or moving cart for extra storage. Proper storage is particularly important if you have a small kitchen. Adding a shelf or two to unused corner spaces can help.
Don’t Overdo It
Putting too much work into a house can get in the way of a quick sale at a fair price. If you use a lot of high-end materials, you may have the nicest kitchen on the whole block, but you probably won’t get that money back when it’s time to sell. Making a home too upscale potentially increases the value of your home above the other homes in the neighborhood, which can make it hard to sell. Choose a more modest approach for your upgrade. Ask yourself if everything really needs to be replaced. It’s possible that you need only a few new touches to improve the look of the room.
Changing minor items, such as light fixtures or wall color, is a less expensive way to overhaul the look of your kitchen. Or, rather than replacing entire cabinets, you may decide to update just the cabinet doors and hardware. You can also change other smaller items, like rugs and curtains, for a seasonal pick-me-up.
Food is central to life, which means that a good portion of your life is spent in and around the kitchen. Whether you’re moving soon or staying put, updating your kitchen with a new look can be an invigorating way to refresh your environment.
by Milcarsky's Staff | May 31, 2019 | Design
You might not think about your kitchen as a seat of the latest and greatest technologies. Instead, today’s kitchen devices and developing technologies have merged to contribute to improved safety in both residential and commercial kitchens. If you are planning to remodel or renovate your kitchen soon, look into adding a smart refrigerator, an induction oven with range and a home automation system. You can pick up one of the improved thermometers today to make an initial step toward safer food preparation.
Smart Refrigerators
You might think it sounds odd at first blush, but a smart fridge can help keep you safe at home. It monitors what you put in the refrigerator and lets you know when food has expired. A smart refrigerator can connect directly to your food delivery services so that you can order your groceries from the fridge’s door.
The other intelligence in a smart fridge is its reduced electrical requirements. The 1980s fridge consumed a whopping 1,278 kilowatt-hours per year. Today’s refrigerator only consumes about 498 kilowatt-hours per year. They provide more storage, too. In the 1980s, a refrigerator provided about 19.6 cubic feet of storage space. Now you get 21.9 cubic feet.
The latest devices include dynamic power controls to automatically reduce energy use during peak times of the day. It does not affect food safety, but it does save you money on your monthly energy bills. These controls work with home automation systems to save money and improve home safety.
Home Automation
Home automation technology has made residential kitchens safer. You can automate door and window locks, the interior temperature settings, the lights, the coffee maker, and the oven. Most automation providers have monthly plans that include alarm monitoring. That means you can use the same system that monitors your home security system to remotely turn on your kitchen lights and get coffee brewing in the morning.
Induction Cooking
The wonders of induction cooking will help you shave a few minutes off of the time it takes to make dinner. The real benefit is the enhanced safety. Induction heats the cooking pot by transferring heat through the glass top of the oven/range. The difference between it and a normal oven is the induction oven requires a pot for the burner to activate. If you turn on the burner on an induction oven but forget to put a pot on the burner, it will not heat up. The burner stays off until you place a pan or pot on it. That means if you turn it on and forget, you do not have to worry about accidentally touching a hot burner.
Improved Thermometers and Sensors
The latest in kitchen technology has also improved the essential thermometer and its sensors. Whether you’re cooking at home or in a restaurant environment, a cooking thermometer lets you check that food has been cooked to a safe temperature. Today’s thermometers range in types including bimetal, digital thermistor, digital thermocouple, glass column and infrared. The latest designs provide enhanced durability and a quick but accurate reading in about six to eight seconds – some in as little as two seconds. Some devices can be left in the food while they cook. The latest designs are easy to clean and can measure food temperature to ensure the proper temperature has been reached to kill bacteria and germs.
Blockchain Technology
The underlying technology of cryptocurrency, the blockchain, has already added to the efficiency and safety of food supply chains. It records the identity and location of a food item digitally. Food gets tagged as it’s picked so that the manufacturer can track its trip from farm to table. This provides a permanent, unchangeable record for each food item. Knowing its origin, processing and movement lets consumers, retailers and the government better track food safety.
As technology evolves, it can keep consumers safer. Nowhere is this truer than in the kitchen. Your next remodeling project will provide numerous opportunities to make your kitchen a more efficient and safer room for family meals and gathering with friends. Update your kitchen with a smart refrigerator, home automation system, induction oven and range, and better thermometers. Then enjoy greater food safety at the grocery store and in restaurants through blockchain tracking.
The Milcarsky's Appliance Centre' team wants to help answer any questions you may have. We'd also like to let you know when we publish a new blog post or have some great news to share.
by Milcarsky's Staff | Aug 23, 2018 | Design, Uncategorized
What comes to mind when you imagine the perfect day at a Florida beach or shoreline of any type? Do you envision the multiple shades of blue in the water and sky, or the bounty of pastel colors in the shells that lay among the sand? Now, imagine that serine feeling translated into your home’s interior design with neutral tans, vibrant greens, deep rich wood and light airy window fabrics, all loosely arranged and casually outfitted to evoke a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.
You don’t need to live near the ocean or have a beach house to love, or implement, the Coastal design aesthetic. It’s all about an admiration for the coastal atmosphere and natural splendor of the outdoors. The design style has many branches; Nautical, Beachy Chic, Bohemian, Beach Cottage, and if these don’t fit your personal taste this article from Houzz can help narrow it down to a style you may want to adopt. Of course, when designing and decorating your own living space you can do whatever your heart desires, and if you like what you see here…your heart desires the ocean!
Bring That Florida Feeling Inside
The term Coastal is another way of saying “elemental decorating”, where everything brought inside has been somehow affected, or inspired, by the elements outside. Using tough and organic materials such as sea-grass, jute, and straw, in the forms of rugs, furnishings, and accessories brings a natural warmth and texture to coastal inspired interiors. Fabrics used are simple and unassuming, e.g., linen slipcovers and cotton rugs. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed with pure white, a washed-out pastel or tailored striped piece will also suit the Coastal feel. You can also go bold with bright floral throw pillows to break up any monochromatic elements and add a little pop of personality to your space. Many people like to incorporate re-purposed materials like driftwood, shells and antique items in their coastal designs as accent art. We especially like the painted wood accents in the example to the left from HGTV.
Wait…What about the appliances?
Slate Appliances by GE
Well, you can approach the Coastal design look from two angles when it comes to choosing a finish for your appliances. You can go for contrast using darker tones, or adopt a more seamless look with panel ready (or similar toned) appliances. It’s all a matter of personal taste and neither is a right or wrong choice. If a contrasting look from the white (or light pigmented) cabinetry of the Coastal style is your choice, one of our favorites is the Slate finish by GE Appliances. The sleek, almost stone-colored finish, offers a strong presence of contrast while maintaining a soft feel. Think of it as a piece of black sea glass that has been worn perfectly smooth by the ocean waves…strong and delicate at the same time.
Panel-Ready Refrigerators by SubZero
If the contrast is too much, or you are looking for a more seamless look in your kitchen, you could use panel ready customizations like those offered by SubZero, to completely blend some appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher) into the surrounding cabinetry. This is also a great way to incorporate some personalized touches like custom knobs, drawer pulls and even some unique pieces like faux crystal studded shells or brightly colored sea glass. Keeping the stainless steel handles on your paneled appliances can also add a little touch of sophistication, a shining contrast that catches the eye just as a jeweled pull would.
The Coastal design style is all about comfort and relaxation akin to your favorite seaside vacation destination. It’s about keeping it light and open, with a good flow for family and guests to just kind of float through the space, uncluttered and carefree. We hope you have found some inspiration or direction for any current (or future) home renovation projects and if you need any visual aid, feel free to check out our Pinterest Coastal Design board.
Header image from HGTV
