5 Kitchen Design Mistakes to Avoid
A well-designed kitchen can be the perfect cornerstone to a well-designed home. The more you love your kitchen, the more time you will want to spend there. This can lead to more home cooked meals, more family bonding, better health, and a general positive impact on your life. But, when redesigning your kitchen, there are lots of ways that things can go wrong. If you aren’t careful, your dream kitchen redesign project can turn into a nightmare, costing you a fortune or resulting in a less inviting kitchen than you started with.
If the anxiety of tackling a kitchen redesign has you worried about getting started, you aren’t alone. But, all of the common mistakes you can make in your kitchen redesign can be avoided with a little foresight and planning. Here are the top five kitchen redesign mistakes, and how to avoid them.
1. Planning as You Go
Think about all of the functional elements in a nice kitchen. Countertops and storage space take up a lot of room, but let you utilize your kitchen effectively. Dishwashers and high-end refrigerators will give you modern convenience, but at premium dollar for top models. The little details, from small appliances to appropriate decor, all make a huge difference. With all of these variables and factors in play, one of the worst mistakes you can make in a kitchen redesign is planning as you go. To avoid this mistake, take a lot more time than you think you need laying out a very detailed plan for what you want your kitchen to look like.
2. Forgetting the Golden Triangle
The “Golden Triangle” is an element of kitchen design to help you be very strategic in the layout of the elements of your kitchen that you will use the most; your sink, stove and refrigerator. When redesigning your kitchen, think about how these three parts of the room will work together. Make sure that you can access your sink while someone else is at the stove, to allow for multiple users. And, make sure that your refrigerator door will be able to be reached quickly from your stove top, so you can get to supplies with minimal effort. Forgetting about the “Golden Triangle,” and not being intentional about how you lay out these three key kitchen elements, is a mistake you will most likely regret every time you cook.
3. Skipping a Consultation
If you don’t have the time and energy to invest into your kitchen redesign as a DIY project, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. Kitchens have a lot of moving parts that all have to work together perfectly, and since you use your kitchen so often, it’s a project that has to get done quickly as well as effectively. Keep in mind that any good contractor or interior designer should provide you with the opportunity for an in-person kitchen redesign consultation to talk about your goals for the space and your budget. If you skip an in-person consultation, there’s no way you can be sure that you and your hired help have a similar vision in mind for your kitchen space - which is a mistake that will cost you a whole lot of money to repair down the road.
4. Opting for Bright and Catchy Flooring
Kitchens are the perfect place in your home to express creativity with flashy colors and designs. A bright and vibrant kitchen color scheme will make your food prep feel more fun and cheerful. But, keep the bright colors on the walls: one of the biggest mistakes you can make in redesigning a kitchen’s color scheme is opting for colorful flooring. That’s because no matter how beautiful and vibrant your bright white or yellow floor tiling looks today, kitchens must contend with constant spills, high foot traffic, and a lot of other “messy” opportunities that will have your bright flooring looking drab rather quickly. If you are set on bright flooring, just keep in mind that it will take a lot more effort to maintain and won’t look vibrant forever.
5. Sticking with Convention
Since kitchens are highly functional, there are a few things your kitchen will need. But, that doesn’t mean you have to follow an assigned template in your kitchen redesign. Don’t make the mistake of lacking courage and sticking with conventional layouts: the more you experiment, and give yourself room for creativity, the more possibilities there are to design a kitchen that you never imagined you could have. Just remember to consult a professional, and you should feel comfortable throwing convention out the window.
RWC has been providing top quality home renovation services since 1959, and all of that time in the industry has taught us a few things that you can’t learn overnight. Investing in our staff's education, putting customer service first, and offering unparalleled product selection is a winning formula for any remodeling, redesign, or renovation project.
To hear all of our thoughts on your redesign ideas, and get our advice on any potential pitfalls you could be headed for, contact us today!
How to Remodel Your Bathroom Into a Relaxing Retreat
While you may spend less time in the bathroom than you do in other rooms in your home, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put just as much effort into the perfect lavatory as you would into your dream bedroom or kitchen. Today, your bathroom may seem only useful for its Spartan functions, and you may think of it as a corner of your house with a singular purpose. But, tomorrow your bathroom could become a prized cornerstone of a relaxing, beautiful, and well-rounded home. Here are five things to keep in mind if you want your bathroom remodel to result in a relaxing retreat.
1. Don't Leave Anything off the Table
Just because you’ve always had a certain tub or sink doesn’t mean that you always need to. When renovating your bathroom, the more leeway you give yourself to make improvements and the more things you consider worth working on, the better. There’s a whole lot in your bathroom that you can switch up, from tiles, fixtures, vanities, and finishes, to sinks, tubs, commodes, faucets, and whirlpools. If you approach a bathroom renovation by only planning to work on a few things, you won’t give yourself the opportunity to create a real change. So, leave nothing off the table, and think about your powder room as a blank canvas where anything could happen.
2. Use All of Your Space
Even if your bathroom isn’t huge, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room huge possibilities - you just have to be comfortable with thinking about ways to use your entire space. For smaller bathrooms, think about how small decorative elements like premium fixtures could make a big difference. Or, get bold with the colors you put on the walls to give your bathroom a whole new look. When decorating large bathrooms, think of more space as more opportunity, and think about how you can use every inch to create a room you can be proud of. Installing mirrors, creating adequate storage space, and painting two-toned walls are all tried and true ways to utilize the extra space in big bathrooms, but don’t stop there. Think about how every corner could be utilized for something - even if using every inch means leaving some spaces empty.
3. Balance Your Needs
Remodeling a bathroom doesn’t only have to be about function or form: good bathroom remodels balance your needs, and give you the chance to create a restroom that is both highly functional and spiritually rewarding. Before buying a tub, sit in it and see if it feels right. Before investing in cheap flooring, price out a more durable and slightly more expensive option, and see if you can afford springing for the quality choice that will last longer and avoid functional issues down the road. Don’t think that you have to invest entirely in things that look nice or entirely in the most practical options when remodeling your bathroom: keep both in mind, and balance your needs.
4. Don’t be Afraid to Call a Pro
Since the bathroom is often one of the smallest rooms in a home, aspiring DIY home improvers can make the mistake of thinking that it will be an easy project to tackle. But, there may come a time when you need to call a pro when remodeling your bathroom, and knowing when it’s a good option to call for an expert’s help is critical to the success of your remodeling project. Unless you have a lot of experience with plumbing, you should never attempt to move water lines or handle the intricacies of piping. And, unless you are qualified, you shouldn’t deal with electrical issues either - even if it’s for something as simple as wiring a heating control. Trying to do it all yourself can lead to disaster down the road, so call an expert before tackling any issue that you don’t feel totally qualified to handle.
5. Splurge!
For most home remodeling projects, price is a limiting factor. But, if you want to create a bathroom retreat you can be proud of, think of just one thing you can splurge on. Whether that’s the high-end toilet or a brand new tub, splurging on one item can make your whole bathroom feel luxurious. Don’t feel like you have to reach for the premium option for everything in your bathroom remodeling project, but give yourself the freedom to reach high for at least one aspect of your new lavatory. Your bathroom retreat will feel a lot more special.
RWC Windows, Doors and More has been family owned and operate for three generations, and our unique dedication to a high-quality home improvement experience is reflected in our craft. We leverage our deep and experienced education, our informed and practical take on product selection, and our unparalleled devotion to customer service to make sure that your home improvement project turns out exactly like you want it to.
To learn about how RWC can relieve your home improvement stress and help you create the bathroom sanctuary of your dreams, contact us today!
The Benefits of New Doors and Windows
Curb appeal is an important aspect of any house. Whether you are looking to sell your home or just want to have the best-looking house on the block, it is important to do whatever you can to increase its aesthetic appeal. One way to do so is by replacing your doors and windows. These features of the home can easily be overlooked, but in reality add so much to the charm and character of the house. Following are some ways adding new doors and windows can add to the curb appeal of your home.
Saving money
For many people, there is nothing more appealing than saving money. Adding new doors and windows to your home not only makes it more aesthetically appealing, but it also helps you save money as well. Updating old and drafty doors and windows results in more comfortable indoor temperatures since cold air is not seeping in throughout the winter (and the same goes for warm air in the summer). Further, new doors and windows are more energy efficient than their older counterparts. New windows have the added benefit of keeping sunlight out, which protects furniture from becoming faded from constant exposure to the sun. The money you save from lower utility bills and not replacing expensive furniture can be spent adding additional aesthetic appeal to your home by expanding your garden, updating the garage door, or upgrading the siding on the house, all which will enhance the overall curb appeal of the home.
Installing a new door and windows can immediately give your house a facelift. Over time, exposure to the elements of weather can cause doors and windows to become run down and tired-looking. Since the damage happens slowly, it is easy to miss it even though you look at your house on a daily basis. But, all of a sudden it will hit you that the exterior of the house does not look as good as it used to. At that point, it is time to start thinking about replacing the doors and windows. Once the new and improved features are in, you will be able to see the immediate difference and the positive impact these few changes make to the entire appearance of your home. Try to choose a door that reflects your true personality or the character of your home. Don’t forget, your front door is the entryway to your home, and you want it to make a statement to everyone who enters it.
Added security
The curb appeal of a home goes beyond its aesthetic appeal and spills out into the security of it as well. Despite how beautiful a home’s exterior is, if its security can be infiltrated, and its inhabitants are put in danger, any assumed curb appeal goes down the drain. Adding new doors and windows to your home can increase your security level and allow the beauty of the home to shine through. Both doors and windows are made better and stronger than they were years ago, so they are harder to penetrate. New doors and windows also come with stronger locks and other security features that make them difficult to break into, even by the most experienced intruders, thus giving a homeowner an added sense of safety and security. That sense of relief makes everything look better.
When doors and windows start to age, they become less reliable. Exposure to rain and snow can make them warp and buckle, which can cause them to lose effectiveness and functionality. Windows and doors that do not work properly make for a weak selling point for folks who wish to sell their homes. It also reduces the resale value of the home, which affects not only the homeowner but also everyone in the neighborhood. New windows and doors are made with updated materials that are weather resistant so there is no need to worry that they will be adversely affected by the weather. They also have much longer anticipated lifespans so you can rest assured that the doors and windows you buy today will last you for decades.
Older windows and doors are great for letting in extraneous noise. Over time, the seals on the doors and windows loosen and let the noise in, reducing the homeowner’s comfort and privacy. New doors and windows reduce the likelihood of the people inside the house being disturbed by bothersome noise coming from outside. This feature is especially beneficial for those who live in town homes, row homes, or otherwise live in close proximity to their neighbors. A quite domicile has great amounts of curb appeal after a long, hard day.
If it is time for you to replace your doors and windows, RWC is the place to go. Contact us today for a quote and you’ll soon be on your way to stress-free curb appeal.
Use Designer Glass to Beautify your Home
Every house has glass elements. Since they are so commonplace, we often overlook them. However, that is a mistake. Instead of just viewing the glass in your home as utilitarian, you need to start seeing it as an extension of your personality and your home’s aesthetics. Adding designer glass highlights to your home is an easy way to create additional visual interest without breaking the bank. The following are some examples of ways to add designer glass to your home to increase its visual appeal.
Do not let the words “glass blocks” scare you. Although you may still have nightmares about the hideous frosted glass blocks that were popular in bathrooms in the 70s and 80s, glass blocks have come a long way since then. So, get that image out of your head and the frightened look off of your face. Today's glass blocks are modern, sleek, and innovative. They can break up a dark space to make it seem lighter; be used as a display piece, such as a vase, or serve as a room divider that doubles as a conversation piece. There is no shortage of ways in which glass blocks can add beauty and interest to your home.
Sliding glass doors are the traditional way to get from the inside of your house to a patio or other outdoor living area. However, these doors are normally just huge pieces of plate glass - totally boring. Your sliding glass door doesn’t have to be dull and mundane. Try thinking about your sliding glass door as an extensive empty canvas. Replacing the original glass with some designer glass is the perfect way to add some style and personality to a seemingly bland background. The right designer glass can add a personal touch to an area, provide an excellent view of the outdoors, or even add some privacy indoors. The choices are endless and are only limited by your imagination.
Glass staircase
If you are looking to add an ultra-modern touch of flare to your home, consider installing a sleek glass staircase. A glass staircase can add light and dimension to a home. It can also give a smaller area the illusion of additional space. Glass staircases are the perfect excuse to use designer glass to make an ordinary space look grand by combining functionality with modern beauty. A beautiful glass staircase can dramatically change the way an entire room feels. So, if you don’t have small children, swapping out your tired, old wooden or metal stairway for one made from designer glass could be a great way to give your entire home a face-lift.
If you are looking for a more subtle change than what you will get with a glass staircase, there are plenty of ways you can scale it down a bit. One way is to add some simple etched glass to your home. Etched glass can be added to both interior and exterior windows and will provide a lantern-like appearance when it is illuminated. It provides a milky-white appearance that cannot be penetrated. Using etched glass is a great way to add some privacy to a room without sacrificing the aesthetic appeal of the area.
Adding designer glass to your wet bar is a great way to show off your beautiful and colorful bottles of libations. If you look at your bar with a discerning eye, you will notice that it is a world full of varying colors and textures that are just waiting to be highlighted. Designer glass is the ideal material for shelving in your bar. The colorful liquids in the bottles will reflect off the glass and create a spectrum of colors that will be eye-catching to everyone who walks by. You can even turn it up a notch by switching out the commercial bottles for original containers such as bell jars and apothecary jars.
Add a backsplash in your kitchen
Nothing adds visual interest to a kitchen like a backsplash. Gone are the days when a backsplash was nothing more than ceramic tiles. Now, you can use decorative glass to create a magnificent mosaic. Painted designer glass serves as the perfect medium to create a backsplash that is charming as well as functional.
Your home should be an outward expression of your true self. Adding designer glass is an excellent way to turn your entire home into an object d’art. RWC has a wide variety of designer glass choices to fit every homeowner’s style. Whether you are looking for something simple, like etched glass cabinet fronts, or something ornate like, a domed ceiling, RWC has you covered. RWC is a family owned company that has been in business since the 1950s. We offer a wide product selection and unparalleled service.
Contact RWC today. One of our representatives will be happy to assist you in finding the best designer glass to fit your needs.