Many times when you think of utility you think of the white, metal cabinets that hang in your basement or garage. Gehman Custom Remodeling is here to say that utility does not have to exclude style.

Here are some beautiful ways to incorporate your everyday items into your Kitchen design.
1. Hand held appliances:
a. Mixers, hand and countertop models, can be placed inside a stow-away base cabinet that includes an electrical outlet so that the appliance is always plugged in and ready to go when needed. And when you are done with it, just fold it down and out of sight.
2. Spices:
a. All of those little bottles of spices that seem to take so much time to look through and find the one you need can be placed in a number of different spaces to keep them organized and accessible.
b. Cabinet door racks. This option places the spice rack on the inside of a cabinet door and is usually located near the food preparation area for ease of use. This location uses a space that wouldn’t be used otherwise while affording convenience to the cook.
c. Spice drawers. This location is probably the most accessible to everyone that may need to use these ingredients. Being placed in a top drawer location assures that the cooks, however young or old, will be able to see and reach the spices when needed.
3. Plates and Cups:
a. Placing plates and cups in cabinets with glass doors allows users to see what they are looking for without having to go around and open the cabinets to see what is inside.
b. Incorporating glass doors in the wall cabinet design gives your Kitchen a more open feel.
c. Installing lights inside of these cabinets with glass doors adds a design feature to the mix.
4. Trash and Recycling:
a. Trash, garbage and recycling doesn’t have to be stuck under the Kitchen sink or in a closet anymore. These two items seem to be some of the most undesirable but necessary evils in Kitchen design
b. Designers have come up with some very creative and innovative ways to incorporate this element into cabinet layouts that make it both convenient and even attractive.
c. Trash and recycling center cabinets have evolved into a very popular element of the present day Kitchen layout.
5. Pots and Pans
a. Most of us don’t have gourmet cooking utensils that we want to display on an open rack from the ceiling, so we look for cabinet space to store those necessary pots and pans.
b. Cabinet hardware has developed enough that drawer slides are capable of handling the heavy loads that pots and pans carry. Storage drawers are much more accessible than trying to get down on your hands and knees to peer into the bottom of a base cabinet.
c. Drawers can be placed in close proximity to ovens, stoves and food preparation areas.

Gehman Custom Remodeling wants you to think about your style and the environment you want to create and we can design your Kitchen to, not only meet those requirements, but also allow you to enjoy a completely convenient and well thought out layout that affords you the best tools available to utilize while preparing meals and entertaining in style.

Happy remodeling!

Next Time…This Isn’t Your Mother’s Bathroom Anymore

Q&A&C – Questions and Answers and Comments are expected and welcomed.

YOUR STORY - Tell us about your remodeling experiences, good or bad. We all have had them and perhaps you can help someone else have a great remodeling experience or avoid the issues that you encountered. Remember…keep it clean and civil or we can’t publish it.

When starting to think about your Kitchen remodeling project, one of the easiest ways to initiate the process is to work from biggest to smallest. That is to say, establish the largest pieces and then work your way down to the smallest accessories. This will allow you to think about the appliances and how they will fit together then fill in around them with cabinetry.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of design items in largest to smallest order:

1. Refrigerator
2. Range/Cooktop
3. Ovens/Single or Double
4. Warming Tray
5. Dishwasher
6. Microwave
7. Sink – Main
8. Sink – Prep
9. Pantry
10. Utility Cabinet
11. Pot and Pan Storage
12. Recycling Center/Trash Bin
13. Small Appliance Storage
14. Tray Storage
15. Plate and Cup Storage
16. Utensil Drawer
17. Silverware Drawer
18. Spice Rack
Finishes
19. Countertops
20. Flooring
21. Tile
22. Trim

Looking at this list through the lens of lifestyle enhancement means that you have to evaluate each item as per its usefulness and how it adds to the utility of the Kitchen and adds to your quality of life. Taking inventory of how your everyday use of the space places demands on the components of the Kitchen will help you to determine the level of functionality that is required throughout to fulfill those demands.

Each time you enter into your new Kitchen, you want to feel welcomed and empowered, not controlled and restricted. Taking time to evaluate and quantify your lifestyle needs and designing to meet those needs goes a long way towards establishing and enhancing your lifestyle instead of allowing your living space to dictate your lifestyle.

If all of this feels a bit overwhelming, if thinking about all of these things sends you racing for the door, we would recommend working with a professional design firm that can direct the process as well as make practical recommendations.

Remember, your Kitchen should enhance your lifestyle and it speaks volumes to others about who you are.

Happy remodeling!

Next Time…Utility Doesn’t Exclude Style

Q&A&C – Questions and Answers and Comments are expected and welcomed.

YOUR STORY - Tell us about your remodeling experiences, good or bad. We all have had them and perhaps you can help someone else have a great remodeling experience or avoid the issues that you encountered. Remember…keep it clean and civil or we can’t publish it.

If you were asked, what is the most used room of your house, what would you answer?
Where does company inevitably end up when you have a party?
Where does the trash pile up?
Where is the place that you put your mail or car keys?
Where do you prepare and eat most of your meals?

The answer that most people would give to these questions is “The Kitchen.”

Think about it, all roads both into and out of your home take you to or through the Kitchen for one reason or another. That is why, when you think about remodeling your Kitchen, you have to take into consideration much more than just, “what color are the cabinets going to be?”

There are lifestyle issues that come into play when planning a new Kitchen. Think about how traffic flow will affect the chef during busy meal preparation times. What cabinet accessories would make the Kitchen more efficient and useful to those who spend the most time there? How will technology be utilized to meet the demands of today’s hi-tech families?

You need to address the issue of creating a home within your home, especially for all those times when you end up entertaining from behind the island. The environment that you create in your Kitchen says just as much about who you are as the clothes your wear or the car you drive.

We will be addressing these and other pertinent issues in subsequent blogs. But in the mean time, be thinking about some of the deeper questions that should be asked at the planning stages of your Kitchen project, so that you will not have any regrets on the other end of the process.

Happy remodeling!

Next Time…A Kitchen That Enhances Your Lifestyle

Q&A&C – Questions and Answers and Comments are expected and welcomed.

YOUR STORY - Tell us about your remodeling experiences, good or bad. We all have had them and perhaps you can help someone else have a great remodeling experience or avoid the issues that you encountered. Remember…keep it clean and civil or we can’t publish it.