IDEAL INTERIORS : Remodel your kitchen

A kitchen is a wonderful place for me and I believe for so many other women. It is in here that we prepare meals for our families and we bond. A lot of time is wasted in the kitchens, not because we do not know what to prepare, but because of the clutter which is often found in our kitchens, which hinders our movements, therefore wasting a lot of time searching for items because of not having a specific place to put them in order. Below are the tips to remodel and un clatter your kitchen which will certainly add value to your home. 1. Refinish your cabinets. In many cases, the finish on cabinets softens around the handles -- this is the result of body oil breaking down the finish. Most finish can be stripped off fairly easily; you can use one of the newer citrus-based strippers and layer it on. After the finish was you can remove and apply a poly and stain combination that will give it a totally new fresh look. 2. Freshen up your walls. A fresh coat of paint does wonders. Try your hand at one of the new techniques that are so popular, including sponge painting, the ragged effect or the fresco effect. There are roller covers now available that will help make the task go faster and even striping rollers, which give the illusion of striped wallpaper at a fraction of the cost. You might also consider a new wall covering or even beautiful flowered kitchen tiles. 3. Replace the countertops. Countertops take a lot of abuse and can look worn out and drab. Replacing the countertop is certainly more expensive, but often worth the effort. New countertops will really make it feel like a new kitchen. Try tiled countertops for ease of cleaning and that sparkling look. 4. Decorate your windows with flowers and color. It makes a lot of sense during kitchen remodeling that curtains are changed. Hang a curtain rod and simply fold fabric placemats or napkins over it. If they are square, hang them on the diagonal. For rectangular fabric, fold lengthwise. Another option is to fold all of the rectangular fabric the same length, or fold in half on each end, allowing it to drape in the middle. Then place pots of flowers outside the windows to give it a fresh new look. 5. Get creative with knobs and handles. Changing knobs and handles is very easy. There are so many styles to choose from -- I’ve seen handles shaped like fruit, vegetables, knives, forks, spoons and even teapots. Be sure to measure the distance between the holes of the handles, as they are not all the same. There are backer plates available that will cover existing holes in the event you need to drill new ones. 6. Change the cabinet fronts. There are several ways cabinet fronts can be embellished or totally changed. If the doors are flat, add molding to give the illusion of a paneled door. This can be done very inexpensively using screen molding. 7. Update appliances. Are your appliances working great, but the color went out years ago? Fronts of dishwashers and some refrigerators are easily replaceable. Most manufacturers offer several colors, or you can have fronts made to match your cabinets -- check with your cabinet supplier. Appliance paint can also bring you a new color. Just remove the handles and use masking tape on any areas you don’t want painted. Also, place the appliance in a spray booth to prevent over-spray. Hint: An appliance box makes a great spray booth 8. New flooring. There are so many types, styles, patterns and colors of flooring to choose from which can make your head spin. A couple of points to keep in mind when looking for flooring: Ceramic tile is thick and will make your cabinets lower (about 3/4 inches or more) than you are used to. Self-adhesive vinyl tiles have come a long way over the years and are very easy to install, not to mention they are much less expensive than some of your other choices. Remember to always keep your kitchen floor clean and dry to avoid casualties. Add accents. The kitchen is a great place to display collections, and you can make inexpensive shelves and secure them with ready-made brackets, then paint them. Another fun accent is colorful placemats. This is also great way to save some of your children’s artwork, or dried leaves or flowers. Simply place a design between clear, self-adhesive laminate cut about 1/4 inch larger than the size mat you want. After the laminate has been adhered to front and back of design, trim off about 1/8 inch of the laminate. Leaving the small outside trim will seal the objects. The mats can be wiped with a damp cloth without disturbing the inside this will save you some little change. Remember that for your kitchen to continue glowing it has to be highly maintained hygienically. Ends

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IDEAL INTERIORS : Remodel your kitchen