4 Ways To Design A Family Friendly Kitchen

Raising a family isn’t easy, but, if designed well, your kitchen can help! See some great tips below that aim to bring family organization into everyone’s favorite room!

Two Rooms in One

Blending together the kitchen and family room into one great space creates an open area for everyone to gather. Whether mom and dad are cooking, kids are doing homework or little ones are enjoying playtime or a favorite cartoon…the space becomes multifunctional for everyone to use 24/7.

Get Organized

The recipe to any successful home may just be to minimize the clutter. By organizing your home for each family member, you’ll make things easily accessible. And that in turn helps things run smoothly throughout the day! Consider storing the kids’ things in bottom shelves and drawers for easy reach. You could even have cabinetry made to fit the children’s height with built-in inserts that can serve a different purpose when the children grow. Also, having a dedicated home station for the adults makes a great location for storing paperwork, bills, and the family computer.

Introduce Color

Design a bright, interesting space the entire family will enjoy. Color adds personality outside the all white kitchen. Why not incorporate a funky, vivid colored countertop or eye catching tiled backsplash behind the stove?

Appreciate the Memories

If you’re the sentimental type who enjoys holding onto memories, select items for the home that will inevitably show wear and tear. By selecting porous materials, such as Carrara marble or a maple butcher block, you introduce items that will add an old fashioned, settled appeal over time. These items are meant to embrace imperfections and showcase your family’s history of stains and rings!

(Photos courtesy in order: Houzz & Patrick Sutton Associates, Fresh Home, Dornob and The Grothouse Lumber Company)

5 Kitchen Trends for 2013

2012 was another fantastic year for the kitchen! From new materials to less traditional designs, people were wanting something different in the heart of their home. If you’re considering a kitchen renovation for 2013, be sure to take note of these popular design trends.

Open-Plan Kitchen

The unity of cooking and living flourishes in the New Year as more homeowners are opting for a seamless transition between rooms. This trend makes entertaining crowds a breeze, as guests float between the kitchen and living/family room.

Glass

High gloss abounds, from cabinets to appliances, but nowhere is this more striking than in the rise of back-painted glass backsplashes. It’s easy-to-clean and the reflective surface adds a beautiful polish to the space. Instead of a single glass sheet, glass mosaic tiles offer an option for an impressive design.

Modern Appliances

Today, we are beginning to live more like the Jetsons than the Jones’s thanks to smartphones and tablets. The kitchen is more mobile than ever and can be controlled through multiple devices. Expect to find more professional style appliances in the home. Go-to designs will be professional gas ranges and induction cooktops that will make any neighbor green with envy.

Transitional Style

According to the National Kitchen And Bath Association, the “traditional” kitchen design was dethroned by the “transitional” style in 2012. The kitchen is moving in a more modern direction, but still contains many elements of traditional style. Think more simplified lines, chandelier lights and big, open spaces made for entertaining.

Plain or Colorful

Appliances: expect to see more colorful options from kitchen manufacturers in the New Year, but don’t say farewell to stainless and paneled options just yet!

Happy Thanksgiving

It feels like yesterday I was roasting last year’s turkey and cannot believe the holiday season is here again. This Thanksgiving, we hope you enjoy spending time with those you love and building memories that you will never forget. I have a hunch that many memories this season will take place in the kitchen.

From everyone here at CCW, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

-Laura

Today’s “Modern Family” Kitchen

Last night, I was flipping through the television stations and came across ABC’s Modern Family. For those who have never seen the series, there are two things I love about the show. First, the comedy is hilarious and always makes me laugh. Second, the kitchens on the series are just spectacular. Each is designed with a different style, but my favorite is the kitchen owned by the Dunphy’s.

Claire and Phil Dunphy’s kitchen stands out for its traditional feel, but also because many of its unique features are today’s latest trends in home design.

Variety of Cabinet Styles

I just love the combination of cabinet styles that are used within this space. This kitchen incorporates a variety of glassed-in cabinet doors, open shelves and closed cabinetry that thrives in today’s modern style. It’s a look that shakes up top-to-bottom built-ins by introducing creativity and diversity.

Wood-Paneled Appliances

Today, more homeowners are hiding their kitchen appliances behind wood panels for a clean, simplistic look. Even in Modern Family’s television set, the kitchen’s refrigerator is covered in wood panels that match the cabinets along the wall. This trend helps bring a welcoming and seamless look to the room for the family of five. It’s very easy to achieve this look for your kitchen because many companies are offering refrigerators that can be fitted for custom cabinetry.

Attractive Cabinet Color

The color of the cabinetry is just stunning and can be used within any home. It’s a color that is traditional, yet delivers a contemporary look. Personally, I find it to be an excellent option that can attract current homeowners and potential buyers with its warm and attractive appeal.

-Laura

Saving Energy Around the Home

Save money and make a difference by taking part in these simple actions throughout the home:

• Make sure your water heater is set to 120 degrees. Some thermostats are preset to 140 degrees, which can cost you more money.
• Wash your clothes in cold water and use the short cycle.
• Move your refrigerator away from the stove, dishwasher, or heat vents. Make sure the door seals are airtight.
• Schedule an annual tune-up for your central air conditioner, heat pump, or furnace.
• Install water-saving shower heads that spray 2.2 to 2.5 gallons per minute, rather than 3.5 to 5.5 gpm.
• Convert your household light bulbs to LED.
• Purchase a filter for the kitchen faucet and cut back on water bottle usage.
• Match the water level and temperature settings on your washer to the size of your load. Don’t fill the machine for just a few items.
• Clean your dryer lint filter before you put in a new load.
• Use pots that fit the size of the burners on your stove. Use lids so you can cook at a lower temperature.
• Turn the lights off when you leave a room.

10 Safety Tips for Barbecue and Grilling

As much as I love my kitchen, there’s nothing like heading outdoors and firing up the barbecue. And with summer beginning, it’s hard to resist a good old fashioned hotdog, hamburger or steak from the grill.

Each year about 600 fires and explosions occur because caution wasn’t used around gas and charcoal grills. When cooking outdoors, whether hot and fast grilling, or low and slow barbecue, there are a few things you need to know to make sure nothing goes wrong and to get the most out of your cooking.

1. Never barbecue inside your house, garage, trailer, tents or any type of enclosed area…grills are designed for outdoor use only. The carbon monoxide fumes may accumulate and kill. Enjoy your grill in a well-ventilated area but be aware of wind-blown sparks.

2. Keep the grill clean of grease and food build up to avoid fires. You can brush the grill with canola oil to prevent food from sticking.

3. I’m probably too cautious, but some parents have the younger children light the grills. To me that’s a definite safety risk and no children should have this responsibility.

4. Read your manual and learn the minimum distance that must be kept clear around the unit. I suggest that you take a good look at your equipment and imagine the worst fire you can. Make sure there aren’t any buildings, trees or other objects within the “keep clear” space.

5. Most igniters on the grill stop working causing you have to light the flames with a long match stick. When lighting the igniter, be sure not to turn the valve to the gas on too soon…it will make a huge flare up.

6. Keep foods refrigerated until you are ready to cook. Leaving edibles in the hot sun can ruin the party.

7. Keep a fire extinguisher handy when outside.

8. It is not advisable to use sauce at the beginning of your cooking. And always wait at least one minute before serving food to avoid burns.

9. Keep the grill stable to avoid tipping. Place your grill over a plain surface; not over any steep or sloping surfaces.

10. Never store or use flammable liquids, like gasoline, near the grill.

-Laura

Three Days Left to Raise Money for Habitat for Humanity

Thank you everyone who has helped us raise for the Capital District Habitat for Humanity. We are only $85 away from reaching our goal to donate $500 to this wonderful organization.  Help us reach our goal by visiting our Facebook Page.

• Like us on Facebook and we’ll donate $10
• Post a picture of your favorite kitchen or bathroom detail to our Facebook Page and we’ll donate $5

The campaign concludes Friday, May 6!

-Laura

The Vanguard Designer Showhouse Opens May 3rd

If you read this blog weekly, you may have heard that Columbia Cabinetworks is part of the Vanguard Designer Showhouse in Loudonville, NY.  For the past several months, we have been busy designing the cabinetry for the parlor in this historic 1839 home.

We invite you to come out and visit this wonderful Showhouse next week.  You can purchase tickets for $18 at the door and proceeds will support the Albany Symphony Orchestra!  This is truly a great cause!  Below are the times and dates:

Showhouse Opens May 3, 2011
Tuesday, Friday and Saturday: 10:30–5:00
Wednesday and Thursday:  10:30-8:00
Sunday: 1:30-6:30

Visit the Vanguard Designer Showhouse Website

We hope to see you there and will have plenty of pictures soon!

-Laura

Earth Day…How Will You Help?

Tomorrow  is Earth Day and we are reminded that each of us has the power to reduce our impact on the environment.  We encourage you to participate and make others aware of the environmental issues seen throughout the world.  Make a difference by taking part in these simple actions throughout the home:

• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth
• Wash your clothes in cold water and use the short cycle
• Turn down your water heater
• Recycle and reuse plastic grocery bags…better yet, bring your own cloth bag to the market!
• Convert your household light bulbs to LED
• Purchase a filter for the kitchen faucet and cut back on water bottle usage
• Use your laptop over your desktop computer
• Take shorter showers
• Turn the lights off when you leave a room

Let your friends and family know that the small changes they do will have a huge impact on this wonderful planet we all call home.

-Laura

Like CCW on Facebook and Raise Money for Habitat for Humanity!

CCW needs your help to raise money for the Capital District Habitat for Humanity! Click the image below and “like” Columbia CabinetWorks on Facebook.  For every “like”, we’ll donate $10 to the organization!

Want to help even more? Grab your camera and take a picture of your favorite kitchen or bathroom detail, such as your cabinet handles, your kitchen backsplash or maybe even your bathroom sink.  Once you’ve taken the picture, upload it to our Facebook Page and we’ll donate an additional $5 to Habitat for Humanity.

Our goal is raise $500 for this wonderful organization to help fund home ownership opportunities to low income households. The campaign will conclude May 6, so go ahead…be a “friend” and “like” us today.  It’s quick, easy and we can’t do it without you!

Please share this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.  We need your help to spread the word!

-Laura