What’s your favorite home remodeling show?  Everyone has one these days (Seriously, who doesn’t love a good makeover story?).  The homeowners are always so happy when the final products are revealed in all their radiating glory.  But, many kitchen and bath remodeling professionals are not always enthusiastic when their clients mention a home renovation show.  Why?  Because, while they are inspirational and educational, they can often set some false perceptions regarding areas like overall costs and time involved in a remodel.

That being said, we love that there are so many opportunities for homeowners to learn more about remodeling right from the comfort of their own homes.  In fact, as many of you already know, our team at Brakur Custom Cabinetry, Inc. has had amazing opportunities these past couple years to have our cabinets featured on the DIY Network’s hit show Kitchen Crashers.   We encourage you to keep watching these educational programs, but keep in mind a few things as you do so…

It’s not always easy to narrow down your style, and no one says you have to fit into one style bucket, but looking at clues (based on your lifestyle and pieces you already love) can make it much easier to finish designing and decorating.  Sometimes clues can be as seemingly abstract as your favorite beverage and colors. 

How to uncover your style

It can help to read and learn about different home décor styles, and then follow up by researching deeper into each style.  On a similar note, contacting your local remodeling and design experts can prove to be extremely useful, as they work with homeowners and pinpoint styles daily.  But, it can also be fun and informative to take a simple quiz online. 

Now that it is finally spring, you’re probably in cleaning mode…and if you’re not, you will be as soon as the weather catches up to the season.  If you’re like many of us, that cleaning will make you want to make some aesthetic changes throughout your home.  Changes can be as large as a full on kitchen renovation, or as small as a new rug or art piece to act as a focal point.   Whatever project you choose, there are simple tips to help you through any level of project.

Achieve the look

Anyone who follows style trends knows that they often go out as quickly as they came in.  For this reason, it is smart not to get sucked into spending money on the latest trend, unless you are confident you’re going to be happy with it even when the next big thing comes out.  Or, more specifically, if you are going to spend money on trends, make sure you will be able to somewhat easily make changes when you fall in love with something else.

Staring out at the blanket of white surrounding your home may be getting a little old as of lately, but whether you choose to be depressed or inspired by it – that’s up to you. We choose the latter.

Use the winter blues as an opportunity to look forward to spring and all the colors it brings. In a week and a half, we’ll be turning the clocks forward for more daylight hours, and spring will be only a week and a half after that. Let’s hope the Chicagoland weather mellows out with its arival.

A bright outlook

As you’re making plans for your new kitchen design, it’s easy to get caught up in trends and impulses that make you happy right now – but that isn’t always the best way to go if you’re planning to relocate in the somewhat near future. It’s no surprise that buyers tend to allow their decisions to be influenced heavily by the condition of the kitchen, and while everyone has different tastes, some details are generally more accepted than others.

Find out what people want

When the economy fell a few years back, people were forced to look at life differently; to whittle out the wants from the needs, and to make more careful decisions.

You can tell a lot about the person by the choices they make – and that means kitchen styles, too. Not only can you get an idea of what a person likes (or even a bit about their lifestyle) by their kitchen choices, but you might even be able to tell where in the U.S. they live (or where they have lived, if they take that style with them) based on a photo of their kitchen.

Every once in a while you’ll walk into a kitchen that’s got a very loud color or “strange” finish on the cabinets. You might think to yourself, “I wonder who advised that decision,” and you can bet that in many cases, it was probably all the homeowners choice. While a bold color can be well-placed, if you plan on getting a return on your investment down the road, it’s best to stick with trends that have stood the test of time.

White Hot Trends

A hot trend in kitchens right now (and regularly) is all white cabinetry. The use of white works across just about every design style out there, and can make a smaller space look larger. The bright feel that it creates, paired with darker cabinetry or an occasional bold color really makes that beautiful finish stand out.

Sometimes it is hard to make a decision between one cabinet finish and another – luckily it’s not always necessary to eliminate either one. Two toned cabinets have a way of working wonders in kitchens, and they can serve many purposes.

Make them work in your space

There are many ways to make multiple cabinet finishes work together in one space. Here are a few places people use them:

• Kitchen island cabinets can act as a focal point
• Base cabinets to “ground” the room and draw the eye down
• Wall cabinets to accent architecture and draw the eye upward

Take a look at some of these ideas to make multiple cabinet colors work in your kitchen: Two Tone Cabinet Finishes Double Kitchen Style.

If you choose to work with Brakur, we have endless options when it comes to kitchen cabinetry design or finish options. Feel free to reach out to us for inspiration.