1. Green Design- With the alarming rise in gas prices and building materials, eco-friendly products are now a stable of any kitchen design. The kitchen and bath industry is at the forefront of green design with the development of new technologies and products, such as bamboo and recycled materials including glass, plastics, paper, and metals.

2. Aging-in-Place- More and more manufacturers are catering to the aging “baby boomer” market. New products feature accessibility and ease of use to accommodate boomers through the years, while still offering stylish design. From dishwashers accessible from a wheelchair to cabinet drawers that open automatically, manufacturers are recognizing the importance of universal design.

3. Organization- To keep paperwork and projects from piling up, many companies specialize in home organization. Put your client’s mind at ease with the upgraded additions of cabinetry dividers and custom storage solutions. With companies now specializing in after-market products, you can find a wide range of products that will customize any stock cabinets that you will find on the market.

4. Multiple Layers of Lighting- Accent lighting placed at various heights, under-cabinet lighting, interior cabinet lighting, and above cabinet lighting combine to create a warm and inviting kitchen. Task lighting adds drama and function, while dim accent lighting softens and soothes a room. Each layer of lighting serves a different purpose, which can enhance the room.

5. Compact & Efficient Appliances- One of hottest trends in 2008, is the incorporation of compact and efficient appliances. Horizontal dishwashers, French door wall ovens, two-tiered ranges, and power boil options on cooktops can ease the day-to-day cooking tasks, while maintaining the desired beauty and resourcefulness of your designs.

6. Expanded Color Palettes- Today’s contemporary designs allow for vibrant splashes of color in the kitchen and bathroom. Through bright and bold colored backsplashes, countertops, appliances, and cabinetry inserts and overlays, homeowners can incorporate the newest and hottest colors into any design. A wide range of color is now being used to evoke emotion and set the tone for your next projects.

7. Tile Murals- A trend that is increasing in popularity is using custom murals in the kitchen. Color, form, and design combine to create varied patterns ranging from modern graphics to soft floral patterns. A wide variety of patterns offers a look that’s sure to suit any client’s taste.

8. Integrated Electronics- By integrating wires, speakers, control panels, and flat-screen TVs directly into your design, you’ll allow the surroundings of the room to flow seamlessly around any audio/video equipment that you may want. Planning ahead will allow you to conceal the wiring and give your kitchen a truely custom look.

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Find out where the experts go to get all of their kitchen cabinets and accessories. Learn how to save thousand on kitchen cabinets by buying them where contractors and builders shop.

Article Source: Populate.net

1) Cabinet Box Construction- There are a wide variety of materials use to build cabinets, with a significant difference in durability. Custom cabinets will most likely use solid wood, but the most commonly used materials are plywood and particleboard. Plywood in some cases will be stronger than real wood because it is multiple layers of wood with the grain laid in varying directions to add strength. Particleboard and Flakeboard will hold up as long as the hardware used to attach the cabinets does shift or move. Particleboard will have a tendency to sag or break because it is bonded flakes or chips of wood. At the lower end of the spectrum is fiberboard, which is really just a thicker cardboard. The construction materials will have the biggest impact of anything on the life of your cabinets.

2) Cabinet fasteners- What is used to hold the cabinets together will also have a big impact on how the cabinets hold up. Fasteners can be just as varied as the types of materials used. Anything from dovetailed joints, screws, cam locks, nails, or even staples are used to hold cabinets together. Dovetailed joints are going to give you best bond. When combined with wood glue, your cabinets could easily last a lifetime. Cam locks also offer a very strong bond and are usually featured on RTA Cabinets. Lower end cabinets will tend to use only screws or only staples. While these may create a strong bond with real wood, when you start talking about particleboard and fiberboard, the joints will tend to pull apart.

3) Cabinet hardware- While the hardware can easily be replaced on most cabinets, it will still have an impact on the durability of the cabinets. The hinges for the doors and even the drawer slides could affect the usefulness and life of your kitchen cabinets. By not using the appropriate hinges and slides, it could result in damage to the cabinets.

So when shopping for kitchen cabinets, keep these three features in mind before choosing which cabinets to buy. While you always want to save as much money as possible, low end materials, fasteners or hardware can significantly reduce the life of your cabinets.

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Find out where the experts go to get all of their kitchen cabinets and accessories. Learn how to save thousand on kitchen cabinets by buying them where contractors and builders shop.

Article Source: Populate.net

The material for the spice rack frame should be chosen based on your current kitchen design. Most frames are made from a soft wood like balsa or bamboo; however you can now buy spice rack frames in popular variations like stainless steel and aluminum. The frame itself will be very durable and last a long time. Before selecting a spice rack make sure you have the container size in mind that you will use, so that the containers will fit in the rack. Also think about where the spice rack will be located. Does it need to sit on the counter or hang on the wall.

These days spice rack containers are usually glass or plastic and manufactured making them clear or see through. Plastic can be more porous than glass depending on the quality. This allows air to seep into the spices and cause them to go stale very quickly. The recommendation is to choose thick glass containers to use. Lids come in many varieties as well. It is best to choose a screw cap lit or a rubber stopper. Both types will allow for an air tight seal in the container.

Once you have the frame and container, now it is key to determine the spices you will have in your rack. If you choose to buy the spices in the containers then you can avoid this step. Being able to select your own spices allows you to customize your spice rack in the manner that you cook. It also keeps you from having spices that you will never use. Once you have the spices you need, next comes the labels. You can buy preprinted spice labels that have the most popular spice names on them. However, we recommend that you buy small labels from an office supply store and create your own. Here you can add a touch of creativity to your spice rack.

Building a designer spice rack is very easy to do. You just need to spend a little time thinking about what you want and how you want it to look. Enhance your kitchen design by creating a professional looking spice rack of your own.

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Steve provides information about designer kitchen spice racks through his website on Kitchen Spice Racks.

Article Source: Populate.net

Location: Creating an open space that incorporates outside living space is a big trend in newer homes. By Incorporating a door into the layout of your kitchen it would help create a nice flow to an outside deck or patio. You also may want to rearrange the position of windows to allow more or less sunlight or to watch your children play in the yard. Keep in mind that a cooking surface should never be located under an operable window.

Efficiency & Eco-Friendly: In today’s real estate market, everyone wants eco-friendly features in the home to reduce their carbon footprint. Outdated appliances can actually be costing you money due to inefficiencies. New technological advances with dishwashers, disposals and refrigerators could save you a considerable amount of money and may be well worth the investment. For example, purchasing a dishwasher with low-energy consumption, delay timer and economy cycle or half-load button will result in saving water and money.

Traffic flow: If there’s more than one cook in your household, you may want to consider making more room around the main workspace. If you entertain family and friends, you will certainly want an open floor plan that allows the cook to interact with guests. By most standards the width of a walkway should be at least 36″ and the width of a work aisle should be at least 42″ for one cook and at least 48″ for multiple cooks.

Sufficient space: Counter space and storage space can dramatically change just by rearranging the layout of your kitchen. The position of your refrigerator or shape of your counter may be taking away useful workspace. A good rule of thumb when replacing a countertop or changing the shape of your kitchen, is that you should have a total of 158″ of countertop frontage, 24″ deep with at least 15″ of clearance above, to accommodate all uses, including landing area, preparation/work area and storage.

Handicap Accessibility: Is your kitchen accessible to individuals with disabilities? While you may not have a need right now, if you plan on staying in the house a long time or plan on selling the house, it is important to keep this aspect in mind. Will you be able to use your kitchen safely as you get older? While it is often overlooked, this is a key design element in any kitchen remodel.

Before you remodel your kitchen, make a checklist of major and minor problems and keep notes of the features you dislike and like the most. Whether you are planning on working with a designer or taking on the task yourself, a prioritized list of needs and wants will help you better organize your remodeling plans.

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Find out where the experts go to get all of their kitchen cabinets and accessories. Learn how to save thousand on kitchen cabinets by buying them where contractors and builders shop.

Article Source: Populate.net

The key to saving time in the kitchen is to plan your meals. It’s important to schedule out your meals for the week. If you feel strange having “Spaghetti Mondays” or other specific meals tied to specific days, at least take the time to plan out seven separate dinners and make sure that you have all of the ingredients for those meals. When you’re in the middle of preparing something and you find that you don’t have an essential ingredient, it’s very tempting to go out to eat. Instead, make sure you have everything you need.

Before you start preparing a meal, get all of your ingredients and measuring equipment out at the start. Television chefs do this on their shows because it saves time. Also get your sink full of warm soapy water so you can drop utensils and other cooking items in once you’re done with them. That half cup you used to measure honey will be a lot easier to clean once it has soaked for a while.

On this same note, clean as you go. If you need to chop vegetables and then boil them, use the time you have while waiting for the water to wipe down the cutting board. Keeping your work surface clean and orderly will allow you to save time.

Try baking and using your crock pot more often. While it’s not possible to use the slow cooker or your oven for everything, you’ll be surprised by how much you can cook in these places in your kitchen. The great part about a crock pot or oven is that your meal can be “set it and forget it.” Once you’ve done the prep work, you can walk away and let the meal take care of itself. This is even more true with a crock pot. It’s worth it to invest in this appliance, as long as you put it to good use.

You can also save yourself cooking time each week by cooking in bulk. At the start of the week, grill several chicken breasts that can be used in later meals. A large package of chicken breasts can be used in sandwiches, as main dishes, in salads and in burritos. A few pounds of ground beef prepared at the beginning of the week can be used in chili, spaghetti and tacos throughout the week. You can follow the same process with shredded cheese or chopped vegetables. Do a lot of it once and then you streamline your kitchen time later on.

With these tips, you’ll be able to cook faster and actually enjoy the process. If you’ve been spending too much money dining out, you may want to give this a try. Once you make cooking easier, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do more of it earlier.

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Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape.com and Susies-Coupons.com, where you can find coupons for cooking essentials as well as restaurant coupons.

Article Source: Populate.net

Storage space is even more important in a small kitchen, where counter space is limited and you can’t afford to have unnecessary items taking up space on the counter. Over the years I have come across some creative ways and creative products that can help organize kitchen and maximize the use of storage space, so I thought I would share some of them

1) Drawer Organizers- for whatever reason, drawers tend to become the catch-all area of the kitchen. Any small item, or seldom used piece gets thrown in the drawer to be forgotten about. There are a lot of creative items on the market right now that help you maximize the drawer space that you have and eliminate the clutter on your counter tops.

Aside from just organizing your utensils, you can now take that cutting board and knife set that has been sitting on your counter and stick it in easy to reach, organized drawer. How about taking those spices off the counter and putting them in an organized drawer with easy access next to the stove? You can even get rid of that bread box you have on the counter and convert a drawer into a bread box.

2) Appliance Caddy’s- every home should have one of these and it is a great way to de-clutter your countertops and still have access to all the day to day appliances you use.

3) Pull-out Waste Baskets- While this won’t help with countertop space, it will certainly help with the unsightly trash can. There are several companies out there that set kits to convert a base cabinet into a pull out wastebasket that gets tucked away and out of sight.

4) Door Mounted Racks- Personally, I think every kitchen should have a couple of these on the doors. Mounted to the back of the doors for base cabinet or wall cabinets, door-mounted racks can be used to organize cleaning supplies, spices, canned goods (just about anything you can think of). Not only do they take advantage of unused space, but they help de-clutter, and put frequently used items at your finger tips.

5) Pull-Out Wall and Base Organizers- If you look around any kitchen, there is always going to be dead or unused space. The latest trend in kitchen organization is the utilization of pull-out wall and base organizers. This is simply a 3″, 6″, or 9″ wide vertical racking system that can hold spices, cans, pans, or anything you can think of. Some companies offer pegboards to mount pots and pans.

The great thing about these products is that they are strong enough to hold a pantry full of canned goods, versatile enough to accommodate all of your pots and pans, and come in a wide range of sizes for both base cabinets and wall cabinets. If you are not familiar with these types of products, I suggest you look up pull-out wall organizers

While I only pointed out a handful of products on the market to help organize your kitchen, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of different products that can fit your particular needs.

So when you are shopping for new kitchen cabinets or looking for ways to maximize the space that you have, make sure you take the time to look for the products that will truly help organize your life.

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Find out how to save thousands on high quality kitchen cabinets. For kitchen storage solutions, check out this link to the products I mentioned above.

Article Source: Populate.net