Brass is Back!

            Polished gold, champagne bronze, polished brass, brushed bronze, brushed gold. Call it what you may, but brass is brass and it is back. Maybe you have said to yourself, “I am never having brass again.” For those people who cannot get the traditional polished brass removed from their home fast enough and replaced with stainless steel, chrome or oil rubbed bronze, you might want to think again. Brass is coming back.

 

It may be in the form of brushed bronze cabinet hardware or a polished gold faucet or maybe it is a brushed gold vessel sink. Used in the right way, these items carry with them a very classic, refined look. A brass finished faucet or cabinet hardware piece lends warmth to a space that stainless steel and chrome cannot touch.

 

Now it may be time to go ahead and swap out those 15 year old brass knobs, but before you resign yourself to stainless steel, you can reconsider brass. Not sure if or how you want to use the “new” brass in your home? Take a look around, look at some magazines, stop by a plumbing supply store. You are bound to find some ideas that will work in your home. Moral of the story: Never say never. Because our mom’s always taught us that what goes around, comes around. And that sure rings true with brass.

A New Year

            2011 has started off with a bang! For me the start of a new year is always a time of reflection, goal setting and getting rid of clutter from the previous year.  A time to look back at the previous year and assess what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year.

 

The start of a new year is a great time to take a look around your home and decide if there are some projects you want to tackle or some changes you would like to make. If you are like me, this recent snow storm has given you plenty of time in your home to really look around and see some areas you would like to improve. For me, the list is long or should I say ambitious. Add curtains in my breakfast room, recover a recently purchased antique sofa, find that perfect rug for just inside the front door, decide if I am going to repaint my living room and if so, what color.

 

So grab a cup of coffee or tea and take a real, honest look around your home. Is it time to find new hardware for your vanity? Maybe a new set of towels. Maybe you need to clear off your kitchen counters and start over. Whatever your project may be, big or small, gather your ideas, get estimates for the work if need be, then work it into your plan for an awesome 2011.

Dovetail: Worth It?

            Throughout the years, dovetail drawer boxes have been a symbol of quality and durability in furniture. Does that fact still hold true today or is it just an unnecessary added expense?

 

Dovetail drawers boxes are constructed of solid wood with the corners dovetailed, or interlaced like fingers, together. This construction style gives extra strength to the box and offers a longer life for the drawer. When you open the drawer, there have a very finished, pretty look on the sides. Solid wood gives you more opportunities to customize them to match your cabinets. They can be made in any wood species and even stained to match your cabinets. Because they are solid wood, there could be more of a tendency to warp than a drawer box made out of plywood. The material and extra labor needed to produce these drawer boxes makes them more expensive than a plywood box.

 

Another option for the construction of drawer boxes is half inch plywood that is nailed together. Often times the top side of the plywood is edgebanded to clean up the unfinished look of the veneer layers. Depending on the quality of material used and the care taken in putting them together, these drawers could very well last just as long as the dovetail drawer boxes and be just at sturdy. Plywood boxes will run about one third to one fourth the cost of dovetail drawer boxes.

 

In my kitchen, I opted for plywood boxes and was able to use the money that I saved and splurge on my backsplash. Don’t let the absence of dovetail drawers scare you but examine the plywood boxes for durability and stability. You may find that the added expense of dovetail is really not worth it at after all.

Glimmer and Sparkle

            Have you noticed that the hot colors this holiday season are gold, silver, copper and metallics? In shoes, clothes, jewelry and cars. Everywhere you turn something else is sparkling. If a sparkle catches your eye, do not fear, it can even be incorporated into your kitchen or bathroom!

 

A fairly new product, metallic paint, is great for adding a little drama or sparkle to a space. Consider painting the crown molding, baseboard and door trim in a powder room silver. Or the trim in your kitchen copper. If you have a decorative hood cabinet over your range, this is a great spot for some copper. The great thing about the copper paint is that it does not oxidize, so you do not have to continually clean it to keep that polished, shiny look. Paint the backs of some white bookshelves gold and see how your books and knick knacks shine. Or paint the ceiling in your dining room gold. Wow! Impact! It is amazing how far a quart of paint will go and how much impact it can have in a space.

 

Just writing this is getting me excited and my creative juices flowing. I feel a home project coming on! Step outside of your comfort zone and see what fun a little metallic paint can add to your home. What a great way to brighten up your home during the drab, dreary days of winter.

The Love of My Life

For those who know me well, the title of this article probably really grabbed your attention. No, I do not have a secret boyfriend to announce and I have not gotten a puppy. In my kitchen, the love of my life is my pull out trash can!

 

The pull out trash is attached to and hidden behind a door. I simply pull on the knob and out it comes. The sturdy plastic bin that my bag is placed in is easy to wash out and it keeps my yucky trash hidden from view. I love not having an unsightly trash can sitting at the end of my cabinets or maybe tucked under the sink or far away in my pantry. My pull out trash is directly to the right of my sink, within easy reach when I am cooking.

 

If you are not so fortunate to already have a built in trash can, there may be a way you can add one. Choose a base cabinet with twenty-two inches of depth, about twenty inches of height and widths that can vary from eight to twenty inches. It may be necessary to remove the interior shelf. If you are not sure if your space can handle a built in trash can, email me a picture and I will be happy to offer advice. Purchase a high quality, full extension pull out trash can and door mounting kit from your local hardware store or a cabinet company. Remove the hinge from the chosen door and follow the installation instructions with your chosen trash can. It may be a relatively small expense, but one you are sure not to regret. Try it and see if it becomes the love of your life in your kitchen.

Company Coming?

Ready or not, the holidays are upon us. As this realization hits, we start to make a mental or written list of all the things we need and want to do before the holidays are actually here. Is a kitchen or bathroom remodel on your to do list before the company comes? Maybe you just found out that your home will be the location of this year’s Thanksgiving or Christmas celebration or your broken oven just won’t cut it for baking those cookies.

 

Before you start to panic, take a deep breath and let’s take a realistic look at the calendar. Depending on the amount and magnitude of work that you want to do in your kitchen or bathroom, you can expect a remodel to take anywhere from two to four weeks from demo to final cleanup. Knowing this is the amount of time it could take, you probably are not going to make your Thanksgiving goal.

 

But, you are in luck. If you start your planning and decision making now, you can realistically have a new kitchen or bathroom by Christmas. Consult with the professionals who will be completing this work for you and they will be able to give you a better idea of the time needed to complete your project. Whatever you do, DO NOT plan to wrap up your remodeling project the day before company is expected to arrive. Something might be backordered or take longer than expected and then you will really be up a creek without a paddle or eating your Christmas dinner at Waffle House. The holidays are hectic enough without adding that little bit of stress.

 

As you consider who will be doing the work for you, make sure they have a good reputation, are doing what they say and completing projects in a timely manner. Check their references and don’t let the bottom line make the decision for you. Sometimes there is a reason one person is less expensive than another. The holidays are not a time to risk having issues with a contractor.

 

There are parties to attend or host, food to be prepared, gifts to be wrapped and memories to be made with your family and friends. Take time to slow down and remember that this is the most wonderful time of the year.

Every Last Inch

Who has ever lost something in the back of a drawer only because you could not pull it all the way out to see what was back there? Is your had raised? Mine is. We all have shared that frustration at some point in time. When you consider how to best maximize the space you have in your current cabinets or perhaps the best way to maximize space in new cabinets, one are to take a close look at is the drawers and specifically the drawer slides.

 

The base model drawer slide is a side mount, white, epoxy or roller runner that allows the drawer to extend out approximately three quarters of the way. This style is often found on box cabinets and is a great option for a vanity or cabinets in lesser used spaces. It works great if that is all you have and is better than nothing.

 

If you truly want to maximize and use every last inch of your drawer, the full extension drawer slide is the way to go. A full extension slide is available for side mount or under mount application and in keeping with its name, extends the drawer out all of the way. While it is slightly more expensive than the base model epoxy drawer slide, it is the best investment for organization, use, cleaning and sometimes our sanity.

 

So before you just accept what is given to you, ask the question. Do these drawers have full extension drawer slides? Believe me, it will be well worth the time it takes to ask and the added investment. After all, we all want to use every last inch.