Month: May 2019

There’s more to creating your dream kitchen than just hiring your reputable local kitchen remodelers from Johnston, RI and telling them what your favorite style is. A kitchen should not only be modern and visually appealing, but also practical and easy to use and get around in. That is why you should consider more than just the look when designing your kitchen.

How can I create my dream kitchen?

There are several key components essential to creating your dream kitchen that you have to pay attention to if you’re looking to create a functional and contemporary environment. These elements are:

• Lighting
• Seating
• Organization and storage

Let’s see how you should approach each of these elements and how you should best implement them.

Lighting

makes a new kitchen more enjoyable, and bad lighting does just the opposite. Lighting can make or break how a new kitchen looks, feels and functions. It is equally as important as cabinets, countertops, appliances, backsplashes, flooring, sinks and faucets.

Effective lighting illuminates a space in layers using different components and strategies to paint the final picture. You can buy a functional $70 faucet in a home center, but that faucet will not add much to the beauty of the kitchen.

A similar analogy holds true for lighting. Simply placing flush-mounted fixtures in the center of your ceiling can provide functional light, but it may do little to beautify the space, create a mood, or evoke favorable emotional responses.

Layers of light contribute not only to the functionality of the kitchen but also to its design and beauty. Kitchens require ambient, task and accent lighting.

• Ambient lighting: The goal of ambient lighting is to provide soft, general illumination without necessarily drawing attention to the light source. Ambient lighting provides enough light for safe navigation, cooking and washing dishes, and helps to define the space.
• Task lighting: Task lighting is employed to illuminate the activities that take place in the kitchen and provide light to prep, cook, bake, read recipes, easily find ingredients, watch television or do homework.

Recent technological advances enable designers to integrate task lighting into drawers and cabinets by installing LED strip lighting or puck lights. LED lights are often installed under wall mounted cabinets to illuminate countertops.

• Accent lighting: Accent lighting is used to help keep the kitchen from looking ordinary or bland by highlighting open shelving, artwork, architectural details or other objects. A feature or work of art that draws the attention of the eye is referred to as a focal point.

Light fixtures that provide light and shadows can make the space more inviting and comfortable. These may include track lights, recessed adjustable fixtures and spotlights.

Accent lighting is also subtle. A focused beam of light directed at a plant or highlighting a work of art, or a spotlight placed behind a plant and pointed upward through the leaves creates shadows on the wall that can make a kitchen more attractive.

Seating

Most homeowners in the northeast want to have an abundance of seating in their new kitchens to entertain friends and family and to use the kitchen for additional purposes such as preparing meals, cleaning up, doing homework, bill paying, reading, relaxing and working from home. That is why islands have become so popular. They serve multiple functions in addition to serving as a focal point.

Organization and storage

A great kitchen must not only look out of this world, but it also must incorporate the best functionality that meets your needs. There is a vast array of storage and organizational tools ranging from drawer and cabinet organizers to pull out drawers and pantries that provide a place for all of your kitchen utensils, small appliances, plates and glassware, cookware and pots and pans.

Which expert kitchen remodelers in Johnston, RI should I hire?

Want to learn what elements are necessary to make your dream kitchen in Johnston a reality and what the tricks to creating a functional and well-designed kitchen are? Northeast Kitchen Remodel & Design Build is here to help you out! We’ll create the kitchen you want with everything you need. Find out more by calling us at (401) 257-6610, visiting our showroom at 2949 Hartford Avenue Johnston RI or contacting us here.

It may seem like a minor selection during your design review and materials selection at Northeast Kitchen and Flooring Center. However, grout color can have a dramatic impact on the look and feel of a new kitchen, and we pay attention to the details that can make a new kitchen pop. For instance, white subway tile has been a staple for kitchens and is not going away anytime in the foreseeable future. If white tile is paired with white grout, the distinction between the tile and grout disappears creating a look that does not typically catch the eye. A grout color that contrasts with white or lighter tiles makes a definitive distinction. We also tend to avoid white grout because it takes extra effort to clean and maintain. We often contrast white tiles and white based tiles with a soft gray grout especially in traditional or transitional designs because of its timeless look and its ability to complement Shaker-style cabinets, veined stone counters and wood floors.

Another popular trend with white tiles, especially backsplashes, is to pair them with darker colored grout to create a look that makes the tile a focal point of the kitchen. The same rules apply when using dark tiles for flooring or wall coverings. Lighter colored grout serves to contrast the tile and highlight patterns.

We like to recommend a colored grout to help highlight other colors in the kitchen or bath. Colored grouts are also often paired with colored and patterned tiles. But this can be tricky if you are not familiar with color schemes and contrasting colors that complement one another. Using white or light grout with colored tiles helps to soften the space and provide cleaner lines. When clients opt for a bright red or orange colored tile, we would pair that with a white grout.

The finish of the tile is another consideration when specifying grout. If the tile is glossy, it will appear lighter on a wall surface. A lighter grout color works best with glossy tiles.

Tile is not the only material that affects how grout looks and feels in a new kitchen or bath. We account for surrounding materials and other color schemes specified for the kitchen. Incorporating brown and red tones into grout serves to complement brick, wood, leather and stone.

There are also different considerations for floor tile than backsplash or wall tile seen at eye level. We often recommend contrasting the tile and the grout to add richness to the look.

Color is only one factor to consider when specifying grout. Another is thickness. If the grout matches the tile, we recommend a thin grout application to give the appearance of one continuous material. The shape of the tile impacts the grout thickness. For circular tile, often used on bathroom floors and shower bases, we suggest using a thicker grout pattern to make the tile stand out. When we work with bathrooms that have multiple tiled surfaces we tend to specify the same color grout for both walls and floors to help assure a harmonious look.

Understanding the effect grout color, thickness and applications have on a new kitchen or bath project is essential to make our clients smile. If you have a question about grout that works best for your new kitchen or bath, please give us a call at (401) 526-4173 to make an appointment to visit our showroom at 2949 Hartford Avenue Johnston RI or Contact us here.

There are many important decisions that need to be made when planning your dream kitchen. An experienced designer can make these decisions much easier.

One of the decisions that needs to be considered when our clients are remodeling a kitchen in Rhode Island and Massachusetts is where to locate the sink or sinks. The number of sinks is contingent on the size of the kitchen and intended uses. Homeowners that entertain frequently relish the opportunity to have more than one sink (and in many cases more than one dishwasher) in their dream kitchen.

Most homeowners opt to place the main sink below a window that gives them site lines to outdoors and mother nature and a second smaller prep sink in an island whose countertop space is used most often for meal preparation. Island sinks also enables homeowners to face guests while entertaining or watch children while preparing meals. Both options are a favorite of our clients.

The main sink used for cleanup and a dishwasher should be placed next to one another. That makes it easy to load and unload the dishwasher. We recommend placing the recycling and garbage bins in a pullout cabinet on the other side of the sink, making it easy to clean up.

What are the ideal sink locations in your new kitchen? Call our showroom at (401)526-4173 or visit us at 2949 Hartford Avenue Johnston RI to find the perfect sinks and their locations for your new dream kitchen.

Kitchen islands are one of our clients’ most requested features and for good reason. Islands serve multiple purposes as preparation areas, desks, dining tables, serving spaces and more. When our clients request an island, our starting point is to determine if their space is sufficient. Then we identify the best dimensions and orientation. Factors that we consider when planning an island include users and their age, desired uses, seating needs, room shape and dimensions, traffic flow and window locations.

Most kitchens are rectangular. Typically, in rectangular kitchens, we are likely to specify a rectangular-shaped island. If your kitchen is not rectangular, there are an endless array of island shapes and sizes that are viable. L-shaped kitchens may be best served with an L-shaped island. We’ve designed round, oval and curved islands. In larger kitchens, we’ve made clients extremely happy by showing them the advantages of two islands facing each other and outfitting one with a cooktop and the other with a sink. A two-island configuration optimizes the prep zone and enables everyone in a kitchen to maneuver freely.

Size Considerations

The size of an island depends on the available space, intended usage and functionality. If you are like a majority of clients in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that want to house a sink and cooktop in the island, you will most likely need a space that is eight to 10 feet long and three to four feet wide. A smaller space would not provide sufficient space for meal preparation. In those situations, we would look to relocate either the cooktop, sink or both.

Countertop material and appearance is another consideration when specifying the size of an island. Most standard solid stone slabs are 4.5 feet wide by 10 feet long. If your island is larger, you will most likely need two pieces of stone, and that will create a visible seam in your island. To some clients, a visible seam on the island does not matter, others will object, and there is a group that looks at a seam as an opportunity to make a unique and personal design statement. A seam provides opportunities to mix and match different materials, and that could include pairing stone, quartz, wood, glass and/or marble.

Location, Location, Location

Location of appliances, sinks and seating are additional considerations when planning your dream island. Placing a cooktop in an island is popular because it enables homeowners to have face-to-face interactions with guests and family while cooking meals. The location of sinks and appliances whether they are microwave, heating drawer, wine fridge, sink, oven cooktop, refrigerated drawer, needs to be made in the planning phase to plan for electrical, plumbing and ventilation before construction begins.

The decision to place a cooktop in an island involves specifying ventilation. Some islands can’t accommodate a drop-down range hood, but that is not a game changer. In those cases, we will determine if a flush-mounted ceiling exhaust fan will work and design an overhang a few inches from the ceiling that can house the fan and electrical connections. A second option is to have an exhaust fan embedded in the island that pops up at the press of a button.

The decision to place a sink in an island is both functional and aesthetic. The kitchen faucet and sink are the two most used appliances in the home. They are daily repositories for dirty pots, pans, dishes, silverware, glasses and cooking utensils. If you are a clean-as-you-go cook, an island sink may be a good option for you, but if you’re not, you may not like dirty things, soap and towels impairing the look of your island.

What island size, shape, look and functionality would work best in your dream kitchen? If you want to turn your dream into a reality, give us a call at (401)257-6610, visit our showroom at 2949 Hartford Avenue Johnston RI or Contact us here.

Making the decision to remodel your kitchen, bath or any other part of your home is huge. It’s fraught with anxiety and unknowns. A professional showroom’s role is to ease the fear and eliminate stress. That’s why it is important to understand that a professional showroom offers more than cabinets, countertops and appliances. A professional showroom is in the business of providing peace of mind.

How can you differentiate one showroom from another? Develop a checklist of information that a showroom needs to offer to help ensure peace of mind. You should expect a showroom to provide the following information:

Schedule: An excellent showroom will not only relate the anticipated start and end dates but the sequencing of construction. Scheduling is particularly important for kitchens and baths because of the lead times required for different products such as custom and semi-custom cabinets and specialty finished fixtures.

The team: The schedule also should identify which different trade professionals will be in your home and the timeframe for their arrival and departure.

Protecting your home: Showrooms should tell you who will lock up your home at the end of the day and how they are going to protect the space. This may include a dust prevention plan and identifying paintings, valuables and other items that may have to be removed from adjacent walls to protect them from potential damage.

Level of involvement and communication: You should expect a showroom to ask you how much you want to be involved in the project. You should identify the decisions that you want to be involved with such as how you’d like tile to be placed or approving lighting location before the space is wired. Your showroom team should also determine the best time and methodology for communicating with you if questions need to be answered or problems need to be addressed during the day and after hours.

Showroom concerns: Your showroom should identify concerns that it has before a project begins. Showrooms have designed and built hundreds if not thousands of new kitchens. They understand that on every project there is a potential for the unknown. To reduce anxiety and potential stress, expect your showroom to discuss the areas of concern it has before demolition begins.

Handling change orders: The procedure for handling change orders should be agreed upon before a project begins. Change orders are the result of a change in plans or uncovering the unexpected. Often times change orders occur because the existing infrastructure of the home does not meet current code requirements. How the changes are communicated and agreed upon should be part of the planning process.

Documentation that you should expect: At the end of the project, you should receive all warranties on the products that you have purchased and installed, a set of final as-built plans, certificate of occupancy if required for the project, operation manuals for all products and a guideline for caring and maintaining your new space.

If you have other questions that you would like to have answered before undertaking your renovation project, please call us at (401) 257-6610 , visit our showroom at 2949 Hartford Avenue Johnston RI or contact us here.

The paradox of the unlimited choices available through online search is that it’s almost impossible for anyone to make the best buying decision because of the nearly infinite number of options presented. If you searched on a Houzz.com, Pinterest or Instagram to get ideas for a new bathroom sink, you would be given tens of thousands of choices. How can you confidently make the best decision with so much sensory overload? The answer for most is that most times you can’t. The following is a guide to make the selection process easier for homeowners, designers and builders in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

When selecting a bathroom sink, begin by considering your lifestyle and space:

• Who will use the sink, how often and for what purposes?
• What are the ages of users and their mobility capabilities?
• Is the sink to replace an existing fixture or for a new bath?
• How much countertop and storage space do you need/want?
• How much space is there to work with?
• Would you like a single or double bowl?

Next, give some thought to aesthetics:

• What type of sink do you like?
• What style do you prefer (e.g., contemporary, traditional, transitional)?
• What type of faucet do you like?
• How will the sink material influence your bathroom style? How durable will the sink be and what maintenance will it require?

As you identify your functional needs and aesthetic preferences, you may consider the following sink types:

Console Sink

Console sinks can either be freestanding supported by four legs or mounted to the wall and supported by two or four legs. Leg materials can span the gamut of styles and aesthetic options from hollow steel pipes to posts made from the same material as the sink.

Console Sink Pros:

• Provide almost unlimited options in terms of shape and design.
• If the legs are wide enough, they can provide comfortable wheelchair access
• Easy to maintain and clean
• Durable

Console Sink Cons:

• Limited countertop space
• They are best suited for larger bathrooms because they typically require considerable floor space
• Not a lot of storage space underneath

Pedestal Sink

Pedestal sinks resemble birdbaths. They feature a wall-mounted sink sitting on top of a pedestal secured to the floor. The pedestal is open in the back to provide access for the drainpipe and supply lines.

Pedestal Sink Pros:

• Pedestal sinks hide the pipework
• Best suited for smaller spaces, e.g., powder rooms.
• Easy to maintain and clean.
• An endless array of design and aesthetic options from traditional to contemporary
• Shorter than a free-standing
• Durable

Pedestal Sink Cons:

• Limited countertop space
• No storage space underneath

Wall-Mounted Sink

Wall-mounted sinks are installed directly against the wall.

Wall-Mounted Sink Pros:

• Does not take up floor space, and are a great option when space is at a premium
• Typically wheelchair accessible

Wall-Mounted Sink Cons:

• Minimal countertop space
• No storage space underneath
• Plumbing must be inside the wall to achieve a clean look

Integrated Sink

An integrated sink is a countertop with a built-in sink made out of the same material.

Integrated Sink Pros:

• Easy to clean
• Available in a variety of colors that can look and feel like stone
• Repaired easily

Integrated Sink Cons:

• To replace the sink, you have to replace the countertop
• Compromises some countertop space
• Must be the same material and color as the countertop

Drop-In Sink

A drop-in sink fits into a hole cut into the countertop. Typically, the sink sits below the counter with the rim at the top of the counter.

Drop-In Sink Pros:

• Easy to install on all types of materials
• Available in a variety of sizes, colors and materials
• Integral raised rim prevents overflow on double bowl sinks
• Hides waste and supply lines in the cabinet underneath

Drop-In Sink Cons:

• The raised lip makes it challenging to wipe water and soap from the countertop into the sink
• Limited depth options

Vessel Sink

A vessel sink sits on top of the countertop.

Vessel Sink Pros:

• Opportunity to make a personal design statement
• Offers the capacity to hold a lot of water
• The counter can serve to complement the sink visually rather than just providing a place where it is located.

Vessel Sink Cons:

• Because the sink sits on top of the countertop, you need to consider how high the countertop and vanity should be carefully
• Can be more difficult to clean, especially around the base and back of the sink

Undermount Sink

An undermount sink is installed from underneath a solid surface countertop.

Undermount SInk Pros:

• Clean lines
• Easy to clean as water, soap and other materials can be easily swept from the countertop to the sink bowl
• More minimal appearance than drop-in sink

Undermount Sink Cons:

• Typically, these sinks are made of stone, quartz, marble or another solid surface material and are not suitable for laminate countertops because they can be completely sealed.
• More difficult to install than drop-in sinks

With so many choices and factors to consider, homeowners in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut are best served with the help of a showroom professional who specifies bathroom sinks daily. If you would like assistance to assure that you make the best purchasing decision for your new bathroom, please call us at (401) 257-6610 , visit our showroom at 2949 Hartford Avenue Johnston RI or contact us here.