I’m often asked, “I want to remodel my kitchen, but have no idea where to start. What should I do first?”

Unfortunately, this is not an easy question to answer. Unlike socks, one kitchen design does not fit all.

Let’s assume you are at ground zero of the remodeling process and are ready to take the first step. Here are our recommendations:

1. Ask, “What inspires you?” Take some time to look at magazines, search Advanced Google Images for kitchen designs, talk to friends that have possibly remodeled their kitchen/bath, and flip to HGTV and watch a few good remodel shows.
2. Keep a notebook/journal of your likes/dislikes: Is your eye drawn to white or off-white cabinets, burgundy cherry, honey maple? Hopefully your eye will land on a picture(s) that you can show to your potential kitchen designer or contractor in order to educate them on your design vision.
3. In my opinion, cabinet color is key. Why? Equate cabinet color with making a strong first impression. During my first session with you, I will always start with choosing your cabinet color. Because this process is so overwhelming, it is necessary to begin where you have the least options, hence, 8-12 cabinet colors. Let’s say you choose an autumn stain on the wood. Next step? Choosing your wood species: autumn stain can be applied to cherry, maple, alder, oak, quartersawn, oak, beech, birch, and hickory. And, autumn stain will indeed look different on each wood species because the grain patterns are so unique. Your decision: autumn stain on maple. Great, what’s next?
4. Time to choose your door pattern or shape. Here, you will have more options than stain color or wood pattern. Now, the fun begins! Generally, there are three types of door styles with variations that make them unique: (1) Raised panel (more traditional). The raised panel is the center portion of the door with a frame on the outside. Once again, there are many variations of this style, so the more research you do prior to our first meeting, the better! (2) Flat panel or shaker style: the center panel is smooth, not raised with a frame on the outside. Get ready, there are countless ways to customize your flat panel door to make your kitchen unique. Oftentimes, the flat panel is classified as traditional, colonial, and contemporary, depending on the edge and profile of the door. (3) Completely flat door without a frame. This door is smooth, top to bottom without a panel or frame. This is a favorite of many because there are no grooves to clean! This door style is definitely considered contemporary.
5. Finally, come in and visit our beautiful showroom. Concentrate on color, wood species, door design/style. Bring your “dream” notebook/design and let us make it a reality! Make an appointment today!

As we ring in 2012, we want to wish all of our past customers a prosperous New Year, in all aspects of your life.  To our future customers, we look foward to giving you the best kitchen for your home and making it an enjoyable experience. To all you gents out there, how about a new kitchen for Valentine’s Day? 

For more information, contact us at (757) 397-2014 and ask for Rob or Dennis. Happy New Year!

These birch cabinets seem to come alive as you walk through the room. Lighter places turn dark, and vice versa, as you move from one side to the other. This is a natural phenomenon called “chatoyance”, and is found in many different species.

Notice the upper doors to the right of the slide-in stove. Although this effect is best when viewed in person, you can glimpse the shimmer even in this photo.

Natural maple cabinetry from Dynasty and Omega was used to create this stunningly beautiful contemporary kitchen. The sleek slab door and strategically placed stainless steel hardware bring together the horizontal and vertical lines. Contrasting countertops and appliances break up the blond wood and give a visual definition to elegance- everything you need and nothing you don’t.

Staggering depths allowed us to incorporate the offset walls behind the refrigerator without sacrificing either aesthetics or storage.

This Red Oak traditional kitchen contrasts nicely with the stainless steel appliances and natural finished hardwood floor. Under-cabinet lighting provides clean light to work surfaces without casting shadows, and when used with a dimmer, makes for attractive accent lighting in the evening.

Notice how the dark granite countertop transitions beautifully into the black cooking surface. The use of a light ceramic tile for the backsplash keeps the darker counter top from over-powering a small space.

These cabinets from Shiloh also feature raised panel drawer fronts- an economical upgrade for a kitchen of this size.

Project Description: We provided entire kitchen design and cabinet layout, wall removal, hardwood floor repair and refinish, cabinet installation, electrical, plumbing, general carpentry, designed a new lighting plan, and helped homeowner select all material such as cabinets, countertops, appliances, plumbing fixtures, and tile.

Cabinets: Omega cabinets in Cherry wood with autumn stain on the Madrid door style.

Appliances: GE

All tile, lighting fixtures, and hardware were provided by homeowner.

Here are the before pictures-

During pictures-

Many things happened during these stages. One major wall was removed to open the space; a pantry/closet area was removed, along with all the soffits in the room. You can see by the photos below that we had to patch into their existing oak floor where the wall was removed. We also ran into lots of water damage along the window wall caused by a leaky exterior window. We had to reframe that entire wall and replace the window and casing.

Pictures of the kitchen as of today-

Granite Countertop color: Black Mosaic