I’ve been in-love with this kitchen for so long:

I just can’t get it out of my mind.

And this weekend, my water heater went south.

Doesn’t everyone, when faced with a water heater replacement, say “Well, I guess we might as well just rip the kitchen on out and re-do it.”? I know I do.

A few less obvious reasons I love this kitchen (as-if sheer hot-ness isn’t enough):

• the oven and microwave are at the perfect height
• (like I said, these are less obvious reasons… the obvious ones are here)
• The four-light windows and matching pattern in the door
• The way the red controls on the range play off the red cabinet… love that.
• I’ve always wanted a prep sink (vegetable sink, baby sink, sinkette)
• Furniture-style feet on the oven cabinet

I go on and on about it more in my original post which shows more pictures.

I just was staring at the picture and thought I’d show-off my dream kitchen (in someone else’s house) again!

Are you ready for this:

At first glance I said to myself, I’m not ready for that. I guess it was like a little introspective moment because the more I thought about, the more I thought… well maybe. Whoknew?

I’ve known for quite some time that I could be converted to the dark side, er. I mean, modern design. And the fact that I love color is no secret.

The more I looked, the more I realized that this picture embodies a few principles I’m sold on.

1. Use color – no explanation needed.
2. Use available space – The built-in obviously takes advantage of a void behind the wall beyond while taking nothing from the room.
3. Use contrast in materials – How about the knotty wood floor! Did you know that the more knots in the wood, often the less it costs? Finish it with a high-gloss finish and it’s beautiful.
4. Lots of light – also self-explanatory, but this space rocks the idea!
5. Clean lines – hard to see in a close-up picture, but one of the things I love about contemporary design is the opportunity to carry lines through various spaces. A small example is how perfectly the counter in the built-in aligns with the opening between rooms.

The Modern Cheap Kitchen

One of the cardinal rules of selling remodeling work or just about anything else is “never say cheap”. Inexpensive is fine. Cheap is an insult. So I meant inexpensive:

This is the same house. These cabinet doors are SO simple to make. You can do it yourself, I swear.

All it takes is some good plywood with the top veneer in the wood species of your choice, some pre-glued “edge banding” you apply with the same iron you use on your shirts, and some decent quality concealed hinges.

It looks great, costs little (depending on the wood species), and makes for an easy remodel of existing kitchen cabinets. Put the extra money into great appliances.

So there you have it. A modern small space with inexpensive but beautiful components.

Are you ready?

- RG

images: Sunset.com

One of my favorite things to do when I see a picture that makes me say “wow” (which is scientifically proven to be the most sought-after word in residential design) is to look more deeply and make a list of the details behind that “wow”.

This house from CoastalLiving.com makes me say more than just wow and the list of details on this exterior is impressive!

In no particular order:

1. Casement Windows

One of the first things I notice on this house is the abundance of glass. Immediately thereafter, I notice how much I like the traditional lite pattern. Then I notice the key lack of a solid bar across the center of each window which is common with single-hung and double-hung windows (windows that slide up-and-down). These are casement windows, which open out, like a door, usually by the use of a crank mechanism.

2. Really Great Shutters

The shutters really consist of a number of details that make them awesome.

• They’re operable, if you look close you can see the hardware which in-and-of itself is a great detail.
• They used separate shutters for the small transom windows on the second floor. Cool.
• The upstairs shutters appear to be made differently than the downstairs shutters. It looks like the upstairs shutters are louvered, whilst the downstairs are solid.

3. Horizontal Balcony Railing

This is a neat touch that I’ve seen more and more. It’s something that can be included on any home and can even be a weekend job to retrofit an existing deck or balcony. I think it’s a nice change from the standard vertical balusters and, since it’s probably made of 2×4′s, it is most likely exceedingly strong which is a nice safety feature.

4. False Structural Elements Exposed

The main patio on the second floor (the main living floor in this waterfront home due to flood zone issues) has a great looking detail that looks just like a real piece of traditional structure.

It’s not likely that these are really holding anything up, but they look great!

5. Using the Downspouts in the Design

You have to look back at the full picture to see this, but the raingutter downspouts, which are usually something you try to hide, are used as a design element. They’re placed symmetrically and at equal distances from windows and openings to create something vaguely similar to the exposed timbers you might see on a Tudor style home.

6. Not a Straight Line in the Roof!

This is not a roof design for the faint of budget! This entire roof makes use of curves in various directions.

The roof shape is probably the most attention grabbing and memorable feature in this design.

This kind of roof is very difficult to build and is likely a combination of wood shaped and cut on-site, wood components made in a factory, and maybe even a few steel beams.

Remember The Exterior Details When You Remodel!

Remember that “wow” is the most sought after word in residential design and then add this to the thought. The person from whom that wow is most important is you! Exterior details have the power to put a smile on your face and a gleam in your eye every single time you come around the corner and get that first glance at your house. There is untold value in that feeling! Go for it!

White Marble is SO Back!

Look, I have to tell you, I’m not really on the very cutting edge. I’m usually a little “slow on the uptake” as my good old Dad always encouraged me as a child.

I say that in preemptive response to those of you sitting in your ultra-cool chair looking at your super hot Mac, going “uh, hello, that’s yesterday’s news” in response to opening line.

Whatever. I noticed awhile back but then I forgot. So this is all new to me again.

White on White Just Ain’t Right

Here’s the thing. Magazines are always showing these white counters on white cabinets with white backsplashes covering the whole wall. I’m not sure about you, but for me that’s too much white for actually living in. Works great for a magazine layout however. If that’s your main use for your kitchen… then by all means yes.

Redirect Your Attention to the Top Photo

See, now there is a kitchen that works. You can do your magazine photo shoot in the nice morning light and then live a normal life like me the rest of the day.

This photo is an example of a perfect blend of beautiful wood (I’m thinking that’s Maple), really cool cabinetry (Kraftmaid…love those upper cabinet doors), and a rockin’ backsplash tile. Oh, and white marble tops. (almost forgot)

Don’t Be Afraid To Mix Colors!

I just love the way the kitchen in the above photo makes use of a few different tones. The white marble top on the island has a beautiful scalloped edge detail making it look like a huge farm table in the kitchen. The white top looks great against the painted black cabinet base.

And just how cool is that benchy stool thingy?

This kitchen has so much going on that makes it perfect. I can’t help myself but to point out a few of my favorite things:

• I’m in love with the ceiling… flat out. Pure. (at first sight)
• The light fixtures are the perfect adornments for my ceiling (it’s mine now)
• How imaginative and perfect is the greened-out pantry? Is there even a door?
• Don’t miss the arch-top doors. (and the light pattern on them)
• On the negative side… the more I stare, I’m not sure I love those open shelves?

Black Cabinets, White Tops, All Good

This is the kind of thing that YOU can do in your kitchen. You can paint your existing cabinets black and get new counters and fixtures and you’re stylin’. This room looks sharp. Is it too masculine?

I love the overall color combination and I think the earthy wall tile brings it all together. Notice how this counter uses a “straight polished edge” rather than any decorative edge treatment. It would be very easy to let the countertop guy (who may or may not have any reasonable taste) convince you to go with a shaped edge. It would change this look completely. Don’t do it here.

Look Closely At This Inspiring Photo

I have the hardest time staying “on task” when I try and write about one subject at a time. It’s not my fault… who wouldn’t be distracted by the paneling in the back room shown above? I’m only human. A red blooded American man. Not immune.

And those doors… what curves.

Oh yes, white marble. (check out the floors) The counters look great against the painted cabinets. I read at the source of the picture (linked below) that the cabinets are painted with Ralph Lauren Paints… still my favorite.

Not so sure I love the butcherblock counter… those things freak me out and make me all Monk-ish.

Let’s Not Forget The Bathroom

I found this picture at the website of Delta Faucet (don’t miss the link below to the photo gallery). They might have been trying to show off the cool faucets, which are very nice, but what I was looking for was white marble on dark cabinets and I found it. Looks great.

White marble has always been a common material in bathrooms.

But Lets Not Get Crazy

It is possible to overdo it a little, dontcha think? Though I must admit that this room does have some endearing features. I love the vanity cabinets with the open towel storage above the doors. I like the framed tile mosaic that nicely surrounds the really cool showerhead.

NOT sure I could handle the location of that toilet though. That would just be too odd for me. Way too big of a room there. Anyway, on that note… we’ll roll this up.

What say you? Thoughts? Links to other great white marble pictures?

We live in a 1000sf home. Four of us. Three boys (including me) and one saint of a woman. The plan was to make it larger, seeing as how I made my living building room additions for many years. But the wonderful Florida real estate market had other plans and as time has gone on, we’ve all come to realize that small space living isn’t so bad. I’ve written a few posts about our house, here’s one: Small Houses and Green Living

But this video shows the idea taken to a new level by a real design genius.

If you have a few minutes, you’ll enjoy this.

(bringing back one of my early favorite posts from last winter)

Let’s Roll…

Or brush, or sponge, or rag…even spray! No matter how you do it, just paint!

For most of you (not me!) it’s the dead of winter and outdoor projects are pretty much out of the question!

Even if you’re going to hire someone, it’s too cold to go out there and even show them what you want done! So what to do? How can you scratch that remodeling itch when the mercury drops to unmentionable levels?

I asked myself that question and the first two things I thought of were painting and lighting. They go hand-in-hand and I’ll touch on great lighting tomorrow. But for today, let’s talk about paint.

See the Room as Art!

There is an artist in you whether you know it or not! If you already know it, great! If not, just look at some pictures and ask yourself “Does this inspire me?” When you start to feel inspired, that’s when you’re on the right track. Follow that look and you’ll find what you want for your new space! Let’s start with a simple one and work our way up to CRAZY!

Simple, right? But beautiful too! The contrast of the darker wall color against the bright white trim works great in this nook! Great use of similar colors in the art and furnishings brings it together. A small area like this can be tackled in a weekend and make an impression for years!

Make White Sing!

A white wall has many great characteristics. They make spaces seem more open, and of-course, brighter. Sometimes, when there’s a shortage of natural light or to go with a particular design, white is the way to go.

Two thoughts about white walls:

1. Even if your room is already white and you want it to stay white…repaint it anyway! If the paint is more than a couple of years old, it will make a difference. You might also change a shade to “tweak” the look a little bit. There must be 1,000 “white” colors!
2. Add color with furniture and decor, like in the photo above. You might have an old chair laying around that you can repaint in two hours. Try it…it could change your life! (at least a little bit)

Look Past The Walls!

Feeling inspired yet? If not, check your pulse! These cabinets ROCK! I’m not so sure about the ABC’s on the glass, but I do love the use of color in the kitchen cabinets.

It can easily run $40,000.00 or more for new cabinets. Why not look a little closer and ask that artist in you what other options there might be? If you get a good answer, I’d say you should buy the artist a cup of coffee or something! If not, keep reading…

Hit the Door!

Painting the kitchen cabinets a little bit of a reach for you?  You’re not alone.

The impact you can make by painting a door or window is really astounding! I can’t decide which one I like better, the blue or the red?

What do you think?

So, honestly, don’t you feel like painting? You have options:

Walls, Ceilings, Trim, Doors, Floors, Furniture…

Everything including the Kitchen Sink can be painted, though you might want a pro to hit the sink for you.

The bang for your buck is unmatched and the D.I.Y. difficulty factor is  among the best you’ll find. Go for it!

Get Radical!

If the artist in you still has not stirred, I have one more trick up my sleeve. If this doesn’t get you going, there may be no hope…I’m sorry.

Now THAT is color!

Oh, a couple more details…you have to do it right! The web is full of great resources. I found a site here that has good advice on exactly how to paint. You can also email me for my thoughts if you’d like. I would love to see your before and after photos. I’d love to help.

Let me know if I awoke the artist in you in the comments, and use the ShareThis feature to share this new blog with friends. Just click on that little green button and all the options will show up before your very eyes. If nothing else, it’s colorful!

Do you want to make an absolutely stunning difference in any room of your home in less than two days, start to finish? I love big differences made quickly! And this project will do it for sure!

Look at this:

Isn’t this room amazing!

Wonderful Moulding Ideas

I could probably write a whole book about this picture! I love this room. But when I saw it today, it reminded me of something I mentioned in a post early this month at the main Remodeling Guy Blog on Chair Rail and Wainscoting. That being the idea of covering more of the wall, going up to eye level or a little higher with the wainscoting.

One of the most commonly asked questions from people looking for chair rail ideas is “what is the proper chair rail height?”. I answered in the previous post that the best height is around 30″ – 34″ above the floor for most rooms, but that there isn’t a widely accepted “correct” height. But what if you put it higher? What if you move way up the wall, say to 60″ – 64″ off the floor?

Here is another picture:

Beautiful isn’t it?

Let’s Do It!

I want to demonstrate just how dramatically the act of changing out some baseboards and door casings and installing simple bead-board wainscoting will change any room of your house. Let’s get started!

Above, we have a standard room. It has a couple of nice features already with some hardwood floors and a pair of French doors, but other than that it’s bare bones. (Don’t you wish you’re room were just as empty! Moving all the stuff is half the job!)

If you want to do a very quick job, you could do only what I’ve done here in this image. Ive replaced the baseboard with a 5.25″ Primed Base, and added a 2.25″ Chair Rail installed at a height of 33″ above the floor (to the top).

This room has 8′ ceilings. If you have higher ceilings you might raise the chair a little bit, but not much. I also replaced the door and window casing with something with a little bit more detail in the profile. These things made a huge difference! Wouldn’t you agree? Let’s kick it up another notch:

Now I’ve gone from a 2.25″ Chair Rail to a custom moulding which combines a standard profile “Howe” casing with a rounded off peice of 1X2 on top of it to create a little shelf (only about 1.5″ deep) at the top of the chair.

But the real difference is the addition of some color! Nothing sets off a design like white painted chair rail moulding against a nice deep wall color. I’ve shown a taupe-ish color, but it looks great with blues, reds, yellows, you name it! (at this point I started thinking the floor needed to be darker, but never got a round tuit) This is getting fun! Let’s add some wainscoting:

Now we’re cooking with fire! The type of bead-board wainscot paneling I’m showing here is so easy to install it’s not even funny! I’ve shown this with 4″ wide planks, but something with the lines a little closer or a little more spread out would still look fantastic!

If you paint everything with at least one coat of good primer and give it a light sanding before you install it, this can be done in a couple of days easily (depending on room size of course!).

To keep things simple, I would install the paneling first and then install the baseboards and chair rail over it. The extra peice of 1X2 at the top of the chair rail will cover the top edge of the paneling. The only thing to really watch out for is the overall thickness. If it gets too thick it can cause issues around your doors and windows.

To avoid this, I would use thin 1/4″ paneling, a relatively thin baseboard (standard stuff is fine), and a casing with a good wide “back band” type detail, such as the aforementioned “Howe” casing. If you don’t want to change your casing completely, you can just add a “back-band”. I’ll have to get into that in another post.

Now for the Grand Finale:

Whooooo Hoooooo! Isn’t she georgeous! I really like the way this looks! Now, you need to invoke your imagination a little and see it with pictures on the top shelf (which I would make deeper, about 4″ or 5″) and with a little furniture in the room…but this is a showstopper now!

I ran the wainscot up to 63″ in this picture and I think it’s just about perfect for the 8′ room. I also added a very simple and relatively small (3″) crown molding which really caps it off. I tried it at first with a larger, more standard shaped crown and it looked funny. The bead board look just didn’t go with the frilly curves of standard crown. The crown shown here is a simple “cove” molding.

There you go! A quick, project that can make you feel like you’re living in a new house in no time flat and for not more than a few hundred dollars. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

So,what do you think? Ready to add this to the to-do list? Or maybe the same idea with the panels like in the second photo at the top?

This is more of a home improvement blog. I was given orders a long time ago to stay away from the “decorator-ey” stuff. I guess somebody was scared I’d take over!

But, despite my efforts at hiding my feminine side, sometimes I just have to run with it! Like now…

Check out this GOURDjus flower arrangement!

Isn’t that cool! Talk about eco-friendly! I never even knew there were “Swan Gourds”. I was never in that crowd. But I like railings, and so does this Gourd, so we’re hanging out. Ha. Made myself chuckle.

Not all Gourd decorating should be publicized. Some is just painful. Check this out:

Gourd help me! This is just too much for me. Maybe this is why I can’t be an official member of the Fab 5 (there could be other reasons). I just don’t have the eye. All I see here is a horrible, heart-wrenching, display of butchered architecture! I’d bet my pink toolbelt that there were decent years left in those balusters.

But, when they died, they got to sit next to Gourd!

For more gourds, see this BHG.com article and for some beautiful white pumpkin decor, check out Kim’s post on Forever…Wherever!!!.

Want to see something impressive? Check this out…

I noticed this while I was browsing pictures at the Marvin Windows website awhile back.

The house is impressive overall and I like a whole list of things about it, but the most unique thing is that curved roof up-top! How cool is that?

There are a number of ways of doing that. Most likely, the builder had some curved beams made at a custom lamination shop. But it can also be done with plywood! You just cut segments of the curve and assemble the peices into thick beams.

If you decide to try it, maybe start with the doghouse or something til you get the hang of it!

I wrote a quick post this weekend about towel warmers, which I would say are a “luxury” component of a bathroom. And… I’ve had pretty bathrooms on my brain ever since. So I dug-up some pictures (or am I supposed to call them “images” now?).

3 Beautiful Bathrooms

Clean, Cool, Traditional

I found this bathroom inspiration at BHG.com, and it’s full of details I love.

• Tile on the ceiling is nice and the angled pattern is a nice touch.
• That brick-style tile pattern is called “running-bond“… lingo.
• I love the way the wainscot goes so high up the wall.

Plenty of room in this retreat, or so it would seem!

• I’m totally loving the built-in window seat with drawers in the base.
• And I’m loving the glass doors too!
• The trimwork around the windows is even more impressive. Very nicely done.

• And the panels on the front of the tub…if anyone talks to Rhoda, tell her about this.

Simple, Colorful, Classy

• Great Color – I really like this shade against white trim!
• Cool fixtures and hardware – can make a simple bathroom pop!
• And of course… I like the trimwork. Big base. Wrapped window!

• Nice Floor – going against the grain using wood in the bath.

Bright and Comfortable

• The shutters are the first thing I notice. I really love the way they did the window in four sections. You can open the top for light and keep the bottom closed for privacy.

• Overall, this bathroom is just really put together well. Everything works! I like the linen rack and the rug.

Hang-On to Inspiring Photos!

As a remodeling contractor and designer, one of the most useful things a client could do to help me understand what made them tick, was to give me a folder full of pictures they loved. It really helped me to come up with a design that was “just perfect!”

Keeping a “dream file” for each room in your house will help you really develop a sense of exactly what you like and don’t like so that when the time comes, you’re not forced into making a split-second choice. And if you keep your eyes on the goal, the time when you just sit back and enjoy a warm bath in a new retreat will come. No doubt about it!

Want To Talk About It?

I’m always forgetting to answer questions in the comments.  I’m sorry!  It’s not because I don’t want to, just something about the way it works, the process of getting an email, logging into the blog, navigating to the comments…etc. Plus I don’t know if you ever remember to come back and look!

Facebook is working much better to facilitate a real discussion about remodeling. I would love to talk to you there about bathrooms or whatever else you want to talk about. So far this weekend, a couple of readers have gotten involved there and I’m excited about it. Come check it out, it’s fun!

Remodeling Guy on Facebook or Follow me on Twitter

And of course, comments rock too! Have a great week!

Bath #1: BHG.com Bath #2: DIYIdeas.com Bath #3: Sunset.com