If you made it to my blog and have made it this far, you might be saying, "Who is this guy and what does he know that I don't about kitchens?" Great question! I began learning about kitchen "stuff" eleven years ago when I began building cabinets for my father-in-law. I was a college grad with a history major who was failing miserably at selling life insurance. I think my father-in-law did not want to see his daughter and grandbaby starve to death, so he asked me if I wanted to learn the "cabinet" trade. I had never taken shop class or woodworking. I had never even run a table saw. "Yes" was my answer! I didn't feel like starving too.
Long story short, I have designed and built countless kitchens over the past 11 years. Some have been very large and expensive ($54,000 kitchen in a $5 million dollar home) and some have been quite small. ($899 kitchen in a small bank repo)
I often design kitchens to be more practical and functional over ascetics. I think a kitchen needs to look great while it serves it's purpose of feeding our bellies.
Over the years I have learned a few tips and tricks that can make a good kitchen GREAT and a great kitchen even BETTER!
What am I talking about? OK... Here's a freebie!
TIP of the DAY:
Electrical Outlets- Ugly on the backsplash. Send them to a secret hiding place!
These days remodeling your kitchen often includes a new backsplash (the area between the countertop and the upper cabinet above it). Some backsplashes are made of granite to match the countertop or a solid surface material like "corian".
These days, it is very popular to do a tile backsplash. There are some amazing designs available from tile and countertop installers. What often gets in the way of that beautiful design is a not so elegant electric outlet with it's plastic cover. These outlets are required by local building codes.
What I have seen done in many custom homes is to remove the outlets and rewire the area to allow for "outlet strips" that attach under the upper cabinets above the countertop. This is a simple idea that keeps you backsplash uncluttered with outlets and hides them up under the cabinets. You can even have MORE outlets in this unseen area for all of the stuff we like to "plug in". (cell phones, battery chargers, appliances, etc.).
See the photo above on the left? Imagine how much nicer the granite backsplash would look without those ugly black outlets and outlet covers on it. Just hide those outlets up under the cabinets with outlet strips. I have suggested this to many homeowners in the past. Some do it, and some don't. Sorry, but I can't seem to dig up a photo of one who did. When I do I'll post it.
I hope this idea helped. Enjoy and come back often.
-Cord
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