Home Improvement

Eighty percent of homebuyers say the kitchen is the most important room in a house. This means that the state of your kitchen directly impacts both your ability to sell your house and the price you can get for it. But how much, exactly, will a kitchen remodeling project increase home value? While there’s no single answer, it is possible to get a good idea of what you can expect. We asked kitchen designers Chicago for the answers. Here are the numbers.  The Importance of Kitchens  More than half of all recent homebuyers report that kitchen style played a key role in their home-buying decisions. Over two-thirds of buyers specifically stated...

Wholesale Kitchen Cabinets Showroom in Los Angeles Celebrates Our 20th Anniversary Cabinet City, a leading Los Angeles distributor of kitchen cabinets and home improvement products, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Unsurprisingly, we have made it a year to remember with an amazing new release and beautiful updates to our showroom. Before we go into all of that, though, we wanted to take some time to review the past 20 years of growth and wonderful kitchen remodels: When Cabinet City was founded by husband and wife team Kenny and Lisa, it was with only Honey Oak and Square Beech styles available--we...

Both options examined, taking all into account You’ll get conflicting opinions as to just how good of an investment owning a home is. Obviously a strong economy is usually the first influencing factor to consider. But what if you are considering either building your home or buying an existing one? Does either option have a definite advantage over the other? Like the majority of the population, you’re probably of modest means. It’s important that you carefully weigh the pros and cons of buying a fixer upper. Your down payment is just the beginning of these considerations. Here is a breakdown of...

You need to know these before choosing your countertop It’s a trend that’s been developing for years and is currently in full bloom. It seems like nearly every new kitchen is equipped with beautiful granite countertops. And despite all of the look-alike alternatives, Granite remains king. It is a natural stone and it’s available in a wide range of patterns and colors, each slab unique unto itself. What’s not to love? It doesn’t matter if you don’t care for the shininess typically affiliated with granite, you may also get it with a subdued matte finish. And that’s just scratching the surface...

It’s the wood paneling that’s making a splash! In the construction of residences, barns, sheds and other structures, shiplap is often used as exterior siding. It’s a wooden board milled with a halved groove that results in a unique reveal line. And although it is most commonly associated with the outside of a home, it has been achieving great popularity on the inside, as decorative interior paneling. In fact, it’s been put to use in a variety of ways few would have suspected just years ago. Yet there it is, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. It’s not something...

How to bring an exciting new look to your once-bland kitchen There’s no arguing with the classics and having a kitchen painted in a neutral color is one of them. It just works, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be bland. In fact, neutral colors can provide the base for some of the most dynamic modern kitchen ideas (but this doesn't mean that bold kitchens with multiple colors won't do well). Simply make use of everything available to you like textures, fine finishes, and interior decorating elements that can draw attention without the use of bright colors. If you plan...

Check Out the Make It in March! Woodworking Show for Your Local Crafts Show Fix We recently learned of a local crafts show for San Gabriel and Los Angeles woodworking enthusiasts happening right around the corner. If you’re a local with a woodworking passion and an interest in interacting with like minded folks over tools and projects, then it doesn’t get better than this. As you may already be dismally aware, we don’t see a lot of these shows come out west. Big woodworking conferences and trade shows tend to congregate at central and eastern cities, leaving our local fans of the...

Guidelines and ideas for constructing a home bar Home bars are a great idea for home improvement projects. With a bit of innovation, they can be built anywhere in a house, and they are a good setting for entertainment and for having friends over. Also, they are useful for settling in after a long day of work. A good way to construct a bar is to find the right combination of elements, such as accessories, decorative objects, cabinets, countertops, and of course, glassware. Materials employed do not have to be very expensive. For example, bottle caps can be used for wall...

Getting the Most Out of Your Drawers In many ways, the drawer kitchen cabinet situation of your home can be the ultimate limitation on your use of the space. Your kitchen can be designed well, look phenomenal, and implement the kitchen work triangle perfectly. It could have beautiful cabinets matching your walls and backsplash. But the ultimate purpose of cabinets is to be functional and provide utility to your cooking, and if you are struggling with utensil access then it may come down to your kitchen drawers. How Drawers are Measured This diagram is indicative of how the overwhelming majority of RTA cabinet...

Preparing your home to withstand a flurry of activity For many of us growing up, our moms had that one room that she said was reserved for “special occasions”. Out of the entire home it was the single place that was consistently immaculately kept – and we were forbidden from setting foot in it. Now you’re grown with a family of your own and you believe that such a scenario just isn’t possible in your home. You need all the space that’s available, there’s too much going on. But that doesn’t mean that you want to live in a house that...