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The Ins and Outs of Hiring a Kitchen Designer

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According to recent trends, more people are deciding to stay in their homes and explore kitchen-remodeling options. Often do-it-yourselfers undertake this project, but many folks are interested in learning about using the services of kitchen designers for professional results.


Scope of the Project

Homeowners that are handy with tools and have the skills and time for remodeling may decide to tackle smaller jobs for themselves. However, if the remodeling job requires major modifications to the kitchen, you may need the services of a professional kitchen designer with the necessary skills.

Large kitchen projects are often benefitted by using designers that know how to utilize every square foot of kitchen space efficiently. Experienced designers specialize in kitchen remodeling and stay current on new trends while offering their experience and services.

Benefits of Hiring Kitchen Designers

Professional kitchen designers are trained and ready to take on the smallest to the most complicated of kitchen remodeling jobs. Often homeowners create a vivid picture of the features they want without understanding the physical space requirements in addition to the plumbing and electrical needs involved in the remodeling process. Kitchen designers take in all aspects of the job.

Kitchen designers can spot problem areas and alert homeowners of new options for resolving problems. They can also discuss improvements and enhancements while recommending energy saving products and desirable kitchen concepts.

The Role of Kitchen Designers

The role of a kitchen designer is to listen to the homeowners wishes for remodeling their kitchen. The designer may discuss specific types of hardware, cabinetry, trendy new flooring, designer stoves, lighting alternatives and other enhancements that could be included in the remodeling job.

After discussing remodeling ideas, the kitchen designer takes detailed measurements and draws up plans. It is common for homeowners and designers to visit showrooms and view catalogs for the final selection of cabinetry, tile, countertops and appliances.

Finalized plans are then submitted for bids to several contractors to perform the work. Some designers may continue to act as a project manager during the installation phase with contractors.

Hiring Designers

Check the qualifications of kitchen designers before hiring. Ask each designer you are considering about his or her experience, education, qualifications and skills.

Ask kitchen designers for references. References from previous customers can offer a wealth of information about the qualifications and services provided by the designer.

When interviewing designers, you should obtain a price quote in addition to an estimate for completing the kitchen design plan.

Before hiring kitchen designers, you should confirm whether they are creating the design plans in addition to overseeing the contractors as well. Some designers take responsibility for designing kitchen plans, while others stay involved through the entire project.

Cost of Designer Services

In some cases, people may shy away from working with kitchen designers fearing the costs associated with their services. However, in reality there are many reputable kitchen designers with affordable prices ranging from five to 10 percent of the total project cost.

Each designer may set his or her own prices accordingly. Some kitchen designers may charge a minimum fee based on the project size or others charge hourly. High-end designers may charge $150/hour and the low-end of the spectrum could be $40 to $50 an hour.

Hiring a talented kitchen designer and paying for services, may far outweigh the costs you incur with poor planning, mistakes and poor quality construction. Save time, money and frustration by consulting with a kitchen designer to receive expert services.

Image by Arizona Prestige, and licensed through Creative Commons.

Bath & Kitchen Studio stocks beautiful vitreous china sinks and other kitchen fixtures at some of the lowest prices you will find anywhere. Visit www.bathandkitchenstudio.com and start saving on your kitchen remodel.

Kitchen cupboards and fridge need a good cleaning

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Sometime in the near future- probably this month, my kitchen is going to get a thorough cleaning out.

By this I mean, not only scrubbing the floors, the oven and counters, but I plan on emptying out the fridge and all of the cupboards.

Unless you have a bare fridge, I think most of us can say that we all have a jar or two or ten that has been sitting in the back of the fridge or in the fridge door for God only knows how long. Did you know that most items such as jams, mayonnaise and relishes are only good for three or four months once they’re opened? If you’re like us and you don’t us them up that fast they could be in the fridge a heck of a lot longer than that, right? Not good.

So between the fridge and all the stuff I find in the back of our cupboards I’m sure there will be a lot of stuff thrown out. I know there are things in my cupboards that I haven’t used in years. That includes foods like muffin mixes and small appliances.

Once I do get around to clearing out my cupboards I might take a serious look at my pots and pans. I have Lagostina pots and I love them, but they’re getting old or at least some of the ones that I use most often are getting a little worn out. Maybe I could add one or two new pieces of enamel cookware to my collection? I know I’ll have more room for them once the cupboards get cleared out.

Whens the last time you totally cleaned out your fridge and or cupboards? Big job, isn’t it?

Time to use the steam cleaner in the bathroom

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In early January I bought a general purpose steam cleaner. It’s a Shark model. I’ve only had a chance to use it once so far and the results weren’t quite as good as I was expecting.

One my first attempt using the steam cleaner I went after the backsplash tiles in the kitchen, the stove and the fridge. The cleaner worked great on the stove and the fridge. It really got the grime out of the corners and crevices on both appliances.

The backsplash tiles in the kitchen were another matter. I used the scrubbing attachment on the steamer to try to clean the grout area between the tiles and while the grout did look cleaner where I worked at it they didn’t look anywhere near as clean as I’d hoped.

I guess I was hoping that using the steamer once on the tiles would remove years of grime that had built up on the grout. I guess I’m going to have to get some kind of grout cleaner to clean the grout between the backsplash tiles and then I can use the Shark Steamer to maintain the clean look.

One my next attempt to use the Shark steamer I’m going to tackle the bathroom. The grout in the bathroom isn’t that bad, but it could use a good cleaning. What I really want to clean in there is the silicone seal between the tub and the shower wall tiles. It looks like it has mildew in some areas and the steamer should at least help kill the mildew … and hopefully remove it too.

Actually almost all of our upstairs bathroom is tile of some kind or another. The tub/shower area is tiles up to the ceiling and then the walls have tile that goes from the ground up to about 4.5 feet in height. (our Kitchen is like that too .. I guess the former home owners really liked tile?). The bathroom floor has those tiny square floor tiles and yes, the grout between those tiles could use a very good cleaning too.

Hopefully I’ll find the time this weekend to get the steam cleaner out and try it out in the bathroom. It’s a shame that I’ve only used it once since I bought it.

Do you have a general purpose steamer that you use to clean the bathroom, tiles, appliance and perhaps even the floor? If so, what kind do you have and are you happy with it’s performance?

Reviewing Cuisinart’s 14-Cup Food Processors

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Whether you have a small army to sustain  or you just like to save time, you can benefit from the Cuisinart food processor 14 cup appliance.  the Cuisinart 14 Cup is a generously proportioned food processor that is meant to contain a large amount of vegetables, fruits, or anything else you would like to process. There are so many uses for this super sized food processor.  One of them is that you can cook your family nutrition-packed meals while watching your budget.

When you bring home fresh vegetables and add them to your dishes, you are offering  your family good quality food.  When you purchase bagged or canned vegetables from a supermarket, they often  contain sodium and preservatives.  Packaged vegetables are not as good for you as fresh vegetables.  But not many of us can take time to cut up fresh vegetables for each meal. 

One way to work around this is to cut up your vegetables for your next week’s menus with help from the Cuisinart 14-cups food processor unit.  It gives you quite a bit of capacity for seven or eight meal’s worth of vegetables, which you could put in freezer containers and thaw and use during the week.  This can save you time after a busy day and you can then include your fresh frozen vegetables in your recipes. Unlike commercially frozen vegetables, these will not contain preservatives.

Yet another task that can be done using the Cuisinart food processor 14 cup unit is preparing entire meals. You could use it in order to stir together sauces or gravy and while you’re at it, grind meat directly into the mix.  If you want to make homemade spaghetti sauce and want to blend everything together, you can do so by inserting fresh tomatoes and meat into your Cuisinart.  After that, you transfer it to a saucepan and simmer it, then freeze the leftovers for later use. 

Shredded and grated cheese is more expensive than a cheese wheel or wedge. You can save plenty of money by making fresh shredded and grated cheeses which require just moments in the Cuisinart food processor 14 cup unit. Shredding cheese by hand is neither quick nor easy, but when you shred cheese with the food processor, it takes a minute. 

Are you a salad lover? You can create a meal-sized salad by shredding lettuce tomatoes and more straight into the Cuisinart 14-cup food processor.  A salad that is undressed will stay fresh in an air tight container for a week. You can incorporate this into your meals for the week and serve the whole family their daily recommended allowance of vegetables. 

Whether you cook in large batches or just want to save time so that you can have more fresh food to eat, you can do so by using the Cuisinart food processor 14 cup unit. When you are finished saving time and money and enjoying great food, you can place nearly all the pieces into the dishwasher for easy cleaning.

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