Archives for April 2017

4 Dated Kitchen Designs to Avoid

4 Dated Kitchen Designs to AvoidMost of us don’t redo our kitchens every few years, so the primary goal in a major redesign is timelessness.  You don’t want your kitchen to look like a relic from a bygone era; you want to stick with ideas and concepts that have stood the test of time and are likely to continue to look great for years to come.

The latest trend may seem great, but be careful – some “latest trends” quickly become ridiculous looking.  As an example, here are some dated designs that were once considered hip and trendy, and now are regrettable.

Dark Brown Wood

Deep, dark brown cabinets can still work in some more classic and traditional kitchen designs – when you’re trying to evoke an older era.  But modern kitchens dump those in favor of lighter and cleaner choices.  Dark colors make spaces feel more cramped and dark.  You can still have a warm, inviting kitchen without going into the darkest colors of the rainbow.

Bright Cabinet Colors

In general, you’re better off using neutral colors for the large, dominating parts of your kitchen – the countertops, the cabinets, the big appliances.  Save the neon greens or the sunshine yellows for accents and accessory pieces – they provide those splashes of color without dominating the room, and can be replaced or repainted easily as trends change and colors fall in and out of fashion.

Florescent Lighting

In the 1980s and early 1990s, big, fluorescent light boxes were the trendy thing to install.  Now, they look garish – and bad lighting can make every other aspect of your kitchen remodel look worse.  Terrible!  Utility and ambient lightning – with dimmers – are much more practical and can easily be integrated into any kitchen design.

Linoleum

The best you can really hope for with linoleum flooring is a kitschy, throwback, retro look.  More likely, you’ll get faded, stained and outdated looks quickly – and it’s probably just going to hide a perfectly fine wood floor.

From avocado green walls to shag carpeting, what’s “in” one day may soon be well on its way out.  We recommend sticking to classic, timeless designs, so your kitchen will continue looking it’s best for years to come.

3 Tips for Adding Texture to Your Kitchen

3 Tips for Adding Texture to Your KitchenModern kitchens are typically smooth and sleek, with streamlined finishes being the watchword of the day.  That’s great and looks fantastic – but too much of a good thing can be harmful in and of itself.  It’s easy to plan all these great, smooth looks – only to realize at the end that your kitchen looks flat and boring without some varied textures.  Especially if you’re working mostly in one color, some added texture is crucial to giving your kitchen an interesting look.  Here’s our tips on some easy additions you can make to break up the smooth and sleek monotony.

Patterns

Any sort of pattern is going to create immediate visual interest, even if the tiles are similar in texture to the rest of the kitchen.  Small tiles, creating more lines and depth between tiles and grout, can give your backsplash a textured look, which sets it off quite nicely from smoother countertops, cabinet finishes or appliances.

A Variety of Elements

If your entire kitchen is one material, be it solid surface, granite, laminate or anything in between, it can all look a bit “samey”.  Wood, stone, metal, glass – there’s a whole world of options out there that can add splashes of different textures to your kitchen.  Wood flooring or window trim is a great way to set off stainless steel appliances.  I’m personally a fan of natural brick or stone, either as a fireplace or backsplash, to create a similar effect.

Bells and Whistles

The little details can be a great place to add texture without overhauling your entire kitchen plan.  The legs and feet of tables or chairs, the corbels atop your cabinets, the trim of your kitchen island – all are great opportunities to add texture and detail to your kitchen.  These are more prevalent in traditional kitchen designs as opposed to modern ones, but are a great way to give your new kitchen some character.

The experts at Solid Surface Canada can help you with all your kitchen needs, with beautiful solid surface countertops and applications.  Check us out today!