Designing your kitchen: The Hammer and Nails guide to a beautiful kitchen – Part 3
If you missed parts 1 and 2 of our series, you can click here to find them.
Cabinets
When it comes to cabinets, in our opinion, you get what you pay for. If you have the budget, we recommend a custom cabinet manufacturer such as our good friends at Delton Cabinets. They use quality materials and their cabinets look amazing (we also have a really great kitchen designer that we work with who puts together fantastic looking kitchen layouts). Going with a higher quality product will save you money in the long run, as those cabinet will last longer before needing to be refinished or replaced. If you’re on a tighter budget, consider some good quality, knock-down cabinets. The cabinets come in standard size dimensions and are put together on site.
As far as the doors are concerned, both Michael and Robert agree that a plainer surface is better than something with a lot of grooves or something with glass, as far as utility is concerned. Grooves collect dust and dirt and are harder to keep clean. Glass attracts fingerprints. Plainer doors are also more affordable and easier to refinish, if you decide to go that route. Be aware that some products offered today are not refinish-able.
Faucets and Sinks
The options for faucets and kitchen sinks seem to be endless. Just walk into any big box retailer and you see a lot of models under just as many brands. We, personally, like kitchen faucets that have a flexible hose that you can pull out to adjust where you are pointing the water. It makes cleaning off your cutting board a lot easier. Price is not usually the deciding factor when choosing a kitchen faucet because a more expensive faucet usually has more to do with style than function. This is not always the case, though. Some faucet brands are of a lower quality and we try to avoid those by sticking with well known manufactures, such as Moen, American Standard, or Delta.
As far as a kitchen sink goes, a lot of what you choose is entirely dependent on your preferences.
Sinks come in a variety of sizes and it’s important to choose a sink that fits in the sink base cabinet. There are several type of sinks: top mounted, under-mounted, and apron sinks. As well, sinks are made of different materials. Both Michael and Robert like under-mounted sinks made of a heavier gauge stainless steel. The heavier gauge stuff will help prevent your sink from flexing and making popping noises. Single bowl or double bowl is up to you, but we like double bowls for their versatility.
Part 4 of our series can be found by clicking here.
If you’re in the Greater Edmonton area and are looking for a contractor for you renovation project, visit our website at www.nordalta.com/contact/ to find information on how to contact us. We’d be happy to speak to you about what we can do to get the ball rolling on your next home or office project. You can also leave comments with us at robert@nordalta.com.
Michael Breault is a project coordinator for Nord Alta Construction. You can find the company website at www.nordalta.com. You can also find Michael and Nord Atla Construction on facebook at www.facebook.com/NordAltaConstruction, on twitter at www.twitter.com/Nordalta, and on LinkedIn.
Robert Breault is the president and owner of Nord Alta Construction. You can find the company website at www.nordalta.com. You can also find Robert and Nord Alta Construction on facebook at www.facebook.com/NordAltaContruction and on LinkedIn.
