Everything listed under: kitchen renovation

 

At Habitar Design we are proud to include Häfele hardware in our custom builds.  Today we'll look at some of their options for appliance garages.  If you are planning a kitchen renovation or rebuild, please let us know how we can assist with your project.  Custom cabinetry is one of our specialties.

Appliance garages can be a great way to maintain a clean look in a kitchen.  These different closures each have their own elegance and usefulness.

1 - Flipper Door Slides
The door flips up and then back across the underside of the top of the cabinet. This is the most economical solution of the four. Your cabinet must be deep enough to retract the door the desired amount. Maximum retraction is equal to the door height minus approximately 3 1/4”.

2 - Strato Lift Up System
The door pulls forward and then up in front of the cabinet above the appliance garage, remaining vertical. Includes “Soft and Silent” closing feature which is a very popular feature. This type of installation works for a wide variety of door sizes and requires minimal cabinet depth. No special cabinet construction is required. The door projects between 10 7/16” and 12 3/8” forward of the cabinet in raised position.

 

3 - Libra 20 H Vertical Sliding Door System
The door slides upward vertically without projecting into space in front of the cabinet. This is done using a track, cables and a counter weight at the back of the cabinet.  For this option to work, the space above the  appliance garage must be open with no door. Requires special cabinet construction including a 2” cavity behind the back panel to make room for the counter weight. This one accomodates inset or overlay doors as well.

4 - Tambour Doors
This option is beautiful and elegant.  A custom aluminum roller shutter lifts vertically and either rolls onto a spindle, coils up inside the top of the cabinet or rolls across the top of the cabinet and down the back. Shutters that roll onto a spindle or coil up have a counter balance mechanism. Shutters that roll down the back of the cabinet do not. Tambours come is anodized aluminum  or a stainless-like finish. Custom finishes are also available. Slat heights are either ¾” or 1”. Glass tambour doors are now available as well.

 

 More hardware options can be found here.

Remember when you were a kid? You had that box of crayons in front of you — the one that had the sharpener built right in. And the blank piece of paper seemed, well, kind of small all of a sudden. How could you get the sun and the clouds AND the house and all that other stuff on one measly piece of paper? The wall seemed a much better canvas…

I never outgrew the urge to doodle or scribble on the wall, l but now I can do it without repercussions.

Rust-Oleum now makes tintable chalkboard paint, so you can create a writable surface in any room, in any color. But I like the old school blackboard! You might also try priming with a magnetic paint first and voila: you have a magnetic board as well! Chalk can be dusty, but there are a line of liquid chalk pens on the market that work very well. I Prefer Chalk Ink. I have seen some complaints about staining, but I have not had that experience. Just wash with water or use a lint free cloth soaked in Coca Cola (strange, but it works).

Of course, a child’s room is the first place that comes to mind. Check out this Chalkboard Barnyard Mural painted in a basement playroom!
Think of the possibilities for themed playrooms...But lets be honest...mommy wants to draw on the walls too. Here are bunches of cool and practical ways to have adult friendly designer approved chalkboard walls:

A kitchen or pantry can benefit from a wall or two for family notes, shopping lists, recipes or calendars. Do you have a home office? How about a place where you can jot down numbers, to-do lists etc…Or how about a dining room where you write the evening's menu or inspiring words. B all means, write on the wall! This time, you’re allowed.

Martha Stewart:  How to make your own custom color Chalk Board

Start with flat-finish latex paint in any shade. For small areas, such as a door panel, mix 1 cup at a time.
1. Pour 1 cup of paint into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout. Mix with a paint stirrer, carefully breaking up clumps.
2. Apply paint with a roller or a sponge paintbrush to a primed or painted surface. Work in small sections, going over the same spot several times to ensure full, even coverage. Let dry.
3. Smooth area with 150-grit sandpaper, and wipe off dust. IMPORTANT!!!!
4. To condition: Rub the side of a piece of chalk over entire surface. Wipe away residue with a barely damp sponge. Photo Credits:
1. http://www.crayolastore.com
2. http://thekidcollective.com
3. http://flyingcatstudio.net
4. http://justimaginedesign.blogspot.com
5. http://www.kapanshipman.com/
6. http://www.faiella-design.com
7. http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com
8. http://www.marthastewart.com
9. http://www.marthastewart.com
10. http://www.lanierbb.com -KS

Our work is now featured on Houzz.com's Ideabook, an online showcase of design you can use to inspire your next project. Described as "the Flickr of design idea sites" by the Washington Post, Ideabook is a great resource for anyone redesigning part of their home.  Mark you favorite pictures and share them with you designer to jump-start the creation of you dream space. Ideabook offers over 40,000 photographs of projects from the world's top designers and already people are checking out our work; Habitar's bathrooms and kitchens are generating particular interest.

Google 3 D-Renderings have been a great tool to communicate our vision to our customers. They also help us design. They're great from room layouts and when it comes to construction, such as complicated built-ins where we have to consider how various plains will come together, they're invaluable. In many way, we find the mistakes in construction on the computer so we avoid them in the field.

Compare these to the finished product in the last posting.

"Surprises"

I cannot be more thrilled about how this project turned out. I had worked with Chris when she called for our 4-hour Half-day design.   She needed a little help making her gorgeous, minimalist's dream of town home more cozy and inviting. Chris also wanted to update her mostly white laminate kitchen but wasn't sure it was going to be within her budget.

Right away, I knew Chris had a good sense of design as her existing pieces were all very harmonious and looked as if they could have been selected by a designer. Yet she had a mix of styles going on and items that seemed to have a bit of her personality or a bit of history, which in my book, adds a layer of richness that you cannot buy. All that was missing was a little punches of color and a few minor adjustment on materials and proportion. During our design session, I gave her advice on what needed to be done. I also,designed an updated version of the kitchen she may later decide to remodel.

Chris had a budget for the kitchen that at first seems impossible, but Mitch worked his magic with our suppliers.  After a few revisions, here it is. I am just so happy with the look of it. The best part is that it really was Chris' vision. We just helped her make it happened. I love that it is clean and minimal...but it's warm and the best part is that it looks as if it was the original kitchen. As if it was always part of the original intent...

Hafela (Haefela, Hefela) offers several different corner cabinet pull out drawer systems.   We installed the LeMans and the Magic Corner one in two kitchens.  Here are some things to consider when choosing between these various pieces of hardware.

1. Careful measurements of the size of your box and the size of your opening are critical.  The LeMans requires less space and is easier to install than the Magic Corner.

2. The door swing for these two systems need to be toward the cabinets on the other wall of the corner.  This means that if your door is on the wrong side, your installer will have to reswing the door.  It will require patching a whole where your handle was or require a new matching door -- which can be a lot of work.

3. The Magic Corner II opens differently so that it has the opposite door swing -- the door swings back toward the cabinets on the same wall.  The issue we had with the Magic Corner II was that it required a larger cabinet opening than we had.

Below you will see pictures of Hafela LeMans install.  The owner is not overly pleased with it, but her nanny likes it alot.   This might indicate that it's helpful but not seen as a good value to this particular owner.  Prior to installing this unit, this corner was not being used at all; now it clearly is being used.   The limiting factor in this cabinet which is 19.5 inches tall is the height.  In a taller cabinet, the LeMans would be able to carry more on its top shelf. 

This top notch hardware is not inexpensive.   With install it ranges from $975 to $1300 depending on the particulars.

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Here’s a few good ideas I learned from Matt Myers on preparing clients for their kitchen renovation in Chicago:

1. Take everything out of your kitchen: dishes, silverware, food, etc. Don’t forget your pet can’t eat in restaurants – make sure you get their food and bowl sorted out.
2. If your pets have food or water bowls in the kitchen, move them elsewhere at least 7-10 days before the renovation is set to begin so that your pets will not wander into the work area once it starts.
3. Find out from your contractor when your kitchen will be out of commission and plan on eating at restaurants and friends and consider moving out to hotel.
4. Take a vacation but keep your cell phone on you in case there are some questions. 
5. You could also move the microwave and just have microwaveable meals for a few days, add a toaster, a
6. George Forman grill, a hot plate and a coffee maker and you may get used to cooking meals in your living room.

Here's a few I'll add:

1. There will be dust.  Put up a plastic barrier and make sure your contractor keeps his area as clean as possible.  The more dust barriers, the easier the final clean up.
2. Discuss where the workman will be going.  If they have to use a bathroom, make sure you have plastic down or a runner to get there.  Put a wet towel and a mat for them to clean their shoes on the way to the bathroom.  Have them make sure it’s being used and kept clean enough to be of use.   
3. Make sure that they understand your expectations regarding cleaning before signing the contract. 
4. Hire the cleaning crew to clean the rest of your house when construction ends.  There will likely be a think layer of dust everywhere.

Matt also warns not to push your contractor to work faster than he can on your kitchen renovation in Chicago.  Be ready for some slight delays because pushing them may result in errors which in long run will be far worse.

Many customers come to us for help on updating the design of an existing kitchen when the kitchen cabinets are relatively new.  As custom kitchen designers (in Chicago) we can create a solution using existing materials on paper but to actually do kitchen remodeling using existing materials is more difficult.

The first step is to analyze the existing kitchen to determine what parts of the existing kitchen can be saved.  Part one of the evaluation is assessing the difficulty of the deconstruction and assessing how likely parts will be ruined in the process.  If parts may be ruined, it's important to assess how easily they'll be to replace in the field.  Can the door panel be made on the spot?  The second task is to assess the locations of plumbing and electrical fixtures and evaluate how exactly they can be moved to new locations if that's required.  Some moves are easy, some quite difficult.  Plumbing waste pipes are among the most challanging because waste pipes require a gradient.  This means the more remotely a sink is located from the location it drains into a stack on the wall, the more likely the stack will need to have the point of entry lowered.   This means opening the wall, cutting the stack, and reassembling it, all which adds complexity and creates risk -- risk because the stack might break in a remote location as it's being cut and that location might be behind the wall and cabinets of someone elses unit upstairs or downstairs. 

The key to the process it to evaluate solutions for costs and risks and try to create solutions that will realistically fit into the clients budget.

If a solution is reached, then the existing cabinets have to be matched.  We consider the following:

1. Can the original manufacturer be identified? (This can be found by examining the cabinets or by talking to the builder.)
2. Can the wood species be identified?
3. Has the wood aged and darkened over time? (This is important because the new cabinet doors may initially be lighter and may take a year or two to catch up. The client should be made aware of this as soon as possible.)
4. Do the new cabinets have to be an exact match to the old ones or are they far enough separated that the difference won’t be seen?

To match a door we first have our local Chicago cabinetry maker, Builder Cabinetry Supply, take a look to see if they have anything commercially available that closely approximates it.  If they don't, we have an out of town suppliers of custom cabinetry doors who has a greater capacity to do the same thing.  It does involve removing a door and sending it, which not all Chicago kitchen remodeling clients will tollerate.  Our out of town vender searches their existing designs and tools and gives us their closest off the shelf solution for the door and panel profile.   They also send the sample door to their stain lab to match the wood variety and stain color.  

Given enough time they can get the stain color close 97% of the time.  It's never quite perfect however for several reasons. 

1. The original wood has aged and often darkened from UV exposure.

2. The original wood is not identical to our vender's wood even though it's the same variety.

3. The finish depends on the finish materials being used -- in other words, it's not just the stain color but it's also the varnish or polyurethane type (there are many, many types of finishes) as well as how they sanded the wood and finish coats. 

So close means close but not perfect -- color, sheen, grain, and even how the door ages over time may differ.  But for most purposes, this is close enough.

Should they fail, we have a second set of expert wood finishers – the best wood finishers in Chicago – who can help us figure it and provide the necessary materials.

If our vender can closely match the rail and raised panel with off the shelf tools, we let our customer decide if the solution is sufficient.  The farther the new panels are from the old panals the less precise the match has to be in all respects.   If the match is not good enough, custom router tools can be manufactured to produce the exact rail and panel profiles.  Most rails of requre 2 tools and most panels require 1.  The cost of each tool is expensive ($650) so often we'll only produce one or two to get the door close enough.

Once we have the tools, the wood and the stain, it’s just a matter of craftsmanship. With good preparation, a kitchen renovation, should take anywhere from 1 to 5 days.  If we have to retile the entire floor and walls add another 2.

Kitchens are very important rooms.  A quality kitchen renovator should be wary of putting a client out of their kitchen for more than a week.  Its best to make a schedule for kitchen renovations and keeping to it.  It's really a must!