Category Archives: Kitchens

A popular trend today within newly built homes or remodel projects is to have granite countertops installed, whether it is in the kitchen, bathroom or bar. Granite is a beautiful addition to any space because of the natural beauty in the different veins, specks and swirls that makes each piece of granite unique. When you’re getting ready to plan your remodel or new project, discuss with your contractor or professional granite fabricator to find out how you can work this gorgeous stone into your space. Here are many other reasons why granite is an excellent choice to have in your home:

More “counter space” and “storage”. As a kitchen and bath designer, I hear these two requests from clients more than any other.

While function and look are close runners up, people never seem to verbalize that they also want comfort.  I know you want it, people! I have been in beautiful, spacious kitchens that just aren’t user friendly.  That’s sad.

Here are some of the questions I ask my customers when taking their needs into consideration. If your designer doesn’t ask you any of these, make sure you bring it up!

Now, there are many ways to distribute your budget when you are doing a kitchen remodel.   It seems we need to stretch our dollar more and more these days, but there are definitely some things that are not worth the money.  Here is a list of 10 things you should decide to forego in that new kitchen!

1. The Pot Filler -  Yes, it’s really cool, and yes, your friends will ooh and aah, but seriously, if your cook top is only 2 feet away from the sink, who are you kidding!   Don’t get me wrong, there are many kitchens that warrant the look and convenience of a pot filler, but for around $800 for the filler itself, and the additional plumbing labor –

Recently, an old client of mine happened to walk into the Alure showroom. We stared at each other and both cried each other’s first name. I couldn’t believe it had been 25 years since we had last seen each other! When I was remodeling the client’s kitchen and windows, she told us that we were her favorite crew to work with and had fondly talked about us over the years. I remembered her fondly as well and one of my favorite stories is about her remodel…

The kitchen counter top was a mica top that my partner and I made. A couple of days later after the installation, I got a call from Cathy telling us that there was a serious defect in the top near the dish drain area of the sink. You can imagine how concerned I was that I could possibly have missed seeing a defect so we got in the truck and flew down there. Cathy was pretty cool to us and she pointed out the “dimples” in the mica top close to the sink. We saw them and could not believe that either of us could have missed that! Cathy had her son (at 1-1/2 year old) on her hip and while we were discussing the top and how we were going to have to take it out and redo it, she put him on the counter top.

Gina Bonura is a Kitchen and Bath Designer at Alure Home Improvements

One of my favorite parts of a kitchen remodel is to select is the backsplash.  It really sets the tone of the style of the kitchen and pulls all the other selections together.  I always try to encourage my clients to do something special in the backsplash.  It is usually a small space, so if you are going to splurge anywhere to make a statement, this is a good place to start.

Yes, the backsplash has a serious function in a kitchen.  It’s there to protect and help maintain the space between the counter and the bottom of the cabinets.

Time spent in any business seems to generate anecdotes about experiences and situations that are just too funny to be true.  After 36 years in the home remodeling business the stories have begun to pile up.  Some of them are serious, some funny, all of them true with something to be learned. This is the first in a series that are truly “Too True to be Real.”

Many years ago, I was doing a kitchen remodeling project on the North Shore of Long Island. At the time, we did not use garbage dumpsters on the job but rather collected the debris in the driveway and called a company at the end of the project to clean up the site.  As normal, we had removed the existing cabinets, countertops and appliances and began remodeling the kitchen. The project went smoothly, especially considering we were working on an existing Mexican Terracotta floor that was extremely uneven.

Gina Bonura is a Kitchen and Bathroom Designer at Alure Home Improvements. Read more of her thoughts on color at “COLOR 101: How to Make Your Home Project Go from’“Nice’ to ‘Wow’”

Here is an example of a soothing and secure wall color

Sometimes it’s overwhelming to select colors for the kitchen and bathroom in the home.

Gina Bonura is a Kitchen and Bath Designer at Alure Home Improvements

One of my biggest challenges as a designer is to get clients over their fear of color. Color is what makes the project go from “nice” to “WOW“.

I think the fear of color comes mainly from three things:

1. Commitment – people fear that they will tire of the color in a few years
2. Wrong color choice - they are afraid it will make the room look small, or won’t match
3. Can’t picture it – they just can’t picture what it will look like.

Help is on the way - read on!

Gina Bonura is a Kitchen and Bath Designer at Alure Home Improvements

In all my years as a Kitchen and Bath designer, there is one question I hear over and over again:

“What do I clean that with?”

Truthfully, with the right products, and by starting out with low maintenance materials, even the most reluctant housework haters will find it not so hard to clean their kitchens and bathrooms. Over the years, through lots of personal trial and error, I have found what works and what doesn’t.

Concealed Kitchens

Kitchen design has reached a new level of integration. The quiet incorporation of the kitchen into the home’s primary living and entertaining rooms provides homeowners with far more flexibility in their lifestyles. The incorporation of integrated and concealed appliances allows the kitchen to enhance rather than intrude into other spaces. Clean structural lines coupled with sleek color palettes enable the space to establish a distinctive identity, without overpowering the surrounding rooms.

Beverage Stations

A new element added to many kitchens is a beverage station. This area is usually comprised of an undercounter refrigerator and wine refrigeration, as well as a coffeemaker, which can be as varied as the homeowners using them, ranging from simple single-pot coffeemakers to larger units capable of espresso, latte, and cappuccino. This functional destination within the kitchen typically houses stemware, coffee cups, silverware, cream, sugar, tea and may sometimes have a smaller bar area.

Scaling of Elements

Shapes, actual and implied textures, along with the placement of fixtures are being used to create scale. The overall composition of kitchens and baths is being defined by a sense of scale, which is both functional and visually appealing. An irregularly textured pebbled wall, marbled surface in glass tile, reflective metallic material, or symmetrically hung pendant lighting directs the eye around the room and contributes to a balanced space. Distinctive wall coverings, tin ceilings and the implied texture of a pronounced wood grain are all stand-out details that are being seen as contributors to the balanced scale of current designs.

Color with Energy

Bold colors are creating a vibrant splash in room palettes for 2010, with rich blues, purples, greens, and citric yellow making their confident appearance in kitchens and baths. Colors exuding emotion, acting not merely as a passive backdrop for the room, but bringing life through lighting, wall colors, and wood tones, are profoundly impacting the most innovative designs. Colors from nature combined with others more synthetically blended, are inducing a feeling of movement and motion throughout the room through sharp contrasts.

Soft Geometry

Rounded organic shapes can be seen in the edge of a counter or island top, an arch over an entryway or cooking hearth, the curved lines of a light fixture, and well-placed, space-defining soffits. Softer geometry is showing up with fortitude in contemporary and traditional designs alike. The introduction of rounded islands and countertops carves a smooth-flowing traffic pattern throughout the room, while an appropriately placed arch will bring an overall softening to the more angular fixed features that are typical in kitchens and baths.

Space Subtleties

Fixtures once confined by location are now incorporated into kitchen and bath designs in almost limitless ways. This freedom in the use of space allows designers to create design-driven room plans rather than those driven by necessity and space solutions. Floating vanities and wall-mounted toilets allow an unobstructed and spacious feel to a bathroom, while appliances that are stacked and positioned within islands are contributing to functionality in the kitchen by bringing together task space with the right appliances.

Varying Heights

Island tops, countertops, and partial walls are being customized to the task performed there and to the needs of the homeowners. Pairing lower desk and prep areas with higher breakfast bar surfaces provides convenient task-specific spaces, which fosters a greater level of family interaction within the kitchen. In the bathroom, this design concept not only provides function, but balances the space. Varying heights seen in the edge of a wood bar top or granite countertop serve as a beautiful counterbalance.

For more hot design ideas visit National Kitchen & Bath Association