kitchen design

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Current Trends In Kitchen Renovations

Have you recently made the decision to undergo a kitchen renovation? Before you get started, you might be wondering what some of the current trends in kitchen design are so that you can make sure your renovation incorporates some of these up-to-the-minute ideas.

Minimalism

Many kitchen renovations are now centered around the minimalist idea that less is more. This has led to an increase in bench tops that are long and straight and cupboard doors that are flush to the wall. Gloss finishes and open shelving is also very popular in completing a minimalist look in your kitchen renovation.

Eco-Friendly

As we are becoming more inclined to opt for environmentally friendly fixtures in our homes, an increase in eco-friendly kitchen renovations had to occur. There has been a rise in the purchase and manufacture of kitchen cabinets that emit low levels of volatile organic compounds, lowering air pollution, and in the installation of LED lights, which are high energy savers. The 'natural' look of wooden floors and stone countertops is also popular in new kitchen renovations, both options that are environmentally sustainable.

Safety

These days there are more children in the kitchen, helping mum and dad cook or just making themselves some lunch. Because of this, parents are looking for new safe kitchen renovation designs to minimise the risk of injury. Lockouts, a popular renovators choice, are designed to prevent stove burners from accidentally being turned on. There are also mechanisms that you can install during your renovation that will stop drawers and kitchen cupboards from slamming shut, just in case fingers are still in the way.

Hidden Appliances

Gone are the days when families wanted to show off their brand new microwave or dishwasher. These days, people are using their kitchen renovation to create clever ways of hiding their appliances. Fridges have become shallower, so that they don't protrude past the cabinets, and drawer fridges and freezers are also very popular. It is also becoming more common to find renovated homes that have made the exteriors of their appliances match the rest of cabinetry, making them all blend in.
High Tech

People have a desire to turn their kitchen into another living area of their homes, so take a renovation as the perfect opportunity to do so. Televisions are a very popular appliance to find in the kitchen these days, so much so that manufacturers have found ways to incorporate them into other appliances, like fridges and even the ventilation hood for the stove, that we do need to install during a renovation.

So, whether you want to use all of the latest kitchen renovation trends or just some of the ones mentioned above, your kitchen is bound to be an enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing place to be.

This information is shared by Anne Mehla on the behalf of Master Renovators. Master Renovators provides high end designs for bathrooms in Melbourne. Master Renovators are well recognised for creative bathroom renovations and stylish kitchens designs in Melbourne.

Kitchen Tap Styles

So, you have designed your kitchen layout, chosen the kitchen style, the worktops and the appliances. Now, you just need to decide on the finishing touches. Kitchen accessories such as taps are just as essential to the overall look and style, as well as the big purchases, therefore they require as much thought as the rest of the room design. A tap is a major kitchen accessory that can enhance the look of the kitchen and thankfully you are not limited to just one or two choices. In fact, there is no shortage of choices and rest assured that the selection available on the market will meet whatever your taste or budget.

Basically, taps come into two simple design categories, modern and traditional. Modern design taps work well with minimalist design kitchens; they come in sharp stunning design, with square or round edges and come in a number of finishes from an easy on the pocket shiny chrome to a more upmarket solid stainless steel. Traditional taps are usually Victorian or Edwardian style, they are made of brass, finished in chrome plated, gold plated or enamelled. Traditional high shine chrome and enamelled taps work well with country style kitchen while the brass and bronze taps can work perfectly well with ultra-modern kitchen to bring a more eclectic look to it.

Styles of Taps

Taps come in various styles with different mountings. Below are some of the most common style of kitchen taps available and a short explanation as to what they are.

Single Lever Tap - This is a mixer tap that uses one handle to control the flow of water from both the hot and cold water supply. Single levers are of very modern and minimalist design with just one tap and is available with either one or two mounting points with only one valve.

Monobloc Mixer Tap - This is a mixer tap with a smaller input pipe than standard taps. It's of modern design with one valve and requires just one mounting point.

Bridge Mixer Tap - The bridge mixer is a traditional style tap with three interconnecting tubes, the tap being in the middle and the hot and cold water control on each side. It has one tap, two mounting point and two valves and is of very modern design.

Creating An Efficient Contemporary Kitchen Design

Contemporary kitchens are described as minimalist, modern and geometric. Its features include asymmetry, horizontal lines and devoid of molding and other decorations. The materials used are usually man-made instead of natural. To name a few are laminate, chrome, frosted glass inserts, lacquer, stainless steel, linoleum and concrete. Contemporary design covers those styles from the 1940's up to the present.

The key to achieving a well-organized kitchen design is an effective layout and visual element. If you want to create a modern facade in your kitchen, there are some things that you need to pay attention to.

1. Color combination

This is usually the first aspect that almost everyone observes about your kitchen. From the kitchen wall to the countertops, up to the ceiling and down to the floor, your kitchen's color palette will elicit the first and lasting impression for visitors. No specific rules have been set regarding the color combination that's right for your kitchen; the choice of shade will depend on factors such as lifestyle, age group and personality of the persons using the kitchen.

2. Lighting

This is another important element that must be taken into consideration when creating a contemporary design. Lighting influences the people's size perception of the kitchen. Downlights can be nice, stylish touch to your kitchen. They should be used only to accentuate particular spots and not as principal sources of light. Bear in mind that a bright, well-lit workplace can make your kitchen look larger, more favorable and safer area to work in.

3. Safety

For safety purposes, the cabinets and doors in your kitchen should have soft closing systems. With this, the cabinet doors will settle gently before closing slowly so you don't have to worry about your children's fingers being caught. The work area and the cabinets should have the right height and you should also install reachable pull-out drawers for the older family members. For the flooring, you can use non-slip tiles.

4. Kitchen furniture

The kitchen furniture that you should use, such as chairs, bakers racks, table and bar stools should complement the kitchen's overall interior style. To set off the contemporary design, you can pick items that are made of stainless steel and birch wood. You can also consider items with sleek linear style to maintain the modern look of your kitchen.

5. Accessories

These are important ingredient in every decorating style. However, in contemporary design, it might be better to use only few minimalist items.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Two types of Machine made and Handmade Rugs

Rugs are the choices that distinguish beauty and class interior designing. A good looking rug is all the host need in order to impress the guests. A beautiful rug is bound to attract the attention of people and reflects the well-being appetite of the hosts. Now, rugs can be classified over the way they are created and woven. As the names suggests, machine made rugs are produced with the help from weaving machines and handmade rugs are created by hand.

Machine made rugs

These rugs are produced in a mass amount. That is why the creativity or patterns on them are not necessarily unique. So, consequently these rugs are comparatively cheaper than the handmade ones. Looking at the fringe, one can tell whether the rug is machine made or not. The identifying factor of machine made rugs is the fringe is sewn most of the time. As mentioned earlier, there is hardly any uniqueness in machine made rugs. So, there are numerous duplicates or rugs with same design in the market. But machine made rugs can last for a really long time. There are many types of machine made rugs. Braided machine made rugs are made of some plastic fibers. Braided rugs can be handmade too. In case of machine made braided rugs, there are numerous color choices. Normally, colors that add a certain zing to the ambience are chosen. Another type is felted wool carpets which are also known as Namdah. These are mainly famous for the delicate designs on top of them.

Handmade rugs

Like the name reflects, handmade rugs are made by hand. As these rugs are woven manually, the creativity and artistic facets over the rugs are noticeable in comparison with rugs made by machines. These are not mass produced and thus there are high chances of a rug being quite unique in its own right. Considerably these rugs are more expensive than the ones made by machines. Handmade rugs can become work of art, depending on the weaver’s artistic talent. Handmade rugs can be durable too. But that depends on the quality of the fiber and the weaving technique. But consumers should be aware of genuineness of the handmade rugs. Some of the traditional rugs, Persian rugs especially, have been subject to false claims and duplicity.

Two types of Machine made and Handmade Rugs

Handmade rugs are primarily of two types. These are hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs. Hand-knotted style of weaving carpets or rugs is the most popular style of rugs in the world. Clipping the lengths of the constructing yarn is the specialty of this style of weaving. Now, the clipped ends of the yarns form the building block of the carpets. Those ends are tied in rows and made to form a pile. This is known as hand-knotting. Persians and Turkish are famous for this. Hand-tufting, on the other hand, uses a tufting gun. The gun is attached with sewing needles and this machine is operated by hand to weave and depict designs over the carpet. Tufting technique is also getting adopted to create machine made carpets.

Tips for Choosing the Perfect Kitchen Tiles

The kitchen is one room in your house that you are able to decorate with different types of tiles. Using different types of kitchen tiles can enhance your kitchen in an amazing way. You need to remember a few points like; a glossy tile that goes on the wall will not be the same as a flooring tile and flooring tiles need to be safe to walk on. A glossy tile underfoot would be unsafe. Below are a few tips to help you choose the right type of tile for your kitchen.

Before you even select tiles for your kitchen you need to find out what surface the tile will be applied to. Tiles can be placed as a backsplash behind a cooker or on a wall that is underneath the upper cabinets. Tiles are also a popular material when used as a countertop and they can also be used on the floor.

Once you know where your kitchen tiles are going to be applied you will then need to decide on the material you would like the tiles to be made from. Quarry, stone, vinyl, cork, ceramic, glass, bamboo and porcelain tiles are all options available to you. Cork, bamboo and vinyl tiles are commonly used for flooring purposes and ceramic, porcelain and quarry tiles can be used for countertops and as well as floors. Glass tiles are usually only used for walls and backsplashes.

One of the most important things to consider when purchasing kitchen tiles is your budget. Vinyl and linoleum tiles tend to be less expensive whereas custom designed ceramic tiles will cost you a lot more. You should definitely do your homework before making a commitment to a tile and try to envision what the finished tiling will look like. The tile shop where you purchase your kitchen tiles should be able to help you estimate the amount of tiles you will need for your kitchen.

You will also need to take into consideration the durability of the tiles you purchase. Kitchen tiles are generally quite resistant but they will still require looking after and the longevity of each tile material is different. For countertops ceramic is recommended as it is durable and will hold up to heat from hot pots and is also easy to maintain and clean. Remember that a ceramic tile surface can be uneven and they can also crack and chip quite easily.You will need to take your family’s lifestyle into consideration when choosing a tile finish.

When it comes to choosing a floor tile for your kitchen it will need to be durable to withstand heavy footfall, pets, spilled foods and also cleaning materials.Ensure that the tile you purchase for your kitchen floor is called a “floor tile”.If you mistakenly choose a wall tile instead of a floor tile for your floor it will be too slippery to walk on. Choose a floor tile that has a slight raised pattern or texture on it as this will allow for a safer kitchen floor. If you want a refined and elegant look then you should go for a quarry tile.Quarry tile is more expensive than traditional ceramic tiles but looks amazing when it is applied in the correct way.

Tips for Choosing the Perfect Kitchen Tiles

There are a variety of tiles available to fit your taste and budget.Consider the above tips when you are choosing your kitchen tiles and you should be able to turn your kitchen into the room you have always dreamed of.

The dream kitchen decor

It takes a lot of research to be able to create a kitchen decor which is as inspiring as the rest of the home! Not everyone has the time and energy to give in so much into kitchen decor. But some of us like to cook and enjoy our time in the kitchen space. So for people who like to cook, a dull kitchen may prove to be extremely bad an option!

A beautiful kitchen not only looks pleasant to the eyes but also inspires great cooking! Yes it is true! Just as the inhabitants of a house feel a certain way due to their home decor, similarly a person cooking also feels good if he or she is cooking in a nicely decorated kitchen!

A beautiful kitchen means amazing cooking. A well equipped kitchen would add to the pleasure of cooking. I happened to see such a lovely kitchen at my friend’s place. The kitchen was extremely well-decorated and totally just had an air that said ‘cook in style!’ Here’s what I absolutely loved about the kitchen-

The fantastic color choice of the kitchen is something that totally took me by surprise! There was one entire wall done up in red as red is a color that’s supposed to boost appetite. Although the colors chosen were bold and exciting, but the clever choice of subtle colored laminate sheets seemed to bring out the wholesome quality of the decor of the kitchen!

Another amazing thing about the kitchen was the stunning choice of countertops. The kitchen had high pressure laminate countertops. These laminates are not just anti-bacterial but are strong even to bear heavy pressure which makes them totally fit for kitchen area!

The interesting cabinets added a lot of style and charm to the kitchen space. I found the cabinets to be totally interesting. I think my friend contacted the best of laminate manufacturers to get the furnishing for her kitchen! It just showed the amount of effort that went into the decoration and designing of the place.

The dream kitchen decor

I was so awed and inspired by the way the decor stood like a whole. I loved the harmony of all the elements in the kitchen. It was not just the aesthetic aspect that was taken care of, but also the practical aspect that was carefully kept in mind while decoration of the kitchen! Hats off to my friend for such creative kitchen decor!