Quartz Countertops – Sinks need to sit on or in something and the newest trend in countertops is quartz. This natural stone look surface is perfect in kitchens because it’s non-porous – cooking debris and bacteria can’t soak in making quartz totally food safe. Quartz is also easy to maintain, unlike granite, which requires sealing, polishing and reconditioning. Finally, a quartz countertop is
Thompson Price Kitchen, Bath & Home Designed KitchenI love kitchen design. I would move every-other-year just so I could redo my new kitchen, if I could afford to. While I'm not crazy about the mess of a remodel, I truly enjoy the design process and rummaging through all the choices that are available today to create unique, one-of-a-kind kitchens. A word about kitchen remodeling ... Kitchens provide the greatest opportunity to increase the value of your home, if you remodel smart, according to Thompson Price of Thompson Price Kitchen, Bath & Home in St. Louis, MO. "You don't want to spend more than 10%-20% of your home's value on a kitchen remodel." To illustrate - if you're home's current value is $200,000, then you'll not want to spend more than $40,000 to update and revise your kitchen. This is especially important if you plan to move within five years of your remodel. If you spend more, you likely won't recoup those extra dollars. Which brings up another point. If you plan to sell, you can count on your remodel adding to your bottom line. Says Thompson, "the average ROI (return on investment) on a kitchen remodel is anywhere from 69 to 78 percent. So a kitchen remodel is a great investment in your home." So, with Thompson's expertise in mind, I thought it would be fun to share with you four of the latest trends in kitchen design and, maybe, whet your appetite for a few changes in your own kitchen. Trough Sinks - Okay, I'll admit that when I first saw these, I immediately thought of farm animals. However, today's troughs offer a highly functional addition to the average kitchen. A trough sink can provide enough space for several people to gather around and work, and can include more than one faucet, if necessary. Trough sinks can also easily double as beverage cooling stations when filled with ice, and come in a variety of shapes from the standard rectangle to organically curved. Trough sink in quartz countertop
designed to “take it.” Its durability is nearly unmatched in the countertop world. In fact, quartz is twice as strong as granite. Generally speaking, when you buy a quartz countertop, you’re actually getting “engineered quartz.” This means your counters are made from 95 percent ground quartz with five percent polymer resins. This is what makes the end result so durable and colorful. Because of its durability, quartz countertops are virtually indestructible. There is one enemy of quartz, however, and that’s excessive heat. As with other countertop surfaces, you’ll need to use a hot pad or trivet to protect your quartz investment.
Induction Cook Tops – Ever wished you could heat something on your stove and not leave a hot cook top behind? Induction cook tops do just that, and it really isn’t magic. Unlike traditional gas or electric cook tops that generate heat to warm the vessel containing the food to be cooked, induction cook tops make the vessel the originator of the heat, which then cooks food in a gradual and more uniform way. It’s all because of an electromagnetic field created by the cook top’s electronics. This field reacts with the metal of the cooking vessel, setting up a continuous electric current loop, which quickly generates heat. As the vessel heats up, so do the contents. When the vessel is removed from the cook top, heat generation stops. Only the vessel is hot, the cook top remains cool – a great safety feature if you have kids or curious cats. The only downside? If you cook with aluminum, copper or glass, you’ll have to invest in iron or steel pots and pans since those are the only metals that activate the electromagnetic current.
Microwave Drawers – You may be familiar with the dishwasher drawer, but have you seen a microwave drawer? It works just like your regular microwave it’s just packaged differently. The impetus behind this little gem was a desire by designers to hide certain appliances so kitchens look less like … kitchens. Go figure.
Originally posted 2009-06-29 14:26:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
