Step Into the Future: Before & After
Update Your Obsolete Kitchen and Bath for Big Payoffs-Now and Down the Road
By Kelly McCall BransonThere are no areas of a home that will date it faster than its kitchen and its bathrooms. These rooms are becoming increasingly central to today’s lifestyles—the kitchen truly is the nerve center of most homes, and master bathrooms are more and more being enjoyed beyond their utilitarian function, as an oasis for restoration and rejuvenation. It’s no wonder then that kitchen and master bathroom renovations are among the top ten when it comes to the biggest return on your remodeling dollars.
So what are the latest trends in kitchens and baths? And how do you get started overhauling these spaces from outmoded to up-to-the-minute? We’ve talked to area professionals and gotten their expert advice on rehabilitating the kitchen and master bath to make them more beautiful, more livable and your house more sellable.
“One of the first considerations in any remodeling project is setting your budget,” says Amanda Welch, designer and manager at Kitchen & Bath Galleries. “Not only should what you can afford be a consideration, but also what the value of your home and its neighborhood can support.” Welch says that there are options in all price ranges and that finding the best balance between your wants and needs and your budget is a matter of prioritizing.
 |
| Before |
Effective prioritizing requires that you clearly define your goals for the project. An experienced professional can help guide you through this process. For a kitchen remodel, are you seeking to open up the space? Will you want to entertain here? Eat family meals? Do you need a place for kids to do their homework? Are you a gourmet chef, more concerned with top-of-the-line appliances, or are high style and elegant finishes most important to you?
“One of the features we are able to offer clients is sophisticated 3D modeling software,” says Barry Corbett of Corbett Design Build. “This allows the homeowner to get a very accurate feel for what the end product will look like.” The more up-front thinking and planning that goes into a job, the happier the client will be with the final product.
Corbett recently completed a major remodel of a late 1980s North Raleigh kitchen for Ed and Pam Harris. “Our main goal was to open up the space and make it a little more social,” says Pam. “We wanted room for more people to be involved in the cooking and to just improve the feeling of fellowship.” To achieve this, Corbett worked with designer Loretta Bell, of Bell & Associates Interior Design. To open and enlarge the space, they removed a wall and incorporated a small porch.
 |
| After – Photos courtesy of Corbett DesignBuild |
The couple opted for some of the hottest trends in kitchens today. They chose cabinets in a distinctive, high-end wood—quarter sawn red oak. Interest was added through contrasting finishes for the cabinetry. The custom hood and the front of the island cabinetry were stained a dark espresso, while the remaining cabinets are a warm chestnut color.
They also incorporated a built-in banquette. Not only is this a very efficient use of space, but in this case, an antique quarter sawn oak table, handed down in Ed’s family, was configured in such a way that it functions as casual dining for Pam and Ed and also, with as many as five leaves added, can extend and seat up to 12. And hidden storage space for all of those leaves was ingeniously constructed into the banquette.
Sleek and Clean
Taking a detour from the previous decade’s bigger-is-better mentality, today’s kitchen designers are seeing more demand for less-is-more. Homeowners are foregoing enormous, grandiose and ornate kitchens for sleek, clean lines and ingenious, efficient use of every available nook and cranny. Amanda Welch assimilated this philosophy in a late 1980s Cary home. Blah, raised-panel cathedral cabinets, laminate counters, vinyl flooring and a not-so-functional peninsula made for a cramped, obsolete space for this family with two young children.
 |
After – Photos courtesy of Kitchen & Bath Galleries |
 |
Before |
The homeowners wanted an island but, given the necessity to work within the footprint of their existing kitchen, didn’t think there was room. Through some fairly simple reconfiguring of an inefficient pantry, Welch was able to not only include an eat-at island in this kitchen redesign, but also a tucked-away little boot bench, just inside the kitchen door—perfect for tidily holding those coats, book bags and umbrellas that often clutter up entry areas.
Buttermilk finished cabinets are both light and warm, with clean lines and satin nickel hardware, another hot kitchen finish. The use of glass, throughout the kitchen, is another current trend that Welch introduced, with a frosted glass door for the new pantry. “Glass has a way of visually opening and lightening the space,” says Welch.
Another Cary family turned to Kitchen & Bath Galleries to update their very ‘90s white-laminate traditional kitchen into a modern space that would better serve their family of five. “These were busy people who needed a space for the family to gather,” says Welch, “to cook, to eat, to do homework.” The clunky island of the old kitchen, with virtually unusable counter space, and a small, rarely-used breakfast nook were replaced with a clean-lined eat-at peninsula. A bulky, view-blocking coat closet was removed, visually enlarging the space, and additional counter and cabinet space gained.
Welch also points to this project as a fairly budget-conscious renovation and a good example of what can be achieved with semi-custom cabinetry. “Semi-custom cabinets allow the homeowner a great amount of flexibility at a fairly economical price point.” For this home, Welch went with the current darling of cabinet finishes—deep espresso—and another popular choice, the clean lines of Shaker style doors. “This is a look that is both warm and timeless,” says Welch.
Welch shared a hint for getting the most bang for your buck in a kitchen renovation: “Wait until you’ve lived with the new kitchen for a while before deciding on inserts for drawers and cabinets.” In her experience, homeowners often use their storage space in their new kitchen a little differently that they had envisioned. The pull-out compartments, drawer dividers, pegs and racks can always be added later, which can save you money and also give you the best functioning end result.
And don’t forget about greening your kitchen when it comes to your renovation. The National Kitchen and Bath Association reports huge interest in kitchens that are friendlier to the environment. That means purchasing appliances that use less energy, considering the use of recycled and sustainable materials, as well as materials and finishes with low or no emissions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
A Room to Relax in
While modern kitchens might be paring down a bit in size, master bathrooms are getting bigger and better than ever. Homeowners are looking for bathrooms that are spacious, open and airy. Today’s master bath has become a refuge for peaceful relaxation, with quiet soaking tubs replacing yesterday’s bulky, noisy whirlpool tubs and big, bright open showers, with high-tech massaging body sprays offering an entirely different experience than the utilitarian, closet-like showers of decades past. Luxurious finishes of natural stone, glass and textured tile are a must. Vessel sinks continue to be the rage, and heated floors rank number one among the newest bells and whistles for top-of-the-line master baths.
 |
After |
 |
Before – Photos courtesy of Walker Design Build |
Spacious his-and-her closets open off the master bath—hers with double doors and a built-in jewelry safe. A new soaking tub was installed with elegant oil-rubbed bronze fixtures, and a huge shower feels even more spacious with its frameless glass enclosure and strategically placed window for natural light. The shower, bath and floors feature a Pietra Travertine Noce tile with bold decorative accents.
The furniture-like cabinetry in this renovation is another example of today’s sophisticated master bathrooms. This cocoa-glazed cherry vanity, with its varying depth, granite counter and elaborate arched cornice, with dramatic recessed lighting, would look as much in place in an elegant study as in this refined bathroom. A wall-mounted flat-screen TV is another de rigueur fixture of the modern, meant-to-be-lived in master bath.
Walker stresses that the ultimate success of this kind of remodeling project depends greatly on careful planning. “I spend a huge amount of time on the front end, on design and layout,” says Walker. “Getting the homeowner as involved as possible as early as possible, fully understanding their goals and budget—that’s going to pay off for everyone in the end.”
And a big payoff is practically guaranteed....Read the rest on http://raleigh.newhomebook.com/cms/News/Raleigh-Durham-Chapel_Hill/Articles/fall11_before_and_after.html
