From the category archives:

kitchen

Things To Consider When Choosing Kitchen Counter Tops

by THAT Painter Lady on Thursday, March 12, 2009

Kitchen counter tops are very important, thus, if you are remodeling your kitchen plan, you should spend sometime choosing the types of materials that you will use for your kitchen counter tops. Some types of kitchen counter top materials can be quite expensive so you should be careful about you choices especially if you are on a tight budget. To help you choose the right type of materials for your kitchen, here are some of the things that you might want to consider.

Granite Counters

Granite kitchen counter tops are very elegant but it can also cost you a lot of money. However, the good news here is that granite materials can hold up to heat and will not get easily damage with use. Granite kitchen counter tops also comes in variety of colors that can suit the overall design of your kitchen. Moreover, granite as building materials is very durable. If you want something that could last a long, long time, you might as well invest in granite counter tops. However, the downside here is that granite counter tops need considerable maintenance like periodic sealing.

Engineered Stones

When it comes to kitchen counter tops materials, the engineered stone is one of the most options. This type of stones has nonporous surface that can withstand stress and are scratch resistant. Compared to granite, this type of stone is a bit cheaper and is easier to maintain for your basement. However, the downside here is that although this type of material is a bit cheaper than granite, it is still a lot more costly compared to other types of materials. If you are on a tight budget and you do not want to dip into your savings account more than you should, forget about this type of materials and go for something a lot cheaper.

Ceramic Tile

The good thing about ceramic tile is that it is durable and is very easy to clean for your build a house project. What is more interesting about this type of kitchen counter top material is that is inexpensive and can be installed one section at a time. Since this type of counter top material can be installed one section at a time, in case there are some damaged areas in your kitchen counter, you do not have to replace the whole kitchen top counter. You just simply remove the damaged section and the replace it with a new one. However, the bad news here is that since this type of kitchen counter top material is installed by section, there is always a possibility that the kitchen counter surface will become uneven.

Stone: Designing Kitchens, Baths and Interiors with Natural Stone

Designing Interiors with Tile: Creative Ideas with Ceramic, Stone and, Mosaic

{ 2 comments }

Glass, Marble Tiles, & Ceramic Tiles

by THAT Painter Lady on Monday, February 9, 2009

Tiles are a great way to get that new look for your kitchen or bathroom. New bathroom wall tiles or kitchen wall tiles can be used to give even the most boring rooms in your home some much needed revitalization. There are a wide range of different tile fabrics available, each of which can be used to achieve different effects around the home. The trick is to work out the advantages and disadvantages of the different tile fabrics as well as the expense, so then you can find the best bathroom tiles for your house.

photo credit: rick

Ceramic tiles typically come either glazed or unglazed. Ceramic tiles are normally the simplest sort of tile to cut and drill because they are much softer than natural stone and porcelain tiles. Ceramic tiles can sometimes work well on floors and walls but are probably most suited as kitchen wall tiles.

Glass tiles have become increasingly popular these days but these are perhaps the most difficult tiles to use. In most cases you should follow the manufacturers guidelines of how to cut and lay these tiles. Most glass tiles can be cut using either an angle grinder, some flatbed tile cutters or some nibblers. However all of these require a special blade for cutting glass and when the floor tiles have been cut they must be smoothed off with a carborundum stone.

Stainless steel tiles may not sound very appealing but you can achieve some amazing effects with them. Stainless steel is very tough and will not rust or crack or fade as they get older and they are also pretty simple to fix using sticky backing pads. They are normally used as splash back kitchen wall tiles, that surround hobs and cooking apperatus. Stainless steel tiles are mostly used in the food and petrochemical industries or anywhere, where a high standard of hygiene is important.

Tiles made from natural stone are great tiles to use on a floor. The reason for this is because they are strong and can take a lot of abuse as well as being easy to take care of. Limestone or marble tiles are brilliant for floors and can have a polished or honed look to them, depending on whether or not you want a shiny or matt look to the floor. Laying natural stone tiles is often a tricky process so you might want to get some help from the professionals. When it comes to cutting stone tiles like marble tiles, you should alwaysdiamond cutting wheel angle grinder.

photo credit: avidtile

Tile Idea Book

{ 2 comments }

Color Suggestions For A Black and White Kitchen

by THAT Painter Lady on Saturday, July 26, 2008

Here is a recent reader question who is asking for color suggestions for a kitchen with black and white appliances. Tawn has answered this one with some creative ideas.

I am painting a kitchen that has black appliances and white countertops. What color would you suggest for the walls, cabinets and for the floor? ~Nydia

Wow! What a great starting point for you. Using white and black can create a stunning and dramatic room. It can be used in almost any decorating style. Contemporary/modern and even Country French. Black and white gives a fresh and clean look to a room. Sophisticated and elegant, or cozy and classic.

If you want a more “contemporary” look to your kitchen you could paint your cabinets with a metallic paint. Silver would be good. OR you could take the doors off, paint the frames black and take the doors out and spray paint them with a Metal Hammered Finish spray paint.

Going modern I’d use a square pull on the doors. Something more linear for a pull.

Or, if you want a more “country” look you could paint your cabinet black and then rub the paint off here and there (edges, corners, etc.) to give them a worn look.

Here are some articles about Distressed Finishes.

Paint Color Choices

Excellent paint colors for your walls, to go with your black and white room, would be salmon, or green, or taupe, or red or turquoise. This gives you a wide variety to choose from for your walls depending on what feel you want to end up with. Even yellow would be a good choice depending on how bold you want to go.

Are you painting your floors? You could tape them off and paint large 2 foot by 2 foot squares of black and white. I wrote an article here about painting diamonds or squares.