2012 Top 5 Kitchen Remodeling Trends

A successful kitchen remodeling project can be a great return on your investment, since it automatically raises the value of your house. Kitchen remodels bring better utilization of space to meet the demands of lifestyles too – as well as providing better storage.

Hiding Appliances
Tucking away or hiding appliances is a new kitchen remodeling trend that is very popular due to the artistic way of saving space. It improves functionality in the kitchen and also prevents the kitchen from looking too cluttered. Some good examples of concealed appliances are: steam ovens, warming drawers, and built-in coffee centers. Built-in coffee centers, provide a customized cup of coffee with just one press of a button.

Color Trends For Appliances
Stainless steel is a common color choice for over a hundred years now. It has a universal appeal and a shiny appearance, which is often associated with luxury. It also provides a more sterile surface than the others. Black is another favored color. It offers a more formal, yet contemporary appearance and goes with any style. Other popular colors are beige, gray, and cream.

Cabinets
Maple cabinetry is among the most favored kitchen remodel ideas in 2012. Woods with different shades of white or off-white hues make good finishes, as well as dark natural finishes. Finishes that are either light natural or color painted are popular too. There are a variety of trendy styles of cabinets: floating units, cabinets with touch-latch doors, systems that are hidden behind sliding doors, and cabinets with innovative surfaces, such as semi-translucent glass, bamboo, and aluminum.

Countertops
Countertops with custom touches, such as marble pastry slab inserts and wooden butcher blocks will be huge in 2012. Some homeowners even embed concrete with metal and glass bits. Choosing renewable and recycled materials over natural stone, marble and quarts are a great option for those who want to cut down on maintenance. Some of the recycled materials that are used are laminate and paper.

Illumination
Light fixtures are also in the top five kitchen remodeling trends. Accent lighting to draw attention to kitchen decorations like glassware, dishware, and frames are extremely popular. For decorative light fixtures, sconce lighting is a great choice. They spill the light upward or sideways and form attractive backdrops.

2012 Home Remodeling Trends

Remodeling in 2012 is full of new ideas to benefit your home with practicality. Instead of going big and extravagant, people are looking more cost effective and useful features for their home.

Steam showers are on the rise since soaking tubs are rarely used and can be expensive. Homeowners focus their budget on a larger and more comfortable shower for therapeutic effects and conservation of water.

Drop Zones or Mud Rooms are extremely popular because they serve as a great way to de-clutter and organize your home. Cubbies, hooks, or closets are custom designed to hide these items and eliminate clutter in your home.

Formal living rooms are considered wasted space so opening the living room is a new trend that creates a great room that is warm and inviting. An open family room combines the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Creating one big room will help lessen energy consumption and create a more inviting environment.

Developing a lifestyle center for your whole family. Computers and electronics are put in this room for kids to do homework and parents to be able to monitor their children. It’s a versatile room work at home, paying the bills and more - instead of a closed-off office space.

Creating an outdoor living space remains popular. A patio can serve as a secondary dining room or living area. Making this outdoor living space available year-round with electric radiant heat, like slab heating or a snow melting system is the ideal for use all year long. It also makes your house feel larger, by adding sliding doors that lead from inside your house to the patio.

Now is a great time to maintain and clean the inside of your home for the upcoming cold weather months. Plus, it will help you get ready for Holiday parties and gatherings.

• Clean from top to bottom. Vacuum drapes and window treatments. Clean window sills and window wells. Dust curtain rods. Vacuum baseboards and corners.


• Wash the inside of your windows and vacuum screens.


• Vacuum upholstered furniture or have it professionally cleaned. Move all furniture and vacuum beneath and behind it.


• Schedule professional carpet cleaning or clean the carpets yourself with a carpet cleaning system.


• Wash bowls from light fixtures.


• Pull refrigerator away from the wall, and vacuum the condenser coils. For bottom-mounted coils, use a long, narrow brush to clean coils of dust and debris.


• Check and empty the central vacuum's collection area if you home has this system.


• Clean or replace humidifier elements.
  Inspect washer hoses for bulges, cracks or splits. Replace them every other year.


• Check dryer exhaust tube and vent for built-up lint, debris or birds' nests! Make sure the exterior vent door closes tightly when not in use.


• Drain sediment from hot water heaters.
  
  
  
  

Outside The House

With a few warmer days of Fall left, you still have time to finish preparing the outside of your home for winter. Here are some tips and suggestions before cozying up inside your home during the snow and cold.

• Clean and store outside items: patio furniture, umbrellas, children's summer toys and other items.


• Wash exterior windows.


• Check caulk around windows and doors and re-caulk if needed.


• Inspect outside doors and garage doors to make sure they close tightly. Install weather-stripping or door thresholds if needed.


• Touch up paint on house trim, hand railings and decks. Remove flaking paint, prime bare wood and paint.


• Drain and store garden hoses. Install insulating covers on exterior spigots. Have sprinkler systems blown free of water.


• Check gutters and downspouts. Clear leaves and other debris if necessary. Here in Minnesota consider installing heating cable to prevent ice dams.


• Have chimneys and flues inspected and cleaned if necessary.

Updating Your Entertainment Space

As time passes, the way you use your home changes, especially regarding entertainment. Your children grow up and have friends over, technology brings new innovations and maybe the way the way you wan to entertain. Where does leave you? Often with need to make modifications to your home to fit the way you want to use it.

You may want to convert your family or recreation room into a 3D home theater. Or perhaps you would like to add a wet bar in the basement for easy entertaining. In the last year, we have seen a huge increase in wine cellar additions. Updates to entertainment spaces have become one of the most popular types of remodeling projects over the past two years.

We have some great ideas to help you get the most out of your home entertainment space. All our work is custom designed so we can create exactly the space you need with the newest technology and the comforts you want. We can bring you the greatest place in the world to relax and enjoy life without leaving your home.

Remodeling Professionalism

When we started Integrity Home Projects (IHP), our vision was to build a remodeling business that would stand out in the industry with notable ethics and professionalism. Sharing the same family values, the same work ethic, and the same commitment to quality, excellence and customer satisfaction, only reinforced our dedication to being a top-notch professional company. This includes our family of Subcontractors that hold themselves to the same standards we do.

Our extensive backgrounds in engineering, quality control and process management bring our customers a detailed process-based plan for each and every remodeling project. We continually communicate with our customers so they know what is happening every day on their home. This level of commitment and professionalism is our goal because it is the level of service we want to provide our customers.

We are members of NARI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, for professional, ethical and honest remodelers committed to the highest standards. We follow the code of ethics every day.

Holiday Remodeling

If doesn’t seem possible but the Holiday season is just around the corner. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s – the perfect time for festive gatherings of friends, family and neighbors in your home. But wait, did you think this was the year for a new wet bar in the basement, new kitchen cabinets or maybe a new floor in the bathroom?

You still have time but it’s going quickly, so call us today so we can determine the best solution for your remodeling needs. With our processes, we give you a project guideline, step-by-step communication and help you with the design and selection of all the items to make your remodeling project fit your budget and timeline.

Plus, you’ll have a new gift to yourself for the Holidays.