kitchen Archives - CENTURY 21 MarketLink Realty

Kitchen Magic: 5 Must-Have Features

January 15, 2016 By Casey Danton

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where you prepare meals for your family, and where you all come together to share those meals. So shouldn’t your kitchen portray that same warmth that you feel? Having a dream kitchen is a goal for many home owners, and while not everything is as easy as waving a wand, there are a few things you can implement that may make your kitchen more beautiful and more practical.

Double Oven

For those who love to cook, a double oven might just be a necessity. Can you imagine how much easier cooking holiday dinners would be if you had two separate ovens? Reduce cooking time with the ability to prepare two dishes at the same time, on different temperatures. Cook potatoes in one oven while roasting your turkey in the other, and you’ll no longer have to start cooking dinner so early.

Kitchen Island

One of the most important things in a perfect kitchen is ample counter space. What better way to get that than with a large island in the center of your kitchen? You might never have to fight for space again when you cook with family or friends. Not to mention, an island can double as a great eating space with the addition of a few bar stools.

China Cabinet

An instant way you can increase style in your kitchen is to install a china cabinet. This piece can allow you to display your glassware and china in a beautiful way, as opposed to hiding them in the back of drawers. If you’re working with a smaller kitchen, you can create the same effect by installing glass panels into your current kitchen cabinets.

High Neck Faucets and Deep Sinks

A larger sink helps you avoid splashing water when you do the dishes. A deep sink fits more dishes, and also gives you more room for washing vegetables or fruits. Add a high neck faucet and it may be even easier to fill pots, pans, and bottles. In addition, these items can make your kitchen look chic and modern.

Hidden Outlets

Have you ever been cooking in a crock pot or using a blender and wishing that you didn’t have to move your tools around the kitchen looking for an outlet? Hidden outlets are one great solution that can make your kitchen both classy and accessible. Have outlets installed under your cabinets, or inside drawers to ensure that you can plug anything in, wherever you’re standing.

With just one of the items on your must-have list, you can move one step closer to the perfect kitchen. What other features would you want to have?

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6 Ingenious Kitchen Projects to Make It Feel Bigger

September 23, 2015 By Casey Danton

Does your kitchen feel cramped? If you want to create the illusion of a bigger kitchen without remodeling or tearing down walls, don’t fret. There are plenty of creative hacks for organizing your small kitchen. Here are some ideas:

#1 Declutter!

It’s possible that the reason your kitchen feels small and cramped is that you’re keeping a lot of stuff in it. Cookbooks, pots and pans, vases — these can all clutter the space. Take the time to clear off the counters and workspaces. To take the next step, declutter cabinets and shelves. Get rid of dishes that you rarely use and toss pots and pans that have rusted over time. This is a good opportunity to make room for new items or just free up space in general. Don’t forget about your floor space. If there are shoes or other items that don’t belong in the kitchen, now is the time to move or remove them.

#2 Add more white.

A dark color scheme can make small spaces feel more cramped or narrow than they are. If you have the budget, think about repainting your walls white or a lighter shade. If your cabinets are white, then transition the color onto your walls. If your cabinets are a different color or retain their natural wood grain appearance, now is a good time to paint them white. It creates a seamless, open feeling in your kitchen.

#3 Install additional lighting.

The more light in a space, the brighter and more open it feels. When you combine light with white, the light is reflected and makes the walls seem further away. Just make sure to install soft lighting. If you can, make the most of natural light during the day with windows. You can replace a single-pane glass window over your sink, for example, with its more efficient, double-paned alternative. It creates just as much natural light and increases your home’s efficiency. The cost of a replacement window is about $500 depending on the size you’ll need.

#4 Remove barriers.

Your island, bar stools or hanging lamps may also be the reason your kitchen feels cramped. Islands are great for baking bread or preparing meats, but if you rarely use yours, why keep it around? The same goes for barstools — keep them aside and pull them out when needed. Replace hanging pendant lamps with recessed lamps so you can avoid hitting your head. The kitchen shouldn’t have too much going on at once, so keep it focused on the essentials: countertop, sink, stove and refrigerator. Everything else should be open floor space.

#5 Do you need all the cabinets?

Do you use all of the cabinets in your kitchen? If you have cabinets around the entirety of your kitchen, there’s a chance their color and depth will make your kitchen feel smaller. If you don’t use them all, think about removing a few. If you do use all of your cabinets, think about replacing some with open shelving or putting in glass doors. As previously mentioned, white paint is also good for making the room feel less cramped.

#6 Geometric patterns help.

Geometric patterns can make your kitchen feel bigger. Stripes, in particular, can help draw the eye and make the room feel larger or taller than it actually is. Add a runner or rug with a geometric pattern. Or, if you have the budget, replace your current flooring with geometric tiles. The cost to install a ceramic tile floor averages between $900 and $2,300 depending on the square footage of the kitchen.

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How to Organize Your Kitchen

March 23, 2015 By Alex Figliolia

Organization is key to keeping your home neat and tidy. When everything in your home has a specific place, it’s much easier to find what you need in a pinch.

One room in the home that can really benefit from a good organization system is the kitchen. Between plates, glasses, silverware, and food, getting a good system in place can help create better flow.

The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the home, why not make it better?

Lazy Susan: Incorporating a lazy Susan into your kitchen cabinets or on your countertops allows you to organize similar items neatly in one place. It also helps you find things much faster.

Hang things up: Hang pots and pans on the wall or from a ceiling organizer to free up space in your cabinets. It’ll be much easier to organize pans by size and use if you can see them! You won’t have to dig through a mess of metal every time you want to cook dinner.

Store items by use: This is an easy way to quickly organize your kitchen items. Whether it’s in your cabinets, drawers, or refrigerator, keeping like items together makes it easier to grab what you need, when you need it. For example, store everyday dishes on a lower cabinet shelf and special use items on a higher shelf. Put each type of food together – like cereals and breakfast food, snacks, pasta and grains, and baking ingredients.

Filing System: Tupperware is an item that a lot of people have trouble storing. It takes up space and putting matching tops and bottoms together sometimes seems impossible. The tops and bottoms might be disappearing to the same place as the matching socks that always seem to get lost in the dryer. Instead of storing them in cabinets, put a dish organizer in a pull out drawer and store the Tupperware tops and bottoms with no problem.

Over the Door Organizers: If you have a large pantry in your kitchen, consider an over the door organizer. You can store your most used food items in a clear organizer to eliminate search time and keep things neat.

The kitchen is the heart of the home. If you develop an easy, simple organizing system for your kitchen, it’ll pull everything together, make it easier to prep and cook meals, and set the tone for a more organized home.

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How to Organize Your Kitchen

March 23, 2015 By CENTURY 21

Organization is key to keeping your home neat and tidy. When everything in your home has a specific place, it’s much easier to find what you need in a pinch.

One room in the home that can really benefit from a good organization system is the kitchen. Between plates, glasses, silverware, and food, getting a good system in place can help create better flow.

The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the home, why not make it better?

1. Lazy Susan: Incorporating a lazy Susan into your kitchen cabinets or on your countertops allows you to organize similar items neatly in one place. It also helps you find things much faster.

2. Hang things up: Hang pots and pans on the wall or from a ceiling organizer to free up space in your cabinets. It’ll be much easier to organize pans by size and use if you can see them! You won’t have to dig through a mess of metal every time you want to cook dinner.

3. Store items by use: This is an easy way to quickly organize your kitchen items. Whether it’s in your cabinets, drawers, or refrigerator, keeping like items together makes it easier to grab what you need, when you need it. For example, store everyday dishes on a lower cabinet shelf and special use items on a higher shelf. Put each type of food together – like cereals and breakfast food, snacks, pasta and grains, and baking ingredients.

4. Filing System: Tupperware is an item that a lot of people have trouble storing. It takes up space and putting matching tops and bottoms together sometimes seems impossible. The tops and bottoms might be disappearing to the same place as the matching socks that always seem to get lost in the dryer. Instead of storing them in cabinets, put a dish organizer in a pull out drawer and store the Tupperware tops and bottoms with no problem.

5. Over the Door Organizers: If you have a large pantry in your kitchen, consider an over the door organizer. You can store your most used food items in a clear organizer to eliminate search time and keep things neat.

Kitchen Design Inspiration from CENTURY® 21 Homes

May 8, 2014 By CENTURY 21

Your family spends a lot of time in the kitchen, so it’s important that the kitchen is comfortable and functional. We chose a few incredible CENTURY21^®kitchens to inspire your decorating decisions!

This kitchen’s monochromatic color scheme, light colored paint, lack of clutter, and extra lighting makes it seem larger. Build an island with storage and maximize cupboard space to create extra space for cutlery, pots and pans, and appliances. Can you spot the fridge? The clean, streamlined look is maximized because the fridge, dishwasher, and garbage cans are all concealed by matching paneling. The island doubles as a seating area so friends and family members can gather around.

We love a white kitchen! It may seem like white and light gray would feel dreary or sterile, but this kitchen feels bright and airy. The lit up cabinets, track lighting, and large hanging lights make the kitchen seem larger. If you have bay windows, take a cue from this kitchen and make a breakfast nook that your family will love.

This kitchen has an open floor plan, making the kitchen appear to be infinite. The cooking area seamlessly transitions into a larger dining space and seating area. Add a built-in desk so that you can finalize paperwork and projects while you are waiting for your perfect soufflé to be ready. We have a feeling that if you recreate this look, your family will spend most of their time together in the kitchen!

If you take these design suggestions you’ll never say, “There’s too many cooks in the kitchen!”

If you liked this article you may also like some of our other interior design inspiration articles:

-How to Style a Bookshelf

-How to Style a Centerpiece

-How to Style a Coffee Table

-How to Style a Nightstand

-Five Simple Chalkboard Paint Projects for the Home

-Storage Matters

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Tips From The Pros: Designer’s Corner

January 14, 2014 By CENTURY 21

Our kitchen and bath design expert answers your questions.

Question: How can I connect my kitchen to the outdoors?

Answer: Try using large, undivided windows. Install one long, tall window above a kitchen sink instead of two smaller openings. Allow at least three inches of “breathing room” around a window, too. Or try including a “garden window,” a small bay window with shelves that gives a three-dimensional feel.

If your kitchen lacks a view or an outside wall, a skylight may be appropriate to flood the space with daylight.

If windows don’t fit in your budget, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables around the room add a fresh feel, as do green plants and herbs. Grow lights, mounted under wall cabinets, do double duty by providing accent lighting, too.

Question: What recent innovations in kitchen surfaces are homeowners finding useful?

Answer: Today’s kitchens are witness to a design switch: the typical homeowner spends more on countertops and less on cabinets. Lower-priced cabinets with a host of door and finish styles have given homeowners the funds to upgrade their countertops.

The options are unlimited. Laminates alone come in a number of brands and hundreds of colors, textures and patterns: modern, retro, traditional, Asian inspired, nature-inspired and even metal. Styles, colors and shapes as well as edging continue to push the boundaries of kitchen design. Although natural granite continues to remain a top choice, trend-conscious homeowners are looking for new options,including a honed or brushed surface that shows fewer smudges and fingerprints.

Engineered quartz, a new market entry, comes with a huge array of colors and textures. Appearance is also more consistent, even as the benefits keep pace with real granite.

Exotic wood countertops come in different thicknesses, shapes and sizes. The wood can run in full-length planks with a face grain, edge grain or end grain boards. Two different woods can even be combined in a checkerboard pattern.

Concrete has moved out of the driveway and into the kitchen—natural, stained or embedded with glass or other products. It’s a great, durable product that takes heat and is easy to clean.

People often forget metal makes a superior countertop, too. Stainless steel can be brushed or enhanced with other textured finishes, and copper, galvanized or even raw steel can substitute for countertops.

Glass counters are best used as serving counters or in areas of light use, but glass tiles are gaining in popularity, particularly for kitchen sinks.

Be sure to consult with a trained professional to guide you in the options best suited to your application.

Exotic woods:
• Zebrawood
• Iroko
• African Paduak
• Wenge (“wen-gay”)
• Antique Heart Pine

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