Category Archive : Home Kitchen

A birthday cake without icing is like an actor without makeup. The essential ingredients are there, but it’s a lousy photo shoot. In the same way, wooden kitchen cabinets have a lot to offer on their own. They are elegant, versatile and down to earth.

However, to reach its full potential, wood kitchen cabinets need a little something extra to finish them off. In addition to enhancing its appearance, a clear finish coat protects natural wood from grease and dirt while preserving the appearance of unfinished wood.

There are a number of options available to maximize the visual impact of your wood kitchen cabinets:

No stain, no gain
Somehow applying stain to kitchen cabinets offers the best of both worlds. Infuses wood with color while allowing the natural beauty of the wood grain to shine through. But it can also be complicated. Many companies use different names for comparable colors, so one person’s “chocolate” may be another’s “brown.”

For best results, focus on the desired shade rather than strictly on the color of the stain. Once you’ve selected your wood, choose a light, medium, or dark shade, whichever best suits the look you’re trying to achieve with your kitchen cabinets.

Keep in mind that once the staining is complete, you’ll still need a finish coat over the top for protection, usually in the form of varnish for shine and durability.

glazing
Glazes are a versatile option for kitchen cabinets, as they can work on their own or be applied over a base paint or stain. Plus, they can be dyed any color to fit in with the overall theme.

As they settle into the edges, corners and open grain of cabinet doors, glazes bring out fine details and create an overall shine for that “frosted” effect you’ve been looking for.

Painting the Town (or at least the kitchen)
Perhaps more than any other finish, paint has the power to transform your kitchen cabinets and, in the process, the entire atmosphere of your kitchen. Generally speaking, cabinet paint colors are classified as warm, with a gold or yellow underlying color, or cool shades based on blues and grays.

To ensure a consistent look for your home, make sure all coordinating tones in both the kitchen and the rest of the house are in the same color category, whether it’s warm or cool. When color matching the cabinet, play cool with dark and warm cabinets to complement lighter woods.

Special effects
Just as special effects in a movie can be the difference between a bore and a blockbuster, they can do the same for your kitchen cabinets.

Looking for that haunted look? Try a crackle finish with cracks in the paint or dents and nicks in the wood for an aged look.

Want to mix things up a bit? You can top off light paint with dark or vice versa and achieve a splatter effect.

For something different that looks much better than it sounds, choose a wormhole finish where tiny holes in the wood simulate the work of boring worms or grubs.

And just because they’re “special” doesn’t mean they have to be elaborate. Simple touches like rounded corners and edges on your kitchen cabinets make them perfect for a vintage theme without the vintage price tag.

These are just some of the options for your kitchen furniture. Whether you incorporate one of them or try them all, you really can’t go wrong.

Because in the race for the perfect kitchen cabinets, it’s not how you start that counts. It’s how you end.

Hello and thanks for reading my article.

Here are my top ten favorite kitchen tools that I think every cook should have!

1. A cake tester: When I cook, I always have a cake tester and use it almost as much as I use my knife. You can use a cake tester to tell if a steak or piece of fish is medium or well done, or you can use it to tell if something is hot inside, like a meatball or crab cake. I explain exactly how this is done on my website.

2. Tongs: Cooking without a pair of thongs and a towel in hand is to me like being on a battlefield without a gun. The obvious use of flip flops is great, you can’t grill without flip flops! With a strong pair of tongs, you can slide the baking sheets closer to you so you don’t stick your arms in the oven. You can reach into the oven for something that has been dropped, and one of my favorite things about tongs is that you can gently drop a piece of chicken into the frying oil without splashing yourself with hot oil.

3. Knives – My chef’s knife is by far the knife I use the most. I always say don’t buy a complete set of knives, but invest in a good chef’s knife that will last you. You can use the top edge to crack open lobsters or crabs, you can use the flat side to mash garlic or scoop up what you’ve minced, and unless you’re going to fillet fish or slice meat, a bread knife and paring knife would do the trick. you need. There is no need to spend a lot of money on a bread knife, in fact my favorite bread knife that I only ever use (dexter-russell) is a $20 knife. It’s toothy, it’s sharp, it has a good grip and it’s solid, what more could you ask for? A paring knife will cost no more than $10, whichever you are more likely to pay for a name or get ripped off.

4. Peeler – My favorite peeler and the only one I use is a Kuhn Rikon. They are made of plastic and cost $2, I usually pick up 2 or 3 of them. They are cheap to make but are sharp and do their job well. Peelers work great not only for peeling, but also for shaving very fine things, like Parmesan cheese, chocolate, carrots, or cucumbers.

5. Microplane: A microplane can grate hard cheese, chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon, and even grate citrus fruits for all sorts of uses. The microplane creates a beautiful grated parmigianno regianno on top of a caesar salad, pasta or risotto. Citrus zest is also very presentable for a nice topping for cheesecake or angel food cake. One of the other benefits of a microplane is that it grates much finer than a regular grater, it can also be used to grate garlic, ginger, wasabi or onions.

6. Fish Spatula – A fish spatula is a spatula specially designed to allow you to get under the skin of the fish and allow excess oil to drain through the slots in the spatula. You can use this design to your advantage in a variety of ways. Use it to be able to pick up a piece of cheesecake or cake and put it underneath so as not to damage the visible part. You can also use it for something like a chocolate cake where you can drip chocolate and the grooves will keep it from slipping.

7. Rubber Spatula: Even though it’s called a spatula, I never use it to pick up or flip anything. However, I use it for pretty much everything else on the planet. Perfectly folding egg whites so they don’t go flat, mixing mashed potatoes, working with chocolate, making eggs, cooking in a nonstick skillet, risotto, scraping the bowl to make sure you get every last bit out of the bowl. The best thing is that they clean in 2 seconds!

8. Japanese Mandolin – A dangerous but extremely useful tool. This is what all the pros use to create a perfect brunoise or little cubes every time. The blade is very sharp and can shave or cut things finely. Makes beautiful grated parmesan, you can grate garlic, carrot, ginger, cucumber, etc. for a nice presentation.

9. Food Mill – A food mill is a tool designed to make purees, like mashed potatoes, but it can be used for other things as well. You turn the handle which forces produce (potatoes, carrots, beets, etc.) into holes of different sizes. This is how restaurants get super smooth mashed potatoes every time. I also love using it to make ground black pepper, for steak, or mignonette for oysters.

10. Spice Grinder: A small spice grinder is something I can’t live without when cooking. When you roast and grind spices, it really brings out the flavor and is very simple to do. Simply take your spice mix, be it cumin, cinnamon, or sesame seeds, and place them in a dry skillet over medium high heat. Stir continuously to prevent burning, which will create a bitter taste. The spice will finish roasting when it is golden and/or the smell is more vibrant. Then put in the spice grinder and grind until fine. You can also use a spice grinder to grind spices with salt and use the spiced salts to season fried foods when they’re fresh out of the fryer (sesame salt, black pepper salt, cumin salt, the list goes on and on).

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) had forecast a 2.6% increase in kitchen installations in Australia during 2012/13. However, there was a significant increase in kitchen installations during 2012/2013 resulting in a much larger increase of 11.7%. In addition, the HIA forecast for kitchen installations in 2013/2014 is for an increase of 2.8% (a total of 166,500 kitchen installations). Following previous trends, this new forecast will likely be surpassed. One thing that probably won’t change, however, is the role kitchen showrooms play in helping homeowners make informed decisions during kitchen installation.

Kitchen showrooms offer a realistic sample of what your kitchen remodel will look like. You can literally see every accessory and appliance the way it will look in the final product. You have the opportunity to see numerous designs and also talk to kitchen design experts.

However, for your kitchen showroom tour to be truly successful, you must have a checklist of critical aspects to evaluate, which will help you make a decision about your kitchen installation. This checklist will help you find the perfect balance between your personal preferences, design functionality and new design innovations.

1. Must-Have Features: There will be absolutely no point in having a glamorous and sophisticated kitchen design; however, maneuvering around them during food preparation is a huge challenge. To avoid this, you must have a clear understanding of all the critical features.

How far do you want the counter to be from the stove? How high do you want the cabinets to be? How many sinks do you need?… Whenever you evaluate kitchen showrooms, these are the first aspects to take into account. If they are not present, no matter how beautiful the design is, it just won’t look good on you. However, some designs can be modified to include minor changes.

2. Spacing: The issue of spaciousness and proper organization within the kitchen has a great impact on safety. This would prevent potential disasters such as home fires, especially as a 2012 report from the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service indicates that many home fires related to the use of stoves and heaters occur during the winter months. In fact, during 2012, fires related to kitchen mishaps accounted for approximately 80% of all winter fires.

When considering the aspect of the space, you should also think about the dining experience. Will the space be enough for the number of people expected to dine there? Will the facilities accommodate a comfortable dining experience? Remember that even in seemingly small spaces, there are some space-saving options that can be adopted. These include: stool designs that fit comfortably under the kitchen island or folding stool designs.

Storage is another aspect that will have an impact on the available space. The amount of storage you need will depend on the number of items you want to store. Would I need ceiling-high cabinets or just lower shelves? Also remember that too many unnecessary cabinets will reduce the available space that is necessary for ample lighting and good ventilation.

3. What Can You Do Without: Initially, you made a checklist of accessories that you just can’t do without. On the other hand, you also need a checklist of accessories that you’re willing to replace with something better or just go without. This will allow you to embrace new innovations in kitchen appliances and accessories. For example, you can get rid of an old refrigerator and install a new, more efficient model.

A children’s toy is everything a child would want to play, imagine and dream a place of their own where they rule what happens next while they play. When I see a toy in a child’s hand, what I see is a smile on his face. A smile that is not seen on the face of an adult most of the time of our lives. The enjoyment and joy that toys bring to a child’s life are very valuable. Whether the child lives in a rural or urban area, he will always find some kind of children’s toys next to her. He or she will keep the toy by his or her side as we adults keep a job for ourselves, toys are important in a child’s life or maybe even more important than a job because children’s toys bring a lot of happiness to children. the children. When I look at a child playing, I see that he is very busy and free from any kind of worries.

What are toys in a child’s world?

A toy is a completely different world for a child. It is the way in which they display creativity, their senses and their environment, their strength, their place in the world and, above all, everything related to their lives. It could be a Barbie or a toy car for a child.

Benefits of children’s toys

Toys are crucial for children for other reasons as well. Children exercise or exercise their body muscles by playing with toys. The toys help children develop their coordination and balance skills. They practice these skills when they play with a variety of children’s toys, indoor or outdoor toys. All these required skills are easily developed during the process of playing with children’s toys.

Toys provide the opportunity for children to generate and apply their imagination. Children develop self-confidence in the process of playing with toys. As children learn new things from toys, they also gradually develop a sense of power in them. When an adult pays attention to them while a child plays, they feel great and gain self-confidence. A concept of self in a child grows stronger. While playing games like building sand castles, help the children make new friends.

Playing with children’s toys in a group of children helps children discover how other children react. Children play with toys, use energy and discover new emotions that they have never felt before. Toys are necessary for a child’s life.

When planning a kitchen remodeling project, the first step is to call a remodeling company, right? Maybe not. Before you start talking to professionals, do some research to be in a good position to make informed decisions with your remodeling professional.

find out what you want

Research the different options for flooring, cabinets, countertops, and appliances. This will help you find out what you like and what you don’t like. Be sure to check out the remodeling information and remodeling how-to sections of our website, where you can learn many valuable tips, trends, and ideas for remodeling your kitchen.

Consider resale value

If there’s a chance you’ll sell your home in the future, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth from a kitchen renovation. Buyers love remodeled kitchens, but they may not like “trends,” so if you plan to sell, choose trendy items carefully. Try to make choices that will appeal to the widest range of seekers, and you may save most of your investment in high-end appliances that you can take with you.

Plan for your retirement

If you don’t think you’ll be selling your house any time soon, make sure your kitchen remodel reflects YOU. Get the cabinets, flooring, and lighting you love. If you love skylights, make sure your remodeled kitchen gets plenty of light. Whether you like bright colors, white cabinets, or dark wood, your kitchen should reflect your style, the way you cook, and your family’s use of the room. Think ahead, too, and make sure the kitchen has room for mobility-assistive tools, easy-grip knobs and handles, or perhaps height-adjustable countertop areas to keep everyone comfortable working.

Review Funding and Budget

Your kitchen remodel can fit into almost any budget, so start exploring what money you’ll use. Should you draw from your savings, sell stocks, refinance your mortgage, or use a home equity line of credit? Each has advantages and disadvantages. Do some planning on your own, but because every remodel is different, talk to a professional remodeler and your financial advisor for the best advice.

Find a professional kitchen remodeler

Ask your friends and neighbors who they worked with on their kitchen remodel. Look at company websites, check their Better Business Bureau ratings, and read Angie’s List reviews. Create a list of questions to help you feel more comfortable with the company. If they make you a hard sell, put pressure on you, or make you feel uncomfortable, they are not the right contractor for you. Also check your warranty. The best company will exceed the industry standard to keep you happy…and will be the first company you call when it’s time to work on your bathroom renovation!

Designing your restaurant kitchen is vital because this is where production begins and ends. In fact, restaurant painting and decorating should start where you cook: in the kitchen. Kitchen design includes a lot of other stages of decoration, including paint color choice, layout decision and selection of kitchen appliances. Effective kitchen design results in greater efficiency of the kitchen staff, which translates into higher productivity and better quality.

Consider an overall design or theme. Kitchen design typically follows a basic pattern, which is then made extraordinary with detail and style. Communicate specific requirements with your painting contractors so the result is exactly what you want and need for your restaurant. Work out the details from a basic design – the very foundation for how you decorate your restaurant kitchen. The basic layout also dominates the other aspects or areas of your establishment, including the dining room, counter section, and restrooms.

When it comes to an overall design or theme, you actually have a long list of options. One of the common choice themes is white, which makes the restaurant look tidy and spacious. If you want to evoke classic country appeal, opt for browns and greens, or pair white with blue. Professional decorators can offer you suggestions on the best way to decorate your kitchen. If you want a really impressive kitchen, bet on the colorful shades of red, yellow, orange or pink. For themes, you might want a Tuscan cuisine, a traditional Irish restaurant, or a retro theme.

Painting and decorating the kitchen should be done with safety in mind. Some paints are quickly damaged when exposed to fire, heat, oil and water, which are common elements in the cooking area. Not all surfaces are best coated with paint; some are best covered with granite tiles or marble tiles, which are easier to clean and resist damage from food spills. Some sections of the walls need a backsplash to keep the walls dry and attractive regardless of kitchen activities. However, color match your mosaics, decorations, furniture, equipment, and paint for a unified look.

Kitchen safety is enhanced by proper lighting and proper design. Space and lighting are maximized or enhanced by your choice of paint color. Dark colors can make your kitchen small and cramped, while bright colors make it spacious and well-lit. Plus, color helps create an ambience for your restaurant that encourages appetite. Red, orange and yellow have been found to make an area cheerful and pleasant for cooking and dining. Painting and decorating your restaurant kitchen should be well thought out to make the area as efficient and attractive as you want it to be.

If you’re looking to buy a stainless steel kitchen sink, there are some boring but very important considerations to look into. Regardless of whether you’re looking for a drop-in sink (one that drops into your work surface) or an undermount sink (or under the counter sink), you want to make sure your time and money are well spent.

In this article, you’ll find out (quickly) what to look for when it comes to steel thickness (measured in gauge). The more you discover the more about the composition of steel. This is usually measured by the chromium and nickel content, the key ‘ingredients’ that make your stainless steel kitchen sink stainless.

Kitchen sinks and gauge (steel thickness)

There are many reasons to buy stainless steel sinks instead of granite or ceramic. First is cost because you can get a lot of value for just a couple of hundred dollars with a well-built kitchen sink. And second, they are less likely to chip and crack with everyday use.

Sinks are typically made from 18/10 steel (that’s the ratio of chrome to nickel) and come in a variety of thicknesses. While many retailers talk about the thickness of steel, it’s actually a measure of weight per square foot.

Now you have something to make the sales rep look bad!

For ease, we’ll talk in terms of thickness!

Steel thickness is measured in gauge with lower numbers indicating thicker. Thicker sink construction materials mean your sink is less likely to warp, bend and dent with everyday use.

Most quality kitchen sinks are made from 16-gauge stainless steel, some come in 18-gauge, and cheaper alternatives are 20- or 22-gauge steel.

For most of us, the number is pretty useless until you consider that 16 gauge steel is about 20% thicker than 18 gauge steel. For a solidly built sink, 16 gauge is a sign of quality.

What finish are you looking for?

The most popular and common stainless steel sink finish is satin brushed. Alternatives include polished, silk and linen finishes. As the names suggest, brushed steel has been brushed (or abraded) with fine grit sandpaper.

Satin finishes are finished with finer cloths, loaded with an abrasive paste with the final finish depending on how abrasive the paste is. The polished finish is the finest of the three (brushed, satin and polished).

It’s important to remember that regardless of the finish you choose, deep scratches can be difficult to remove. While you should always care for your sink and protect it, it’s important to accept that it will get scratched and figure out what finish will look best for you.

Many people choose a sink based on design over finish, remembering that over time there will be a buildup of micro-scratches from daily wear and tear that will change the look of your sink but can also add character to your kitchen.

Final purchase decisions

Ultimately, the final decision comes down to finding a quality kitchen sink from a leading manufacturer that looks good and fits in your kitchen.

However, it’s always good to know that your money was well spent and that the sink you invest in can outlast your kitchen with careful selection of thickness, finish and of course a little care. Most quality brands come with a limited warranty so you can be sure your sink will last!

Characteristic
* 575 watt electric motor
* 10 different mixing speeds
* 67 point planetary mixing action
* 6-quart stainless steel bowl, dough hook, flat beater and wire whisk included
* 1 year KitchenAid warranty

advantage
The most notable thing about the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer is how solid and sturdy this mixer is. This mixer is built to be used regularly and to last.

However, the Professional 600 Series mixer is not only durable, it’s also quite attractive. It has a streamlined design that ensures this mixer will complement your kitchen décor. If you like to proudly display your kitchen appliances or plan to use them regularly and don’t want to worry about rearranging your kitchen according to what you need for each recipe, you’ll be amazed at how this model looks on your kitchen counter. upper part.

The KitchenAid KP26M1 Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer comes with three of the most useful everyday mixing attachments. Since some stand mixers only come with a wire whisk, it’s nice to find a stand mixer that equips you with three essential attachments right out of the box.

drawbacks
We had a hard time finding issues with the KitchenAid KP26M1 mixer and in the end we could only list 2 things that we would consider to be drawbacks, and they are minor at that.

First, we’d like to see a few more accessories included with this model, since it’s labeled Professional Series. The 3 mixing pieces it comes with are nice, but considering the wide range of accessories KitchenAid has produced, we’re surprised others haven’t been included.

Second, if you have limited counter space, this model may be a bit too big. With dimensions of 13.3″ x 17.3″ x 19.4″, this mixer can take up more space in your kitchen than you feel comfortable with. Of course, if you have limited space, you can store the blender in a cabinet when you’re not using it.

Our Verdict on the KitchenAid KP26M1 Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer
You can’t argue with success, and KitchenAid churns out hit after hit, including the Professional 600 Series Stand Mixer. As one of the most successful home stand mixers on the market today, as well as being powerful, durable and attractive, we have to give this model very high marks. Take your cooking to the professional level with the KitchenAid KP26M1 6-Quart Stand Mixer.

Customer Reviews
Another fantastic KitchenAid product that received rave reviews, this particular model received comments such as “a must-have item,” “a baker’s dream,” and even “a durable workhorse.” With reviews like these, you are sure to love the KitchenAid KP26M1 Stand Mixer.

Custom cabinets are a mark of distinction in a home and give you the most direct way to get what you want. Remodeling provides an opportunity to make creative use of storage space and improve the livability of interior areas. Kitchens are often the rooms that reap the most benefit from remodeling, providing time-saving conveniences and improving access to frequently used storage space.

As the most popular room in homes today, the kitchen is often the favorite gathering place for family and friends. Providing a comfortable space that allows everyone to rest or socialize, as well as a chef-friendly workspace, a kitchen cabinet makeover is the perfect place to start a transformative project.

Focus on needed improvements

Real estate agents confirm that kitchen remodels provide the best return on investment. To get the result you want to achieve, focus on what is wrong with your current kitchen setup. If you’re like most homeowners, these are typical complaints:

Put cabinets within reach

The average height of American women is well under five and a half feet, but reaching the top shelf of most cabinets is next to impossible, except for those who are at least a foot taller. With seemingly no regard for accessibility, contractors install cabinets that are too tall and too deep. You can improve accessibility and increase storage space by using custom cabinets that are designed just the way you like them.

Most falls in homes are related to ladders, and stools commonly used in kitchens are flimsier and less sturdy than full-size ladders. The hassle of finding a stool in order to place items on the top shelf of a cabinet is made worse by the likelihood of a fall.

Use of creative concepts for storage

Pots and pans are used for almost every meal and are usually stored on shelves in low cabinets. To reach them, you have to crouch until you are almost face down or crouch uncomfortably and reach as far as possible. Having a pulled muscle or losing your balance are unfortunate outcomes that you can avoid with proper storage space planning. Custom cabinets that use pull-out shelves put pots within easy reach, and a large pull-out drawer is also a better alternative.

Trust expert cabinetmakers

Making the kitchen a pleasant place to work or relax is one of the most important goals of kitchen cabinetmakers. By taking note of the areas of your kitchen that give you less access to storage or cause inconvenience, you can achieve great results in a remodel that makes kitchen activities more enjoyable. Using custom cabinets that meet your requirements allows you to enjoy the best features of workflow design based on innovative storage concepts.

The counters are scratched, the cabinets are rickety, the sink leaks, and the once shiny floors are now shabby at best. This, simply put, is the kitchen’s worst nightmare, and the harsh reality for far too many people! If your kitchen is in need of a makeover, you know how time-consuming, inconvenient and expensive this project can be. However, by making smart choices that stand the test of time, you’ll ensure your space stays pristine for decades to come. To help you design a room that will stand the test of time, let’s take a look at the five hallmarks of all quality kitchens.

1. An undated design

When it comes to your kitchen design, it’s easy to fall into the trap of prioritizing elegance over functionality. But while the triangle island and sleek pull-out dining table may be stylish, how happy will you be when the corners of your island get in your way and the surface is just too small? Or when you spend an extra 15 minutes setting up your table before each group meal? Sooner or later, your frustration will outweigh your satisfaction and you’ll wish you’d opted for a more practical design in the first place. So don’t underestimate the value of a simple, open design with wide aisles and spacious, easily accessible surfaces. It works wonders in all quality kitchens!

2. Fantastic flats

There’s something to be said for shiny hardwood floors, but fast-forward a few years: how will you feel when the shine is gone, they’re covered in watermarks, and the boards creak underfoot? To save yourself a great deal of time, labor, and money in the future, it’s wise to opt for a lower maintenance option like tile or engineered wood. These surfaces are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also have the added benefit of being non-slip and waterproof. Two birds, one shot.

3. Carefully considered cabinets

Your inclination may be to opt for traditional cabinets, equipped with door fronts. However, although this design has dominated the scene for years, many quality modern kitchens are trying something new: more drawers. These full-extension storage wonders not only look beautiful, but are also highly practical, allowing you to take stock of your contents at a glance and maximize space. What could not be loved?

4. Sound sinks

You may not have given your sink much thought, but contrary to popular belief, it’s an essential kitchen feature that’s easy to get wrong. For example, while materials like porcelain may look elegant, they stain and chip easily, resulting in extra cleaning time and maintenance work on your part. As a general rule, your sink should not only look impressive, but it should also be streamlined. Stainless steel strikes an ideal balance between these two criteria, as do matte finishes, cast iron, and undermount sinks.

5. Convenient countertops

For passionate cooks, this decision is a deciding factor and should be carefully considered. Again, you may be tempted to go for a surface material of classic beauty like wood, but by now you’ve probably realized that just thinking about how it will look is a big no-no. From water stains to mold and scratches, you’re setting yourself up for a maintenance nightmare, so consider practical alternatives. Some of the top candidates for quality kitchens are quartz and countertops, known for their versatility and durability. But neolith, a sintered stone from Spain, is without a doubt the cream of the crop, thanks to its water, heat and scratch resistant properties. Oh, and it looks pretty fabulous too!

A remodel can be daunting and expensive, but considering the big picture and
making practical decisions is sure to save you a lot of time, frustration, and money in the long run. By opting for a timeless design, chances are your space will look like new ten years from now – the defining characteristic of all quality kitchens!