We are thrilled to be sharing our home design and renovation tips with you each week. It is our intent to provide you with as many valuable tips as possible to help you better prepare for your next big home design and remodeling project. Think of us as your partners each step of the way!
Last week, we have shared some valuable kitchen tips which you can check out with this link. Here are some more tips to consider when remodeling your kitchen:
Elizabeth Mitchel
Partner at Finesse Design Remodeling
Another common complaint that we hear from our homeowner clients when we are planning for a new kitchen renovation is that their existing kitchen does not have adequate storage or countertop space. There are a number of things that a designer will take into account when designing the new kitchen to take care of this concern.
One of the first things that we do is start by calculating a number of cubic inches you have in your existing kitchen so we can make sure that the new kitchen has more actual storage space than you currently have. On top of that, when we go through a new kitchen layout, your designer should sit down with you and go over each cabinet in the new design and what is going to go in each cabinet to make sure that that cabinet functions appropriately for the items that you plan on storing inside that space.
Finally, an item for countertop storage is to make sure you have appropriate landing areas on either side of every major point in the kitchen. There are certain formulas that kitchen designers use that are general guidelines and rules of thumb to make sure that your kitchen sink isn’t too close to the range or that your refrigerator has space nearby where you can set down a tray when you’re opening your door and getting things in and out.
Brian Bielski
Partner at Finesse Design Remodeling
One of the biggest complaints we get from people that are looking to remodel their kitchen is when they cook steak or fish, they are not getting the fumes or smell out of the house. The reason for this is that they don’t have a properly sized hood. And since a lot of our clients are buying these larger format ranges, they require a lot more air to be pulled out of the space.
If the hood is below 400 CFM, you don’t have to have what they call makeup air. But most of these larger ranges require hoods that are over 400 CFM- that’s cubic feet of air per minute. When you go over 400 CFM, you have to have makeup air.
Makeup air has a control wire to a motorized damper and when that hood is turned on, fresh air is drawn into the ductwork from the outside to make up for the air that is being pulled from the inside of the house. Your hood will not draw toxic fumes from your fireplace, windows, bathrooms or other ventilation sewers in the house.
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