A fun mixture of materials sets this kitchen apart. White Shaker-style KraftMaid cabinets are a clean and simple backdrop for the white granite countertops and subway tile backsplash. The hood, made of reclaimed wood, combines with the metal pendants to add an industrial look. The result is smooth and sophisticated.
This new outdoor living space is the place to be. The homeowners, who love to entertain around their pool, now have a beautiful screened porch and inviting wide deck to enjoy and share with family and friends. The steps across the entire length of the deck make for easy access and provide additional informal seating for swimmers.
Creating a great outdoor living space can have a big impact on how you enjoy your home. How great it will be depends largely on thoughtful planning. Along with many other things, careful design considers privacy and accenting the best views. Sometimes it means minimizing or screening a less desirable view.
Here are some examples of screening for privacy or blocking views:
A beautiful new sunroom has replaced a rarely used deck in this North Raleigh home. This room for all seasons features a gas fireplace faced with stone and large windows to enjoy the view. The use of natural elements extends to the ceiling with stained wood beadboard and tile flooring. There’s plenty of light even on rainy days with both recessed lights and the fanlight. A mini-split heating and cooling system keep the room comfortable throughout the year.
Raleigh is experiencing growth as never before. It’s a seller’s market and listings move fast. House hunters are finding that the once passed over split-level is now a way to get into desirable neighborhoods. Mostly built in the 1970s, split-levels feature desirable square footage with a slightly lower price tag as compared to other styles. The downside: they often come with outdated looks and a choppy floor plan.
That’s where we come in. Homeowners are turning to Wood Wise to bring their split-levels up to 2021 esthetics and style of living. The most often request is to open up the kitchen to the living/dining/family rooms. Take a look at this split-level that has been transformed by taking out walls between the living and dining rooms. Although the kitchen is relatively small, it now lives large.
WW designer Kathy Walker has designed hundreds of kitchens in her 14 years at Wood Wise. She is the cabinet specialist and resident expert for our two cabinet lines: Waypoint and KraftMaid. For each kitchen design, she creates drawings showing the layout of cabinets, drawers, and islands/peninsulas. These drawings show the views from various angles so homeowners can see different perspectives. Wood Wise clients enjoy Kathy’s expertise and guidance through the all-important cabinet decisions of door styles, finishes, storage options, and optimal placement for convenience and looks. Here are the drawings for an actual Wood Wise kitchen:
“More light!” is a request we continue to hear from homeowners remodeling their kitchens. Hank and Kathy have several tools they use in their designs to provide better lighting:
Every kitchen poses different challenges to good lighting. Wood Wise brings the skill and experience to maximize the lighting potential of each space.
Remodeling, especially kitchen remodeling, is a lot of work. That reality became real for me this spring. Setting up a temporary kitchen required moving the refrigerator and microwave along with setting up shelving, prep table and kitchen essentials away from dust and work areas. Plus, cleaning out every drawer and cabinet kept me up late and moving furniture was physically tiring.
My role at Wood Wise, helping all our clients with showroom selections, took away the uncertainty about how to do it, but the “big decision” mental drama in making so many key selections felt stressful. Now that my kitchen is functional again, I am happy with my decisions and truly like my kitchen’s new look and performance. Big effort and big payoff. Every meal, even putting groceries away, is more enjoyable than it has ever been.
My thinking as I was planning this project was to update several spaces while the house was a work zone and subcontractors were involved. I remodeled the master bathroom, gutting out the dated tile shower and tub. This was really disruptive. New windows, shingles, paint and carpet! New doors out to the deck and yard!!
My optimism for a quick project faded as various supply chain delays and busy tradesmen added days to the original schedule.
More than ever I appreciate that Ben, our project manager at Wood Wise, is such an expert at handling so many details. I have greater compassion for our disrupted clients than ever before.
Now that life is close to normal, I realize how the challenges and inconveniences were part of the cost of getting my own home to be a good fit for me. My new windows, doors, interior colors and beautiful front door cheer me up daily. My new shower is awesome. I love my kitchen. It really was worth it to endure the months of undoing to get to enjoy my home like never before.
Remodeling contractors have it better now than new home builders since interior remodeling requires less of scarce, expensive lumber. However, shortages of essential materials and busy subcontractors have reduced our schedulling efficiency. For years, we had it easy and took it all for granted. Isn’t that how it is?
Despite the new challenges and cost increases, Triangle area property values are likely to continue increasing with FUJIFILM and APPLE bringing more high-paying jobs. Your house is worth more than it was two years ago. Remodeling your home is a great investment, likely to make your life better right away.
My top ten list for less materials-intensive home improvements that focus on “finishes”, lighting and landscaping:
Liking your home is a huge influence in how much you like your life. Happy homeowning.
Sometimes you just know it when you find your “forever” home. This family of five knew they had found theirs: a nice house that has the wonderful combination of a desirable location and a big child-friendly yard. The house was well-built but needed modifications to work better with their lifestyle. Wood Wise helped the homeowners with changes that improve all areas of their lives.
At the heart of this first floor renovation, the kitchen has been enlarged and given a new more convenient layout. New KraftMaid cabinets, tile backsplash, and granite countertops are beautiful and easy upkeep. The dining room bump-out creates more room for both family and guest gatherings to be comfortable. The large windows provide lots of natural light and a great view to the beautiful backyard.
