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It is natural at the end of a year to review and reflect. I personally enjoyed a particularly good year. One bit of advice I came across is to “say something uplifting to each person you speak with each day”. On good days I have remembered to do this and everyone has been nicer as a result.

Wood Wise enjoyed a great year helping clients redesign and renew their lives at home. Kathy, our talented designer, won the Waypoint Cabinetry annual Best Kitchen Award for the whole United States. She will be flown to Las Vegas to accept the award. We are appreciative for our homeowners, Morgan and Bradley Tew, for the recognition and hope they enjoy their time in their improved home.

Speaking of enjoying life at home, the temporary downturn in the stock market reminds me that if you live in the Triangle you are smart to invest in your own home – your life backdrop as well as valued real estate. The investment is sound and the enjoyment you experience after remodeling beats any uptick in the market. You truly get to experience success when your home reflects your style with new colors, cabinets and convenience features.

Best wishes for a successful new year,

Hank

We are proud to announce that Kathy Walker has done it again; she is the recipient of the nationwide Kitchen Design award issued by Waypoint Cabinets. The panel of judges based their decisions on creativity, originality, the most dramatic before and after differences, the best use of Waypoint® cabinetry, organizational pieces, glass, moldings, accents, and other architectural elements.

In this design, Kathy transformed this small, dark kitchen from the ’70s into a bright and open contemporary space. The homeowners love to entertain. Because their parties always end up in the kitchen, they requested a big modern kitchen with an island that could accommodate events. By removing walls, shifting space and adding light, Kathy designed an award-winning kitchen (and island) her clients can enjoy for many years to come.

To learn more about this prestigioius award, visit Waypoint’s awards page. If you are interested in modernizing your kitchen, contact us for a design consultation today.

When designing a kitchen, Wood Wise designer Kathy Walker makes every inch count. This photo shows the great use of space on the large island and perimeter. Clustering the appliances with the oven and microwave on the island (the refrigerator and cooktop are directly across from them just out of the photo on the right) makes preparing a meal convenient for the cook. The cabinets on the back wall provide pantry storage for food and brooms. The cubby, located near the back entrance to the house, is a convenient place for out-the-door items like backpacks, coats, and shoes. Beautiful KraftMaid cabinets deliver extra storage options for the drawers such as flatware dividers and pull-out shelves for the pantry. Careful attention to how homeowners use their kitchen helps Kathy develop the best layout.

Designing and building an addition to an existing home can be one of the most challenging remodeling projects. Melding rooflines, working around windows, making sure there is good drainage, creating good access from the existing home, and consideration of light loss are just a few of the many aspects a good designer and builder have to consider.

In this addition, the homeowners asked Wood Wise to create a new family room and screened porch off the kitchen. The rear roof line had various heights along with several windows that had to be considered in the design. Wood Wise offered several design options and worked with the homeowners to create the final plan. The end result is a beautiful space that blends well with the existing home.

Planning for convenient storage is a requirement when Wood Wise remodels a kitchen. Knowing how and what homeowners cook most often and the utensils they reach for can help our kitchen designer Kathy Walker guide them in selections and cabinet layout. Both KraftMaid and Waypoint cabinets offer lots of storage options that can help organize a kitchen easily.

This recently remodeled kitchen features many of these cool storage options. The homeowners worked with Kathy to maximize the efficiency of each cabinet and drawer. The result is a well-organized kitchen that makes every day easier for the family.

The existing staircase in this Cary home was utilitarian and plain. It provided a way to get from the first floor to the second but did not do much to inspire or add to the décor. When the homeowners came to Wood Wise for help with updating their home, it was decided the staircase needed a facelift, too.

The redesign started with replacing the old carpet with hardwood treads and risers to match the new hardwoods in the living room. Stylish black metal balusters replace the old Colonial-style wooden ones. The new handrail and newel posts are now a good-looking design in keeping with the improved updates throughout the house.

This Cary home built in the ‘90s had a kitchen that, well, looked like it was built in the ‘90s. Nice but inconvenient and unimpressive. The homeowners turned to Wood Wise for a complete update and new layout. Our designer Kathy Walker went to work. Relocating the existing powder room from next to the dining room to a more private area provides room for a long wall of cabinets and uninterrupted counter space. The curved-top peninsula looks elegant and is perfect for entertaining. Darker gray base cabinets are paired with light gray wall cabinets for a fresh “now” look. Leathered granite countertops are durable and look great. The new kitchen is convenient, filled with lots of cool storage features, and has improved the lives of the homeowners.

It’s hard to believe the drastic improvement of this Raleigh kitchen! Wood Wise was called in to transform the heart of this 1959 contemporary home. By opening up to the family room and creating a large pass-through to the dining room, much needed light now floods the kitchen. Plus now the homeowner can see who is coming and going in the driveway. The old cabinets were original to this 1959 contemporary home. The new KraftMaid cabinets with lots of cool storage options have almost magically improved the daily lives of these homeowners.  The large island is perfect for entertaining. In fact, the whole kitchen is pretty much perfect.