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Happy Thanksgiving

from your friends at Wood Wise

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

~

Henry David Thoreau

Fireplaces can make a room memorable. When Wood Wise designed their new master suite, these homeowners were delighted to find out a corner of the room was the perfect place for a fireplace. Gas logs with a remote make using it quick and easy. After completing the remodel and enjoying the results, this is what the homeowner said to us in a recent letter: “On grey days, it’s lovely to come home to a fire in the gas fireplace. It’s so cheerful with no clean up!”

One of the great benefits of going with Wood Wise for your kitchen or bathroom remodel is having WW designer Kathy help you. First she comes up with several beautiful options for the room design for you to consider and works with you to land on a final design. Next she accompanies you to each supply house to help you make good selections. An example of the guidance she can provide from her years of experience is choosing tile for backsplashes and showers. With so many to choose from, Kathy helps by guiding you to choices within your budget, availability of the product, and, of course, great style. Once the tile and accents are chosen, Kathy can offer wonderful ways to make the tile show well. Here are some examples from past projects:

    

Wood Wise homeowners depend on designer Kathy to come up with kitchen designs that will improve their lives. One of the tools she uses is to cluster the oven and refrigerator. Doing this clears up continuous countertop space in other areas for better food prep. One question that is often asked is whether the heat from the oven will be an issue for the refrigerator. Today’s ovens are better insulated and don’t transfer the heat like older models did. Refrigerators and ovens work well side by side. Here is an example from a North Raleigh homeowner:

Wood Wise designs and builds lots of showers for bathrooms. Some of the more popular items our designer Kathy Walker often includes are:

 

• Shower rain heads: Most of us have experienced a shower rain head in a classy hotel. Adding it to a home shower can give a spa-look. Also, the shower experience is more relaxing with a rain head since the water flows onto your head and down. The larger head (8” x 8” as opposed to 2” regular head) provides greater coverage without changing standing position for an overall better shower experience. A handheld shower head is usually added for directional spraying and cleaning the shower.
• Curbless shower entries: If a bathroom is large enough, a curbless shower entry makes sense, especially for aging in place. The shower pan is slightly recessed into the floor to make the gradual slope for good drainage. Homeowners find that walk-in showers (without a shower door) make for easy upkeep.
• Shower benches and niches: Shower benches can be as simple as a small seat in the corner or a longer bench covered with granite. A well-designed shower will include niches set into the tile for toiletries for an organized look.

This Wood Wise design/built master bathroom has all these desired features:

            

Hank is almost to the finish line with his kitchen remodel. The beautiful backsplash has been installed and the electricians are installing the stainless steel hood. Decorative lights go up next, and floors will be refinished next week. Getting close!

 

It takes a lot of craftsmen working together to remodel a kitchen. For his own kitchen remodel, Hank has coordinated this group of artisans.  They include such skilled workers as Fred who carefully installed the cabinets and the Carolina Custom Kitchen & Bath crew that installed the granite countertops with precision. Hank and Beth are enjoying seeing each piece come together. They are getting closer to preparing a meal in this beautiful kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cabinet makers are offering more details to give cabinets the look of fine furniture. From the kitchen to the bathroom, optional details such as decorative legs and feet, fluting, valance toe kicks, and beadboard can add a sophisticated look. Here are three examples from recent Wood Wise projects where designer Kathy Walker helped the homeowners choose KraftMaid details to enhance the look of their cabinets:

                     

Having remodeled hundreds of kitchens for others, Hank is now in the midst of remodeling his own kitchen. He is experiencing being the “homeowner” as well as the contractor and is journaling his experiences. His first thoughts are written in our latest newsletter:

 

Fall 2015 newsletter

 

Updates will be added to the blog for you to follow along. Here is Hank’s next journal entry:

“Remodeling the kitchen and living room is in week 2. My original schedule was rather optimistic, not accounting for carpenter doctor visits or rain. Both new windows were installed and some basic dust protection was set up.

Over the weekend Beth and I removed the contents of the kitchen cabinets. I bought brand new boxes from Morningstar Storage on Glenwood Avenue, 5 medium for pots, pans and big bowls and 5 small boxes for the heavy stuff. All 10 boxes were full in two hours with less than 50% of those worn out cabinets emptied out. I made an after-hours run for more boxes at Walmart. Another fifteen boxes and more tape was less than $45. Storing all the dishes, food, cleaning supplies, Tupperware and oddball stuff required twenty-five new boxes plus a dozen small, sturdy boxes from the ABC Store.  My advice is to use smaller boxes since the big ones get too heavy to lift.

These old cabinets have been OK since we moved into this house in 2001. The drawers are cheap plywood with rinky-dink slides so the wider drawers get out of whack easily. I had new oak doors put on the old cabinet boxes but have lived without roll-out trays or any convenience features. Prior to moving in we also added new pantry cabinets with matching oak doors, which I will reuse on our screen porch just off the kitchen. All the old cabinets are weary and ready to rest in the C&D (construction and debris) landfill.”

 

 

Check back for more of Hank’s kitchen remodeling experience!

“A fresh new look that’s warm and inviting!” was the request of these homeowners when they asked Wood Wise to design and remodel their Raleigh kitchen. Our designer Kathy Walker arranged the kitchen and walked with the homeowners through the selection process. They chose KraftMaid maple cabinets with lots of great storage and matching range hood. Their granite is a show-stopper with the unique color and swirls. The backsplash compliments the rich tones of the wood. This kitchen meets all the homeowners’ goals: a fresh new look that’s warm and inviting.