Neal's Home Remodeling and Design Blog

Historic home kitchens, even those that were previously remodeled, are typically not made for entertaining and often don't provide much space for the avid home cook to spread out. Usually an afterthought, tucked into a corner and cut off from the main living space, kitchens in older homes can pose unique challenges for remodeling. First, the available space must be evaluated and the structural needs accounted for, then the new kitchen's style must be determined in terms of how or if it will match the home's existing architecture. In a densely populated area like Prospect Hill-OTR, Cincinnati, a home remodel also brings logistical challenges. This kitchen project was no exception, but the planning and effort paid off, resulting in a stunning transformation. 

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This is an excerpt from our Homeowner's Guide to Outdoor Living. You can read the full outdoor living guide here.

If you do a lot of summer entertaining at home or just enjoy cooking family meals on the grill, an outdoor kitchen is likely high on your wishlist. Outside kitchens can be quite similar to their interior counterparts with the variety and practicality of modern outdoor appliances available to homeowners. To start deciding what you’d like in yours, you’ll need a specific list of the type of kitchen and entertaining activities you would like to be able to do outside. Think about how you like to work in a kitchen. How much food prep space do you need? Would you want your kitchen to include seating for family and friends and for conversation when you work? How would you prefer to manage clean up? How much storage will you need outdoors or would you prefer to do all the prep work indoors and use the grill area strictly for cooking?

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The features and design ideas that have been trending in our Cincinnati area remodels include a wide range of elements that can be adapted for many types of home projects, budgets, and styles. While trends can turn some homeowners off as too risky, certain trends occur as a progression of our collective concept of what makes a good design in the kitchen, bathroom, or other rooms of the home. Trends with lasting power, those we see over the course of years, ultimately are the design styles that will be remembered the most, will be those expected by home buyers, and will have more of a chance of becoming a classic design element that lasts for decades. Here are seven current trends we're keeping an eye on this year.

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