Neal's Home Remodeling and Design Blog

Updated 6/20/17 | Originally published 6/27/14

Summer is upon us. It’s time to shake off “cabin fever” and enjoy spending time outside in the warmer temperatures and sun. Of course, during the summer months, our idea of a great meal is one that we cook outdoors. New appliances and concepts for outdoor kitchens are changing the way we cook in our backyards. The standard grill for hotdogs and burgers is now morphing into a the ultimate outdoor gourmet experience. If you’ve thought about spending more time grilling and dining “alfresco,” we have four design ideas for creating an awesome outdoor kitchen.

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Pendant lighting is often used as the jewelry of a room. Since these types of lights come in a huge variety of styles, sizes, colors, and more, it's easy to use them as doses of personality in a room. This is especially useful in a kitchen, where cabinetry and counters tend to create a neutral foundation. Despite the wide variety of options available, pendant lights, like most items in design, do go through mild trends. Keep reading to find out the trends we've noticed in recent years.

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Sometimes a project comes along that we just can't pass up. In the case of this home remodel in Western Hills, the house in question had been built by Neal's back in the 80's. As our modern lives have changed, so too has the way the house needed to function, and so we were given the rare opportunity to improve our own past work to bring new function and beauty to the house for a new era.

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As kitchen design professionals, we like to pause each year to assess the recent trends in the Cincinnati area kitchens we created, and take note of those that look to have some staying power into the next several months. This year, we see a continuation of many of the design trends we've been seeing, as well as a few new Cincinnati kitchen design trends that reflect the modern sensibilities of today's homeowners. We've selected the top five we expect to continue seeing this year.

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