Neal's Home Remodeling and Design Blog

Original Post 12/18/2012 Updated 8/23/2016

The concept of the kitchen island evolved out of a need for a central working counter. In the earliest days of the formal kitchen space, a table fulfilled this role, and over the centuries this basic idea has shaped our concept of what a functional, working kitchen might look like. Today’s kitchen islands are designed to handle a variety of functions, including food prep,  informal dining, entertaining, as a station for cleanup after meals, or even a place for the kids to do their homework. If you’re planning to remodel your kitchen, there are many options for designing an island that meets your needs.

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Whether you're planning for aging in place, or you just want your home to be more accessible, universal design concepts can be applied throughout your home. To get the most out of a universal design mindset in you home, not only should you look at major considerations in the kitchen and bath, but also pay attention to the ways in which those ideas can be applied to all areas of your home. Here are 4 Universal Design features that can make any room in your home “user friendly” for a lifetime.

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Original Blog Post 10/09/2012 Updated 7/18/2016

If you are planning to remodel a kitchen, you will need a floor plan design. The design should address the basic functions of a kitchen including food prep, cooking, storage, appliance use and clean up. Other areas to consider in your kitchen plan may include space for informal dining, a beverage center, a message center, or a walk-in pantry. As long as people have been using kitchens, fitting these various areas in has been the key challenge. While there are many variations, most kitchen floor plans fall into one of 4 time-tested designs.

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Sometimes a kitchen can look like it is working just fine, but under the surface there are issues that the homeowner can easily detail for you. This was one such project. Under-utilized spaces, inefficient details, and dark cabinetry with no personality were just a few of the issues.

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