Hot trends in kitchen remodeling (BPT) – Year after year, the most popular home improvement project for American families remains the same: remodeling the kitchen. Today, kitchen makeovers are more ambitious than ever, with homeowners willing to spend larger budgets to upgrade both the aesthetics and the functionality of what is, after all, the most used room in the house. “Many architects, designers and homeowners are specifying hardwood as an essential part of any kitchen refresh,” notes Linda Jovanovich, of the American Hardwood Information Center. “That’s because wood not only offers a wide variety of looks and design possibilities, it also exemplifies the kind of material today’s
environmentally conscious consumer wants: One that’s renewable, sustainable, plentiful, durable and easy to work with - all of which makes it an excellent return on investment.” Replacing tired old kitchen cabinets with stylish new ones is a favorite starting point, but there are several strategies to help maximize their impact. “I like to specify one type of wood for an entire kitchen - cabinetry, furniture, millwork and flooring - but use different stains and finishes on each element,” says New York designer Laura Bohn. “That creates visual interest without losing a sense of overall unity.” In one all-walnut kitchen project, for instance, Bohn painted the Shaker-style cabinets
a putty tone for a serene background. But she stained the wide-plank floor a darker shade than the granite-top island so that the latter stands out like a beautiful piece of furniture.
floorboards were lightly white-washed and given a protective coating to create the look of bare wood, the base cabinets, supplied by Plain & Fancy Custom Cabinetry, received a slightly darker cerused finish just different enough to distinguish them from the rest of the woodwork. The oak wall cabinets were painted white to match the kitchen’s shiplap ceiling. “It’s peaceful rather than exciting,” said the homeowner. “And that’s exactly what we wanted.” If you’re after a livelier effect, you might conIn a similar vein, sider another emerging a recently completed trend: mixing up wood 1920’s Bungalow house species and cabinet-door renovation had quarstyles. Wellborn Cabiter-sawn white oak used nets demonstrated this throughout for floors, strategy at a recent interior doors and kitchen kitchen and bath show where their Rustic Global cabinets. While the
Spice Kitchen incorporated not only two types of hardwood - oak and maple - but also three door styles each with its own stain. “To make this look succeed, you or your designer will need to find common stylistic threads running through the various elements - underlying kinships of shape, color, texture and proportion that will pull the disparate parts together into a unified whole,” advises San Antonio-based designer Melissa Morgan. “It’s takes a certain amount of confidence, but the results can be spectacular.” Visit www.hardwoodinfo.com for more about kitchen remodeling and other applications and products using American hardwoods.
Spring cleaning for spring allergies: 6 steps from the experts gens. You may want to take allergy medication beforehand and if your allergy is severe, consider wearing an N95 filter mask while dusting or scrubbing.
carpet, because it can cause dust mite eggs to hatch. If you are using diluted bleach and water solution for spot treatments or to kill mold, make sure someone other than the allergy sufferer does the cleaning because bleach can trigger asthma.
hot temperature, place items in the dryer for at least 15 minutes at 130 degrees or above. For children with allergies, do the same with their stuffed animals.
ments and tiled spaces are prone to mold, so spring is a good time to deep clean. A bleach cleaner works well to eliminate mold or make your own by mixing borax and water. Next, Step 1: Dust Step 5: Replace air help prevent mold from thoroughly filters developing through Dust all surfaces in moisture control. Always At the start of every your home with a damp season change the air fil- run bathroom fans when Step 3: Clean rag or microfiber cloth ter in your furnace. This bathing or showering, window treatments helps the HVAC system clean up any standing made for cleaning. Avoid using any kind of duster Window treatments run efficiently while also water immediately and that simply kicks dust like curtains and valances filtering out air particles use a dehumidifier if into the air. Additionally, can be a magnet for dust -including allergens - to needed to keep humidity clean vents and return and pollen yet are often keep your home’s air as below 60%. registers to limit dust ignored when it comes “Spring cleaning is clean as possible. Conrecirculating and finish to cleaning. This spring, sider setting an alarm for a great step in allergy make sure to follow the every three months as a control,” says Meadows. (BPT) – As days grow allergy symptoms,” says by wet mopping tile and other hard flooring. manufacturer’s recom“However, if you continreminder and use filters longer and new blooms Dr. J. Allen Meadows, Don’t neglect the area mendations and wash ue to suffer from allergy with a MERV rating of appear, it can only mean allergist and president or dry clean window or asthma symptoms, see 11 or 12. This is also a one thing: Spring is here of the American College under the beds, which can get dusty and should treatments. Remember, a board-certified allergist good time to clean the of Allergy, Asthma and and with it comes the be cleaned often. Elimopening windows allows drip pans in appliances to help you control your Immunology. “When task of spring cleaning. pollen and other allerinating dust helps your symptoms and live the like the refrigerator. you spring clean to reFor people with allerhome shine and also regens into your home, so life you want. You can gies, spring cleaning move allergens, you can Step 6. Control during peak allergy seamoves some of the most find an allergist near you does more than spruce breathe easier plus enjoy notorious indoor allergy son keep them closed, humidity at acaai.org/locate-an-alup a home. When done a sparkling home.” triggers. and whenever possible, lergist.” Bathrooms, basecorrectly, it removes dust, Meadows and the use air conditioning in mold, dander and other experts at ACAAI recomStep 2: Clean your car and home. allergy triggers so you mend these steps when carpets can feel your best. cleaning for allergies. Step 4: Wash Start by moving all “There are specifBefore you begin, keep bedding furniture off the carpet. in mind that when you ic things you can do Then vacuum well with a Wash sheets, pillowclean you come in conwhile cleaning that can cyclonic vacuum, which cases and blankets in dramatically improve tact with many allerspins dust and dirt away water that is at least 130 from the floor, or a vac- degrees F. This temStripping & Refinishing uum with a HEPA (high perature kills dust mites efficiency particulate air) and effectively removes CHAIR CANING • CHAIR RE-GLUING filter. Meadows does allergens. If bedding MINOR REPAIRS • FURNITURE REFINISHING not advise shampooing can’t be washed at this
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