As a mother, I can tell you, most of my time is spent in the kitchen — especially on weekends and holidays. When we built our home I had one rule for the kitchen — I get the final say on EVERYTHING. Our kitchen was not cheap, but there are ways to remodel a kitchen with a tight budget, especially if you’re handy enough to be able to do some of the work yourself.

Photo Credit: iLoveButter

So, let’s break this down, one step at a time, and I’ll show you how you can transform a 10’x 10’ kitchen with $5,000 and come out with something beautiful, functional, and easy to spend time in.

Step 1: Make a To-Scale Drawing

Whenever I plan to remodel any room, I get out a sheet of graph paper and a pencil and make a to-scale drawing. In this drawing I will outline a square 10 blocks long by 10 blocks wide. Immediately I know that the flooring we look for will need to be 10’x10,’ or 100 square feet.

Photo Credit: BetterthanEveryone

Step 2: Measurements and a Shopping List (more…)

Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report for 2008-2009 shows that kitchen remodeling is still a smart investment for both midrange and upscale projects. Even in these current economic times, investing in kitchen remodeling is still likely to give you a 70-80% return on your investment when you sell your home — and think of the pleasure you and your family will get, right now, from a kitchen upgrade. That’s worth a lot in the quality-of-life zone.

Your dream kitchen is likely to include new or upgraded cabinetry. Imagine the instant visual impact of beautiful cabinets. And all that great storage space! It’s amazing how much well-designed kitchen cabinets can hold, for both convenient access and eye-catching displays.

CalFinder can connect you with kitchen remodeling experts who include kitchen cabinet installation in their services. These examples of a few CalFinder experts and their projects will give you ideas for creating your own dream kitchen.

Photo credit: G.S. Youlden

G.S. Youlden definitely know how to execute a dream kitchen. Look at these classic white cabinets topped with granite counters and sleek sink fixtures. The warm tones in the countertops complement the wood floors, while the glass-paned wall cabinetry will show off beautiful kitchen accessories and make it really clear what’s where. Youlden is based in Massachusetts.

Photo credit: Samuel Sinnott & Company

Samuel Sinnott & Company has been in business since 1983, and founder Samuel Sinnott is both a licensed architect and contractor. You will truly get conceptual design services and value engineering from this company, as this kitchen with high ceilings and flawless cabinetry shows. (more…)

The future: a landscape lined with plug-in cars, bullet trains, and a menagerie of preserved landscape and visible urban renewal. These are the hopes of a growing number of future-conscious citizens, striving to stem the tide of fossil fuel power, urban heat islands, and unsustainable building practices. At the same time, we enjoy our luxury and convenience – ever more important factors in the future of increasingly busy families.

The undisputed epicenter of modern homes, now and in the future, is the kitchen. The technological and digital age in which we now flourish has spawned a revolution of luxurious, efficient, and utterly convenient technology; a movement just now getting off its feet. With modern technology advancing so fast it is nigh impossible to imagine the true scope of the ultimate futuristic kitchen. You can bet it will be intelligent and automatic, energetic yet efficient, sleek and supremely modern.

Fortunately for we denizens of design and creatures of comfort, there are plenty of futuristic products already in existence, with many others conceived and baking in the oven. Detailed below are many of the fixtures and amenities that will come to characterize the kitchen of the future.

Ovens

Ovens of the future will be smarter and more energy efficient. Already products, such as TMIO’s Intelligent Oven, are out that can be remote controlled from a cell phone, PDA, or the Internet. The Intelligent Oven also has an LCD control screen with graphics and NASA-based controls, as well as formaldehyde-free ceramic insulation. The Inspiro from Electrolux actually scans the food and uses its database of professional cooking techniques to calculate the best and most efficient way to cook your food. It is like having a personal chef inside your oven.

Digital Refrigerators (more…)