#Wellborncabinet Archives | Wellborn Cabinet Blog

Ways to Make Your Bathroom Look Bigger Through Cabinets and Storage

The bathroom is many people’s comfort zones. Evidently, it will not be called comfort rooms if it is not. Many prefer this part of the home to be as spacious as possible, but, the reality is, most often than not, this room compensates to the lack thereof.

Fret not! You don’t really need to knock down some walls to expand the room. One of the most common techniques—and the most functional one too: proper cabinet and storage placement.

Here are some tips for your mind to think your bathroom is bigger than what it really is:

Choose/Paint the cabinet doors monochromatic with the lightest shade possible.

Following the theme of your bathroom, choose cabinets that goes and blends in mono-chromatically. If it’s possible, go with the lightest shade possible. The color white (or light colors) reflects light, be it natural light from the sun or supplied by lighting fixtures. If the light touch cabinet surfaces, it will bounce back, making the room seem brighter, hence bigger and more spacious. If you want to trick your mind into thinking that your bathroom is actually bigger, install white tiles, paint your walls and your ceilings white.

If you have wooden cabinetry, opt for using lighter woods as opposed to dark colored woods. A light colored wood will allow for more light to reflect off of surfaces and will not make the room look more cramped than it already is.

2014 Palmetto Bluff Idea House. Upstairs Girls bathroom overall2014 Palmetto Bluff Idea House. Upstairs girls room2014 Palmetto Bluff Idea House. Upstairs girls bathroom — Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. featured in the 2014 Southern Living Idea House

Stay with the same tone and color.

If white is not your thing, you can choose any color to paint your bathroom. But, keep in mind that the lighter it is the better it would be for the illusion of a much spacious room. Try to keep the decor in one shade. According to experts, painting everything with a unifying color will make those unusual shapes disappear, and the space will visually expand. “It cuts down on the number of transitions and planes intersecting, therefore creating a cleaner, more expansive upper space in the room,” they advise.

Keep in mind, though, that even monochromatic dark shades will make your bathroom look smaller, so going as light as possible is the best way to go.

Place cabinets strategically.

Think of the spaces in your bathroom that you don’t usually go to—say for example, above the doorway. Typically, the space above a doorway is vacant. Especially, if you have higher ceilings than the minimum clearance you can install decorative storage shelves to house bath tub salts, scrubs etc. You can also use the shelf for storing extra toilet paper and cleaners to free up valuable storage area below the sink

Maximize vertical space.

KBIS17_LAN_MEL_MPL_BM486_1_300L — Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. – Elegant Bath Collection

Consider having cabinetry built to extend up to the ceiling. Adding color at a vertical height will cause the eye to go up and therefore enlarge the bathroom space and feel. It is also a wise use of the space above head, which will not make you feel cramped inside the bathroom.

Consider open storage cabinets.

Open storage shelves trick the mind that it is not occupying as much space as possible, because the eyes see what’s beneath it. At the same time, it allows owners to use it as a display rack, as well as to keep the necessities in a decorative manner. But, keep in mind that if you decide on open storage for your bathroom, you should be mindful of clutter and adding too many items on the shelves.

Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. featured in the 2016 Southern Living Idea House

SOURCES:

About the Author:

James Coleman – Senior Director of Relations and Business Development of Luxury Commercial Bath

James Coleman is the Senior Director of Relations and Business Development of Luxury Commercial Bath, and the President of DIRECT Show Flooring. Luxury Commercial Bath has been proven a leader in the Hospitality Bathroom Remodeling Industry and aims to provide the best services for bathroom remodeling in the hospitality industry (director which involves hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.).

A New Generation Kitchen Remodel

No room is quite as multi-functional as the kitchen. After all, one’s kitchen should truly reflect the style of the homeowners. Tis true for the homeowners living in their beautifully designed 1968 home. Built by the homeowner’s parents, this gem of a property has been passed on and remained in the family for many years.

Many things have changed since 1968, movie tickets no longer average $1.50 and wall-to-wall wood paneling may not win the most contemporary award in today’s kitchen and home design. Although much can be said about this beautifully built home, the homeowner wanted to update the design of her parents’ generation.

The homeowners dreamed of revamping their outdated kitchen, which had not been touched since the original build. The homeowners mother, now in her 90’s, still lives in the home and was reluctant to renovate the home in which she loves so dearly.

With a cleaner, more contemporary look on the design table, Tukasa Creations went to work. With the original kitchen lacking in available cabinet space, a redesign of the kitchen’s footprint was much needed.

First things first, the kitchen was completely gutted, including the wall separating the kitchen and living room. By removing this wall, the crew could open the space and maximize its full potential. With the homeowner’s desire to add more cabinet and counter-top space for meal prep, cooking and baking; the cabinetry was extended along the base wall to form an L-shape to the adjacent wall of the kitchen.

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To stick with the clean and simple design, white on white cabinetry and countertops were added. The beautiful Glacier White cabinetry from Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. offered in the Wellborn Select series played a crucial role in achieving the homeowner’s dreams of modern meets functional and spacious.

The homeowners also selected a few accessories to achieve the functionality desired. A Lazy Susan was included in the corner cabinet along with several pullout shelves, including the overflow pantry to the left of the refrigerator.

Lazy Susan built into the corner cabinet

The white Dovedale countertops by Cambria and wood look porcelain flooring from Marazzi USA were added to the space. Lastly, a much-needed pop of color was added with the mosaic backsplash; along with the orange and green paint colors for the walls to complete the look.

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With the kitchen renovation now complete, you may find yourself wondering about the homeowner’s original designer – the homeowners mother. After cautiously agreeing to the renovation, a new appreciation has been formed between the mother and the redesigned space. She loves the change in scenery and well-thought out re-design of the kitchen foot print. Now, each morning, two generations of homeowners sit at the added bar top and enjoy their morning coffee surrounded by decades of memories.

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About Tukasa Creations

tukasa

The kitchen was remodeled by Tukasa Creations. They are a flooring, kitchen and bath remodeling store located in Corpus Christi, Texas. To learn more about Tukasa Creations, visit http://www.tukasacreations.com/

Blog written by Ashley Robinson – Public Relations Specialist Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.

Aspire Cabinetry

There are three styles of kitchens: Contemporary, Traditional and Transitional. The choice of the style depends on the home owner’s budget and needs. Purchasing cabinetry is a big investment that will remain in the home for years. There are two main options when purchasing cabinetry: framed or frameless. For years, Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. only offered one of those options, but now the time has come to broaden our options in order to better fit our customers’ needs.

At KBIS 2016, Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. announced that we will be launching our new frameless line, Aspire Cabinetry, in 2017. Aspire will be a full access frameless cabinet brand that will help bring the contemporary, sleek look in the home. Frameless not only provides a modern look, but it can still provide a traditional style without having to add the extra frame on the cabinetry.

Framed vs. Frameless:

Framed cabinetry provides a more traditional and transitional style. For years, framed has always been the most popular style of cabinetry in the United States because of its endless options and durability. The trends have begun to shift and frameless cabinetry is now an option that most homeowners are considering. Wellborn offers endless options of framed cabinetry between our lines, Estate Collection, Premier Series, Select Series, Home Concepts and Elegant Bath Collection.

According to the name, frameless cabinetry is constructed without a face frame. Frameless cabinetry provides more storage and accessibility in a cabinet because it does not have a center stile coming down in the middle of the two cabinet doors. Also, drawers in frameless tend to have more storage space due to the lack of a face frame.

“Our new Aspire Full Access Frameless line is set to launch in 2017. With this addition to the many brands Wellborn offers, including, Wellborn Select and Premier Series, Estate, Closets and Elegant Bath Furniture line.” Angela O’Neill, Director of Marketing added, “Aspire adds the finishing touch to our product offering.”

Construction of Framed:

The standard face frame for the Wellborn doors are ¾” x 1 ¾” Kiln-dried solid wood stile and rail members. The center stiles are ¾” x 3 ½” solid wood. On all corner base and corner wall cabinets, the center stiles are ¾” x 6 ½” solid wood. 48” corner base has a 9 ½” center stile. All face frame joints are precisely aligned with blind mortise and tenon, glued and stapled at all joints.

Construction of Frameless:

Frameless cabinetry is constructed without the face frame located at the front of the cabinet. The logical reasoning behind this idea was to provide more room for accessibility and storage. The cabinet construction is ¾” thick thermofused melamine end panels, shelves, tops and cabinet bottoms. All the doors have a fully concealed Euro cup hinges with a six-way adjustability. The doors include a self-closing soft close feature, for that ever so quiet close. Wellborn Cabinet’s brand will offer two drawer options: a 5/8 solid wood dovetail drawer with natural finish and a double sided metal drawer with powder coated steel in silver color.

Frameless Pros:

Storage– Frameless cabinetry provides room for more storage due to the absence of the face frame.

Contemporary look-the European style cabinetry gives the home a more modern appeal

Quick Construction– The frameless cabinets provide a quicker construction and installation.

We have exciting plans for this brand, and we cannot wait to see where this takes us in the future. As we travel on this journey, we invite you to follow along as we introduce the Aspire Cabinetry line. We envision an incredible outcome for our company!

To learn more about other kitchen styles: check out our “What’s Your Kitchen Style?” blog!

3 Ways to Get More Reviews for Your Remodeling Business

Successful Business owners know that their next customer will often come as a referral from an existing customer. With an excellent product and customer service, it is easy for this source of new business to grow and thrive.

Today over 87% of US adults are internet users and two things have changed.

Reviews of businesses are increasingly being posted online
People are researching businesses referred to them online

The problem is that it is inevitable that despite a business owners’ best efforts there may be a few customers who are not 100% satisfied. If the search results for a business show negative reviews you may lose prospective referrals.

3 ways to ensure a great online reputation and get more reviews

Build a robust web presence which is more than just your website. When a potential customer searches for you across any channel, they can find you. We recommend along with your website you ensure you have a social media presence, claim you business in local directories and niche networks like Houzz, Yelp, etc.
Have a plan in place to monitor your reviews and mentions of your business and respond quickly. Even if you have a negative review, people seeing the business respond will have a positive feeling towards the business.
Ask for reviews from all customers, the more reviews you get the higher chances that your positive reviews will outweigh your negative reviews.

Use GeoJuice to get more reviews from your customers.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgbZtS0JEjE]

Give your contact details to the Surefire Social team and get a free evaluation of your web presence and a free eBook Online Reviews for the Home Improvement Pro.

Shades of Gray

The year 2015 has struck the market with the color trend gray. The “new neutral” can be seen anywhere from hairstyles on women under the age of 65, to the interior of homes. Many designers prefer to use bolder colors in homes; therefore, they can blend in the gray to help tone down the brightness of the different colors. Gray is a good color to incorporate with statement colors in the living room or kitchen because it acts as a neutralizer. Gray has been found in all types of homes: modern, traditional, contemporary, eclectic and rustic and has become a prominent trend in the kitchen and bath industry. Wellborn offers two gray paint colors with optional glazes to enhance the cabinetry.

Dove

A light gray paint topped with a low sheen

Dove Bronze

A light gray paint with a Bronze glaze topped with a low sheen.

Dove Slate

A light gray paint with a gray Slate glaze topped with a low sheen

Willow

A mid-tone gray paint topped with a low sheen

Willow Bronze

A mid-tone gray paint with a Bronze glaze topped with a low sheen

Willow Slate

A mid-tone gray paint with a gray Slate glaze topped with a low sheen

Gray is considered the color of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. It is perceived as long-lasting, classic, and often as sleek or refined. Gray is controlled and inconspicuous. Considered to be a color of compromise, perhaps because it sits between the extremes of black and white. Gray is a perfect neutral, which is why designers often use it as a background color or on cabinetry. Do you think gray is here to stay? If so, which of the colors above would you choose?

It's Fall Y'all!

Fall, Fire place, family, kitchen, home, leaves, s’mores, cabinetry

The crisp air is swarming in, the leaves are changing colors, and days are getting shorter. Football is the first thing we think of on a Saturday morning, and the smell of pumpkin enriches our morning coffee. Fall is here!

The time is near and dear that we bring the family back into the kitchen for some tricky Halloween treats or festive Thanksgiving meals. Keep the warm fall feel, throughout the year, by combining the muted colors of fall into your kitchen through cabinetry. Take a look at some of the fall inspired colors we offer here at Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.

Apple Crisp

The red, cherry wood brings out the color of the leaves as they ever so gracefully fall off the trees and lay peacefully on the cool, damp ground. The island is finished off with a caramel java stain with a glaze. The maple wood with a sage mocha finish seems to fill the air with the smell of maple syrup drizzling out from the trees.

Coffee Bliss

The espresso finish warms the room and complements the smell of coffee on an early weekday morning. The lower lighting produces an amber glow that stirs in the pumpkin colors that are screaming for excitement as family and friends gather around the island ready for pumpkin carving and painting.

S’mores Galore

As the night comes to a close, gather around the fireplace while the rich sable finish on the cabinetry sets the mood for a warm evening full of marshmallow roasting, s’mores making and festive movie watching family time. Fall is bringing the family back into the home where it all started.

Help us in welcoming fall by following our Pinterest board, “Happy Fall Y’all” for an invitation to pin to it!

Pet Lovers: Create a Unique Space or Your Four-Legged Friends

Keep you pets in mind next time you make a home improvement, and give them the space they deserve!

Are four-legged friends part of your family? Most of the time they are treated as if they are, so don’t they deserve a space to call their own? People make decisions on building and remodeling all of the time; however, most often the four-legged family members are not included in the plans. What if you could create a design that included pet friendly features that are not only beautiful but functional as well? Cabinetry is a wonderful way to provide pet friendly function to any room. There are three categories to keep in mind when integrating your pet into the design of your next home improvement. Pets, like humans, need a place to be bathed, to sleep, and to eat. These are three spaces that can easily be incorporated into rooms of your home while disguising their purpose.

Bathing

Whether your dog is large or small, having a space to keep them clean is a necessity for year round grooming. Also, by giving them their own space, you are no longer having to fork up your sink or bathtub. One perfect place to include a pet grooming area is the laundry room. This is a room that is often hidden to guests and lacks carpet, which makes it the ideal place for bathing animals.

Sleeping

It’s pretty common that pets have their own bed, but is it just lying out in the living room floor? Why not incorporate an area for their bed to stay out of the way and in a pleasing aesthetic? A living/entertainment space or the kitchen is perfect for getting dogs and cats out of the way and in their own cozy corner!

Feeding

Our four-legged friends have to eat just like humans! Create them an area for their food and water bowls to stay where they are out of the way of daily commotion. Feeding stations are perfect for the kitchen, laundry room, and other rooms of the home.

Cabinetry is a wonderful way to provide storage for all rooms and all needs, including pets, while making a room look spectacular. Although including animals in the plan can sometimes take a little customization, with Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.’s You Draw It Program, nearly anything is possible! No matter the size or personality of your fur baby, you are sure to find just what makes them happy!

Do your pets a favor and keep them in mind when building your home or doing your next remodel. For more ideas on how you can include your pet in the design of your home, go to www.wellborn.com.

Cool off your pet this summer with these fun ideas!

Check out Pinterest for some wonderful recipes on making “pup-sicles” that your dog will love!
Invest in a baby pool, or build one yourself for lazy poolside days with your pup!
Be sure your furry friend has plenty of shade to relax on those long hot summer days!
Install a doggy door! This way they can came and go as they please!

Ashley Robinson, Public Relations and Social Media Specialist

arobinson@wellborn.com

Which Is Your Style? Inset Or Overlay?

Although you may have determined what your design style is, do you know what makes up that style? Is it a paint or stain? Is it defined by a little or a lot of detail? Is it inset into the face frame or does it overlay the face frame? Today, let’s talk about that last factor, inset or overlay.

The two type of overlay styles are traditional overlay and full overlay. Traditional overlay sits on top of the face frame exposing part of the face frame while the full overlay sits on top of the face frame and covers it completely.

Inset, however, sits inside the face frame. Inset often adds more detail to cabinetry because it can be beaded or non-beaded. If the inset cabinet is beaded, it contains a small gap that is cut into the face frame lining the cabinet door that adds detail to cabinetry (see photo below). The other element of detail that can come along with inset is the option of a barrel hinge or concealed hinge. Inset is seen as a classic look that will last for generations.

HAR_MPL_INS_B_PBLJAV_72L — Harbour Door Style shown in Inset (beaded)

Harbour Door Style shown in Full Overlay

Rose Hall Square Door Style shown in Traditional Overlay

Rose Hall Square Door Style shown in Inset non-beaded

Wellington Door Style shown in Full Overlay

Wellington Door Style show in Inset — Wellington Door Style shown in Inset (beaded)

Hutch: Wellington Door Style shown in Inset beaded, barrel hinge

From the options above, do you prefer Inset, Traditonal Overlay, or Full Overlay? Do one of the style standout to you among the rest?

For more information on choosing your cabinet frames, check out this information from Better Homes & Gardens! http://ow.ly/LbbEW

Ashley Robinson, Public Relations and Social Media Specialist

arobinson@wellborn.com

Designs and Styles of Kitchen Range Hoods

Designs & Styles of Kitchen Range Hoods

Designing a kitchen can be fun and overwhelming at the same time. It’s exciting to customize your kitchen to your own desires and needs, but it can also make your head spin to think about all of the options available to you. The following post tries to break down the designs and styles of kitchen range hoods to help you make your kitchen decorating decisions.

Mounting Styles

Range hoods are classified by how they are mounted in the kitchen. Range hoods fall into one of the following styles:

Wall Mount Range Hoods: These are mounted on the wall in the kitchen, right above the cooking surface. Ducted wall mount range hoods ventilate air to the outside of the home through ductwork. It’s common for a telescopic chimney to hide this ductwork.

Under Cabinet Range Hoods: These are also mounted on a wall in the kitchen and above the cooking surface. These are small units that fit directly beneath a kitchen cabinet. They take up less space than a wall mounted range hood, and they may ventilate air using ductwork that runs through the ceiling or the wall of the home.

Island Range Hoods: Island range hoods are mounted from the ceiling above a cooking surface on a kitchen island. These also include a telescopic decorative chimney to hide the ductwork. It’s common for island range hoods to become the main focal point of a kitchen design because of their position in the room.

Insert Liner Range Hoods: An insert liner range hood is a small model that is often covered up with a decorative range hood exterior. Insert liner range hoods can be hidden from view because of their size and the fact that the controls are on the bottom of the unit. These models usually come with lighting, just like other range hood models. Also, they may fit where an under cabinet range hood model would not.

Design Styles

In addition to mounting styles, range hoods differ stylistically. There is a range hood design out there for any kitchen type.

Copper Range Hoods: Copper range hoods add personality and warmth to a kitchen. The strapping and rivets create a rustic feel. These also fit in well in Tuscan kitchen designs.

Stainless steel: Most of the range hoods in the photos in this blog post have been stainless steel range hoods. Stainless steel is a great material for kitchen range hoods because it’s durable and it contributes to clean design.

Exterior range hoods: The possibilities are endless when it comes to custom range hood exteriors. You can purchase or create an exterior to cover an under cabinet range hood or an insert liner range hood. (See the example of an insert liner range hood above.)

Tempered Glass Canopy: Tempered glass adds another dimension to the kitchen design, and it looks great on both wall mounted range hoods and island range hoods. This can make a big splash on an island range hood, which can become the focal point of the kitchen design.

Range hoods remove heat, grease, smoke and smells from the kitchen during cooking. As the above examples show, the range hood can accomplish this job in style. Choose a range hood model that matches your personal style and your overall kitchen design scheme.

Author Bio

Range Hoods Inc is the largest online distributor of kitchen range hoods, and we house an impressive inventory in Southern California. Most of our range hood ship for free. You can learn more about us on our blog here and on our Facebook, Twitter or Google +.

Open Shelving- Is It For You?

The idea of designing spaces using open shelving has its pros and cons. For some people, it is so aesthetically pleasing to a room that the cons are not a big deal. Let’s take a minute to discuss the pros and cons and determine if open shelving is right for you. Below are a list of the positives and negatives of open shelving in a kitchen.

Pros

Allows storing items as well as displaying them at the same time
Makes a room look and feel more open (especially if the room is small and/or the cabinets are dark)
Convenience of finding and getting to items
Cheaper than wall cabinets
Personality is present on every shelf

Cons

Dust can be an issue if the items on the shelves are not used daily
Visual clutter (some people don’t like the look of items displayed for everyone to see)
Organization needs to be somewhat kept up (This may be a good thing because it forces you to stay organized!)

Below are kitchens that range from a lot of open shelving to minimal open shelving. What’s your style?

As you can see, open shelving can be as heavy or light as you like. It adds a sense of personalization and character to the kitchen. What are your thoughts on open shelving? Do the pros outweigh the cons? Maybe open shelving would be a better fit for another room in your home. Whatever your thoughts, it is definitely something to consider.

Ashley Robinson, Public Relations and Social Media Specialist

arobinson@wellborn.com