How To Improve Your Home’s Look And Value With Your Cabinets And Countertops
Topics: hitch covers, trailer hitch covers, lighted hitch covers
This article is dedicated to giving little tidbits of information about how to improve your biggest investment – your home! We’ll look at how you add value to your house without breaking the bank and point you to valuable resources that will give you the really solid ‘how to’ information about updating and remodeling your home.
The first place you want to look if you’re going to improve the value of your home is your kitchens and bathrooms. These areas of the home are said to be the place where you get the most bang for your home improvement buck. I’d like to help you understand not just how to improve your kitchens and bathrooms, but how to do it yourself without overspending.
The first thing you have to talk about when it comes to improving the look and value of your kitchen is the counter tops. I know the stock answer – GRANITE. Is granite the best way to add value to your kitchen and home? The answer has to be a big maybe. Granite may or may not build the value additional value into your home. It really depends on your neighborhood and the style trends in the area you live.
Why are people so in love with granite? Partly because it just feels expensive and high quality. Standard formica or particle board laminate counter tops can feel and look cheap if they’re not done well. Granite can give the entire kitchen an air of class and ‘expensiveness’ (yes I know that’s not a word). My recommendation before you go out and spend $5,000 t $10,000 on granite counter tops is to look at your neighbors’ kitchens. If they all have granite, you may want to consider making the investment. If they don’t have granite, it might not be worth the cost from an investment perspective.
More on your counter tops. You’ll want to consider the less expensive alternatives, such as solid surface (or Corian) and formica.
Corian is basically a synthetic imitation of granite, and it can be a very attractive, low cost option for those of you who’d rather spend $3,000 than $6,000 for very similar-looking kitchen surfaces. Although you can tell the difference between granite and Corian, the only thing you’re really losing out on is the snob factor. A nice Corian in attractive colors will impress your guests every bit as much as the granite. Except it costs about half as much. Not a bad deal right?
The last type of countertop worth mentioning is formica. Trust me, not all formica is created equal. Just because formica is the least expensive option doesn’t mean it needs to be the ugliest. A lot of people don’t seem to realize that though. I have seen some pretty horrible colors and patterns chosen by otherwise intelligent people.
Here’s the best formica advice I can give: choose a pattern and colors that closely approximate granite. Normally, when products try to imitate their more-expensive versions they fall very short. Formica in granite patterns and colors breaks that stereotype. In my last home we had a black speckled formica for our kitchen surfaces, and most of the people thought it was granite until we pointed out to them that it wasn’t.
Another piece of formica advice: choose the ‘bull-nose’ finish for the edges. Bull-nose means the edges of the counters are rounded so there aren’t any obvious seams in the formica. This finish was the biggest factor how our counter tops were able to fool people visiting our kitchen. The bull-nose finish will be a little more expensive. It’s definitely worth it.
One of the most unfortunate choices I see people make in choosing their kitchen design is taking really expensive granite or solid surface counter tops and putting them on the cheapest, ugliest kitchen cabinets you can imagine. I’ll put it to you straight, no matter how expensive your counter tops are, they won’t compensate for ugly cabinets.
Ironically the opposite can be true. If you have really classy expensive cabinets, they can make your counters appear more expensive than they actually are. In our last home my wife chose really nice (and expensive) cabinets. Combined with our formica that looked like granite, it turned out fantastic. Every person that ever came into our kitchen complimented my wife on her design choices.
I guess I’m saying the bottom line is if you’re going to spend money in the kitchen, spend it on the cabinets.
Jeremy lights up his favorite truck with his lighted hitch covers. You can read more of his work by visiting: www.trailerhitchuniverse.com.
Previous Articles Highlighter:
Serious Investment Errors To Avoid (1)
Investors take a note that each transaction comes with contract costs and taxes. By not taking these things seriously, the investors are viable to swipe out by the costs accompanying the high turnover.
Adding Value To The Content Of Six Sigma Project Charters (2)
When additional value-added content is included and all the related aspects are clarified, it becomes much easier for implementation team to understand the real goals and objectives of the implementation project.
Cover Letters - What To Say And What Not To Say (3)
However, some employers prohibit any form of contact from job seekers; still, you could call to check if they received your material and ask if the application is complete. The cover letter is an introduction to your resume, so it should be written to fit in a single page.
Training Philippine Call Center Agents (4)
After all, there are a number of things that a call center agent should master in order to provide customer service satisfactorily. Accent Training. Even if Filipinos have good English communication skills, there are still traces of regional accent in their oral English.
The Roadmap To Lean Six Sigma Training And Beyond (5)
Such sessions, when conducted along with the main technical training, will go a long way in making the employees more comfortable with the idea (i.e. Lean Six Sigma). Looking Beyond Lean Six Sigma Training Training will prove to be a success only when employees become fully aware about the scope and implications of Lean 6 Sigma in an organization.
Network Marketing Success (6)
While this kind of personality will question anything and everything you say, with the proper backup of your facts you will win a customer as well as a tireless down line distributor.
Working With Your Spouse (7)
You can not ask for a better business partner than paring up with your spouse. So if you had any doubts about working with your spouse, weigh the positive against the negative reasons.
Pros And Cons Of Getting A Partial Tummy Tuck (8)
Also, the mini tuck is only advised for women who have a slight problem with the abdomen. The operation will definitely be unable to accomplish the results of a standard tuck; however, a little change may be all you need.
Recruitment Of Philippine Call Center Agents: An Inside Look (9)
On the other hand, the time difference between the United States and the Philippines is between 11-13 hours. As such, call center agents in the Philippines should be willing to work on the graveyard shifts.
Advertising Your Online Business (10)
This generally offers you more control over how much banner advertising you receive but costs you money up front. The choice is up to you and no matter which way you go you will generate more sales if you advertise online.
Newer Articles Highlighter:
How To Make Sure That Pay Per Click Advertsing Is The Right Choice For You (1)
Free search engine results are sometimes being called organic as they are untainted by commercial pricing and conditions. If your website is to be found among the top-ten search engines results for a competitive term like for example 'Hawaii rentals' on MSN Live Search you have to beat 20700000 other web pages that Live Search has listed in its index for this keyword (retrieved in January 2008).
Articles Marketing 101 - How To Write 10 Articles By Lunch Time Today (2)
Once you have came out with the titles and pointers for each topic, power up your word processor and start writing. One tactic when writing articles is that do not pause and fine tune them.
The 4 Ways To Grow Your Business In 2008 (3)
From wanting to lose weight and give up tobacco on a personal level to wanting to increase your profits and grow your business on a professional one. For smart marketers 2008 holds amazing opportunities so my tips for success this year are: Tip 1 for Success in 2008 Focus on the positives and dont get drawn into all the negative hype that is thrown at you from the media or politicians Tip 2 for Success in 2008 Surround yourself with likeminded positive people Tip 3 for Success in 2008 Become truly great at marketing your product or service (or find someone to do it for you) Tip 4 for Success in 2008 Remember that YOU are ultimately what will make the difference between the next 12 months and beyond being successful or not The Marketing Buzz are Small Business Marketing Experts and information about the marketing services they provide can be found by visiting www.themarketingbuzz.co.uk
Stop Foreclosure: A Creative Way To Stop Foreclosure (4)
Everyday, thousands of foreclosures are filed across the United States. People that are trying to stop foreclosure are having a difficult time finding potential buyers for there home. They often own more then it is worth, with foreclosures, being sold for pennies on the dollar this creates a major problem for those trying to stop foreclosure.
How Services Are Making Computer Repair As Simple As Breathing (5)
Of course, we cannot neglect the calls to the repairmen people used to make because they had been affected by viruses on their computers. Viruses could be history now too, what with services internet security developing unbeatable antivirus solutions.
Some Home Based Business Ideas To Help You Make Money (6)
Aaron Aldama is a marketing expert. To learn how to make money from home and to get a free vacation on us visit, www.homebusiness25.com given out on a first come first serve basis.
Vital Home Security Tips On Buying An Alarm System (7)
In a few cases, they'll give you a free system provided you sign up for one of their monitoring services for an established time. Depending on the offer this could be 1, 2 or 5 years.
Expatriate Relocation Information - The Essentials About International Relocation! (8)
Topics: relocation, moving, move, relocate, Expatriate Relocation Information, relocation information If you are only moving down the road to another home there is more than enough to do and take care of, so just think of all that goes into an international relocation and how much more is involved in this move.
Why Everyone Needs Customer Service Training (9)
In every single business you come across there seems to be a lack of interest in presenting a good image of customer service to potential clients. Perhaps it is an English thing.
The Benefits Of Finding A DSL Provider (10)
DSL internet and dial up internet do have one thing in common; information is transmitted through the use of a copper telephone wire, just like the ones that allow you to make and receive calls from your landline phone every day.
Permalink to How To Improve Your Home’s Look And Value With Your Cabinets And Countertops