Upgrading Your Kitchen In the New Year
2022 is here! Are you ready for a change? You’re not alone! This is the perfect time to upgrade your kitchen with an all-new look. With a few well-planned changes, you can make your kitchen a like-new space. You don’t have to break the bank – or remodel your entire kitchen – to make your kitchen fresh and beautiful. By upgrading a few choice features, like your countertops or light fixtures, you can make your kitchen the place to spend time in 2022.
1. Replace Plumbing Fixtures
You’d be amazed how much you can improve your kitchen by simply replacing your plumbing fixtures. A high-end kitchen faucet, for example, can make your whole sink look brand new!
When you’re picking a new faucet for your kitchen, use the color of the metal to create an accent color, or pull together other colors found in your kitchen. For example, maybe some of your pots are made of copper, and your counters have copper overtones. Use this opportunity to make copper a repeating color in your kitchen by installing a copper kitchen faucet.
Just a few years ago, the most popular fixtures were made from brushed stainless steel and chrome. Today, warmer colors are becoming more common, including brushed brass, brushed bronze and oil-rubbed bronze.
2. Refinish Cabinets
Want to make your kitchen pop without incurring a big expense? Refinish your cabinets. Just a few years ago, white and gray were the preferred cabinet colors in residential kitchens, but trends have changed. Now homeowners are painting their kitchens in bright, bold colors. This means that you’ve got a perfect opportunity to add color and flair to your kitchen – and you can do it over a long weekend.
Blues and greens are very popular right now, but you can choose the colors that make the most sense to you. When you’re refinishing your cabinets, start by removing hardware and doors. Next, rough up the old finish with sandpaper or sealer remover. This creates a rough surface on your cabinets and gives the new finish something to adhere to. When you apply the paint, use a glossy paint. Some paint companies make paint specifically meant for cabinets. Give the paint long enough to cure before putting the hardware back on.
3. Install New Light Fixtures
Light fixtures add beauty and personality to your kitchen. You can hire an electrician to install your new light fixture, or do it yourself.
Kitchen lights are divided into three categories: ambient lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. Ambient overhead lighting is the generalized bright light that illuminates the entire space of your kitchen. Examples of ambient lighting include ceiling-mounted lights and chandeliers. This is the type of lighting you should replace (or install more of) if your kitchen feels generally dark, even with all lights turned on.
Task lighting is the lighting that is used for specific tasks, like preparing food. In the kitchen, task lighting is often found under cabinets. If your kitchen is generally bright enough, but you’d like more light for cutting foods, then you probably need some task lighting.
Accent lighting illuminates features like decorations and cabinet interiors.
When you’re trying to decide what kind of lighting to install in your kitchen, assess the overall light conditions in your kitchen. Where is it dark? What light fixtures do you dislike? Which ones do you love? The answers to these questions will help you decide which light fixtures to replace (or add) first.
4. Replace Counters with Beautiful Stone
Over time, countertops made from synthetic material can become scratched, stained and even burned. These cosmetic problems can drag down the appearance of your kitchen and in some cases can even be a health and safety hazard because cracks can harbor bacteria.
You don’t have to live with your old countertops anymore! Make 2022 the year you upgrade your countertops by replacing them with stone. Stone and engineered stone countertops are far more durable than any other type of countertop available. Stone also comes in many colors and patterns, so you can choose the countertop that’s best for your home.
At Seacoast Stone, we sell granite, marble, soapstone and quartz. Each type of stone has its own characteristics, so you’ll need to choose the type that’s best for you.
- Granite is one of the most durable natural stones available for residential use. It comes in many colors and patterns but needs regular sealing to remain water-resistant.
- Marble is a soft stone with unparalleled natural beauty. It can be scratched and must be protected from heavy pots and sharp tools. Like granite, marble must be sealed regularly.
- Soapstone is a very dense stone that never needs to be sealed to maintain its natural water resistance.
- Quartz is an engineered stone that can be made to look like any other type of stone. It’s naturally very hard and water-resistant, and thus never needs to be sealed.