| Kitchens (3)

Would you be surprised to know that you can get a countertop made of natural volcanic rock? Lava stone is exactly that, pieces of volcanic rock that have been quarried from ancient eruption sites in France and Italy. It’s a great option for homeowners who want a natural stone material, but prefer it in a vibrant color that granite or marble cannot offer.

The results are in! Every year the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) surveys its members to learn the current and emerging trends they see in kitchen and bathroom remodeling. The questions aim to find out what the professionals are specifying in terms of design style, colors, materials, and products. Last year, they heard from 562 professionals who work directly with homeowners throughout North America. Here’s a look at what they reported for trends in kitchen remodeling.

As you plan your remodel and make all the big selections like flooring, countertops, or cabinetry it’s easy to forget about the finishing touches that will add detail or improve function in a space. Fortunately, these small but important details won’t break the bank. In fact, they are often the things many homeowners end up loving the most about their remodel.

Several decades ago, it was commonplace to install hanging kitchen cabinets that could be accessed from two sides. Typically they would be hung beneath a bulkhead and would partially block the view in and out of the kitchen. In the case of this Grand Rapids remodeling story, the kitchen included this design element as well as bulkheads above all of the cabinets and doorways. Our clients requested a design that would make their kitchen feel more connected to the rest of their home.

Every year I’m fascinated to learn about new electronic gadgets for the home. But more than anything, I especially love to hear about high tech gear for kitchens. This year’s innovations are impressive and range from large appliances to small kitchen gadgets that tech savvy homeowners will love. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites to share with you in this blog.

Back in the eighties every new or remodeled home had brass chandeliers, doorknobs, and fixtures. Fast forward ten to twenty years and all that brass had been replaced with nickel and chrome. Brass was out; but just like trends in fashion, many styles come back around. What’s different this time is the finish, it doesn’t have to be polished or shiny, you can select burnished or matte brass.

In our last blog, we discussed how to determine if painting your own cabinets makes sense for you. If you were able to review our questions and have decided that you want to take on the project yourself, we’ve put together a list of tips to help make painting kitchen cabinets a success. Keep in mind that is that it takes time and patience to do it right and it’s more complicated that painting a room.

Many of our kitchen remodeling clients will ask us about painting their cabinets instead of replacing them. Often, they are considering taking on the task themselves as a DIY project. Before we can provide a simple yes or no answer to this question, there are a few important considerations. We certainly understand staying within budgets and looking for ways to save money, but sometimes painting your own cabinets may not be the best solution.

Granite Vs. Quartz With as many kitchen and bathroom remodels we design every year, we hear this question from many homeowners and we are happy to help them make the right decision for their project. To determine if granite or quartz is a better choice for you depends on several factors and both materials have their pros and cons.

Remember the days when all your finishes had to match? Not too long ago, if you had satin nickel door and drawer pulls you had to have satin nickel faucets and lighting fixtures. Today, things are getting more interesting and mixing metal finishes is actually accepted and popular!

This year's Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) was filled with fantastic new tile trends. It was nearly impossible to walk 5 feet without seeing another gorgeous display of colorful, shimmering, or three-dimensional tile. So of course, we investigated and took some photos to share with you!

As we close another year of working with great clients and completing lots of remodeling projects, we thought it might be fun to create our own list of the top 5 remodeling selections we saw this year. All the magazines do their own "Best of" or "Top Trend" lists, so we thought why shouldn't the Thompson Remodeling team get in on the fun too. So, without further ado, here's our list of the Top 5 Remodeling Selections for 2015!