DESIGNfirst Builders Blog Near Chicago, Illinois

Do you want to create a kitchen that reflects your love of nature and the outdoors? While the kitchen may not seem like the most obvious room for a nature-based design, anyone can incorporate a number of elements that will bring the outdoors into their cooking zone. Here are six things you might try.

1. Natural Lighting

What could be more natural than sunlight? Open up your kitchen through the use of large windows, sliding glass doors, skylights, and an open floor plan layout. Not only will the sun shine in and light up the space with healthy, radiant light, but you’ll also add views of all the surrounding nature.

2. An Outdoor Kitchen

Does your kitchen have access to the backyard? Then you have the opportunity to truly bring the outdoors to the kitchen by including the actual outdoors. Create a wide and inviting transition through a window wall, sliding doors, or French doors and open it up to a protected outdoor entertainment zone.

An outdoor kitchen attached to the main kitchen can serve as a dining area, barbecue spot, pizza-making station, bar, or breakfast nook. Or you can simply use it to expand the capability of your main kitchen by placing overflow tasks outside.

3. Woods and Stone

Fortunately for nature lovers, the kitchen does offer a good canvas on which to use natural materials. Opt for natural materials like stone and wood for your flooring, cabinetry, countertops, and islands.

Stone surfaces provide a unique natural appearance and come with kitchen-friendly traits like heat resistance, nonporous surfaces, and durability. Wood floors come in many shades and textures for any kitchen.

4. Live Greenery

Have you considered how you might include live plants and flowers in your kitchen design? For many homeowners, adding indoor greenery is more of an afterthought — just a matter of placing pots around the room. But if you want to have thriving plants in the kitchen, plan for their presence during the design phase.

Add places in your design to hang indoor pots or install shelves on which to keep plants. Make sure windows provide light to the right areas. Plan how you can bring in enough direct and indirect sun to help plants thrive. Or add a greenhouse window or even a bay or bow window to keep even more live plants in the kitchen.

5. Colors from Nature

Look to the natural world to provide color inspiration for the kitchen. Look around at the common colors of nature in your area. Do you enjoy the lush greens of the woody forest? Chilly whites of an Illinois winter? Soft blue shades of water? The colors of a beautiful sunset? Colorful florals? No matter what facets of nature inspire you, let these inspire your kitchen palette.

6. Hidden Technology

The kitchen is often a showcase for modern machinery and appliances, including stainless steel refrigerators and countless countertop gadgets. But if you want a more organic feeling, put away the high-tech equipment.

Simple additions like appliance garages hide your modern food processors, blenders, and coffee grinders. Include a built-in cabinet to make the microwave more discreet. Consider a cabinetry façade for the refrigerator or dishwasher. Use appliance lifts to hide away small appliances like mixers. By putting these items away, you can then emphasize natural materials instead.

Which of these natural inclusions could make your new kitchen look and feel more organic? No matter what appeals to you and what fits your budget and space, start by consulting with the team at DesignFirst Builders. We’ll put our 15 years of experience to work creating the kitchen that works for you. Call today to make an appointment.

If you want or need a kitchen renovation but lack the cash to pay for it up front, financing is a good alternative. Financing a big remodel project can be affordable while allowing you to protect the value of your home through proper maintenance and updating. But before you start your project on borrowed funds, follow these tips to ensure the best success and avoid financial surprises.

1. Make a Budget First

Before you find out how much you can borrow, find out how much you actually need. Most borrowers qualify for a higher amount than they ask for, but this can result in overspending. Having what feels like a blank check can easily cause you to take on more than you planned or more than you can actually handle.

Instead, meet with qualified contractors who specialize in kitchen remodeling to determine a realistic but flexible budget and a feasible project size before you seek out a loan. Then, only borrow what you need for this project.

2. Minimize Delays

When you finance a renovation project, you usually begin paying back borrowed money right away. Get the most value from that money, then, by minimizing the period between borrowing and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Have your project ready to go before you receive those funds. Choose materials that don’t come with long delays. And avoid surprising your contractor with unexpected changes.

3. Know Where to Splurge

One key facet of a good kitchen renovation is knowing where to spend more and where to spend less. When you’re financing the project, spending money in the right areas is even more important so you get the most for your investment.

For instance, good quality appliances appeal to many home buyers but splurging on expensive hardware may not be worth your money. And if you really want those gorgeous countertops, you might be able to save money by not moving the plumbing. Planning your splurges and compromises ensures you get enough to make you happy even if you can’t have everything you want.

4. Make Value-Based Changes

The purpose of a kitchen remodel is twofold. First, it should make the kitchen more appropriate for your own use. But it should also help protect the value of your home. Aging kitchens are a big drawback for home buyers, so updating this room maintains your financial investment. However, a renovation that is too personalized or is over the top for the neighborhood can also reduce the home’s sale potential.

The best way to boost the property’s value via a kitchen remodel is to consult with experienced kitchen contractors who know what people want and what brings the best value for your money.

5. Avoid Scope Creep

Scope creep occurs when a remodel starts out with one set of parameters but gradually, adjustments expand it in small but potentially costly ways. The scope of your renovation can creep outward if you alter decisions already made or if everyone isn’t on the same page about aspects of the project. It can also by spearheaded by a well-meaning contractor.

While some change is to be expected once you start a remodel — and is why you need a buffer in the budget — avoid allowing it to expand more than you can afford. Financed projects often have a firmer budget, so you may need to work more actively to prevent unwanted creep.

Want to know more about using your home renovation financing in the best way possible? Start by consulting with the kitchen remodeling pros at DesignFirst Builders. We will assess your current kitchen, your goals and needs, and your budget to find the best places to put your money. Call today to make an appointment.

As you plan your new kitchen, one modern trend you may want to think about is a second sink. While this may seem like a feature only in luxury kitchens, it actually serves many practical purposes even in more modest kitchens. But before you add a second sink to your design, be sure to give attention to these few key tips.

The pantry is an essential part of any kitchen. But an effective pantry for modern homeowners is more than just a closet with shelves. To design the perfect pantry for your lifestyle and house, you may need to rethink some common assumptions about pantry design. What are some of these ideas that deserve more consideration? Discover a few of the most important.