|
Ask Cristina
Upgrading Your Kitchen?
Dear Cristina,
“My cocina is ugly! The
books and magazines I
pick up at the home
center have pictures of
remodels that cost tens
of thousands of dollars.
I want to do an update
on a small budget—just
about $2,000. Do you
have any suggestions?”
—M. Salazar
My 85-year-old father-in-law
recently sang this song
to me, “You’ve got to
accent the positive,
eliminate the negative,
latch on to the
affirmative, don’t mess
with mister-in-between.”
Not only are these
lyrics great advice for
life—they’re easy to
remember home design
advice.
Learning to accent
positive focal points in
your home is the number
one way to maximize the
effect of your efforts.
A focal point is the
first thing you see when
you walk into a room.
Here’s an easy way to
find the focal points in
your kitchen—enter the
room and pay attention
to the first thing your
eye sees. You probably
will experience your eye
traveling to two or
three places in the
kitchen. These places
are the focal points.
Most rooms will have
three or more strong
focal points along with
a few lesser focal
points. Usually these
focal points are places
with strong simple
shapes (like the
refrigerator) and places
with complex interesting
shapes (like a glass
cupboard filled with
tableware, a gleaming
cook top, or the sink).
A focal point can also
be something awkward or
ugly like the small
space between the top of
the cabinets and the
ceiling or worn out
plumbing and lighting
fixtures. You aren’t
stuck with ugly focal
points. Keep the song in
mind and eliminate them
by replacing them and/or
emphasizing the
attractive focal points.
Though the ugly areas
won’t actually disappear
unless you replace them,
they will tend to
disappear as focal
points when other areas
are strengthened.
Like almost anything,
getting the most for
your money is key. Two
of the most inexpensive
additions to a kitchen
can be color and
fixtures. Old or dreary
kitchens often have
outdated kitchen faucets,
light fixtures and
cabinet pulls. Old
cabinets may be
rejuvenated with a coat
of paint. Visit a few
home centers to get a
feel for the prices and
styles available. Budget
yourself carefully and
you’ll be able to
replace the existing
fixtures with something
that looks great (even
if it’s not your first—usually
a more expensive choice!).
If you or a family
member can do any of the
labor installing the
fixtures, you’ll be able
to stretch your budget
to include a few more
changes.
There is nothing like
color to change the
personality of a room.
Two ways I’ve found to
add color creatively is
paint and laminate.
While looking for a way
to update my kitchen
with a budget of
$1,000.00 to spend on
the cabinetry I
discovered that any of
the laminate I have
could be re-laminated in
a new color. I called a
few cabinet shops that
specialized in laminate
and asked them for a bid.
The price to re-laminate
a few cabinets was very
reasonable and the color
options were extensive.
By focusing on redoing
parts of my kitchen and
not the entire thing I
had money left over to
paint the wood trim on
the gray cabinets and
add a few cabinet pulls!
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
Cristina’s cocina. Don’t
be afraid to mix up the
colors and finishes of
your cabinetry. The
solid lush purple areas
of color create a simple
visual counterpoint to
the more complex visual
area that includes the
gray cabinets with the
multi-colored trim and
drawer pulls. |
|
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Langlade smart divide
kitchen sink; Forte
kitchen faucet. |
|
|
|
|
I focused on
three focal
points: my
kitchen barstool
area, the
refrigerator and
the dishwasher.
I ordered a
color that
coordinates with
the existing
gray. The lush
dark eggplant
purple color
enhances the
focal points and
broke up the
overwhelming
gray of the
remaining
cabinets. I no
longer focus on
the gray
cabinetry (a big
negative for
me). By
strengthening
the focal areas
with color I’ve
eliminated the
negative
perception of my
kitchen. Now I
love walking
into my kitchen.
The gray
cabinets remain,
I just no longer
focus on them
because the
stronger focal
points are so
enjoyable to me.
Enjoy your
efforts updating
your kitchen.
Buena suerte! |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
You use your kitchen
sink countless times
throughout the day.
Investing in a fixture
you love looking at will
be a daily pleasure.
Forte pull-out kitchen
faucet in vibrant
stainless finish. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Dickinson apront front
kitchen sink; Clairette
kitchen faucet. |
|
|
|
Sources:
www.kohler.com
For more information on
home design visit
www.latinastyle.com. To
all our readers, we’d
love to see before and
after pictures of your
decorating efforts. Send
jpeg photos with your
contact information to
editor@latinastyle.com
|
