Cooking Up A Colorful Kitchen Re-Do

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

(NAPSA)—Asfloor plans are becoming more open and the kitchen is more integrated into the main living areas of the home, it becomes increasingly important to carry good design practices into the kitchen. This includes decisions on appliances, cabinetry, accessories, backsplash color, amongotherthings. The kitchen is seeing renewed attention as an area to make improvements—particularly among do-it-yourselfers. According to a recent survey from Lowe’s, more than 70 percent of women homeowners surveyed say they feel prepared to be solely responsible for their home—including maintenance, repairs and improvements. Nearly all of these female homeowners say they prefer to take on these projects without professional help, a significant increase over what they said just three years ago. According to the survey findings, the kitchen is the most popular room to upgrade. Renowned design expert and HGTV host Sarah Richardson recommends a starting point to help make sense of kitchen design trends. “It’s important to consider three main points when determin- ing design direction, they are: color, materials and the function the space will serve for the fam- ily,” she advises. Today’s Design Whenpeople think about intro- \ | iy = —— a en ee ga add colorful accents to the room by choosing bright accessories or adding beautiful fabric upholstery to the kitchen chairs. As color choices in the kitchen and trends point towards the exotic materials. As environment issues are becoming more top-ofmind, they're affecting the choices standard options for appliances. Now stainless steel is a top-seller growing popularity of a new metallic neutral. For example, the Frigidaire Elements line offers an industry-first metallic nickel finish, with a timeless look that will stay great even as you change color schemes. Features include: Unique Finish: The sleek and durable metallic nickel finish is fin- gerprint resistant and will coordinate with any color schemeto give your kitchen a fresh new look. wall color or backsplash pattern or flooring. Today’s color choices load, which meansfewer loads per week and more savings on your neutrals have given way to an intense color palette. A few hot trends: poppy red, blue-gray and luminous, metallic finishes.” Even homeowners not ready to make a bold color choice on the walls can and seal in juices. Another trend in a kitchen re- design: The traditional granite and wood choices for counter tops and cabinets elements are being ducing color into kitchen design, extend beyond those areas to dishes, glassware, small kitchen appliances, pots and pans, cabinetry, countertops and furniture. Richardson advises, “Yesterday’s convection time to brown evenly are evolving, so are appliance finishes. In the past, solid colors, such as white and black, were the Built-In Dishwashers: These Energy Star rated appliances hold they generally go directly to the the touch of a button standard recipes are easily converted to 14 complete place settings in one energybill. Refrigeration: From adjust- able shelves to gallon-door bins, youll have all the storage capacity you need. Along with the Pure- Source 2 filtration system you get bottled water quality for your water andice. Ranges: Both the electric and gas top ranges allow consumersto cook in convection mode, so with swapped out for metals and more homeowners and designers are making.In fact, other natural materials such as bambooare replacing woodin flooring and cabinetry. Essential to any kitchen design is the work andtraffic flow. A traditional theory on kitchen layout is the triangle relationship among the refrigerator, oven and sink. That shape has evolved into cir- cles, squares and many other con- figurations as unique as the indi- viduals who use them. Despite this evolution, the emphasis on function remains essential. Many homeownersare installing two of everything, from dishwashers to ovens to sinks. The added func- tionality of having pairs of appli- ances allows for more family membersto be involved with cook- ing, provides more space to store food and makes entertaining more of a breeze as food preparation and clean up are twice asfast. For more information, visit www.frigidaireelements.com.