Category: Bath & Kitchen

Some of our favorite ideas to inspire you during you kitchen remodel or bathroom remodel.

9 Kitchen Organization Tips That will Change your Life

The start of a new year is a great time for a fresh start – for yourself and your home! In fact, an organized home is a great first step to making positive changes in your life: You can be more efficient, make the most of your living space, and waste less precious time trying to find things when you need them.

It doesn’t matter how organized you are, most of us can usually think of a corner or two in our homes that can use a little re-organization.

That’s why we’re introducing a new series on home organization. Today, we focus on the kitchen – a room that is often about more than just cooking. It is often a hub where families gather to spend some quality time together. Get your kitchen ship shape with these nine simple organization tips.

 


Traditional Kitchen

1. Get Cookin’ with Your Utensils

The number one rule of efficient kitchen organization is to store things where you use them. With this principle in mind, consider keeping your utensils within easy reach from your stove.


Credit: Susan Brook Interiors

2. Slicing & Dicing

Use a clever organizer like this one to keep your knives within easy reach of where you do your chopping, without cluttering up your counter space.


Credit: Mediterranean Kitchen

3. The Spice is Right…. Where You Need It!

For a real cook’s kitchen, build your spice rack right into your cabinetry so that you can peruse your collection at a glance.

If you prefer to keep your spices on hand but out of sight, consider a pull-out spice cabinet right by the stove, where you are likely to use them.

If you are tight on storage space but don’t want to compromise on spices, or their accessibility, mount your spice rack to the inside of cabinet door.


Credit: Green Goods

Credit: Roundhouse

Credit: Bunker Workshop

4. Give Your Gadgets a Home

Small kitchen appliances are practical, time-saving devices, but they can overtake your kitchen like dandelions do your lawn in the summer-time. Stow them discreetly out of sight in a streamlined built-in unit like this one, and keep your kitchen pristine without losing out on convenience.


Credit: Studio Dearborn

5. Organization on a Silver Platter

File your platters vertically, so that you never again have to deal with the struggle that ensues when — amid the chaos of your dinner party — you desperately need that bottom platter in the stack.


Credit: Mullet Cabinet

6. Step Up to the Plate

Consider storing dishes within easy reach, inside drawers equipped with a peg board & dowels. It is so much more practical than top cabinets, you’ll wonder why you never thought of doing it before.


Credit: Hemphill’s Rugs & Carpets

7. Go Vertical with Your Cutlery

Here’s an innovative way to organize your flatware. Consider filing your cutlery vertically, especially if you have a large set and are tired of spoons travelling over to where the forks should live, or if you want to mute the irritating clatter you hear every time you open and close the drawer!

8. Family Command Center

Manage the chaos of your family members’ busy lives with a centralized message hub to help you keep track of appointments, schedules, lists and bills. Keep it all in plain sight in a wall-mounted command center, or tuck it away in a clever built-in solution like this one.


Credit: Jenna Burger Design

Credit: Starline Cabinets

Credit: LEICHT New York / LEICHT Westchester

9. Clean Up Your Act!

Keeping your home squeaky clean will be that much easier if your supplies are close at hand. We love the cleaning supply closet at left, and the fact that it is very well equipped, and yet every single item is within easy reach.

Does your kitchen need more than a little re-organizing? Contact Keith Green Construction to find out about our kitchen remodeling and other construction services.

16 Ways to Maximize the Potential of a Small Bathroom

What word best describes your bathroom? If it’s somewhere in the vicinity of “small”, “tiny”, or “minuscule”, then you may feel very limited in your renovation options.

In fact, there are many ways to remodel your bathroom to make it feel bigger. Read on for 16 of our favorite tips.

1. Pocket Doors

To make the most of your small bathroom, start from the outside in. Rather than fret over allowing for your bathroom door to open, opt for a pocket door that recedes into the wall.

2. Sliding Shower Doors

Open doors can eat up precious space inside your bathroom too. Select a shower curtain or sliding glass door instead of one that opens wide.

3. Keep Things Light & Bright

In a bathroom, like in any room, keep your color palette light and bright, in order  to supersize your small space.

4. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Using a large mirror to fool the eye is the oldest trick in the book… and extremely effective at making your minute bathroom feel airy.

5. Full-Length Mirrored Medicine Cabinet

Let your mirror perform double duty, as a full-length medicine cabinet.

6. Shelving Above the Toilet

In a tiny bathroom, look for charming ways to make use of space that is often overlooked, like the wall above the toilet.

7. Shelving Above the Door

Install a shelf above a door to stow items to which you need less frequent access.

8. Build In Extra Space

Built-in units are a good way to elegantly pack heavy duty storage into a small area.

Beach Style Bathroom by Evens Architects

9. Time for Recess

Recessed shelving in the wall or shower offers the perfect opportunity for more space-efficient storage.

10. U-Shaped Drawers

Use U-shaped drawers under the sink to maximize usable storage around the pipe.

11. Wall-Mounted Faucet & Vessel Sink

Consider the space-efficient combination of a wall-mounted faucet and vessel sink, which leaves room to hold additional items, and frees up an extra drawer that a traditional sink would have monopolized.

12. Trough Sink

Opt for a trough sink, which steals less real estate from a small bathroom, leaving you more room to move.

13. Cut Some Corners

Save yourself from bumping into hard corners in a confined space, by choosing a round vanity.

Contemporary Bathroom by C.P. Hart Bathrooms

14. Make the Most of your Corners

Make maximum use of your corners, which are all too often wasted space, with a stunning corner shower like this one.

15. Be Off the Wall

Corner vanities also make optimal use of small corners. Choose a wall-mounted model to make your small bathroom feel less confined.

16. Claw-Foot Tub

Finally, opt for a claw-foot tub, which lends an airier feel to a small bathroom than its more modern counterpart.

Are you inspired to turn your diminutive bathroom into a thing of beauty? Call Keith Green Construction to get started on your bathroom remodel today!

Kitchen Remodeling Tips: Making the Most out of a Small Kitchen

Have you ever noticed that everyone always seems to converge in the kitchen? You have a den, living room or family room… and yet the kitchen is where your family so often gathers, and where priceless memories are created.

Having a small kitchen can cramp your style. Fortunately, there are many kitchen remodeling tricks you can use to make a small kitchen look and feel much roomier.

 

1. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Home designers often use mirrors to fool the eye into thinking a space is much larger than it is. Try adding a mirrored wall or backsplash to your kitchen to create an illusion of grandeur.

Mirrored Wall in a Contemporary Kitchen

2. Glass Cabinetry

Aside from mirrors, there are other ingenious ways to give greater depth to your space. Consider replacing your solid cabinets with glass cabinets, and watch the walls recede. Fill those cabinets with color-coordinated and/or glass dishes to keep the room from looking cluttered.

Glass Cabinets with White and Glass Contents

3. Direct the Eye Upwards

It is well known that high ceilings can make a room look larger. Even if you don’t have high ceilings, you can create the illusion of higher ceilings by directing the eye upwards. To do that, try adding beautiful details to the top of your walls with colorful prints, stunning moldings, or decorative serving dishes.

Direct the Eye Upwards

4. Let the Light in

Brightening up a kitchen can instantly make it look vaster. Try using minimal window treatments to invite natural light. And consider pot lights & streamlined light fixtures to brighten up your kitchen without creating visual clutter.

Contemporary Kitchen with Great Use of Light

 

5. White is Right

As a general principle, to create the illusion of a larger kitchen, ensure that the eye can glide smoothly over the space without stumbling, by avoiding jarring color contrasts.

Sticking to white is an excellent way to reflect the light you have, and make a small kitchen seem vaster. Unfortunately, an all-white kitchen can also look sterile. Consider using different shades of white, and a blend of textures to warm up your decor.

Traditional Kitchen in a White on White Color Theme

6. Open up the Space

If at all possible, consider opening up a wall to an adjoining room to invite more light and make a small kitchen feel airy.
Traditional Kitchen Borrows Space from an Adjoining Room

7. Sleek Cabinetry

Heavy and ornate cabinetry can weigh down a small space. You can make your kitchen feel much roomier by using sleek cabinets with straight lines and minimal adornments. Consider stainless appliances to reflect light.

Contemporary Kitchen with Sleek Cabinetry

8. Streamlined Furnishings

Try trading in bulky tables and chairs for streamlined, lightweight furnishings with open legs that let you see through to the wall and give a larger sense of space.

Contemporary Kitchen

9. Built-in Kitchen Benches

Fit more seating into a small corner with a built-in kitchen bench.  Don’t miss the opportunity for more storage by building in drawers.

Contemporary Kitchen with Built-in Bench 

10. Expanse of Tiles

You can make a small stretch of wall seem wider by covering it with an expanse of tiles. Consider small pale tiles that are wider than they are tall, to create the impression of width.

Contemporary Kitchen with Expanse of Tile

11. Recessed Storage

Adding storage cabinets can cut into the square footage of your small kitchen. Try building recessed shelving right into your wall to gain storage without using up valuable floor space.

Contemporary Kitchen with Recessed Storage

12. Efficient Storage

Cluttered surfaces can make a diminutive space look even smaller. Make the most out of your space, with efficient storage solutions that put everything at arm’s reach while keeping your countertops clear.

Efficient Storage Solutions
 
You can make your small kitchen look and feel roomier by trying some of these clever tricks. Need a little help with your Portland kitchen remodeling? Contact us today.

Kitchen Tiles

by Keith Green Construction

With quality work and waterproofing in mind, Portland tile contractor Keith Green Construction offers tiling projects for remodeling kitchens. Keith Green ensures that every kitchen remodeling job is “done right the first time,” eliminating any remodeling worries.

For kitchen tiling projects, Keith Green Construction always keeps the following in mind:

  • Uses the best tiles available, gathering materials locally, eliminating any unwanted middle-man costs.
  • Beautifies your home while supporting other community businesses.
  • Assures clients that sustainability and green practices are always a priority.
  • Turning any job into something to be proud of for both adding elegance and value to a home while protecting the environment.

Bathroom Tiles

by Keith Green Construction

With quality work and waterproofing in mind, Portland tile contractor Keith Green Construction offers tiling projects for remodeling bathrooms. Keith Green ensures that every job is “done right the first time,” eliminating any remodeling worries.

For bathroom tiling projects, Keith Green Construction always keeps the following in mind:

  • Uses the best tiles available, gathering materials locally, eliminating any unwanted middle-man costs.
  • Beautifies your home while supporting other community businesses.
  • Assures clients that sustainability and green practices are always a priority.
  • Turning any job into something to be proud of for both adding elegance and value to a home while protecting the environment.

Expression Series Kitchen Cabinetry

by DeWils

Remodel your kitchen to make it an extension of art and beauty of a home with the Expression Series by DeWils. Keith Green Construction your Portland kitchen cabinetry installation contractor proudly installs the Expression Series, enhancing the elegance and tradition of your home for generations to come.

Available a wide variety of styles that come in the following finishes: Mohogany, Alder, Knotty Alder, Hickory, Quarter-sawn White Oak, Eastern Hardrock Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, Thermofoil, Laminate, Engineered Wood.

  • Traditional design and architecture, created for discerning tastes.
  • Distinctive lines and deep, rich colors transform the cabinetry into a work of art, adding an unprecedented value to your home.
  • Additional cabinetry features, such as full-extension drawers and soft, self-closing hardware, come standard with the Designer series.
  • Rich, deep colors are enhanced by a combination of hand-rubbed staining and conversion varnishing.
  • Real wood veneers are engineered from fast-growing, sustainable trees, emulating the elegance of exotic wood without the toll on the environment.
  • Old World Craftsmanship and staining echoes history and tradition.
  • Built to last for generations and backed by a 12-year Warranty.

Designer Series Kitchen Cabinetry

by DeWils

Impress family and company with the glamour and chic of the Designer Series Kitchen Cabinetry by DeWils. Keith Green Construction, a Portland kitchen cabinetry contractor, proudly installs the Designer Series, remodeling your kitchen into a work of art to be admired.

Available a wide variety of styles that come in the following finishes: Mohogany, Alder, Knotty Alder, Hickory, Quarter-sawn White Oak, Eastern Hardrock Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, Thermofoil, Laminate, Engineered Wood.

Design-centered features allows any homeowner to take the creative reigns of their kitchen.
DeWils promises divine distinction with its wide variety of colors and wood species.

  • Full-extension drawers and soft, self-closing hardware, come standard with the Designer series.
  • Rich, deep colors are enhanced by a combination of hand-rubbed staining and conversion varnishing.
  • Real wood veneers are engineered from fast-growing, sustainable trees, emulating the elegance of exotic wood without the toll on the environment.
  • Old World Craftsmanship and staining echoes history and tradition.
  • Built to last for generations and backed by a 12-year Warranty.

Horizon Series Kitchen Cabinetry

by DeWils

Keith Green Construction proudly offers the installation of DeWils’ Horizon Series, featuring elegant European-inspired design. Elegant lines and rich, deep colors adorn kitchens, creating a look that lasts for generations.

Available a wide variety of styles that come in the following finishes: Mohogany, Alder, Knotty Alder, Hickory, Quarter-sawn White Oak, Eastern Hardrock Maple, Cherry, Red Oak, Thermofoil, Laminate, Engineered Wood.

  • Full-extension drawers and soft, self-closing hardware, come standard with Horizon Series kitchen cabinets.
  • Rich, deep colors are enhanced by a combination of hand-rubbed staining and conversion varnishing.
  • DeWils real wood veneers replicate the beauty and elegance of exotic wood without the toll on the environment.
  • Construction, coloring and texturing bring out the elegance of exotic woods.
  • Staining and craftsmanship echo history, tradition and taste.
  • Built to last for generations, backed by a 12-year Warranty.