Planning to have a granite benchtop in your new kitchen?
Know what sort of edge you want?
Do you know your bullnose from your cove from your waterfall.
Here we show you 13 edges that you can have on your Granite benchtop. Check out each style to make sure you select the right sstyle for your home and kitchen.
As you can see there are at least 13 different types of edges you can have for your Granite Benchtop
If you would like to watch the full video click here:
Hopefully now you understand the style of edges you can have.
To help with your selection of appliances we have made some special Appliance Packages that you can check out.
20%, 30% or 50%?
Many people do not realise that 30% of their kitchen renovation budget will be spent just on the kitchen cabinetry. This is just the cabinetry. When you add design and installation then 50% of your budget covers these areas.
When planning your kitchen renovation the first thing is to set your budget and to make it realistic. You don’t want to be caught at the end not being able to pay your bills or have a half finished renovation.
We will show you how your kitchen renovation budget is generally spent and why is some cases the costs may be more then you expected. We always recommend that you use professionals and that you ask for 3 references before beginning a renovation.
Kitchen remodelling costs break down as follows:
Design fees: 4%
Installation: 17%
Appliances and ventilation: 14%
Cabinetry and hardware: 29%
Countertops: 10%
Lighting: 5%
Flooring: 7%
Doors and windows: 4%
Walls and ceilings: 5%
Faucets and plumbing: 4%
Other: 1%
Understanding the costs that make up your renovation is important.
To understand more about why your kitchen renovation budget may be so high then check out the article Why is Remodelling my Kitchen So Expensive
Or
This article further explains the costs of kitchen renovations: Kitchen Remodelling Tips
Over the years we have seen people start a renovation and then select their appliances at the end of the renovation. Then they are stuck with having to select appliances that do not suit their family or their lifestyle.
As a general rule your appliances will account for 14% of your kitchen renovation budget. To help you with the planning and investment in appliances we have made a number of special offers on selected appliance packages.
Check out or special Appliance Packages here.
Over the years we have worked with numerous customers to help them with their kitchen appliances, design and style of kitchen. Everyone has their own requirements as you do with your kitchen.
We have found the following 10 questions to be the starting point for someone when they are looking to buy their appliances. Once they have answered these questions they then can move on confidently with their appliances.
Here is our top 10 questions for buying appliances.
1. Gas or Electric - which is best?
This will be a personal choice as both have their good and bad points. We have found that if you have always cooked with a gas oven you will stay with a gas oven and conversely if you have cooked with an electric oven you will remain with electric.
If you decide to move from gas to electric oven then it will take you time to learn to control the temperature to make sure your food is cooked to your usual standards.
Gas ovens will generally be hotter at the top and cooler at the bottom so you need to ensure that your oven has a fan. If there is no fan then you will need to rotate your food.
Remember that if you choose a gas oven then you will need both an electric and gas connection to your oven. The electricity will be for the light and runnning of the fan.
With cooktops then it will depend on what you cook. If you cook Oriental food then you will prefer gas especially a gas cooktop with a wok burner.
If energy efficiency is important to you then the choice is induction, electric and then gas. Gas cooktops lose heat from the side as all the flame is not directly applied to the bottom of the pan.
2. I Hate Cleaning My Oven
There are 3 types of categories when it comes to cleaning an oven:
Pyrolitic - this is where the oven heats up to 500 degrees. At this temperature all the residue in the oven is burnt to ash.
Once the pyrolitic cleaning function is finished and the oven has cooled down, then the ash needs to be wiped out of the oven. With such high temperatures your cabinet needs to be fitted with special heat deflectors to protect your cabinets.
Steam Clean - this function allows the oven to be cleaned using water.
Your oven baking tray is filled with approximately 1 litre of water and placed in the oven. You then heat the oven to 90 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
Once finished and the oven has cooled down then you wipe the inside of the oven with a damp cloth.
Standard - here is when the oven needs to be cleaned using a cleaning product. A variety of different oven cleaners are available from supermarkets.
To help with cleaning most ovens allow the removal of the front door to make access easier.
3. How Big is my Oven?
Always check the internal size of your oven or take your baking dish to the store to check if your trays can fit in the oven.
Look at the height so that you are certain that your roast ie chicken, turkey, beef or pork can fit inside the oven.
Check how many shelf positions you have in the oven. If you are using fan forced then you want to be able to have a number of dishes cooking at the same time. The number of shelf positions will give you an idea on how many levels you can have at the one time.
If the floor of the oven has an element then you will lose some cooking space.
Never ever put foil on the bottom of your oven. If you do this then you will end up burning your cabinetry as the foil will reflect the heat down.
4. Is an Induction cooktop really faster?
Induction cooking is the most efficient form of cooking. It is faster, safer then other forms of cooking.
Induction operates by magnetic forces which will heat the contents inside of the pan. Not like other forms which have to heat the pan first before heating the contents.
To learn more about Induction Cooking read this article: Why You Should Choose Induction Cooking
5. What is MJ/h for gas cooktops
This rating tells you the amount of energy each burner uses on its maximum setting.
Four burner cooktops should have a good range of heat ratings from slow (low heat around 3.5 - 5 Mj/h) to fast (high heat 10 or 11 MJ/h) with wok burners around 12 -15 MJ/h.
Gas cooktops are generaly set up to operate on Natural Gas. If you are using LPG then your cooktop will need to be converted. Most manufacturers include injectors for LPG. Your plumber or gas fitter will need to change the injectors for you.
A number of gas cooktops are fitted with flame failure. This is a safety feature that shuts the gas off if the flame goes out.
6. What is the meaning of dish settings for a dishwasher?
If you have a 12 place setting then your dishwasher can handle all the plates from a 12 place dinner setting.
Collapsible shelves in a dishwasher are a handy feature that allows you to place large oven baking dishes in the dishwasher.
Check if the shelves are height adjustable. Then you can move the shelves up or down to handle larger pots and dishes.
7. What Do All the Cooking Functions Do?
Ovens can come with 3 to 11 cooking functions. Here is a brief explanation of the various functions.
8. What is airflow for a cooker hood.
Airflow is about moving the air from your cooking away and replacing it with clean air.
The airflow you require will depend upon the size of your kitchen and the type of cooking you do.
To work out the airflow required for your kitchen you simply take the volume size of your kitchen and multiply this value by 10.
As an example say your kitchen was 3m x 4m x 2.7m = 32.4m3 x 10 = 324 m3/h.
So any product that provides an airflow over 324 m3/hr will suit your kitchen and give you efficient ventilation of your kitchen.
As a general guide we use the following:
9. Do I duct or recirculate my hood?
This depends on where your kitchen is located in your home.
If your hood is where you can access the roof cavity or outside then you are best to duct the air away.
If the hood is located in a kitchen that is central to the home and has no external access then you will need to recirculate. When you recirculate it is recommended that you use carbon filters to help with the cleaning of the air.
10. What is my warranty?
The warranty period will be between 2 - 5 years. In most cases it is 2 years.
You can buy extended warranty if you so desire. We don't recommend it.
Warranty should cover the costs of labour and parts. The warranty will start from when you purchase the goods.
For any warranty it is important that you keep a proof of purchase either from your kitchen manufacturer or retailer.
That is it our top 10.
Have a great week. If there are any extra questions that you have then drop us a line and we will answer them for you.
Love Your Cooking
Recently Houzz conducted a survey of over 2800 people to gain an insight to their ideas thoughts and plans for renovating their kitchen for 2015. This survey gives a good insight into the thinking and planning for Kitchen upgrades in Australia.
For us there were 3 key takeaways:
These responses generally fall within the feedback we receive from our clientele.
For the questions that related to appliances and sinks there were 3 key takeaways:
For a full copy of the survey please click on the link below.
Check out our latest video showing you how to select the right kitchen applainces for your home.
With over 15 years experience in the kitchen and home renovation market we have benefited from listening to hundread and hundreds of customers to learn what they felt worked well and what didn't when selecting the appliances for their modern kitchen.
As a result of this we have been able to produce an 8 point checklist which will guide you on what to ask and consider when selecting your new applainces.
Check out our video below.
Let us know what you think. Talk soon.
The laundry will have noise, humidity and water. Unless you are building a new home then you cannot move your laundry. Because there is noise involved it is best that your laundry is located close to the outside and away from sleeping or living areas so you don’t disturb people.
As we mentioned previously the tasks you will do in the laundry include sorting, washing, drying, folding, ironing. To get the best out of your laundry then your layout should make this workflow easy and simple, and one should lead into another.
Your sorting area should lead to your washing then drying, then folding and airing of clothes and finally ironing.
This is where your washing machine and sink are located to help with plumbing and keep this area compact
Consider installing a clothing rod next to your dryer to hang items to air-dry. Immediately hang permanent press items to keep them from wrinkling.
A place for an ironing board (stand-alone or pull-out) close to the dryer and air-dryer is a good idea if you need to quickly iron something.
Your benchtop needs to be close to your dryer either directly above or next to it. This will give you a place to fold your clothes as they come out of the dryer.
Your laundry needs a place to hang clothes straight from the dryer or for delicate items that you like to air-dry (if not using your clothes line).
Similar to your wardrobe sturdy clothes rods are good and there needs to be enough space for clothes hangers.
If space is limited then consider a wall-mount clothing valet. It will fold down to hold the hangers and then can be folded up when you are finished.
As with anything if you are organized then it will flow easier.
A built-in ironing board saves space and hassle. Have a power point handy plus consider an extra light to just highlight the ironing area.
Natural light is good and the preferred option.
Task lighting for work areas is the best option. Consider the lighting of your benchtop area as you will need light to match socks and to check stains for pre-treatment.
Remember lighting to be directed at your washing machine or dryer to check that nothing is left inside.
Tiles are good for the floor for when you have to use the mop.
Smooth surfaces for the benchtop are the best so that you prevent snags when folding clothes.
Handy tips for your laundry
As with any renovation in your home then a little thought and planning before you start will save you a lot during the project.
As with the kitchen and bathroom the laundry combines water, electricity and heat. So a logical and simple workflow will make sure you get the best out of your new laundry.
The idea of a renovation should be to improve your lifestyle so that you can enjoy the finer parts of your life. Good luck with your next renovation project.
Have a great week.
Talk soon….
Well-designed kitchen lighting with different options and controls will add great value to your kitchen and offer a very good ROI (return on investment)
Whether you're remodeling your kitchen, or having your home built from the ground up, it's essential to arrange all elements to make the kitchen functional and attractive.
Why do you need to be aware of it I hear you ask. Well when you are planning your new kitchen you need to consider the following common accidents. Then in your planning process you can plan to minimise the risk of these accidents occuring.
This way you will ensure:
So when planning your kitchen consdier these 6 most common accidents:
This typically happens after the item has already been removed from the oven and is still scalding hot but now sitting innocuously on the counter.
While there's really no reason any person would touch something that's hovering around a couple hundred degrees, chances are, pretty much everyone has done it anyway.
From carelessly brushing the side of the oven while putting something in, to foolishly trying to move a pan that's just been taken out of the oven, there are few things that give you an embarrassed, "I can't believe I just did that" reaction like burning yourself while cooking.
Leaning across a burner or forgetting to put a mitten on.
As dumb as it sounds, fire related accidents are the most common ones and the ones that could cause you more harm, as well.
Avoid wearing loosely fitted clothing while cooking. Sleeves, sashes and shirt tails can get caught on knobs or catch fire.
The floor of a kitchen can be full of hazards, and way too many people end up slipping and falling.
Of all the possible ways to injure yourself while cooking, slipping on something you just spilled is easy.
One can only imagine the majority of these accidents go unreported, since there aren't a lot of people anxious to brag about their own accident.
However, between all the oils, liquids, and even flour that gets tossed around in the average kitchen there's plenty of ways to create your own little skating rink.
Even small puddles of liquid can cause you to slip and fall.
Leaving spills on counter-tops can cause cross-contamination.
Another seemingly avoidable accident that typically comes about from just not paying close attention to what's going on.
Knocking over a pot of boiling water (or a similar hot item) is a great way to immediately ruin even the best of days.
Sometimes it's the result of a handle that was left askew, and other times it's a misplaced elbow bumping into something it shouldn't have.
Either way, spilling hot water on yourself is a clumsy accident that can do a huge amount of damage.
Cutting yourself while attempting to slice food claims more fingers and palms than any other item.
Knives Are More Threatening Than They Look! Be sure to keep your knives in safe place in your counter or in your kitchen.
If you’re not a trained cook, be sure to slice slowly and in a dry enough place.
Do not lose attention and be careful of those little scares of the day! (Your phone ringing, your phone vibrating, etc…)
Have a great week.
Talk soon.
A kitchen renovation can be a big issue for everyone, including the most experienced renovator.
As a result of all this feedback and knowledge we have compiled the top 10 tips to a good renovation:
