Avoid These 4 Appliance And Lighting Mistakes
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The focus is on how to renovate properly without blowing your budget and losing your sanity.
So we are switching the focus just a tad by showing proven ways to really renovate wrong. I have 4 mistakes and 2 suggestions. First, the mistakes in order of egregiousness:
4. Overmount Sink/Non-Pullout Faucet: Maybe I am just splitting hairs. You have picked the perfect piece of granite, don't cover it with a piece of steel. Undermounting the sink accentuates the granite.
3. No Gray: This product should just be discontinued. GE, Frigidaire and Whirlpool have "silver mist" or "clean steel". It is a cheaper stainless looking substitute. They have the cheaper right. Spend the couple of hundred dollars and buy real steel. After rebates, stainless is often on par with the faux steel.
2. Fluorescent Undercounter Lighting: I like fluorescent lighting. It is much more energy efficient than incandescent and last 10 times longer. Fluoresecent, however, is extremely white light, and will wash out granite and marble. Buy a LED undercounter or low voltage for much better color effects.
1. 6 Inch Recessed Lights: Hard to believe customers still use these big lights. A six inch recessed can is over six inches in width (hence the name). It was the standard in the 1970s and early 80s, but has been replaced by smaller and neater cans. Place a 4 or 5 inch can on a ceiling with normal height.
Suggestions: Just a couple of ideas to make your kitchen look more aesthetically pleasing.
1. Counter Depth Refrigerator: The kitchen will look better than with the side protruding 6-8 inches into the space.
2. Slide-In Stove: Slide-in stoves do not have a backguard, so they highlight the tile work. The value and personality of your kitchen is in the counters, tile, cabinets and lighting. Smart renovation is about enhancing these aspects.
Once again, if you have a question about renovation, consider signing up for one of our newsletters. They are delivered once a month and are opt-in only. We will not spam you with irrelevant information.
