Kitchen Renovation - The Perfect Christmas Gift

How was your Thanksgiving? Surely it was as busy I am imagining, but that seems to be part of the tradition. But along with all of the rushing around, the Signature Kitchens family hopes you had an enjoyable holiday full of friends, family and good food.

Now that we have one holiday down, it's time to fully turn your attention to Christmas - arguably the biggest holiday of the year.

Kitchen Renovation in Northern Virginia

Kitchen renovation is a perfect Christmas gift to yourself. There is no better way to spruce up your home than to renovate the room that has the most foot traffic, and is often the most-used. Especially during the holidays, your kitchen is working overtime and the wear and tear from the busiest season of the year can leave a lasting impression on your kitchen. Don't go another year with a kitchen that needs an update!

Christmas is also a great time for kitchen renovation in Northern Virginia for homeowners that are looking to sell in the spring and summer months. The kitchen is usually the most visibly dated room of the home and homeowners often choose to update this room specifically for its high return on investment and its ability to sell a home.

For all of your kitchen renovation needs in Northern Virginia, contact Signature Kitchens!

Thanksgiving is the Kitchen Nightmare!

Thanksgiving is only 1 day away!

I can only imagine the chaos ensuing around Northern Virginia as families scramble to grocery stores, loading up their carts and standing in line for what feels like hours. Thanksgiving has a way of taking a peaceful holiday and turning it into a hectic eat-a-thon. I'm not complaining about that last part.

The worst part, in my mind, is the clean up. After cooking a Thanksgiving meal, the kitchen can be a complete disaster. "How did mashed potatoes get on the ceiling?" you'll think to yourself. Appliances will stop working when you need them the most and you may feel like your kitchen is falling apart all around you.

You may need kitchen cabinet refacing. 

When it's all said and done, you will have to assess the damage to your kitchen. If you haven't updated your kitchen yet with kitchen cabinet refacing, then you are in luck. Waiting until after Thanksgiving might have been a wise choice. We know that the kitchen can take a beating during this holiday, and after it's done, it's time to treat yourself.

Kitchen cabinet refacing removes all of the visible elements of your cabinets, and replaces them with beautiful, 100% hard wood. That means that all of the scratches, grooves, and faded kitchen cabinet doors will be removed.

Just in time for Christmas, kitchen cabinet refacing is a wonderful gift to yourself.

For kitchen cabinet refacing needs, contact Signature Kitchens! Use real wood, not the vinyl stuff!

Thanksgiving and Your Kitchen

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and families everywhere are making last minute preparations for the biggest dinner of the year. As friends and family gather around the dinner table in a week, think back and remember the time you spent in your kitchen. Were there elements of your current kitchen that were an inconvenience to you? Things that could have been updated to streamline the chaos? It may be time for kitchen remodeling. 

Kitchen Design Ideas

Since Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for the kitchen, it should be fairly easy to identify the elements of your kitchen that are an inconvenience. Maybe things would be easier to manage with more storage, or perhaps an island would have been an enormous help. 

Whatever it is, this time of the year is a perfect opportunity to pick up some kitchen design ideas for yourself. No one knows your kitchen better than you do, and we can help customize your space to make it more manageable, convenient and customized to meet your personal needs.   

Thanksgiving is just one of the holidays around the corner. Soon meal upon meal will be cooked up in your kitchen, which is why now is a great time to consider kitchen remodeling. For all of your kitchen remodeling needs, contact Signature Kitchens in Northern Virginia! 

The Holiday Season is the Busiest Time of the Year for Kitchens

The holiday season is right around the corner, and homeowners throughout the DC metro area are preparing and updating their homes with kitchen remodeling projects to accommodate friends and family.

A Once-a-Year Opportunity

Kitchens are certainly the most used room in a home during the holiday season; it's a 3 month span of endless meals and countless guests, making the kitchen the hub of entertainment in every home. With so many different roles to play, it's no wonder that kitchens throughout the area are being updated during the winter months more than any other time of the year.

Why Kitchen Remodeling Now?

Homeowners spend more time indoors and their kitchens are working overtime to keep up. This is when homeowners begin to distinguish the likes and dislikes of their kitchens and consider kitchen remodeling or kitchen renovation. They begin to understand what they could really use or need. They can envision a kitchen that can better serve their family, one that can entertain guests, and a kitchen that serves as the multi-functional room that so many home buyers are now seeking.

For all of your kitchen remodeling or building needs, contact Signature Kitchens. We understand what homeowners are looking for and have been a trusted, reliable friend to home builders and contractors for decades.  

Kitchen Repair After Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy swept across Northern Virginia this past weekend bringing heavy rain, fallen trees and high winds that left homes throughout the region damaged and in need of repair. Homes throughout Loudoun County and areas with fairly level terrain experienced flooding as well.

If your home experienced damage from the storm in Northern Virginia, you may need kitchen renovation services.

Kitchen Renovation Services Northern Virginia

If your home was the victim of Sandy’s heavy rain or even experienced physical damage from fallen branches, kitchen renovation may be essential to repair your home. The quality craftsmanship our kitchen remodeling contractors offer, and exceptional, 100% wood products are second-to-none. Working with Signature Kitchens means that your home will be repaired quickly and with professional care.

Our kitchen remodeling contractors are your point of contact throughout the kitchen renovation project. Since Signature Kitchens designs, manufactures and installs our own products, your kitchen remodeling contractor is your go-to for every aspect of your project. We eliminate the middlemen so you are able to save money and time by communicating directly with the one who can get things done.

If your home was damaged during Hurricane Sandy, or if you are just looking to upgrade your kitchen, contact Signature Kitchens. We serve all of Northern Virginia with quality craftsmanship, seamless installations, and personal care and attention. Call us today for more information!

 

Kitchen Renovation in Northern Virginia

Have you started slowly moving indoors yet? Although fall is in full effect in Northern Virginia, the nights and mornings are often chilly and sometimes just plain cold. In fact, we are only weeks away from Thanksgiving and soon we’ll be watching the citizens of New York celebrating the parade in the streets of Manhattan from the warmth of our homes in Northern Virginia.

This all means one thing: you have little time to get your kitchen renovation project up and running!

Kitchen renovation in Northern Virginia is extremely popular. Homeowners are constantly updating their kitchens to eventually sell their home, update the home they just bought, or just to accommodate their current lifestyles.

Whatever the reason may be, kitchen renovation is a great way to transform your home and add value to your home’s listing price. Having your project done before the holidays arrive is a tremendous help as it allows you to better accommodate your guests, prepare meals, and entertain around your fantastic new kitchen upgrades.

Cabinet Installation Northern Virginia

Cabinet installation is a great kitchen renovation project. Updating your existing cabinets may not always do the trick, and a complete cabinet installation may be in order. This can completely transform your home and will definitely increase the value. Whether you are looking for more storage space, and updated modern look, or just simply need a change, kitchen cabinet installation is a fun, customizable project that benefits you, your family, and ultimately the value of your home.

For all of your kitchen renovation projects or cabinet installation needs, call Signature Kitchens in Northern Virginia today!

Kitchen Remodeling Contractor Northern Virginia

Do you have a great idea for a kitchen remodeling project but don’t know which company to choose? There are an endless amount of kitchen remodeling contractors in Northern Virginia, so why should you go with Signature Kitchens?

ReCrafting: Kitchen recrafting is a unique service that we provide. Instead of traditional cabinet and drawer refacing, we call our service recrafting. That’s because we do more than just slap a vinyl cover on the outside. We use 100% real wood in all of our “refacing” services which means we essentially recraft their entire look. That means you get a product with higher quality, a better look, and at extremely competitive prices.

No Middle Man: Signature Kitchens designs, installs and even manufactures all of its pieces. Your kitchen remodeling contractor is your point of contact for the entire process and will guide you through each step of your kitchen remodeling project. You don’t have to deal with big box stores, designers, and contractors independently; we have simplified the process so you have all in one.

Location: Signature Kitchens has a showroom in Haymarket, Virginia. There you see how the cabinet recrafting process works and you will also be able to enjoy the selection of custom made wood cabinets. We pride ourselves on the quality of our product and know that you will be thrilled with our selection.

For more information on Signature Kitchens, visit our showroom in Haymarket, Virginia!

Remodeling for the Holidays

It’s no mystery that the holiday season can be one of the busiest times of the year. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s all within a month and a half of one another, families are moving nonstop preparing meals, visiting relatives and eating meals, and running to the grocery store preparing to prepare meals. That’s a lot of meals. Mix that in with the meals consumed the 5 month long holiday – football season – and that’s a lot of time spent preparing meals for a lot of different people.

The holiday season not only puts stress on homeowners, but it also takes its toll on your kitchen.

If your kitchen has suffered through countless holiday seasons already, it may be time to think about kitchen renovation or kitchen remodeling before Thanksgiving strikes. Whether your cabinets are beginning to show their age or because you’ve spent too much time fighting with that broken silverware drawer, the fall is a perfect time to update your kitchen.

From complete kitchen remodeling projects to cabinet and drawer refacing, Signature Kitchens can have it fixed and installed in just a few days. For more information, visit www.signaturewoodcrafters.com or schedule an appointment and visit our showroom at 6612 James Madison Hwy. Haymarket, VA 20169.

Selling Your Home in the Spring?

I love the fall weather. It feels great outside (minus the storms). Fall is great for a lot of different reasons: the beginning of the holiday season, football, friends and family, but it also a great time for kitchen remodeling and cabinet installation.

The warmer seasons such as spring and summer are great times to buy and sell homes. Few people want to deal with the stress of moving during the holiday season, and moving furniture and boxes in the cold weather can be a miserable experience.

So why is fall a great time for kitchen remodeling and cabinet installation?

Since homes sell in warmer weather, the fall is a great time to prepare your home. Now is the time to make a list of items that need repair or updating, so your home will sell quickly.

The kitchen is often a room that needs to be updated the most. When they are finally updated, kitchen remodeling projects and new cabinet installation have a phenomenal return on investment. Having an outdated kitchen, and being unable to sell your home may very well be related!

If you plan on selling your home in the spring or summer, think about updating your kitchen with a kitchen remodeling makeover, or new cabinet installation.

Call Signature Kitchens today to learn more about our services!

Kitchen Design Ideas for Autumn

There is something about Fall that I love and can never quite put my finger on it. After 6 months or so of being outside during spring and summer, the weather does everything it can to force us back inside. But when a home, and especially the kitchen, are decorated for the Fall season, being inside is homey, nostalgic, and even enjoyable. 

Kitchen Design Ideas

Fall colors, especially earth tones, have a comforting quality about them and give us memories of Thanksgiving and good food.

As many home owners in Northern Virginia are preparing for their kitchen remodeling projects before the winter, begin to think about your Fall decorations in the meantime. Once the kitchen remodeling project is complete, you will be left with a completely clean and probably empty kitchen. It’s like a clean slate.

Earth tones are great for placemats, candles, and other little accessories throughout the kitchen. A good friend of mine used small twigs and fake leaves to wrap around candle holders and even chandeliers to give that extra autumn look, and is a great, inexpensive kitchen design idea.

We would love to see how you have decorated your kitchen! Feel free to post any photos to our Facebook wall along with decorating tips and kitchen design ideas.

For all of your kitchen remodeling projects this winter, contact Signature Kitchens in Haymarket, Virginia.

School is Back = Assess the Kitchen Damage

It’s hard to believe that summer is officially over! The weather is slowly fading from those brutal 100 degree weeks and school is back in session for students around Northern Virginia.

Now that the kids are finally out of the house for most of the day (depending on their age) it’s time to assess the damage. The kids have been running through the house all summer long leaving a trail of debris in their path. But now that the dust has settled, it’s time to take a look around at the most used room of the home – the kitchen.

Do You Need a Kitchen Remodeling Contractor?

If you have been putting off that kitchen remodeling project all summer because you knew how busy you would be, now is the time to get things done. With the holiday season right around the corner, chances are your kitchen doesn’t have much time before things get truly hectic once again. Kitchen remodeling in Northern Virginia is constantly occurring due to design trends, the housing market, and the unique way of living that can only be found in Northern Virginia.

Don’t Want to Take on a Kitchen Remodeling Project? Consider Cabinet Refacing.

I’ve said it before that kitchen cabinet refacing can completely transform the look and feel of your current kitchen. Since kitchen cabinets take up the most real estate, the rest of the kitchen often caters to the overall design of the cabinets themselves. If you are ready for a new look, consider cabinet refacing and take care of the smaller items down the road.

For all of your kitchen remodeling or kitchen cabinet refacing needs in Northern Virginia, contact Signature Kitchens! Visit our showroom in Haymarket, Virginia.

It's Holiday Season...Almost: Before & After Kitchen Remodeling Projects

Chances are that you have been waiting for the perfect time to begin your kitchen remodeling project. But after being out of the house throughout the summer because the kids have so many activities, you’re on vacation, you were never home…things are about to change, because you finally have a great excuse.

It’s holiday season.

What? Of course it’s not yet. But it will be soon and it’s only a few months away.

The holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve) are some of the absolute busiest times for families, kitchens, and stomachs.

Friends and family members flock to each other’s houses to celebrate together with massive feasts prepared by…you.

So do you have an excuse yet? Yes. And fall is the perfect time to begin your kitchen remodeling project.

You know exactly what you are getting into. You are a seasoned holiday veteran. Your kitchen remodeling project has been mapped out in your mind for years, and now it’s time to reward yourself. Whether you choose to completely overhaul your kitchen with new floors, cabinet installation, countertops, etcetera, or if you choose to keep it simple by giving your kitchen cabinets a facelift with cabinet refacing, now is the time for you to make your move.

If you’re not looking to completely overhaul the kitchen, cabinet refacing is a fantastic option that gives your kitchen an entirely new look without the cabinet frame installation process. And by using real wood to reface your cabinets, forget about the vinyl coverings and say hello to a new, updated kitchen.

Don’t be left unprepared and over-stressed this holiday season by dealing with a kitchen that is small, out of date and difficult to manage.

Signature Kitchens in Haymarket, Virginia, serves all of Northern Virginia and offers top of the line products at the industry’s most affordable prices.

You officially have your excuse. Call Signature Kitchens today.

BEFORE

AFTER

Renting vs. Buying - Which is Best??

There is a new post on zillow.com, a search engine for renters and buyers to find homes, that talks about buying a home verses renting one. Typically, people are quick to throw up their hands and immediately claim that owning a home is, of course, the best choice. But much more should be going into that decision such as location, how long you plan on living in the area, and of course, your income.

Zillow tells us that there is a magical number called the “break even horizon” - the number of years you need to own a home before you are actually saving money. For most areas, that amount of time is somewhere between 2-5 years.

What does this have to do with kitchen remodeling?

Making the switch from renting to buying, you may think that you will be spending more money initially and then completely forget about the saving money part a few years down the road. But after the first couple of years, you can start using the money you saved by making home repairs such as kitchenremodeling or cabinet installation. Both of these items provide a great return on investment for a home, which will save you even more money if you plan on selling the home in the future.

If you are moving into your first home and want to update your home with a kitchen remodeling project, rest assured that the money you will save in 2-3 years will pay for the kitchen remodel or cabinet installation. Moving into a home that has been around for some time, the owners will often choose kitchen remodeling as their first major project as that can be the most noticeably dated room in the house.

To learn more about our kitchenremodeling services in Northern Virginia, contact Signature Kitchens in Haymarket, Virginia!

Kitchen Design Ideas This Football Season

Summer is almost over, unfortunately. We are only one month away until school is back in session for a number of Northern Virginia students. But with the end of summer means the beginning of fall, and with the beginning of fall, we also get football.

Football season will soon be consuming the Northern Virginia area as hopes of the Washington Redskins latest prospect are at an all time high. Football means family rooms packed with sports enthusiasts, lots of food and (probably) lots of yelling at the TV.

So if you are looking for kitchen design ideas this fall to prepare for winter holidays, look no further than football season.

As loads of people pile into your house every Sunday until January, the kitchen is sure to get a lot of use. From cooking up appetizers and halftime snacks in the kitchen to throwing a few steaks on the grill, most football fans love to eat. The football fan can run endless sprints between the TV room and the kitchen to snack on whatever is in sight.

This is a great opportunity to see how others use the kitchen, how you are using the kitchen to accommodate guests, and where you would like to see things improve.

Kitchen Remodeling

If your guests always seem to run straight into the kitchen island in between plays, you may want to consider kitchen remodeling. A full kitchen remodel will often help homeowners accommodate large amounts of guests, which can be especially helpful during holidays, parties, and football season, of course.

For all of your kitchen remodeling services and for more kitchen design ideas, visit the showroom at Signature Kitchens in Haymarket, Virginia.

Why Choose Signature Kitchens?

Signature Kitchens has been providing quality services throughout Northern Virginia for over 25 years. A majority of that time has been spent serving loyal, satisfied home builders, and more recently, our kitchen design services became available directly to the public.

This has made it easier for locals in Northern Virginia and Maryland to get a one-on-one experience with professional kitchen designers and manufacturers at Signature Kitchens.

When searching for a kitchen design expert, Signature Kitchens has everything you need, which is one of benefits of dealing with a manufacturer.

Kitchen Designer – when you deal with Signature Kitchens, you have direct access to a kitchen designer who assists in the layout, design and installation of your kitchen project.

Services – kitchen design, kitchen cabinet installation, cabinet refacing and more, Signature Kitchens offers everything you need to completely renovate your kitchen no matter how big or small the project may be.

Kitchen Showrooms – there are 3 kitchen showrooms located in the Washington, DC area for our customer’s convenience. Our guests are able to look and use the quality wood craftsmanship that Signature Kitchens offers its home builders and direct customers.

All-in-1 – With Signature Kitchens you work with one company. Everything from the manufacturing, design and installation is done within the company so you never have to run back and forth between customer service reps from other companies.

With so many great services being offered, it’s no wonder Signature Kitchens has been the premier kitchen design company in Northern Virginia and Maryland for so long. Come see for yourself at one of our kitchen design showrooms!

Realtors Seeking Kitchen Remodeling Contractors

Our nation’s housing market is still seeing some of the lowest interest rates ever. It has been a great few years for buyers and a very busy time for realtors as well. With many homes being foreclosed or selling as “short sales”, homes are left as is which can make them difficult to sell at times.

Every room usually undergoes some sort of touch up before selling, but the one room that can truly sell a home is the kitchen – a room that needs to be up to par with kitchens found in new homes. Kitchens are the most used rooms in a house and it often shows. So what needs to be done to sell the home?

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing

Kitchen cabinets take up a lot of real estate in the kitchen. In addition to being the main focal point of the kitchen, they are used constantly and experience a lot of wear and tear. This is why kitchen cabinet refacing can be the perfect facelift for any outdated kitchen.

Kitchen Remodeling Contractor

When a home needs to be sold quickly and potential buyers are citing the kitchen as their main concern, realtors will call a kitchen remodeling contractor to do a professional, quality job in a hurry.

We work with many realtors who are seeking professional kitchen remodeling contractors. Often it takes only a few minor updates to transform a home and have it sold quickly.

If you are a realtor looking for a reliable kitchen remodeling contractor to work with, Signature Kitchens has over 20 years of experience and provide the highest quality service throughout Northern Virginia.

Remodeling & Renovation: What's the Difference?

As a homeowner looking to take on a new project, it is important that you understand exactly what you are getting into and how to express that to those involved. To better explain your new project to contractors, service providers and even building supplies retail centers, we’ll take a look at some very common home improvement terms that are used constantly throughout the industry.

Kitchen Remodeling

Kitchen remodeling, or remodeling in general, is a fairly broad term that is used to describe any change to a house. Remodeling carries with it a heavier weight and can often represent a major undertaking. For example, a kitchen remodeling project may involve combining the dining room and the kitchen into one room. This is becoming an extremely popular kitchen remodeling project as it involves a complete transformation of not one but two rooms.

Kitchen Renovation

Smaller scale projects can be categorized as renovations. A renovation is a project that would involve making the room appear new again. Not a complete overhaul, but updating the existing fixtures and overall look of the room. In a kitchen renovation project, you may see cabinet refacing being done, new appliances or light fixtures, or even new flooring. It is essentially taking what exists currently and revitalizing it.

Knowing the difference between these two types of home improvement projects will allow you to communicate your needs and concerns more effectively with building contractors and retail outlets. For all of your kitchen remodeling and kitchen renovation needs, contact Signature Kitchens in Haymarket, Virginia.

The "Work Triangle" for Your Kitchen Remodeling Project

Home values have increased again this month signifying an upswing in the housing market. As I stated in previous blog entries, kitchen remodeling projects create a highly-valuable return on investment for homeowners. These projects steadily increase in popularity as homeowners continue to sell by creating a memorable atmosphere at the heart of the home.

Layouts for Kitchen Remodeling Projects

Kitchen cabinet installation is one of the most important pieces to your remodel. Kitchen cabinets need to be durable, have ample storage space, and most importantly, they have to look good.

The Correct Location for Your Kitchen Cabinet Installation

In order to find the proper location for your kitchen cabinet installation, you need to understand how you want your kitchen to function. Depending on the size of your kitchen remodeling project, you may be looking for a complete overhaul – changing the location of your stove, cabinets, sink, etc.

A tried and true layout for a kitchen remodel is known as the Work Triangle. According to zillow.com, the triangle should have the stove, sink and refrigerator at its points. They should have plenty of space between each item without any intersecting inhibitors such as a kitchen island or counter. This is used to maximize efficiency in the kitchen and to create a space that promotes a seamless operation and room for guests and loved ones to gather.

Signature Kitchens has a fantastic showroom for everyone to browse through for their kitchen remodeling project ideas. You will be able to select the wood, finish and overall look of your new kitchen cabinets, and even see them paired with counter tops and appliances.

Visit Signature Kitchens in Haymarket, Virginia. We service all of Northern Virginia including Loudoun County, Prince William County, Fairfax County and beyond.

The Showroom at Signature Kitchens

This week, I took some time out of my day to tour the absolutely beautiful Signature Kitchens showroom conveniently located in Haymarket, Virginia. The front of the building looks just like a small home, but upon entry, the walls seem to expand as the showroom opens up, full of fantastic kitchens and exquisitely-crafted cabinetry.

The kitchen showroom provides an amazing experience full of breathtaking kitchens, but it also proves educational as guests see firsthand the process behind their legendary kitchen cabinet refacing, or “recrafting” process.

What makes the kitchen cabinet refacing process so incredible is the ability to completely transform the entire physical appearance of the existing cabinetry without a complete overhaul of the cabinet frames and installation process. It may sound like a complete kitchen remodeling project, but the recrafting process can be done in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost.

The selection of new cabinet and drawer faces is vast and the entire collection is as stunning as the piece before it. There were so many great samples to choose from, and some of my favorite pieces were even found in photos of their completed projects proudly hanging on the showroom walls.

Most of all, the showroom felt intimate. It wasn't a large, impersonal business that didn't care, it was personal and catered exactly to what each guest wanted. I felt like I was standing in someone's home when I was there, and that is the perfect way to envision your new kitchen.

Stop by the showroom sometime and see for yourself. Haymarket is a beautiful town and truly adds to the whole experience. (The diner across the street is amazing, as well!)

The Signature Kitchens showroom is located at 6612 James Madison Highway, Haymarket, Virginia 20169.

Completed Project by Signature Kitchens

Before and After Kitchen ReCrafting Project

Signature WoodCrafters is known for its unique practice of kitchen cabinet ReCrafting. In a home in Leesburg, Virginia, we met with a homeowner who was unhappy with the overall appearance of her kitchen cabinets and island. Previously, she had replaced the countertops with granite and the island was being extended to create a breakfast bar. With those two items being remodeled, she felt that the natural maple color and door style of her kitchen cabinets did not flow well with the rest of the kitchen, and wanted something a little more formal.

Here is a look at the kitchen island as it was being extended, as well as the existing Natural Maple cabinets.

We recrafted the cabinets with full-overlay raised-panel doors in medium-tone maple with black glazing. Tall crown molding was added to the tops of the cabinets along with a black rope inset to coordinate with the glazing. A stainless steel refrigerator was also replaced with a new black refrigerator and custom raised panels were attached to match the cabinetry. Exposed cabinet ends were covered with raised panels as well.

Finally, the kitchen island was finished with matching solid raised panels on the sides and beaded paneling and corbels on the back, giving the homeowner’s kitchen the formal look she wanted.

Our kitchen cabinet recrafting services are completed within days once we receive the custom-made pieces from our Pennsylvania Dutch manufacturing facility. The quality of our work speaks for itself, and our ability to design, manufacture, and install our own work makes us a one-stop-shop for all of your kitchen remodeling needs and services. Visit one of our showrooms to see our work for yourself!