A Great Resource for Realtors

Over at Signature WoodCrafters, we have a long history of working closely with realtors who are looking an inexpensive way to spruce up a home. Often we come in and quickly renovate staircases, cabinets, and other structures and features that may be outdated or have a worn look to them. We even do full kitchen renovations and cabinet remodeling.

Signature WoodCrafters has the perfect solution for a home that isn’t selling as well as expected. By completely ReCrafting an outdated kitchen with new cabinets, built-ins or countertops, the home will take on entirely new, custom-built look without the headache or cost of a full-scale remodeling project. Quickly doing a full or itemized kitchen renovation is a great solution.

Signature WoodCrafters also ReCrafts stairs. Transforming stained, worn-down carpet into a custom-made wood staircase eliminates the embarrassing walk up to the second floor with a client. The ReCrafting process resembles our cabinetry remodeling process, as we discard the carpet or old wood from the previous staircase, and fit our custom-built wood pieces over top of the existing stairs. This again provides you with a quick fix to a major eyesore in the home you are trying to sell. Once the custom pieces are built, the installation can be done within days so you can get back to work as soon as possible.

Working with Signature WoodCrafters ensures a beautiful, custom-built piece for your kitchen, stairway, countertop, or built-in at a fraction of the price and time it would take to complete an entire remodeling project. Our kitchen renovation and cabinet remodeling services are second to none.

Realtors need superior products in a quick, cost-effective manner, and that is exactly what Signature WoodCrafters provides. Don’t pay more and wait longer. It doesn’t make sense.

Kitchen Remodeling Projects

I can’t help but be overly excited that spring is here. The weather is here at least, but that is the true mark of a new season in my eyes. The warm weather means cookouts, parties and random social gatherings of friends and families. Despite having a perfectly fine family room, everyone seems to congregate inside the kitchen. This is why spring is the perfect time for a kitchen remodeling project. 

Kitchen remodeling doesn’t have to sound as daunting as it does. It can be as small or as big as you want it. Whether you’re looking for cabinet installation/recrafting, or the works – countertops, kitchen islands, buit-ins – Signature WoodCrafters has the perfect solution for you. 

Signature WoodCrafters is able to provide complete cabinet installation or recrafting. The two are very different. However, having the perfect cabinets installed for your kitchen remodeling project is key. Cabinets are the face of your kitchen. Typically, they take up the most space and are also the most seen and prominent structure in your kitchen. 

Whether you choose complete cabinet installation or cabinet recrafting, you will receive custom-built wood pieces from our own manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. If you choose to work with us for your kitchen remodeling project, you will be cutting out the middle man that other contractors typically use. We manufacture and install all of our custom built items so you are always dealing with the same company. 

The type of wood and design you choose for your cabinet installation determines the entire look and feel of your kitchen remodeling project. We know that this can be a difficult choice for our customers, which is why we have created showrooms in Virginia and Maryland to better serve our guests. Stop by and see us and begin your kitchen remodeling project today!

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing and ReCrafting

When people think about kitchen cabinet refacing or even cabinet renovation, they visualize a long drawn out process, tons of contractors running around and making noise, and just total chaos. With Signature Kitchens, that couldn’t be any further from the truth.

We want your kitchen cabinet refacing to run as smoothly as possible from start to finish, and the best part is, the cabinet renovation process only takes a few days.

When we talk about our kitchen cabinet refacing process, you may hear us use the word “recrafting.” Our cabinet renovation process involves determining exactly what you want for your new cabinet refacing, then we use the design to custom build your 100% hardwood cabinet doors and drawer fronts. Instead of using the veneer cabinet covers that you have probably seen before, we reface your cabinets and your cabinet frames with solid hardwood, which gives your kitchen a custom-built look without the cost, or headaches of a typical cabinet renovation project.

The best part of all is that our recrafting service does not cost more than traditional kitchen cabinet refacing projects. Since all of our material is built and designed in our own facility in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, we are able to cut out the middle man and make your kitchen cabinet refacing project a worry free experience.

If you are looking to bring new life into your kitchen, but don’t have the big budget, or the time to have contractors running in and out of your home for the next month, kitchen cabinet recrafting is the perfect solution for you. Now is the perfect time to give your kitchen a facelift with the custom built look and feel that you have always wanted. Call Signature Kitchens today to make your dream kitchen a reality!

Kitchen Design Ideas

When you look around your kitchen, its cabinets and counter top, and finally decide that it is time to undergo a kitchen renovation, you are left with the daunting task of coming up with an entirely new design. Kitchen design ideas are seemingly endless and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming as you begin to seriously decide on your kitchen renovation plans.

Where to Get Kitchen Design Ideas

If you are one of the lucky few who have a vision and a plan for your kitchen before you even begin the kitchen renovation project, count yourself lucky. Most people need to find inspiration for their kitchen design ideas. After all, kitchens are often thought of as the focal point in the home and people tend to congregate there during parties and social gatherings.

Kitchen design ideas can come from a number of places. One of the first places I would check out is our kitchen renovation photo gallery. There you will be able to view some great before-and-after photos of our previous work and draw some ideas from there.

Another great place to gather kitchen design ideas is at one of our 3 showrooms. Located in Haymarket, VA, Owings, MD and Elkridge, MD, these showrooms offer a ton of beautiful pieces to help inspire your own kitchen renovation. There you will be able to speak with members of our crew who will be able to point you in the right direction and offer their expertise in kitchen renovation.

Of course there are plenty of websites and magazines you can look at for kitchen design ideas as well, but sometimes for me, having the opportunity to see and touch the actual handcrafted pieces is much more inspirational when it comes to deciding on the perfect kitchen design ideas.

Stop by and visit us today, and we will be happy to show you around so you can begin your kitchen renovation project!

New Discovery: Kitchens.com

The great thing about the internet and blogs is that there is always something new to be learned.  For a passionate lifelong learner, like myself, it becomes a joy when I stumble upon a great new website through the referral of a great blogger.  Truth be told, this is how I usually find all the blogs that I read - through the referrals of other blogs I enjoy, because there is a level of trust I have with them - if they put out great content and I enjoy reading their blog, someone that they refer is getting at least a click-through, if not follow via Google Reader.

This is how I discovered the Kitchens.com website today.  Paul Anater, of Kitchen and Residential Design blog, referenced them in an article that he wrote about one of their new features in helping homeowners research the kitchen process.  In going through the website myself, I found a wealth of information that I believe every homeowner who is researching either a new kitchen or kitchen remodel should look into.  It covers different kitchen products (everything from flooring to appliances to crown moulding), what to expect when remodeling, and why using a kitchen designer is so beneficial.   If you are planning on doing anything in your kitchen, you should definitely check this site out and take the time to read the informative articles that they have available.

What You Can do to Your Kitchen for $1000

A lot of potential customers come to us not wanting to spend a lot of money on their kitchen.  They carry a belief that refacing - or our custom-made product recrafting - is going to get them the kitchen of their dreams on the cheap.  But more often than not, we have to break the bad news to them - their dream kitchen is going to cost money.  And in fact, it is going to cost you somewhere in between $10k to $20k.  Many people don't want to hear that.  They don't like to think that there are real costs associated with re-doing a kitchen well - and that these costs are actually extremely fairly priced in today's market.

BUT....there are things that you can do to update the look of your 30-yr old kitchen that don't have to break the bank.  Check out the before and after pictures and the project description that our VP of cabinetry worked on for her niece.

THE ISSUES:
1 - The kitchen has 30+yr old cabinets with a white dishwasher and range that were 5+years old and a refrigerator and range hood who's age has yet to be discovered.  Needless to say the appliances did not match.
2 - The shelf unit over the peninsula portion of the countertop created a huge division in the sightline and aesthetic flow of the room's space.
3 - The tile countertops were dirty and had missing or broken front edge tiles.
4 - The wall cabinets had an uneven bulkhead above them.

THE SOLUTION:
1 - White appliance paint changed the refrigerator and avocado green range hood to standard white, creating matching appliances throughout the kitchen space.
2 - The dividing shelf unit came down, opening up the space.
3 - The tiles on the front edge of the countertop came off and were replaced with a dark stained 2" wood trim.
4 - Large white crown moulding above the wall cabinets was added to bridge the gap between the ceiling and cabinets and both the trim and ceiling were painted white to match and create a unified sightline.

Water damage had caused the sink base doors to warp and be covered in water stains, while also causing the dishwasher and countertop to be unlevel.

The problems from the water damage were fixed with new birch plywood doors and drawer fronts and a brace that went underneath the cabinets to level the countertop and dishwasher.  New hardware was also added, completing the overall change in the look of the kitchen.

Some elbow grease, Murphy's Oil, clear lacquer, and clear poly finishes helped add polish and panache to the rest of the cabinetry.  Commercial tile and grout cleaner cleaned up the backsplash and counters.  The light fixture, sink, and faucet were all updated as well, creating the finished kitchen.  It goes to show just how much the look of a kitchen can change with the details and some cleaners. 

And meanwhile, you can save some dollars for when you actually want to design and create your dream kitchen :).

If I Was to Have a White Kitchen...

...this is what it would be.

Stone & Tile World : Rockville, MD

Did you know that one of Signature WoodCrafters trade partners is Stone & Tile World?  Not only do they supply solid surface countertops for homeowners, but they also help our sister company, Signature Companies, supply homebuilders in the Mid-Atlantic region with solid surface countertops.  Based out of Rockville, MD, Stone & Tile World just updated their website with more information and images of many jobs that we have collaborated together on.  Stone & Tile also recently helped us update our showroom with new, beautiful granite countertops (pictures to come shortly!).

Thanks to Stone & Tile World for all their help with our showroom and many homeowner projects!

With Kitchens, It's All About Function, Not Size

This post comes to you from our design intern, Molly Holland....Take it away Molly!

Considering I have been with Signature for almost two months, I decided to think about the kitchens I have experienced so far.  I have gone on many clientele adventures with a designer and have looked at various kitchens.  Some were extremely small and some were larger than you would even think an owner would need! It made me wonder if they had a crew of cooks and bakers that came in for dinner every night, but I refrained from asking :).

Going on with this idea of kitchen sizes, I realized that both can be very functional.  The coziness of the placement appliances and the creative ways people think of storing food and dishes makes me giddy with excitement because of the inspirations I can add to my idea file of endless photos and brilliant suggestions for design.

I found on the Houzz website that people agree with me on the functionality of small kitchens.  They offered some great ideas on how to get the most out of your small space:

1 - Tall cabinets that reach to the ceiling increase the storage and add a finished look to the space.

2 - Increasing your countertop depth is another way of increasing storage.  Being able to place cooking utensils or showing off your spices can add character to your kitchen and also free up drawers for other kitchen gadgets to be stored.

3 - Roll-out trays in bottom cabinets were one of the best things invented (at least for right now :)) in the cabinet world.  This not only goes for small kitchens, but for any size area.  Roll-out trays allow for organization and easy access to those hidden food boxes or rarely used cooking trays.  These roll-out trays come from Cardell which Signature carries!

While these are just a few ideas for smaller kitchens, visit the Houzz website for more ideas and let your dream kitchen prosper!

The Roy G. Biv of Kitchen Colors

Today we have a guest post from one of our new design interns, Molly Holland.  Molly is a recent graduate from Virginia Tech from their Bachelor of Science, Apparel, Housing and Resource Management program.

In the kitchen design world, it's not just about what cabinets to place in what area of the room.  I like to think it's designing an area where you can feel comfortable in and plan to keep for (hopefully) a lifetime.  Now with saying this, I don't mean that people are strictly forced to stick to one wall color or even one door style (ahem, Recrafting is done here at Signature WoodCrafters! :)).  People are allowed to change whatever they wish to, but right now, I have recently learned about the new trends in colors for kitchens.

While opening up my browser today at work, MSN.com flashed upon the screen with an article in the lifestyle area about the colors of the modern kitchen.  Since I'm a connoisseur of design and trend literature, I decided, why not give this article a read through?  To my disbelief, I realized that people are using crazy colors!  This plethora extends from bright, grass greens inspired by modern European sensibilities to plain, stark white English country kitchens.  These colors are endless throughout the slideshow of vibrant kitchens (as seen below from the article).

What I found so interesting, though, was the fact that people are now using bright colors for the insides of their cabinets, then placing glass on the doors.  What an intriguing idea...which makes me wonder, why didn't I think of that? Then again, that's how life goes in the design world, but now I am inspired to see that kitchens are no longer just natural wooden picturesque model rooms.  Oh no, they are painted with a never-ending rainbow of colors that obviously are the trend these days.  But before going down this route yourself, do remember one thing...how many coats of paint will it take to cover that grass green in three years?  Or do you want to start saving now for your next kitchen replacement! :)