moisture protection

Cabinetry design and selection is a very important element of a home renovation. While people generally think of cabinetry as being for kitchen’s and bathroom’s, cabinets can enhance many areas of your home. Consider how cabinetry can customize a craft room, create the perfect designer closet, make an appealing feature that hides entertainment components, display art or organize your laundry room. Besides being important for design and function, cabinetry will be one of the biggest expenses in a renovation so shop smart and make sure you balance price, quality and function to find the perfect cabinets for your home.

Thicker materials make better cabinetry. Your cabinetry boxes should be at least three-quarters of an inch thick. Some cabinet makers will try to cut costs by using material that is five-eighths of an inch for their boxes instead. If your cabinetry is made well and of quality materials it will stay sturdy and not shift or warp. There are many things that happen in a kitchen or bathroom that cause moisture to interact with your cabinetry so you need quality materials that can stand up to the test of cooking and bathing so they’ll stay looking beautiful and work properly over time. Melamine interiors are a great choice for cabinets and drawers. In fact, Perry Newman believes having melamine for the interior of drawers is better than wood. “Just be careful,” he warns, “to check the quality of the melamine. There is some coming in from China that is low quality and if you put a hot glass (right out of the dishwasher) on it, it will bubble up and warp. That can also happen with wood in the bottom of drawers so quality melamine is better.”

Doors are the most expensive item of a cabinetry purchase. Take time to educate yourself and know what the doors are made of before you order. So much of your cost and the success of the design rides on this decision because cabinetry is big and expensive and can’t easily be switched out like other things in the home. The cost of cabinetry varies so drastically that you really need to think about how much you want to spend and get the highest quality and function for that price. Perry Newman suggests you decide on your goal for the cabinets and work to achieve the best balance in what you purchase.

Hardware is something people seldom ask for details about but you can spend a little or a whole lot on pulls and handles. Better quality hardware is made in the United States or Germany. If you order online or through a box store without direction from your cabinet maker or designer you might end up with lower quality pulls and drawers that don’t work or don’t last like they would have if more care had been taken in the hardware selection. “There is nothing more frustrating than a drawer that doesn’t work.” Perry Newman explains, “I’ve had people want to renovate a whole kitchen over that.”

Check for gaps, untreated wood, splinters and chipped edges. A well-made cabinet will not have these evidences of poor craftsmanship. Another key indicator is to look for 100 percent, perfect right angles on each joint and corner of the cabinetry. Perry Newman says people should take time to understand how their cabinetry is built. Ask questions, a good cabinet maker knows how to explain the process and can tell you in detail how your pieces will come together.

Checking the drawers can give you clues about the quality of the product. Drawers that have steel ball bearings in the roller mechanisms and metal fittings are better quality than those with plastic and nylon. Ask about the load rating for how much weight the drawers can hold. The higher the number, the better. If the drawer is built to hold more weight, it needs to be built better. Features like soft close and full-extension guides (that allow you to access even the very back of the drawer) can also be indicators that your cabinetry is of higher quality. Also, ask about options like custom pegs and dividers (see below). Quality cabinet builders will offer those types of customization.

Custom drawer dividers in Utah

Custom dish pegs in Utah

Look at the shelving inside the cabinets. Better quality cabinetry generally has more adjustable shelving and less fixed shelves. While you are in there, look at the hardware holding the shelves in place. You want to find a cabinet builder that uses metal hardware, not plastic, because the shelves will hold more weight, stay in place better and last well over time.

Use the cabinets before you decide. Open doors, slam drawers, see how the cabinetry feels in the showroom or in projects that builder has completed before you order it for your home. There shouldn’t be any wobbling and the doors and drawers should feel smooth when you use them. Think about how you utilize your cabinetry and make sure that the way the cabinets you are considering function will meet your needs. One tip that has become quite a work-saving trend is to plan to store your dishes in drawers instead of upper cabinets. It’s so much easier to move dishes from the dishwasher into deep, lower drawers that it is to lift heavy plates up into high cabinetry. Another tip is those drawer dividers and custom pegs mentioned earlier help organize your kitchen, maximizing efficiency and making a place for every kitchen gadget and tool.

If all this talk about testing and quality and finding balance kind of makes your head spin, consider getting the help of a professional designer to lead you through all your selections. The Perry Newman Design team specializes in finding the best choices and guiding you through the selection process to find the highest quality materials while keeping you on schedule and in budget. A designer will also have experience with different products and suggestions about ways to utilize all the latest advancements in cabinetry and the other elements of your renovation. The process starts with a free, in-home consultation so call and schedule today 801.971.0868 or fill out the contact form on perrynewmandesign.com.

Hardwood floors are beautiful and very appealing because people are drawn to natural products. Things from nature, like wood, offer rejuvenation, stress relief and relax our consciousness. Wood also falls into the criteria we have addressed in previous blogs about the importance of timeless design. However, as much as people love wooden floors, there are instances when it’s not the right choice to put into your home. If you love wood, here are five situations where an alternative flooring, maybe one that gives the look of wood, might be a better choice:

High traffic areas where wood could be damaged; Beautiful hardwood floors will not stay looking their best or make a homeowner happy if they are installed into very high traffic areas where they can be damaged. Think of a mountain cabin where ski poles, sleds, boots, rocks, hiking equipment, mud, snow and dirt will be dragged across an entryway floor. Especially in a space where the homeowner comes to relax and get away, constant worry about a floor would defeat the purpose of your get-away place. This may also be true in certain parts of your primary residence so think about how your home will be utilized and avoid putting hardwood where there is a potential for damage. If high-traffic and risk of damage make you shy away from wood, consider concrete, rubber or vinyl as wood imposters that will look great but give you nearly indestructible alternatives. You’ll end up having the look you want without the worry.

Rubber flooring that looks like hardwood planks.

Residential interior with flooring that looks like hardwood but is made of rubber.

Example of concrete floor that looks like wood.

Areas where moisture is a concern; Places like bathrooms may not be the best rooms to install hardwood floors. Usually, when a floor has buckled or had other water damage, it happens near showers, refrigerators or where there is plumbing for sinks or appliances. Water and wood don’t mix well and when they do it causes big headaches and expensive repairs for the homeowner. If you want the wooden look without the worry about moisture damage, consider installing tile that is designed to imitate hardwood flooring. There are many beautiful options to choose from that look just like wood. Besides the moisture protection, another benefit of the tile floor is that you have the option of adding a radiant heating system into the floor. This luxury isn’t an option if you choose hardwoods.

Tile flooring that looks like hardwood flooring.

Tile kitchen floor that looks like wood.

The cost of the wood you want is beyond your budget; Staying under budget is always a consideration that has to be managed and you can’t always find high-end materials at low-end prices. However, there are many low-cost options for wood alternatives that can give you the hardwood look you desire. Your designer will have many products for you to consider but some solutions may be linoleum, vinyl, rubber or laminates. Take time to shop these commodities and you will be amazed at how realistic the look and feel mimic hardwood floors while keeping your wallet and bottom line happy.

Maintaining hardwood floors takes time, energy and money; You don’t want to compromise the integrity of your beautiful floors so putting in hardwood is like signing a contract to refinish them about every five years. This is a lot of work or an expense and inconvenience that is just part of owning wood. Any of the wood alternatives that are mentioned in this blog are easier to maintain than hardwood flooring. The best way to get the wooden plank look with the least amount of work is to try vinyl. It’s not the vinyl of decades gone by. Newer types that have the wood plank look even come in snap-together planks to better mimic hardwoods.

Vinyl flooring that looks like wood.

Kitchen with vinyl flooring that looks like a hardwood, plank floor.

Wooden flooring is not conducive to the design of your home; There are some styles where, as much as you love hardwood floors, they just don’t fit the design. There are literally thousands of choices for flooring available in every texture, color and material you can imagine. If you are struggling to come up with a flooring idea because you are stuck on the idea of wood then sit down and make a list of what you like about hardwood floors, then work with your designer to find an alternative that checks the boxes of those attributes that are most important to you.

Example of interior space utilizing rubber flooring.

Bathroom with linoleum flooring.

Turquoise and white kitchen with terrazzo floor.

Mid-century, modern dining area with terrazzo floor.

Example of brick utilized as interior flooring.

Example of interior with polished concrete floor.

Choosing the right flooring is a very important decision homeowners need to make and then live with for years. If you love hardwood, use it where you can but if some of the above five considerations affect your flooring choices then know there are a variety of options and solutions to fit every situation. The professionals at Perry Newman Design can help you navigate the selection process and choose the flooring that is best suited for each area of your home. This service is included in your Perry Newman Design experience. Your designer will be there from conception, through construction, to completion.

Perry Newman Design: Conception, through construction, to completion

Tag: moisture protection

“Wood” you know how to pick the best cabinetry?

Five situations when hardwood floors won’t work and what to do instead.