A kitchen remodel is your prime opportunity to get it right. If you’ve lived with an ugly or outdated kitchen, the thought of choosing new cabinets, appliances, flooring and lighting can be spellbinding. But don’t let form drown out function.

To have lasting value, a new kitchen needs to perform as good as it looks. This is your chance to really analyze how you use the kitchen, what features and layout will help you prepare and cook meals efficiently, and how to best store everything to make life easier for everyone who uses the space.

Once you have all the functionality figured out, choosing surfaces and materials is like icing on the cake. Here’s a list of things you need to consider to avoid a badly designed kitchen:

A Gigantic Island – For a single-cook kitchen, you need a minimum of 42” between the island and the cabinets that surround it; for a multi-cook kitchen, that becomes 48”. This helps with foot traffic and being able to access all doors and drawers. Even in a large kitchen, a single-level kitchen island larger than 48” wide x 120” long becomes harder to use and clean.

Where’s the Trash? – Between garbage and recyclables, a kitchen produces a lot of waste, so plan for it. If you prefer freestanding trash and recycle receptacles, decide in advance where they will be placed in the floorplan. If you prefer them hidden in base cabinets, both trash and recyclables need a minimum 30 quart container.

Wasted Space – Hundreds of linear feet of kitchen cabinets mean nothing if they’re inconveniently placed or the storage is configured wrong. In the above example of an island during construction, note how much space is wasted by the 45-degree, bat-wing style.  Plates, bowls and cups should be above or near the dishwasher so it’s easier to unload directly into wall cabinets. Pots and pans work best in base drawer cabinets near stoves and cooktops. Deep pantry cabinets work more efficiently with rollout shelves.

Watch Yourself – Don’t let your new kitchen fall into the shadows. Chopping blocks and range tops can be dangerous places in the kitchen, so have plenty of light above these areas so you can see what you’re doing. Under-cabinet lighting illuminates all of your countertops, and task specific lighting can be a timesaver. Consider lighting as 10% of your kitchen remodeling budget and you will – literally – see beautiful results.

These are the types of details that can make or break a kitchen remodel, so use the design phase to address and perfect how well your kitchen works. Working with professional kitchen designers and remodelers will help you avoid bad kitchen design, as well as common mistakes like inadequate electricity, ventilation and water supply.

To get the best form and function for your new kitchen, work with the Certified Kitchen Designers and planners at Mosby Building Arts. Check out a portfolio of their kitchen remodels in Metro St. Louis. And if you have any questions, call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

Come fall and winter, there is less daylight and in the Midwest, the sun is often hidden by an endless layer of rain or snow clouds. This lack of sunlight is the main culprit of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but luckily, there are many ways to keep it from impacting your daily life.

Along with the personal health remedies you can try, there are several different types of home improvement projects that can help you go from SAD to glad this season. Ideas include:

Let the Sun Shine In

• Trim any tree branches or bushes that may be blocking light from coming in a window.

• Skylights in rooms you use the most (like the kitchen or family room) bring natural light into your home, even on cloudy days. Skylights can also lower your electricity bills as you’ll tend to use less artificial light during the day.

• Solar tubes are an excellent alternative when you want natural light in a place where skylights cannot be installed. Good spots for a solar tube are your shower, hallways and entry ways.

Let There Be Light

• Add more layers of light to your home by installing task lighting in work areas and reading lights where you settle in with a book.

• Illuminate dark corners of a room with diffused, ambient light such as metal can up-lights that fit conveniently in potted floor plants or behind furniture.

• Wall mounted electric fireplaces add both light and heat to a space, and can be hung anywhere there’s an electrical outlet, plus they operate with the flip of a switch.

Brighten Your Mood

• Paint some walls in bright, optimistic shades. Most any shade of yellows, reds and oranges will work as a pick me up, as do the more intense shades of green and blue.

• Add bursts of energy with new throw pillows, blankets, floor rugs or curtains in bright colors that always make you happy.

• Pick one lamp to switch out the regular bulb for a pink one, which will add a subtle rosy glow to the room.

Get Moving

• Turn an unused corner of a room into your yoga studio. You need just enough room to stretch out and relax for a few minutes every day.

• Install your own home exercise room. It only takes an unused space to accommodate your workout equipment with enough room to move about freely.

• Cleaning out and organizing all the closests and drawers in your home keeps you moving, thinking and motivated.

Click for a free pdf brochure of other tips and ideas for having a productive and enjoyable fall and winter. And if you need any remodeling or repair help to avoid SAD, call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

Changing eyesight is one of the first signs of aging, and typically begins around 45-years of age, according to optometrists. Changes include loss of ability to see far away or up close, reduced contrast sensitivity, and increased sensitivity to glare.

Simple improvements can be made in your home to work with your changing eye sight. These changes are recommended to keep you safe and productive in the home you love.

LIGHTING

Scientifically, 60-year old eyes need twice as much light as 30-year old eyes. Areas of improvement include:

• Increase the wattage of all light bulbs in your home
• Switch from incandescent to cooler compact fluorescent lighting
• Add lighting to all indoor stairwells
• Light up outdoor walkways as well as entries
• Install under-cabinet and task lighting in the kitchen
• Install lights in all closets

CONTRAST

Aging eyes lose the ability to see mild contrast in colors, tone and textures. Ways to work around this include:

• Make stair steps a different color than the surrounding area
• Place colored strip on the edge of each step to see it clearly
• Install color borders around floors and countertop edges
• Vary flooring between dark and light colors as the surface changes
• Contrast the colors between walls and floors

GLARE

Too much contrast between dark and light can be temporarily blinding. The goal is to increase the overall brightness level in a consistent manner. Steps to reduce glare include:

• Switch to a matte finish for wall paint, flooring and countertops
• Use non-glare glass on framed art work
• Adjust floor lamp locations to behind and slightly right of where you sit
• Adjust lamp shades so bottoms are at your eye level
• Aim some lights toward walls and ceiling to create ambient light

These are relatively easy adjustments to make around your home that reap immediate benefits for your mobility and safety. To learn about other accessible design techniques, or for assistance in remodeling your home for accessibility, call the certified aging in-place specialists at Mosby Building Arts at 314.909.1800 or contact them here.

This time of year is so festive because we decorate our homes with twinkling lights.  Inside and out, this warm glow lifts spirits and makes everything look special.  Have you noticed how empty a room feels once the holiday lights come down in January?   That’s because the extra lighting has disappeared, which highlights how important the proper lighting is for our spirits.

Every room needs multiple sources of light for the proper balance of productivity and mood.  A single, overhead light in a room is only the starting point for the layers of light needed to boost our productivity and mood.  An effective lighting master plan often includes the following types of lighting:

• Task Lighting Task lighting illuminates a specific task or work space for function and safety.  Applying makeup in the bathroom, cutting vegetables in the kitchen and woodworking in the garage require proper amounts of light aimed exactly where you need it most.  Recessed, lamp and pendant lighting are examples of efficient task lighting.

• Accent Lighting Illumination can be used to draw attention and set something apart from its surroundings is the intent of accent lighting.  It brightens perimeters, fills in backgrounds, and highlights special objects (such as art work or architectural details).  Other benefits of accent lighting is that it contributes to the overall illumination of a space, sets a mood or feel with the light, and can increase home security both indoors and outdoors.

• Convenience Lighting Safety and function are enhanced by convenience lighting when entering spaces, so we need to see clearly and immediately as we enter a space by flipping a switch.   Convenience lighting may be a ceiling-mounted light fixture, or lamps connected to a wall switch, even the light that automatically comes on when opening a garage or closet door.

• Energy Efficiency Lighting costs account for about 30% of our energy use and is a smart place to increase energy savings.  Dimmer switches and whole-house lighting control systems allow for more precise usage, energy conservation, extended lamp life and a welcoming feel.  Low-voltage bulbs such as compact fluorescents (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provide high quality, warm light and last many times longer than incandescent bulbs for a fraction of conventional energy costs.

• Security Lighting Properly seeing our surroundings creates a sense of safety and security.  Outdoors at night we need sidewalks and entrances to be properly lit at all times for our safety.  Motion detectors can greet us and welcomes us home while also deterring vandals and burglars.  Indoors, lights on timers can create the illusion of someone being home at all times.  Adequate lighting throughout the home improves safety by illuminating hazards and prevents tripping and falling.

Good & Bad Lighting Design

All the effort we put into creating perfect spaces with carefully chosen paint colors, furniture and flooring can be instantly undermined by bad lighting, and brought alive with good lighting.  A room with harsh lighting or that’s too bright may be just as disconcerting as a room that’s too dark.  A  personalized and thorough lighting plan significantly contributes to a safe, comfortable, familiar and inviting space, and is a key component of a successful remodel.

Lighting design can become overwhelming for even a do-it-yourself veteran because of all the layers of light that need to be considered.  We recommend working with the design professionals at Mosby Building Arts, who are experienced in the science and intuition of well-placed lighting.  Together, we will map out a master plan that addresses all the exterior and interior lighting needs of your home, and assure that it reflects your taste and style.

To explore the possibilities of lighting design, call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.

You’re content with the size and existing layout of your kitchen, but you’re not happy with how out-dated and worn this hub of your home looks and feels. You may not need a complete kitchen remodel to give it a modern and inviting appearance. With just a few cosmetic enhancements to your kitchen, a transformation can be made without the duration and expense associated with a complete kitchen remodel.

We provide many ideas and suggestions to spruce up the look of a kitchen rather than a full remodel. These are the a few improvements we recommend that will substantially update and rejuvenate your kitchen:

1. Revitalize Cabinets

New doors on existing cabinets achieve an instant update. Re-staining, painting, or adding trim to flat panel doors are other options to revive the appearance of timeworn cabinets. New hardware will immediately enhance and distinctively update the look.

Reader Question: Can Formica cabinets be painted?

2. Replace Countertops

After cabinets, countertops are the most prominent focal point of the kitchen. Significant advances have been made in countertop materials. Choices are vast, including engineered and recycled alternatives to traditional granite, tile, and laminate.

Reader Question: Can we paint our white countertop to freshen it up?

3. Install New Faucets

New sink hardware instantly enriches the most functional and essential element of your kitchen. Faucet component style, operation, and task options are limitless.

4. Add Trim & Molding

One of the most effective methods of enhancing the quality of a kitchen is with the addition of trim and molding. Adorning the ceiling with crown molding, wainscoting crested with a chair rail, or the augmentation of existing trim around doors and windows are some of the artful options that add style, elegance and polish to a kitchen.

Reader Question: How do you install base trim over a stucco wall?

5. Refresh the Paint

The most fundamental and cost-effective facelift you can give your kitchen is a new paint color. Paint is the foremost procedure to freshen a kitchen’s appearance. Palette, style and personality options are limitless. Professional design and expertise culminated with skilled prep work and precision application will enhance and rejuvenate a kitchen.

6. Flooring

The floor is usually the largest surface in your kitchen, so changing this surface will make a big impact. Options include refinishing an existing wood floor and applying a new stain color, laying down new ceramic or stone tiles, or simply updating vinyl or laminate flooring by choosing from thousands of new designs available.

7. Lighting

Lighting is an important element of your kitchen that deserves special attention. Consider task lighting for your work areas, overhead light for illuminating the room and ambient lighting to create mood and atmosphere. Lighting also gives you the chance to express your style (some fixtures look like works of art) or harmonize the design elements of your kitchen.

We enjoy working with homeowners on transforming the look of their kitchen, because it’s a fun adventure with relatively quick results. Mosby designers shop with you and help coordinate your new palette of colors, textures and surfaces. Installation tends to be smooth because Mosby carpenters are replacing pieces rather than building new from scratch.

Here is an example of a kitchen update we did within the existing floor plan.

For ideas and help with your kitchen facelift, call Mosby Building Arts at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.