Remodeling the Heart of the Home

Port City Cabinets and Nest Realty offer advice on the most important remodels in the home — kitchen and bath.

Whether it’s a need for functionality or a desire to update before putting your house on the market, remodeling your kitchen or bathroom can add value and beauty to any home. Even the perfect house can have a dated kitchen or bath, so remodeling is a great way to modernize these important household spaces. Whatever your budget and needs might be, there are many ways to make big and small changes that will produce striking results.

When considering a remodel project, it’s a good idea for homeowners to evaluate the local real estate market. This can be done with the help of a real estate professional or by researching recently sold properties on your own. According to Liz McKinley with Nest Realty, kitchens and bath remodels often offer the best return on investment.

“The kitchen is one of the main focal points of the home,” McKinley says. “For a quick update, homeowners can change out the door hardware, install new appliances, update the backsplash and, of course, give everything a good, deep cleaning. For a larger scale project, homeowners can reach out to a general contractor or a kitchen specialist.”

Kitchen and bathroom remodelers Port City Cabinets work hard to ensure every job they do focuses on the specific needs and desires of each customer. Owner Richard Beighle says when considering overall design, his team typically keeps functionality in mind first. As people get older, upgrades such as sliding drawers, pullout knife blocks and spice racks allow homeowners to utilize their space more effortlessly and comfortably.

Before

After

“With kitchen remodeling, we have a great opportunity to affect people’s lives for the better,” Beighle says. “It takes a bit of planning to understand what our clients want and how they cook and use the space, but it’ll pay off big time in the end.”

According to Beighle, a common request when it comes to kitchen remodels is opening up space to bring the kitchen and living room together as one. In most homes people gravitate towards the kitchen throughout the day, and in new construction the norm has already become building the kitchen as part of the living room.

Beighle notes that most of his business’s recent jobs tend to be timeless design-oriented.

“Timeless design is when you design in a way that won’t fade out in the next few years,” he says. “For instance, white Shaker cabinets will never go out of style here on the coast and are the number one seller across the nation. We’re now seeing islands in different colors from grays to navy blues, but a white kitchen will never fade out.”

Other current trends in kitchen remodeling include the addition of crossbucks to the ends of kitchen islands, as well as expanding island sizes and seating areas. Beighle has also noticed that almost half of the kitchens he works on do not have microwaves in them anymore. These appliances have either been hidden in the pantry or removed from the kitchen all together.

As for bathroom remodels, the focus is on increasing both storage space and functionality. Larger scale remodels include opening up tub showers to walk-in showers and removing walls when possible. Beighle and his team often get requests for inverted base cabinets where the drawer is located at the bottom with cabinet doors above. Other popular upgrades include floating cabinets and pullouts that offer plug-in areas for hair dryers and curling irons. Similar to kitchens, the color trend for bathroom remodels remains white Shaker.

In preparation for selling your home, McKinley offers some important tips to consider when upgrading a bathroom.

Before

After

“The most important thing is to clean everything, including the grout,” McKinley says. “You can accessorize with new towels, a tasteful soap dispenser and small accessories, like faux succulents or cute baskets. If the shower is outdated, consider surface refinishing in white or another neutral color. If a new vanity is needed, be sure to choose something that is desirable for buyers and is neutral in color.”

Whether it’s the bathroom or the kitchen, remodeling projects require understanding the space you’re working with and creating a vision. Planning ahead will provide better results, so the best course of action is to consider what your needs and wants are, what you currently dislike about your kitchen and why you need a change. No matter what the motivation is for a kitchen or bathroom remodel, both Beighle and McKinley agree that upgrading these important household spaces can give homeowners a great return on their investment.

Beighle says, “When you remodel, not only can you enjoy the years to come in your new dream kitchen or bathroom, but also down the road if you do choose to sell your home, it’ll make the selling process much easier.”

See more before and afters from Port City Cabinets.