Floor: Because it offers broad aesthetic appeal and it’ s relatively easy to keep clean, tile flooring is a top choice for bathrooms. Not only can you add style with the color and texture of the tile, you can take your flooring to even greater levels with special patterns and designs. Another flooring enhancement— heated coils that run below the surface to keep cool tile warm and cozy when it’ s cold outside.
Storage: While aesthetic appeal is important, a bathroom without sufficient storage space is truly lacking in function. Be sure your design includes a place to keep essentials like towels and personal grooming items. Whether your storage space blends in or stands out is entirely up to you; some vanities actually look more like stylish furniture, and open shelving is a popular choice for a modern space.
With the wide range of options available, it’ s easy to create a bathroom that delivers the perfect combination of style and function.
Get the right heat— It all starts with the grill, which is the centerpiece of the outdoor kitchen. Russ Faulk, chief designer and head of product for Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, suggests basing your selection on the cook you aspire to be, not the kind you are now. Remember that there are no uniform depths, heights or widths when it comes to grills, so future upgrades can be a challenge.
More homeowners are also expanding their cooking capabilities with specialized products offering different types of heat. Smokers, pizza ovens and charcoal or wood-fired grills are options to keep in mind as they can enhance the outdoor cooking experience.
Assess the space— Think about how you envision the relationship between your indoor and outdoor kitchens. If they are relatively close together, an outdoor kitchen can utilize the indoor kitchen’ s capabilities, such as prep space and storage. Conversely, a fully independent outdoor kitchen with
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Photo courtesy of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.
Smart, Stylish Designs for Outdoor Kitchens
Kitchens are moving outside and are expected to be a top design trend in 2017.
An outdoor kitchen can greatly improve the value of a home, and it brings family and friends together. Whether it’ s having your neighbors for a weekend barbecue or a big family gathering, everyone loves being outside.
Big or small, the basic principles of outdoor kitchen design remain the same. Get started by understanding these basics: refrigeration, warming cabinets and cabinetry is more self-reliant, but will require more space and connections for gas, water and electricity.
In the zone— You’ ll get the most out of your outdoor kitchen when you have different functional zones designated. Plot out where you will position four key zones, wet, cold, hot and dry, to make prepping, cooking, serving and cleaning much easier.
The cold zone should be next to the wet zone. This will simplify moving food from the refrigerator( cold zone) to the sink( wet zone) to wash and get ready for grilling in the hot zone.
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