Thank You

In honor of our golden achievement, we are hosting an Open House Celebration on Saturday, June 9th from 10am – 3pm, and you’re invited!

There will be decorating seminars, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting, and prize give-aways galore! Click here for more details.

We hope to see you there!

Stylewise, sleek and simple continue to be the buzzwords, with an interesting dichotomy between integrating appliances and using them as a stand out design statement. Below are some of the hottest trends in cooking appliances right now:

• Control and performance remain essential ingredients for cooking appliances, with higher-end consumers seeking out new innovations and more cost-conscious consumers focusing more on value. But regardless of price point, consumers want features that help them cook better and save time.
• Induction continues to be a hot trend, and intuitive use of interfaces is also becoming more important. Consumers want innovative technology, but ease of use is essential.
• A significant number of younger consumers – raised in a generation where two working parents was increasingly the norm – never really learned how to cook, so “smart” cooking appliances are particularly appealing to this up-and-coming demographic.
• Multiple cooking compartments, speed-cooking features and better control tend to be features in high demand in today’s cooking appliances.
• From a design standpoint, dual trends continue to drive the market: one toward a flush, seamless integration of cooking appliances; the other toward stand-out pieces that make a powerful visual statement.
• Clean lines, sleek, contemporary designs and stainless steel remain hot, while softer, neutral colors are also popular, replacing the bolder colors that were more common just a few years back.

Combine these great companies with our award winning staff and from floor to ceiling, you can feel good that your remodeling project will be beautiful and environmentally sound.

1.) Medicine Cabinets

The tried-and-true medicine cabinet had been swept aside in bathroom remodels over the past several years, replaced by decorative wall mirrors. However, as homeowners look for more efficient use of space, more designers are now turning back towards medicine cabinets as an effective way of gaining additional storage without having to increase the footprint of a room.

2.) Solid Surfaces

A year ago, the use of solid surfaces was a key trend in the kitchen. This year, it’s an even stronger trend, now impacting the bathroom. Designs incorporating a solid surface countertop in the bathroom have now risen to 34%, while both granite and quartz have fallen. Also notable is the use of glass vanity tops, which has more than doubled over the past two years.

3.) Transitional over Traditional

For the first time since the NKBA has began tracking annual design trends, traditional style is no longer the most popular type of design. In both kitchen and bathroom, transitional has taken over the lead. Transitional style blends both traditional and contemporary, typified by lines that are simpler than traditional, but a bit more elaborate than contemporary in order to create a modern-classic look.

4.) Shades of Gray

When artfully incorporated into a space, gray color schemes can allow for very attractive, distinguished looks without overpowering a design.The use of gray as the overall color scheme has risen from only 12% going into 2010, to 21% in 2011, and now to 40% of all bathroom remodels in 2012.

5.) Polished Chrome is Back

Supplanted by brushed metal finishes in the past, polished chrome is staging a comeback. The increased use of polished finishes, up 23% this year, is clearly coming at the expense of brushed finishes. Brushed nickel, polished nickel and brushed chrome are all down this year, with only stainless steel bucking the trend away from the brushed metals. Bronze finishes also continue to be popular; their use in design remaining the same as 2011 with 41% of designers specifying bronze in bathrooms.

The first two designs of 2012 are Laneshaw and Armitage. Building upon the innovative design palette of the Waterstone Collection, Laneshaw and Armitage capture the natural veining and beauty of marble and granite, but offer the superior strength and performance of Cambria.

Each 2012 design will continue the proud Cambria tradition of being named after a location in Wales or England. Laneshaw, named for a centuries-old village in northwest England, embraces a sea of brown tones, tan and black with subtle hints of white and a veil of gold shimmer. Armitage, like the canal bordering this village in England’s West Midlands region, appears dark and deep with blends of black and gray, providing a neutral canvas for random hints of copper and orange.

Maintaining its leadership in color innovation, Cambria will rapidly develop and announce at least six additional designs throughout the year, two at a time. To view Cambria’s latest designs, visit www.CambriaUSA.com.

Drawer Height on the Rise

No more jammed drawers or containers of bulky gadgets on the countertop. Put them where they belong in Dynasty’s new & improved top drawer. They’ve increased the height of the drawer box a full 1/2″, giving you additional interior room which can easily clear over-sized tools such as can openers, cork pulls, and whisks. This enhancement is now standard on all Dynasty base cabinets.

The Selectable Approach

The selectable approach puts the ability to adjust the look of Dynasty’s existing doors right into your hands. This is the ultimate in design flexibility for a semi-custom line. Choose one door, then select the options you prefer for that door. By selecting the overlay, drawer front styles, and outside edge profile, you have the ability to vividly change the personality of the door style so that it can beautifully compliment your home’s existing decor.

Door Style Dreams Come True

Door styles quickly establish a room’s personality, and Dynasty’s three newest doors do that effortlessly, quietly mixing the classic and modern in a subtle and cost-effective way. Take a look at the clean lined designs in the Milena and Renner doors, or the suggestion of glamour in Cayhill’s mitred door & reversed raised panel.

A Finishing Touch

Dynasty’s latest finish: the Magnolia. A subtly gray-toned white that harmonizes with current trends for richer & more subdued whites. Think dove gray, French gray, moonlight, linen, and pearls; today’s palette of whites and grays is refined, soothing, and inviting. Like those, Magnolia has a strong, quiet presence of its own, but also presents a great canvas for a gorgeous use of glaze.

The Art of Innovation

It’s all about how people actually use their kitchens. After all, this heart of your home is far more than a place to simply prepare food. It’s the command center, an entertainment lounge, and a natural gathering place for friends and family. A beauiful, space-savvy kitchen requires design smarts to maximize its functionality and enhance its lifestyle quotient. From electronic, hands-free access for cabinets, and remote control locking options, to splash-proof power pods that keep you and your family plugged in & connected, Dynasty has thought of everything to give you one of the most cutting edge, versitile, and convenient kitchens available today! Stop in our showroom & let us show you everything our favorite semi-custom line has to offer!

We at Cabinets Plus invite you to stop by our showroom and check out our “50 new items” to commemorate our 50^th anniversary. There are all sorts of new products in our showroom for 2012 and after KBIS, I’m sure there will be even more. Showroom hours are 9-5 Monday-Friday and 10-3 on Saturdays. If those times aren’t convenient, you can always call us at (847) 358-0143 for an appointment.

In our everyday lives we are all surrounded by wood. We stand on it, prepare and serve food on it, lean on it, and live in it. Not only does wood introduce a warm, natural element to any room, it also offers a functional, high-performance surface that can last generations.

Wood is green, naturally! Unlike solid surfaces that are extracted from deep within the earth, wood can be harvested, replanted, and renewed to an almost limitless degree. The current ratio of United States timber growth to usage is 2.1 to 1, meaning that the growth of new timber outpaces consumption by a considerable margin.

Wood brings an organic element, and its unique natural appearance and inherent properties are challenging to recreate any other way. Wood, unlike stone or metal surfaces is warm to the touch. Wood absorbs sound, so using wood surfaces can assist in quieting a room. Since wood surfaces can be made to order, they offer greater size flexibility than products that are made from pre-sized blanks.

When designing a wood surface, it is helpful to begin by determining the function you want your wood countertop to serve. Do you want to create a food prep space for chopping, an artistic piece or both?

There are so many beautiful wood species, finding the right color to fit your design is easy. Light tan woods include maple, ash, bamboo and oak. If you are leaning toward a red hue, select from American cherry, or a mahogany species including sapele and santos. Popular choices for brown woods are walnut and wenge.

Choosing a finish is one of the most important decisions you can make with a wood countertop. Consider the amount of care you want to invest in your counter. Do you desire a maintenance free surface or are you willing to periodically oil the piece?

Please keep in mind that this article was written by a company that sells wood. They are pointing out their products good qualities while playing down or overlooking those of quartz, granite or solid surface. Combining different countertops is a great design trick and can add great visual interest to a room.

For more information check out these sites:

http://www.glumber.com/

http://www.craft-art.com/

http://www.johnboos.com/

• Housing stats are up. new construction virtually went away in 2008. We are actually seeing some new homes being built now, and they will need kitchen and bath products.
• “Existing home sales demonstrate a market in recovery.” per the National Association of Realtors. When people buy existing homes, the remodeling bug hits quickly. While many people can paint or even change a light fixture, most don’t have the talent to fully remodel a kitchen or bath.
• Cabinet sales fell only 1.7% from 2010 to 2011. That’s less than previous years and many cabinet manufacturers are revamping their products for 2012. Look for interesting new colors and door styles being released this year.
• Appliance shipments were down only 0.4$ from 2010 to 2011, but December 2011 showed a 3.7% increase. Most kitchen renovations include at least one new appliance.

Over the past 50 years we at Cabinets Plus have seen ups and downs in our industry. We thank those of you whom we have worked with in the past and look forward to a dynamic year of remodeling in 2012.