Home Design Tip # 17: Consider what you Can’t Change about your Home Décor, and Contrast with What you Can Change.
Ever have a part of your décor that you loved, but that presented some design issues you weren’t sure how to beat?
Case in point, recently, a cabinet refinishing client of our called and noted that they have just installed a brand new, medium-dark oak hardwood floor in their kitchen. They had plans to replace their counter top with a medium-dark granite top.
They wanted to redo their cabinets, which at present matched the medium-dark oak of the new kitchen floor which gave the whole room a monochromatic color scheme, in other words, boring.
When they called Carm Interiors, they expressed their interest in cabinet refinishing, but were unsure what colors would work with their new counter and floors to make a statement and add some life to the room.
Our recommendation was to refinish their cabinets with an off-white distressed finish to contrast against the dark floor and counter. For the island, we refinished the cabinets and surfaces in an almost black glaze, to create a focal point for the kitchen as well as contrast with the medium-dark oak floor.
The result was a multi-dimensional room that felt warm and inviting.
The lesson? Take what you can’t change about your décor (the new floor and counters) and contrast 
against it to build layers of color that fit your home décor vision.
Make a bold statement between colors to allow for each aspect of your room to join in the overall look and feel.
Ready to update your interior décor from drab to fab?
Cabinet refinishing can be the answer to a bland room
that needs some color contrast to bring it back to life.
Baby, it’s Cold Outside! How to Update your Fireplace on a Budget with a Custom Faux Finish
It’s no secret that most people are feeling some sort of financial burden these days. However, homes are a maintenance project in the making, requiring constant updates to maintain value and offer the warmest setting for you and your guests. Faux effects can enhance the beauty of your home while saving you money…
With the weather turning colder with each passing day, fireplaces, gas or wood alike, are being lit more and more often to heat up family rooms and the families in them. With this use, and increased time indoors, comes a focus on the condition of the fireplace mantle.
Your fireplaces mantle will become a focal point in your home during the fall and winter. If it is chipped, cracking or has stripped paint and stain, it needs to be updated not only for the aesthetic appeal it can offer to your home, but also for the upkeep of your fireplace. The mantle keep the fireplace intact and ensures the best function, so it needs to be in the best condition at all times.
When considering maintenance to your existing fireplace mantle, in these tight economic times, cutting costs without cutting quality of the results is essential. Consider these points:
- It costs and average $4000, $2000 to update an existing fireplace to stone or marble.
- The timetable to marble or stone a fireplace can take weeks, between ordering the materials and labor.
To the happy contrary, faux finishing a marble, stone or wood finish on an existing fireplace mantle takes as little as two days from start to finish and costs, on average, between $400 and $600.00. The finish is undistinguishable from the real marble or stone finish, and is sealed to last for years to come.
There is no need to measure, cut and re-cut wood or marble to meet the exact dimensions of your fireplace mantle, as the faux finish goes on to the existing mantle after it has been sanded and prepped by your faux finish contractor.
Enhance the beauty of your fireplace this fall and save enough money to cover your holiday shopping, and maybe an extra gift for yourself for making such an economic decision for your home.
Why Refinishing Existing Cabinets is a Great Solution for Home Sellers
See our Impressive Cabinet Refinishing Portfolio HERE!
Most would agree that the most important room in the house is the kitchen. As the Home Seller you have the responsibility to make that room stand out. You could spend $20,000 to $40,000 remodeling the kitchen from top to bottom: adding new floors, replacing countertops, new backsplash etc, but easily the most important item in this makeover is the cabinetry. You could spend $10,000 or so just for new cabinets before you install them. Even the refacing option is nearly as expensive, perhaps $7000 or more! There is money-saving option however, refinishing!
Refinishing cabinets offers a great alternative for updating the kitchen without breaking your makeover budget. Typically a kitchen in a home of 2000 to 3000 sq feet between 20 and 30 cabinet doors and can be refinished a cost between $1200 and $2500. Almost any finish you require can be achieved using our techniques. Finishes range from the simple repaints to a faux finish with glazes and clear coats; solid color whites and off whites to stains like cherry, maple, mahogany and others are possible.
In addition, doors and drawer fronts can even be replaced and refinished if necessary. Keep in mind these are professional finishes. Absolutely no brush strokes will show here. The goal in our refinishing is make people believe that these are new cabinets. Ultimately we know they are not, but if they look factory built any perspective buyer will certainly be much less likely to insist on a lower sale price of the home because he needs to put in new cabinets, which is what we are going for anyway!
Refinishing cabinets at such low costs can free up substantial funds, which could be used for other, more vital repairs. In addition, fireplace mantels and bathroom vanities can be done in this way to update their look and create a uniform style throughout the home.
When selling a home consider that Carm ~ Interiors Cabinet Refinishing will:
- Save thousands , perhaps $10,000 or more
- Allow you to use savings for other mandatory repairs
- Be done in less that 2 weeks
- Have a Minimal affect on kitchen function
- Refinish Bathroom Vanities, and Mantels as well
Give us a call today!
Building Interior Décor around a Faux Finish
When working with a home owner in a redecoration project, color schemes and textures are at the top of the conversation. They look to you, their interior designer, to guide them with the tools and industry options that exist to build their final vision, and the ability to enhance the end result exists in faux effects for walls or furniture.
Faux effects can be applied to any room of the property and can be combined with other faux effects to create a layered look. Using one faux effect in an area of every room of the house can create a uniform continuity that brings the whole look of a space together.
When hiring outside contractors for the faux effect aspect of your design project, it’s important to ensure that they have the training and skill required to bring about the desired results. Carm Interiors offers skilled faux finish technicians that were trained at The Finishing School in Long Island N.Y., learning the basics such as simple glazing and color washing to more advanced effects such as Venetian plaster, crackle, distressing, marbling, luster stone, and advanced cabinetry. They have taken these techniques to come up with new colors and variations for a unique result.
Our Faux Effect services include a complete Range of Faux Finishes Using The Highest Quality Pigments,Glazes & Textures
Unique Faux Finishes ~ Simple Glazes – Sponging – Ragging – Colorwashing. Stippling – Stenciling – Striae – Etc.
Textures ~ Venetian Plaster – Lime Plaster – Knockdown – Brushed Suede – Ovilla – Sandstone – Etc.
Specialty ~ Marble effects – Columns – Mantels – Metallics Brushed Pearl – Wood Graining Tuscan Accents
The interior design projects you create can be built around the faux effects we offer, giving your clients a truly one-of-a-kind décor result.