Today in Kitchen Thursdays: two beautiful renovations, one with a great splashback and one done on the cheap, the elements of contemporary style in your kitchen and kitchen inspiration from IKEA.

Kitchen of the Week: Smart, Elegant Atlanta Addition

Kitchen of the Week: Smart, Elegant Atlanta Addition

We start today’s tours with a big and beautiful kitchen. This was a very outdated kitchen before the renovation: electrics were not exactly the safest, the room itself was small and structurally talking it needed some work.

The owners started with the basics: fixing the wiring and getting safe electrics, improving the structure and adding a small extension to increase the size. After all the basics were covered it was just decorating a blank canvas. New cabinets with simple lines in white were installed. A beautiful splashback was used around the cooker area and the whole look was completed with a great looking wood flooring.

The kitchen was planned to have several access points and lots of storage, in short the kind of kitchen a family needs.

Before & After: Bold Color in the Kitchen

Before & After: Bold Color in the Kitchen

And from a full renovation project to a budget one. In this case a very small renovation on a rental apartment. In that kind of situation you don’t want to spend too much money.

The tenant of the apartment did most of the work. He removed the old cracked vinyl tiles and replaced with self-adhesive black and white tiles at an angle creating a nice pattern. The work continued with paint: the upper cabinets were painted in a nice turquoise shade and he removed the white paint from the door handles restoring their original appearance.

On the opposite wall, and on the way to the dining area, he created an accent wall with the help of some nice and bright green paint.

Overall a great change for very little money and one that if you are handy you can even attempt.

Kitchen Workbook: 6 Elements of a Contemporary Kitchen

Kitchen Workbook: 6 Elements of a Contemporary Kitchen

If you are thinking about renovating your kitchen and you are still undecided on the look you want it to have you may want to read this article. It’s about contemporary design and how you can get that look in your kitchen.

Contemporary design is considered to be a “modern” style but unlike modern style it can have elements from other styles making it very easy to live with and less strict than others. In the kitchen its main characteristics are cutting edge appliances. If you are thinking about energy efficient fridges, washing machines, etc., you are on the right track. They will also be the ones the latest technology advances and features to help you simplify your life.

Other characteristics are old materials used in new ways, beautiful splashbacks and tiling, accessories, etc. It’s easy going, it’s practical and it attempts to make your life in the kitchen easier.

Jump to the article to see more examples and more information about this style.

Kitchen Inspiration from IKEA Family Live 

Kitchen Inspiration from IKEA Family Live

And finally inspiration and ideas for your next kitchen renovation project. Everyone would tell you that the best way of getting the best kitchen when you are planning a renovation is to get as much information as you can. From information about planning the best layout and thinking about the basics: electrics, plumbing, structure, etc. to materials and their cost, colour schemes, tiles, flooring furniture and cabinets, etc. This room is vital in any house and it’s one of the most expensive ones when renovating. That’s why is so important to gather as much information as you can before deciding anything. And one of the best ways of getting that information is seeing what other people have done in theirs, learning about the pros and cons.

One place where you can find that information is this blog, but of course we can help you find other places to increase the amount of information you get. One of those places is the IKEA Family Live website where you can find real people’s homes, their floor plans and furniture layout ideas. A feast for anyone looking for ideas on a budget.

And we can suggest you another place too. PINNACLE GROUP has a board In Pinterest dedicated exclusively to kitchen ideas we collect from different online sources. You can visit that board or any of our other boards dedicated to Home Renovation and Decoration following the links below:

• Pinnacle Limerick Home/Kitchen 
• Pinnacle Limerick