Category: Designing a Kitchen

The Beauty of the Transitional Kitchen

When we design our homes, we no longer look at each room individually; we look at the whole picture. Since the open plan home isn’t going anywhere, the transitional design style is more prevalent than ever.

What is transitional kitchen design?

The transitional design style came about when homeowners started looking at the big picture when remodeling. Although each room can still have individuality and personality, designers are starting to take a few design elements and mimic them from room to room.
The transitional kitchen will take a page from your living room, dining room, even your bedroom and create a cohesive design that will transition perfectly from room to room. The transitional design style connects each room in your home.

Modern muted colors and clean lines

Most homeowners will want to make the kitchen look bigger and brighter. Cool color choices will still dominate the kitchen, but instead of the classic white, color trends are leaning towards light shades of gray, blue, and green.
Minimalistic design is a big trend in the modern kitchen and it is one of those timeless trends. Using natural materials and letting them maintain their natural beauty and shape like quartz and granite countertops will make your kitchen feel clean and modern. To break up the simplicity and the color palette, a kitchen island in a contrasting or bold color will add a little life and vibrancy to your kitchen.

Transitional kitchen design trends — Choose a kitchen island that contrasts the cool colors of your cabinets for dramatic effect.
Credit to Daydream Designs

Matching and balancing the rest of the home

Whatever colors and design aesthetics that you choose in your kitchen can be carried over into the rest of the home, and vice versa. Having a color story for the whole house will make everything feel like it was meant to be, and it will add a sense of calm.

Transitional kitchen design in Denver

At The Kitchen Showcase, we have a wide variety of products to help you transition perfectly from room to room when you are remodeling your Denver home.
For inspiration, visit our showroom or contact a designer.

A New Kitchen Will Increase the Value of Your Home

There is one renovation project that every homeowner should consider, and that’s upgrading or remodeling their kitchen. Even if you’re not looking to sell your home right now, know that a new kitchen will add instant value to your home. If you are looking to sell, a kitchen remodel will yield the best return on interest, and may even help you sell your home faster.

Kitchen remodel gives a great return on investment — The kitchen is the heart of the home and one of the first rooms that potential buyers will want to inspect.

Everyone looks at the kitchen first

When people are looking at homes, the first room that potential buyers will beeline to is the kitchen. That’s because the kitchen is the heart of the home, and is the most frequently used room in the home. A kitchen is multi-functional, being both a place to cook, but also a place to entertain and spend quality time with family. Remodeling your kitchen is a great investment for homeowners who are looking to put their home on the market.

Increase resale time with a new kitchen

Sure, there are those people that are looking for a fix-me-upper, but most homeowners aren’t looking to get down and dirty remodeling a new kitchen. They just want to move in and start putting personal touches on their new home. A new kitchen with new cabinetry, countertops, and smart appliances that are energy-efficient and will save water will be a big selling point to buyers.

Choosing the right style for your home

Kitchen design and remodeling services — If you live in a rustic Colorado mountain home, be sure to remodel your kitchen in the style that is befitting the style of your home.
Photo Credit: Daydream Incorporated

However, you need to be careful when you remodel your kitchen. You may appreciate the sleek, clean lines of a Scandinavian-style modern kitchen with flat surfaces, minimal flair, and fancy appliances. However, if you are living in an old, rustic, mountain home, you should talk to a designer about matching your aesthetics and your vision with a design that is also befitting the style of your home. Cohesion between the architecture of the house itself and new kitchen design is key to creating a consistent feel in your home.

A few upgrades go a long way

Refinishing your old cabinets, or replacing worn, weathered, and damaged countertops are small improvements that will give you great ROI without having to pay for a full kitchen remodel.

Kitchen design and remodeling services in Denver

The Kitchen Showcase has been helping Colorado homeowners, builders, and interior designers fall in love with their homes for over 30 years. We are a family-owned business that specializes in best-in-class brands and expert service and design.

A new kitchen is a good investment Denver Kitchen Design increasing the value of your home

Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cabinets for Christmas

One of the biggest trends in home design is eco-friendliness. From the rise in solar panels on the roof to energy-saving appliances, homeowners are always looking for ways to make their home energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. You don’t think about your kitchen cabinets having an effect on the planet, but everything you buy has a carbon footprint, so here are our tips to making the green choice in kitchen cabinetry.

FSC or KCMA certified cabinets

Many quality cabinet makers have taken steps to make their cabinets environmentally friendly. Look for manufacturers that use wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC,) or is part of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s (KCMA) Environmental Stewardship Program.

Eco-friendly kitchen cabinets — The Morley residences kitchen featuring FSC-certified Crestwood cabinets.

Cabinets from Crestwood, Tidwell, Decora, Koch, and Elmwood Cabinets all have green cabinet options. Whether FSC- or KCMA-certified, these manufacturers have pledged to minimize their carbon footprint and make environmentally responsible choices.

A commitment to an environmentally friendly manufacturing process means:

Wood from sustainably managed forests
Materials sourced in an environmentally friendly way
Using VOC-free or eco-friendly finishes
Reusing, reducing, and recycling
Minimizing waste
Conserving energy
Conserving water

Quality cabinets reduce your carbon footprint

Choosing custom cabinets ensures quality craftsmanship. Quality craftsmanship will last a long time, reducing the time between having to replace your kitchen cabinets.

Choose a local cabinet manufacturer

If you can choose a local custom cabinet manufacturer, then you will also reduce your carbon footprint by cutting out a big chunk of transportation. Every time your cabinets have to be moved and transported from the manufacturer to a warehouse, to the store, or to your home, you are building up your carbon footprint. Anytime you can eliminate a step, you are minimizing your carbon footprint.
Custom cabinets from a local vendor mean that cabinets and materials only have to go from the manufacturer to your home, skipping over a few transportation steps, and thereby helping you get the most eco-friendly kitchen cabinets.

Environmentally responsible kitchen cabinets in Denver

We are proud to be associated with first-class cabinet manufacturers whose commitment to quality matches our own. Tell your designer that you want your kitchen to be environmentally friendly, and we’ll help you make choices that are environmentally sound, as well as speak to your personal aesthetic.
When it comes to cabinetry, the dry Colorado climate can be tricky. Our designers will help you understand how each material will work in your home. Our professional kitchen design services are complimentary and will ensure that you make informed decisions with no surprises. We can also help you find solutions to specific nuances in your home, like small spaces or odd angles, that we need to consider when choosing kitchen products.
Get a quote on your new kitchen!

Custom kitchen cabinets in Denver Eco-friendly kitchen cabinets in Denver Reduce carbon footprint of kitchen cabinets

Kitchen Design for Millenials

Kitchen design experts Colorado — Designer Erik Brinegar

Millennials very much know what they want, even when it comes to their kitchens! Millennials love transparency and community. They want everything to be out in the open, not just in their professional lives, but in their homes as well, and that includes their kitchen. Not every kitchen is as big as we would like, but there are ways to maximize the space you have to design a kitchen perfect for millennials.

Denver kitchen design showcase — High ceilings and an open floor plan are the hottest trends in kitchen design.

Maximizing the space in your small kitchen

An open floor plan home is still a hot trend, and the kitchen should be the heart of the home. When designing a home and a kitchen, young homeowners are tearing down walls, sacrificing more rooms for more open space. If you’ve bought a home and are starting to think about the remodeling plans, talk to a kitchen design expert in Denver to find the latest design trends for modern kitchens.

Make the kitchen a communal space

Everyone is drawn to the kitchen, so make sure you design your kitchen to allow for foot traffic. The kitchen should be a communal space where you can feed your stomach and your soul with good food and good company. Don’t shut yourself off from the rest of the house. Closed-off kitchens are a thing of the past. Now, everything should be out in the open.

Tall ceilings can give the illusion of space

If you have the option to raise the ceilings in your kitchen, do it! You may not have the chance to expand outward, but expanding upward is a neat trick to add more light and room to a small kitchen. If you’re doing a complete remodel of your home, talk to your contractor about options for raising the roof.

Build a dish room instead of a laundry room

To keep the kitchen as open and spacious as possible, consider turning a room adjacent to the kitchen into a pantry or dishwashing room. This will allow for dirty dishes and clutter to be removed from the main kitchen area, giving you more room to cook and entertain.

Customize kitchen design in Denver

To make the best use of your small kitchen, custom design the kitchen cabinetry to maximize the space and make room for all of your kitchenware. What your cabinets look like on the outside is important, but you need to plan for what is going inside the cabinets to have an organized kitchen that is free of clutter.
Get a free quote!

Denver Kitchen Design Kitchen design for millennials

Designing a Practical Kitchen with Style

The right finish for your kitchen cabinets

You may know exactly what your dream kitchen should look like, from texture and color combinations to style and materials. What you may not have thought about are the practical design aspects. The designers at The Kitchen Showcase in Denver are ready to take on your kitchen remodel project, helping you get all the visual elements that you love as well as put some thought into the layout of your kitchen.

Designing a kitchen — Remember to add an overhang on your kitchen island for comfortable seating.

Practical placement and spacing

The kitchen should be practical as much as it should be beautiful. Yes, we feast with our eyes first, but no matter how gorgeous your hardware, countertops, and cabinets are, if everything isn’t placed practically to work together, your frustration is going to outweigh the beauty.
Make sure that you have a garbage disposal and a trash can close to the main chopping and prepping area. In fact, being able to just sweep veggie peels and trash directly from your prep station into a garbage bin is going to make cooking much more enjoyable. It will also help you keep your station clean and organized. You want the sink nearby as well so you can rise veggies without having to carry them across the kitchen, dripping water wherever you go, and you want to be able to wash off your hands without having to walk about. It’s all about efficiency, and for that, you need a professional. We’ve seen it all and know all the pitfalls that you need to avoid.

Comfortable seating around the kitchen island

If your kitchen island also serves as a place where you sit and eat, or the kids like to do their homework there, make sure that there is an overhang on the island for you to place your legs. If you can’t pull the stool properly up to the counter when you eat or write, you’ll end up with a sore back and bruised knees. It’s little details like this that will take your kitchen from “just a kitchen” to a dream kitchen.

Lighting and electricity

Custom wood cabinets in Denver — Consider undercabinet lighting to light up your counters.

Make sure you consider the lighting for your kitchen. Once you have all the cabinets, shelving, and overhanging pots and pans in place, you have to think about additional spot lighting to light up each workstation. Undercabinet and in-cabinet lighting may be just the touch you need to elevate your new kitchen. Make sure there is plenty of lighting where you are using sharp knives or working with hot items. If you are working in the dark, you are setting yourself up for an accident.
You also have to think about everything you need in a modern kitchen. Since it is becoming increasingly popular to have an open plan multi-functional kitchen that is the heart of the home, you’ll need to be strategic about adding extra outlets for tablets and other devices that need to be charged.

Customized kitchen design in Denver

Our expert designers can help you design your dream kitchen. Customizing cabinetry and casework will help you be smart about design and function, as well as get materials and styles that match your aesthetic.
Talk to a designer or stop by The Kitchen Showcase in Denver to get inspired for your next kitchen remodel.

Denver kitchen designer Designing a practical kitchen

Getting Ready for Your Kitchen Remodel

Getting ready for a kitchen remodel takes a little time and planning. Remember, if you’re doing a complete remodel of your kitchen with new cabinets, hardware, countertops, and casework, you’re going to be kitchenless for a little while, so be sure to mentally and physically prepare yourself to be camping in your own home while your new kitchen is being installed. But if you have a professional team doing your kitchen remodel, we promise, it will be worth it!

Remodeling your kitchen in Denver — Leave out a few items that you’ll need during the remodeling process, and pack up everything else.

Say goodbye to your old kitchen

Getting a new kitchen is exciting. Finally, you’re getting the kitchen of your dreams! However, don’t underestimate your connection to the old kitchen, despite how frustrated you may have been by the lack of space, functionality, and worn-out cabinetry. Even an old kitchen will have memories, so be sure to give the space a proper goodbye, if for no other reason than one last awkward and frustrating cooking session in your old kitchen will only heighten the joy you’ll feel when you step into your dream kitchen.
Also, no matter how cramped or inconvenient your current kitchen may be, you’re going to be eating a lot of take-out and sandwiches while we work on your new kitchen, so take the time to cook some of your favorite family meals before we start ripping out the old to make room for the new.

Create an alternate kitchen area

You can’t eat out three meals a day, so you need to think of an alternative kitchen area while we are installing your new kitchen. Find another area in the house where you can have some counter space, running water, and a mini-fridge.
Think of all the things that you know you’ll need:

Breadknife
Toaster
A few utensils, plates, and bowls
Coffeemaker
Water boiler
Crockpot
Etc.

TKSI designer Keilan Stockham's portfolio images — Remove everything from your kitchen so that the installation crew can work efficiently.

Be organized when you pack

The rest of your kitchen should be packed and boxed neatly and safely. Be sure to label each box. Make room for all of your kitchen stuff in another room, away from the construction and the dust of your remodeling project, but also away from areas in your home where you spend the most time. Make the process as easy for everyone as possible, and the more organized you are, the more smooth the remodeling process will be. Plus, you want to get everything out of the way of your crew so that they can work efficiently without obstacles.
The more organized you are, the more comfortable you’ll be during the remodeling process.

Get your BBQ fired up

If you have a BBQ, it’s time to get it fired up again, even if it’s still freezing outside. You can make most of your meals on a BBQ, including your morning eggs. With a little innovation, you’ll be able to create an outdoor kitchen so that you don’t have to completely change your routine.

Talk to a designer about your next remodeling project

The Kitchen Showcase is located in Denver, Colorado. We design and install cabinets, countertops, hardware, and accessories for the heart of your home – your kitchen – as well as for bathrooms, entertainment centers, home offices, libraries, and even closets.
It doesn’t matter if you’re remodeling a tired kitchen or building a custom home. We are committed to offering exceptional products, service, and design so you can make the most of your budget!

Kitchen installation in Denver

Understanding the Difference Between Custom and Semi-Custom Cabinets

When you’re shopping for new kitchen cabinets, you’re going to have to make a lot of choices to find the right cabinets for your kitchen. You’ll need to choose between materials, color, size, and style. Finding the right size is one of the key factors for a functional and fabulous kitchen, which is why many people choose to get custom cabinets. However, you’re also going to run into cabinets that are semi-custom, often at a lower price. Let’s look at the difference between getting a custom cabinet and a semi-custom cabinet.

Custom kitchen cabinets — Custom cabinets will be made to perfectly fit your kitchen and your storage needs.

Custom cabinet

Getting custom cabinets means that the cabinets are made in-house and specifically for your kitchen. You are in complete control of the size and shape, allowing you to fit cabinets to make your kitchen as functional and efficient as possible. The size and shape of the cabinets are going to perfectly house all of your kitchen gear, and you can fully utilize the space you have. Custom cabinets mean you won’t waste space and can make the best choices for the use of your kitchen.

Easier installation

When you get fully customized cabinets, you make the installation process much simpler. You won’t have to make small adjustments along the way, because the cabinets have been built to fit perfectly.

Semi-custom cabinets

Custom vs. Semi Custom Kitchen Cabinets — Mix and match custom and semi-custom kitchen cabinets.

As you’ve probably already guessed, semi-custom cabinets come with limitations. You won’t have complete control of the dimensions and style of your cabinets, but you will have a little something to say. However, many brands of semi-custom cabinets have a wide variety of shapes and sizes to choose from, so you may be lucky that a semi-custom cabinet is a perfect fit for you.

Mix and match

There may be certain areas in your kitchen that call for a fully custom cabinet, but for the most part, a semi-custom cabinet will give you plenty of styles, size, and material choices to give you creative control of your kitchen design. When you shop for kitchen cabinets, mix and match semi-custom and custom cabinets for the ultimate kitchen.
Check out the leading brands of custom and semi-custom cabinets at The Kitchen Showcase in Denver. Talk to a design specialist about the best types of cabinets for your kitchen, style, and budget.

Open Kitchen to Dining Room Design Ideas

The open-floor home is here to stay

Kitchen designers in Denver — Look at the full picture when you design for an open floor plan.

Having an open heart is a great virtue. Since the kitchen is the heart of the home, it makes sense that the open kitchen floor plan is more than just a trend; it’s timeless. However, you need a cohesive design plan to really open up your home and make the best use of the space, making your kitchen, dining room, and living room flow seamlessly from one to the other.

Space planning your open floor home

When you are designing an open floor kitchen, dining, and living room, you have to be able to see the whole picture. Each little section can have its own personality, but you have to make sure that each design choice will mesh with other design choices. If you try to incorporate too many ideas, too many colors and patterns, you’re going to suffocate your home, which is counterproductive to the idea of the open floor plan.
The idea is to make your home functional, efficient, and comfortable. Being comfortable in your own home is perhaps the single most important aspect of great home design, with function coming in at a close second.

Denver kitchen design experts — Create cohesion by matching a few elements from each area.

There will be natural boundaries and borders that a professional designer can help you work around, but you also need to consider how many people are living in your home. Do you love to entertain and hold big dinner parties? If so, you need to allow for a large dining table, and seating in your kitchen so that you have room to entertain guests.

Choose elements that will be consistent throughout

Having similar lighting throughout the space is a simple solution to making the whole home feel like one cohesive design. You can also play with shades of color on your walls, going from light to dark but sticking to the same color palette to keep it all connected. Go for the lightest shade in your kitchen where you want plenty of light, then slowly darken the colors as you travel to the dining area, and finally use the deepest shade in the living room. A deeper hue of the color in your kitchen will make your living room feel warm and cozy, and the light hue in the kitchen will make it feel bright and clean.
If you have natural wood cabinets, find ways to use the same species of wood or the same stain in a few places in each room. You can match your kitchen island to your dining room table or on the hardwood floors. In fact, consistent classic hardwood floors that run throughout your entire home is a very smart trick that many designers use to create symmetry and harmony to an open floor plan.

Include few bold details

Every open floor home should have a few statement pieces; something bold and dramatic that will draw the eye and give your home some flair.
Make your kitchen island a different color and texture from your kitchen cabinets, or get some fun and funky emerald green leather dining room chairs. You want to add little splashes of your own personality to make the home feel like you.
The Kitchen Showcase (TKS) is located in Centennial, Colorado. TKS has been helping homeowners, builders, and interior designers fall in love with their homes for over 30 years. We are a family-owned business that specializes in best-in-class brands and expert service and design.

Kitchen showcase in Denver Open floor kitchen design

What to Look for When You're Shopping Around for Kitchen Cabinets?

What to look for when shopping for kitchen cabinets

When you are shopping around for new kitchen cabinets you’ll notice that the price can vary from item to item, and even store to store. Although sticking to your budget is important, there are other factors besides the sticker price that should be taken into consideration. Quality, style, and materials can be equally important.

Comparing kitchen cabinets at a kitchen showroom

Shopping for kitchen cabinets — Test the drawers to make sure that they are built well and pull out all the way.

At The Kitchen Showcase, you can shop around and explore all the various high-quality products in one huge showroom. We have over 40+ complete rooms featuring various materials, price ranges, and styles. Here’s what to look for when you’re shopping around for kitchen cabinets.

What to look for in kitchen cabinets

Kitchen cabinets aren’t just going to be cabinets, they can also be shelves and drawers. Besides a variety of storage options, you want your cabinets to be high-quality. Quality cabinets will tend to cost a little more up front, but they’ll last longer and require less maintenance, so they will make up for their sticker price in the long run. However, there are also plenty of quality products in all price ranges.

How It’s Made

Look for products that have quality hinges and are put together in a solid and effective way. Look for good craftsmanship and a sturdy build. Pieces that are designed to fit together in interlocking fashion are going to be sturdier and last longer than something that is nailed and glued together.

Test the Product

Visiting a showroom allows you to test the product. You can open the cabinets doors and see how they feel. When you test drawers, make sure that they pull out and push in smoothly. You also want to see if they pull out all the way, and cabinet doors should feel solid and sturdy.

Consistency

Denver kitchen showroom — Compare kitchen cabinets at our kitchen showroom in Denver.

Custom cabinets are going to give you exactly what you want and will be customized to your needs. However, if you’re looking to get a quality product without custom pricing, semi-custom products are the way to go. Make sure that you choose a semi-custom product that is consistent from piece to piece. The wood grain and color should be the same from cabinets to drawers to shelves.

Style

If you don’t love your kitchen cabinets, especially their style, then all the savings in the world won’t matter.

Price

The price range that you have in mind will help you narrow down your options, but you also have to consider the quality, materials, and style.
The Kitchen Showcase is one of the largest kitchen showrooms in Denver, Colorado. Compare kitchen cabinets and talk to a design expert about what to look for when shopping around for kitchen cabinets.

The Subtle Differences Between a Traditional and Transitional Style Kitchen

Understanding the various design trends will help you narrow down your options, but first, you have to understand the differences between the styles. Let’s talk about the design differences between a traditional and transitional style kitchen.

Traditional vs. Transitional

It’s important to design a kitchen that speaks to your style. When we try to put certain design ideas into a particular style box, it’s usually to help designers guide their clients towards the products they might like. At the beginning of a remodel, it makes it easier to communicate with your designer if you are both speaking the same language. Two styles that are often confused are Traditional and Transitional. So, let’s look at the design elements that set the two styles apart.

Traditional kitchen design

Traditional is exactly what you think it is; a throwback to your grandmother’s kitchen but updated to meet modern standards. A traditional kitchen isn’t old, outdated, or stuffy. The design elements are traditional, tried and true, and will make anyone feel right at home. There is a comfort to a traditional kitchen because we all recognize and have a history with the design.

Traditional Design Elements

A traditional kitchen design element is using natural materials. Wood cabinets and detailed craftsmanship and design. The cabinet doors have raised paneling, and there is a lot of ornamental design, like fancy and bold crown molding. A traditional kitchen will also have the classic hood range over the stove, with a quaint backsplash.

Transitional kitchen design

The transitional kitchen will lean more towards incorporating practical elements, with cleaner lines and less design or a sleeker kitchen. Transitional kitchens are aptly named because the design is a smooth transition from the traditional to the modern. You will still see a lot of natural elements, but you will keep the design elements to a minimum. If there is crown molding, it’s simple and clean in design.

Transitional Design Elements

The cabinets doors are going to be more subtle in their design, but not so sleek that you end up in modern/Euro territory. A transitional style kitchen will tend to go a little bit more towards an industrial feel, with lighting and manufactured materials.

Kitchen showroom in Denver

Check out the subtle design differences between a traditional and a transitional style kitchen at The Kitchen Showcase in Denver. We’ve got over 40+ rooms to inspire you for your kitchen remodel.