Monthly Archives: March 2021

A Guide To Effectively Organizing Your Kitchen

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Image of organized kitchen drawers

Spring cleaning is right around the corner, but you don’t have to wait until spring to organize your kitchen! Any day is a great day to start creating a kitchen that is easy and fun to work in. This guide to effectively organizing your kitchen will help you get started with simple ideas that will get your creative juices flowing and your kitchen feeling like new!

Clean It All Out

It’s not a lot of fun, but cleaning out all the cabinets, drawers, and pantry shelves is the best way to see what you have, what you can get rid of, and what you need to keep. Once everything is empty and you have gone through what can be ditched, give the cabinets, shelving, and drawers a good cleaning. If you are going through the trouble of organizing, you might as well have a clean slate.

Once you have cleaned everything out, you can start making a list of which areas need better organization. As you think about it, start considering what you can do to make that organization work.

Search for Helpful Organizers

You can begin by looking around your house for containers, such as small and medium plastic boxes or baskets, to see if they can fit into your organizing solution. To get the most out of organizing, you might also want to consider adding some things to cabinets and drawers to help you stay organized. Things such as a base cabinet pullout organizer are helpful in keeping cabinets tidy. You can also use small drawer organizers to keep small items separate.

The options are endless when it comes to finding what you need to make your kitchen work better for you. You can install shelving, drawer inserts, and pullouts to instantly improve your organization.

Everything Has a Place

Just like your mother used to say: put things back where they belong! Once you spend the time and money to organize your kitchen, don’t let it go back to how it was! It is much easier to put everything back in its place rather than letting it spin out of control again and having to start all over. For example, if you organize your spices alphabetically, then by all means, put the cinnamon back on the “C” shelf.

The kitchen is the heart of the home. Make the heart function at its best by following our guide to effectively organizing your kitchen. Woodworker Express is here to help you along the way.

What To Know About Concealed Hinges

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Image of concealed hinge in cabinet

Concealed hinges, also called European hinges, offer a clean finish and are often preferred for a more minimalist or modern type look. Choosing the right type of hinge will depend on what type of cabinet or door you have and what kind of look you prefer. Here is what you need to know about concealed hinges.

When To Use a Concealed Hinge

If you prefer hinges not to show at all from the outside of a cabinet or door, concealed hinges are what you are looking for. They can be used with any type of door and give you that simplified look you are trying to achieve.

Easy To Install

You can install concealed hinges on any door, whether a cabinet or just a door in the hallway. Talk with knowledgeable people when looking for cabinet hinges for sale.

If you are going to install the hinges yourself, be sure to prepare the proper hinges and materials you’ll need. You’ll also need a tape measure and a drill. The installation process only takes some measuring, drilling, and screwing, and you’ll be done. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to complete your project.

The great thing about concealed hinges is that they are hard to mess up. The way they are installed won’t leave drill holes that are visible, so if you make a mistake, no one will ever know. Also, with the turn of a screwdriver, you can move the doors up and down or side to side for adjustment, unlike with traditional hinges, which require sanding or planing the doors for adjustments.

Repairing a Broken Concealed Hinge

Since we actually live in our homes, things are going to break once in a while. The daily use of cabinet doors especially can take its toll. Thankfully, a concealed hinge is an easy fix.
If the hinge has completely snapped or is beyond repair, then replacement is probably necessary. If you learned how to install the hinge the first time, then this will be an easy fix.

A common issue with cabinet doors is a stripped screw hole. You go to tighten up the screw because it has come loose, only to find that it turns and won’t tighten. Grab some toothpicks, dip a few in wood glue, and fill the loosened hole with toothpicks until you can’t fit anymore. Cut off the tips of the toothpicks, and you should be able to drill a new screw into the hole.
Woodworker Express is here to help you with what you need to know about concealed hinges, as well as all other door and cabinetry questions.

Helpful Tips for Updating Your Bathroom

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Updating Your Bathroom

Bathrooms tend to get added to the bottom of the list when it comes to our “to do” list. It’s easy to shut the door and forget about it. Unfortunately, keeping it as a low priority may be causing you to roll your eyes every time you walk into your bathroom. Even these smaller spaces can affect the way we feel about our home. If your bathroom is no longer reflecting your personality, make a list of things you’d like to change and start planning some helpful tips for updating your bathroom.

DIY or Hire a Professional?

Choosing whether to hire out or attack your bathroom updates yourself will have everything to do with your experience, time, and money. Updates can be expensive and time consuming. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you may cause more damage by tackling projects on your own. In that case, you’ll need to seek a professional for help.

Quick and Easy Updates

Quick and easy-to-do updates may fall under the DIY category for you. However, if you aren’t comfortable in doing anything yourself, please hire the necessary help. There is no shame in getting things done right! Here are some updates you could possibly accomplish over a weekend.

Paint Everything

For some, the thought of painting causes sweat on the brow and a tightness in the chest. It isn’t for everyone. But for those who don’t mind a day or two of wearing old painting clothes, painting is one of the quickest and most helpful tips for updating your bathroom. It is also low in cost. Grab some samples from your local home improvement store and tape them to your bathroom walls. Check out the colors at different times of the day as the light varies. Head back to the store with your color choice for paint and grab the supplies you’ll need like brushes, rollers, and a drop cloth.

You can paint just about anything to give it a new look. That tired old vanity will look brand new with a couple coats of white paint or a daring color. Just be sure to clean it, sand it, and prime it first. Don’t forget your window trim if you have any. Worn out wood trim can look sharp in a bright white or even a glossy black. After the color is on your walls, your wheels will probably start turning and you’ll be back to the store for more paint.

Light Fixtures

Light fixtures are only DIY if you are experienced in handling electrical projects. If not, an electrician can do this for you.

The fun part is choosing new light fixtures. Remember to coordinate with the vanity and overhead lights. Light fixtures vary greatly in cost and will be noticed daily, so choose wisely.

Sometimes a little cleaning is all it takes to make light fixtures look like new. It’s easy to forget about them as they have faithfully lit our bathroom for years. They collect a lot of dust but may still look okay once clean.

Shower Curtain, New Rugs, and Towels

A shower curtain, new rug, and towels may be all your outdated bathroom needs for a fresh new look.

If your bathroom uses a shower curtain, it takes up a lot of visual space. You can’t help but notice a curtain covering the length of a bathtub when you walk in. In that case, if it’s your thing, make a statement with your shower curtain. Go for something fun and bold to catch everyone’s eye when they walk in. Bright colors, patterns, and even shower curtains with writing on them are all available online and in stores.

If subtle is more your style, go with softer, neutral colors and possibly a solid-colored curtain. These options work well in small spaces so you aren’t visually shrinking the room with too much color or pattern.

Faucets, Shower Heads, and Hardware

Wow—what a difference these can make! A new sink faucet in a modern metal finish can make quite an impact in the bathroom. Faucets and shower heads easily fall under the DIY category even though it may sound intimidating. As with anything, only do what you are comfortable with.

A quick search on YouTube will find you plenty of handy people willing to show you exactly how to change out faucets and shower heads. Unlike electricity, changing these fixtures isn’t dangerous. However, please remember to shut the water off before doing so.

A screwdriver or drill is all you need to add new bathroom hardware and accessories to your vanity. You can have brass drawer pulls in the morning and silver ones by the afternoon!

Serious Makeovers

Not to downplay the simpler fixes, but some changes in the bathroom are going to be more dramatic and difficult than others. Unless you are in the remodeling business or have been studying and are prepared, a professional will need to be consulted for these updates.

New Counters and Vanity

Your bathroom vanity and counters are used often by family and guests and can’t help but be the focal point. It can be an overwhelming decision to change them out because it isn’t something you’ll want to have to change again anytime soon.

Consulting with a designer at your local home improvement store is a great place to start. Most stores offer free measuring services so you don’t have to worry about whether or not you measured correctly. A new vanity and countertop will make your bathroom feel clean and refreshed. 

Try a New Backsplash

Removing an old backsplash and adding a new one or trying one for the first time can really give your bathroom a more modern and updated look. Tiling is pretty tricky, so if you don’t know what you are doing, a professional tiler will be a helpful choice. Like paint, samples for backsplashes are often offered to help you be confident in your decision.

Flooring

If your home still has beige carpet in the bathroom, please start with the flooring. Flooring in the bathroom is important not only for looks, but for cleanliness and better health. You don’t want flooring that can’t handle moisture. Mold can grow if the flooring doesn’t dry out properly, and if the floor can’t handle moisture at all, you’ll be replacing it again very shortly.  

Seek advice for what is best for your home. Most likely vinyl and ceramic will be great options.

Woodworker Express offers the solutions you need and helpful advice for all your bathroom updates, whether you are a professional or a do-it-yourself homeowner.