Small but Dramatic Kitchen Changes Can Really Make a Difference

Small but Dramatic Kitchen Changes Can Really Make a Difference

(ARA) - Kitchen remodeling projects continue to provide hefty returns at the time of a home sale. The 2006 Cost vs. Value report, published by Remodeling magazine, shows that home owners recoup 80.4 percent of the average $54,200 they spend on major kitchen projects, and get back 85.2 percent of the average $17,928 spent on minor projects.

You may be thinking to yourself, "That's all well and good, but I don't have that kind of money to spend on a kitchen remodel right now." If that's the case, don't count yourself out, just think on a smaller scale. You can make some dramatic changes in the kitchen just by focusing on one of the attention-getting trends highlighted at the annual Kitchen Industry Show and Convention in Las Vegas.

A good place to start is by taking a long, hard look at your lighting. If you have an older home that has not yet been updated, chances are you have a single ceiling mount fixture in the center of the room that doesn't let off much light and if you're lucky, another one over the sink. Why not upgrade with options that offer more direct light?

These days in home remodels, designers are replacing the old center fixtures with recessed cans and pendants that offer more direct task lighting in the kitchen. They are also installing undercabinet lights to highlight the countertops and toe lighting to accentuate the cabinets.

Undercabinet and toe lights are easy to add. All you have to do is tap into the wiring for the outlets that already exist along the wall. In homes with no attic access above the kitchen, however, the cost of installing recessed cans can be a turnoff, but as Norm Brown of Norburn Lighting & Bath Centre in Burnaby, B.C., points out, "You can get around this limitation by instead installing a rail system on the ceiling that allows you to add light fixtures anywhere in the room." Brown is a certified lighting consultant (CLC) and the consulting director of education for the American Lighting Association (ALA).

Among the many options these systems offer, the ability to drop pendants over and island and spotlights onto the counters, art or china, all without cutting holes in the ceiling. They are available in a variety of materials and finishes so there's something that will match just about any décor.

And when it comes to the fixtures, Paige Malouche of Progress Lighting in Greenville, S.C., says there is a lot of mixing and matching of designs. "These days, we're seeing people with what you'd consider to be a traditional kitchen putting in modern lighting fixtures. A popular trend is to hang bronze or brightly colored pendants from track and illum-flex systems," she says.

"There are so many fixtures available it has really turned into a fashion show," adds Monty Gilbertson, CLC of Lighting Design by Wettsteins in La Crosse, Wis. "There's clean contemporary, decorative ornamental, pretty much any look you can imagine, and if you want to take it a step further and address intensity and mood lighting, this can be done by adding dimmers to the fixtures you install."

For more information on lighting, visit www.americanlightingassoc.com or call (800) BRIGHT IDEAS for your nearest showroom.

Courtesy of ARAcontent