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For more than a century, almost every master and secondary bathroom in North American homes was outfitted with a drop-in bath tub. That’s not the case as we approach the third decade of the 21st century. Given the frenetic pace of everyday life, who has time to soak in a tub? That’s a question many hotel developers are answering by eliminating tubs altogether. Hilton’s Canopy brand has replaced the tub with a barrier-free, walk-in shower. Marriott also is foregoing tubs for walk-in showers at properties that are part of the brand’s Autograph Collection. Both hoteliers are not eliminating tubs completely, however. They are outfitting their suites with tubs to evoke a more luxurious feel and look to the space.

Realtor.com recently revealed the results of a survey that identifies the features that help homeowners sell their homes fastest and at the best prices. Identifying improvements that generate the most significant return on investment is more critical now than it has ever been. In 2017, homeowners spent more improving their homes than in any year since 2006, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Not surprisingly, the top two rooms that captured the most interest and dollars are kitchens and baths, according to Houzz.com.

Making the decision to remodel your kitchen, bath or any other part of your home is huge. It’s fraught with anxiety and unknowns. A professional showroom’s role is to ease the fear and eliminate stress. That’s why it is important to understand that a professional showroom offers more than cabinets, countertops and appliances. A professional showroom is in the business of providing peace of mind.

How can you differentiate one showroom from another? Develop a checklist of information that a showroom needs to offer to help ensure peace of mind. You should expect a showroom to provide the following information:

Houzz.com recently surveyed 2,600 individuals who completed a kitchen remodel in 2019 or planned to undertake one in the next three months.

Style Trends

A large majority of homeowners (85%) change the style of their kitchen when they renovate. In 2019, transitional was most popular, selected by 21% of homeowners, followed by contemporary (16%), modern (15%) and traditional style (11%). Transitional cabinets, fixtures and other kitchen staples combine both traditional and contemporary styles. Transitional has been the most favored décor style for three years running, found the Houzz survey. Farmhouse kitchens are not as popular. Only 11% of homeowners opted for a farmhouse kitchen according to survey respondents. This was a decline from 14% in 2018 and 12% in 2017.

The paradox of the unlimited choices available through online search is that it’s almost impossible for anyone to make the best buying decision because of the nearly infinite number of options presented. If you searched on a Houzz.com, Pinterest or Instagram to get ideas for a new bathroom sink, you would be given tens of thousands of choices. How can you confidently make the best decision with so much sensory overload? The answer for most is that most times you can’t. The following is a guide to make the selection process easier for homeowners, designers and builders in Montgomery County, PA. 

The ability to convert dreams into reality is the number one reason why homeowners undertake a renovation project, found a recent survey of more than 142,000 homeowners conducted by Houzz.com. Of those, nearly half undertook a renovation project in 2018.

The reasons for all types of renovation projects parallel the reasons our clients in Abington, PA decide to renovate their homes. The other major reasons for renovating likely include:

There is no such thing as too much storage when it comes to a bathroom! A great place to get additional storage is with the use of a medicine cabinet. Storage needs, size of the bath, design and lifestyle preferences are the primary factors influencing a customer’s decision to place a medicine/mirrored cabinet in the bath. Homeowners in Abington, PA tend to choose medicine cabinets over wall-hung mirrors just for that reason. 

The medicine cabinets featured in our showroom are distinguished by both their functional superiority and innovative design. Cabinets can be made of wood, metal, polymers or just about any other material. They are differentiated by their shape, size and mirror design. They can be framed, frameless, arched, square or multisided, and can use beveled or nonbeveled glass. Shelving inside of the cabinet may be made from glass, plastic or metal, and the shelves may be adjustable or nonadjustable. 

You can’t watch a home improvement television show kitchen renovation without seeing an island become the focal point of the new space. Kitchen islands are one of our clients’ most requested features and for good reason. Islands serve multiple purposes as preparation areas, desks, dining tables, serving spaces and more. When our clients request an island, our starting point is to determine if their space is sufficient. Then we identify the best dimensions and orientation. Factors that we consider when planning an island include users and their age, desired uses, seating needs, room shape and dimensions, traffic flow and window locations.

Most kitchens are rectangular. Typically, in rectangular kitchens, we are likely to specify a rectangular-shaped island. If your kitchen is not rectangular, there are an endless array of island shapes and sizes that are viable. L-shaped kitchens may be best served with an L-shaped island. We’ve designed round, oval and curved islands.