Month: July 2017

By standard definition, a modern kitchen is any kitchen that uses electricity or natural gas. So technically speaking, I guess every kitchen in the western world is known as a modern kitchen. However for the purposes of this article, we’re going to expand the definition and focus on the conveniences of modern kitchen design and the benefits that you can potentially enjoy every day no matter your lifestyle. Our skilled and experienced team of installers for luxury kitchens Sydney that includes the handpainters can take care of the installation for you, making sure your new kitchen is finished to showroom standard, and we can advise about and supply appliances from market-leading manufacturers.

When you think of modern, no doubt you have a rush of images from sleek designs to state-of-the-art technology. Here are just a few categories to get you focused and narrow your definition of modern kitchen ideas.

Technology is typically the first association people make with the word ‘modern.’ And if you want your kitchen to be technologically advanced you will focus on computer chipped appliances and computers. Today appliances use computers to set temperatures, timers, food expiration dates, and even alerts for inventory restocking. A modern kitchen may very well include a large flat screen TV to display recipes, family calendars, household schedules, and it’s certainly more fun to cook while watching videos, searching websites, or listening to music.

While technology can pose an image of cold and uninviting, a modern kitchen embraces state-of-the-art innovation with classic design ideas – clean lines, clear countertops, bold colors, contrasting design elements, and simple shapes. A modern kitchen can be both a technologically advanced and warm and inviting space.

Cabinetry of a modern luxury kitchen will distinctly lack extra features found in traditional style designs. Most modern cabinets are simple, square or rectangular shaped, without fancy door handles. Although ‘plain’ the look of the cabinetry is sleek, clean, and highly functional. The look is all about working properly and showcasing your personal style. In fact, you may wish to completely leave cabinet doors off for the sheer convenience of access and sexy open look.

Appliances in your new kitchen need not be the most recent release from a major appliance company. While having the fancy new refrigerator or the hottest new 5 burner cook top may be nice, does it fit into your overall decorating scheme and budget? Believe it or not, a retro refrigerator, if working properly, could be the right fit for your new kitchen. Even your kitchen hood exhaust fan from a different time period can work, as long as it functions fine and does not pose a danger to the rest of your house.

Use this checklist for the appliances you have or might need to replace:

Oven
Microwave
Dishwasher
Wine Cooler
Hood
Refrigerator
Washer / Dryer
Waste Disposal
Cook top
Freezer
Coffee Machine
Instant Hot Water Tap
Sink & Tap
Fireplace / Hob
Wet Bar
Blender, Food Processor

Furniture in a modern kitchen should be simple in shape, multi-functional, and bold in color. Modern kitchen furniture will not include carved legs, multi-colored patterned cushions, or seats made of many parts. Modern style by definition means full of straight line and not a lot of fuss.

Modern décor means little to no art work is required for a modern kitchen design. The decoration is the furniture and cabinetry and it’s typically limited to a one or two color scheme. A one color scheme means everything, cabinets, furniture, and appliances, is a single color. A two color scheme is one in which the walls and cabinets are one color but the appliances and furniture are a second color, usually a highly contrasting color.

Whether it’s a few touches or a complete new kitchen, you can create a modern kitchen successfully as long as you express your personal style and the space makes you happy.

Remodeling Benefits

As the housing stock ages and new construction prices rise, more and more people are remodeling their homes than any other time in history. If you live in a house that you generally love and it’s located in a desirable neighborhood, remodeling makes good financial sense. What’s the primary benefit you might derive from a new kitchen?

1. Functionality – add a walk-in pantry, re-design counter space, and make room for your laptop and printer – anything that complements your lifestyle.

2. Interaction – open up your kitchen to the other adjoining rooms, a new island can be a comfortable place for early morning coffee chats and late evening wine tasting.

3. Safety – reduce risks of accidents and make your much-used room safe. Modify countertop heights to reduce back strain and use green materials to improve indoor air quality.

4. Storage – a well-designed kitchen remodel can greatly increase your storage space and ability to keep organized.

5. Entertaining – enjoy the fun of entertaining people in your new space.

6. Resale – According to realtors, the kitchen and bath are the most important rooms in the house to potential buyers. Reports show that a kitchen remodel can return up to 85% of its cost upon resale.

7. Style – it’s all about you and the beautiful things you appreciate. Make your kitchen a happy place to spend time.

Whether practical, functional, or desirable, fitting your kitchen with an updated look can make any old modern kitchen into a new modern luxury kitchen expressly designed for you. After all, technology waits for no one.

Kathryn Dawson writes articles for KDCUK, a well established supplier and provider of high quality modern kitchen at affordable trade prices. Explore an extensive collection of luxury kitchens and appliances at their showroom such as their best selling handle-less German collection. Using only quality imported products and with all the ideas and creativity you can be sure to get a new kitchen that multi-functional, attractive and is an envy of others.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kath_Dawson/69934

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4267757

Whether you are a born-and-bred local or a first-time visitor, there is no denying the spectacular natural beauty of the Noosa Shire. The surf comp is always a challenge especially if there is not enough big waves.

Each year, the Laguna Real Estate Noosa Festival of Surfing takes a step up in its ecological responsibility towards a completely sustainable event. In 2017, we have urged all partners and promoters to take it upon themselves to match our sentiments, providing more environmentally-viable promotional material.

Partnering with Unitywater, Noosa National Surfing Reserve and Noosa Community Biosphere Association, the festival aims at drastically reducing the level of single-use plastic generated by the event and create greater consciousness in every area of our ‘8 Days of Pure Stoke’.

Unitywater will be providing a ‘Bring Your Own Bottle’ initiative, providing fresh, filtered drinking water for all who bring their own bottle to fill, and festival staff will replace single-use plastic water bottles with reusable bottles and bulk water tanks.

Not only that, Friday, 10th March will also officially become Sustainability Day, with a host of pubic activities taking to the sand. Tom Wegener, long-renowned as a leading innovator of sustainable surf commerce and PhD in Surfing Sustainability, has organised an interactive day of creation and craftsmanship, daring together himself and three other shapers of wooden surfcraft.

Wegener will be hosting workshops of his timber ‘Surfie’ bellyboards, a fusion of inspiration from the Hawai’ian alaia and paipo boards and the bellyboards of the South West of England. Fun for everyone, the Surfies are a far cry from the foam bodyboards of today, and Wegener will be helping members of the public shape one for themselves.

Similarly, Toru Ogawa will be joining us from Japan to coach people in the crafting of timber handplanes. Used for bodysurfing, handplanes are possibly the simplest of surfcraft, but the shapes and designs still need to be carefully created to give maximum lift and hydrodynamics. Toru has spent several years perfecting his shapes and travelling the world to share his skills. Adding to the lineup for Sustainable Friday, he is inviting the public to join him on the sand at Main Beach to shape their very own handplane under his expert tutelage.

Also from Japan, Nouhito ‘Nobby’ Ohkawa is a master craftsman of timber surfboards. Ceating the boards as sustainably and chemical-free as he could, he was unsatisfied with then affixing fiberglass and polyester resin fins. While timber alone or constructs such as ply are not strong enough to endure the pressures of fins on their own, through much experimentation, Nobby developed a highly technical process to create timber hardy enough for the purpose. Nobby will be inviting the public to shape a fin with him from his special timber composite.

Lastly, but by no means least, Adam Baldwin will be making the short trip up to Noosa from Caloundra. A teacher at Coolum High School, he too is an expert woodworker, but moves a step further in the realms of sustainability. Timber is, of course, biodegradable, but Adam utilises waste, recycling and upcycling old, broken surfboards and materials he finds to create functional surfboards bound together with organic bio-resin. So successful have Adam’s creations been that he was awarded the ‘Most Functional Surfboard’ trophy in the 2016 Creators & Innovators Contest presented by Vissla and Surfrider. Adam will be on hand to discuss his techniques and the need for us all to readdress our use of materials in all areas of life.

Sustainability Friday’s conclusion will be in scintillating conversation with Tom Wegener and Save the Waves Coalition’s director of programs, Nick Mucha, discussing ways in which the surf industry can improve, as well as the prospect of Noosa Heads’ induction into the heralded list of International Surfing Reserves.

Places for this special event are very limited. To reserve a space with any of these inspiring shapers, please email Tom Wegener at: [email protected].