Bored With Your Kitchen? 5 Kitchen Upgrades Without a Full Renovation!

5 Ways to Upgrade Your Kitchen

Want to upgrade your kitchen without going full-blown demo? Even minor changes can make a huge difference! We’ve put together some kitchen remodel ideas, from small to large, to help you bring new life to one of the most popular rooms in your house.

Change Up Your Cabinets

Upgrading your cabinets will make your kitchen feel like it’s brand new, and you don’t even have to swap them out! For example, adding a fresh coat of paint (such as Annie Sloan chalk paint) really brightens up the room. 

Not ready for the time commitment associated with painting? Other small changes can make a world of difference. Removing the doors for an open look, installing roll-out shelving, or installing crown molding are just a few options.

Fantastic New Floors

There are so many choices in flooring these days, the possibilities are endless. When it comes to durability and a polished look, tile floors are the most popular choice. With glazed and unglazed versions, you can choose between sleek and modern or vintage and earthy. In addition, tile can withstand drops and spills without a problem. 

Have an open floor plan? You may want to try hardwood or engineered wood so you can maintain the same floor type throughout. Hardwood is comfortable underfoot but less resistant to spills. Engineered wood, on the other hand, is just as durable as tile with the same hardwood look.

Get Creative with Paint

When was the last time you painted the walls in your kitchen? We’re guessing that it’s been a while. Try painting your kitchen walls a different color and see what a difference it makes! 

Other items in your kitchen can be painted as well – in addition to your cabinets, you can paint your dining room set, your floor, even your Formica countertops (there’s a special paint for that now).

Upgrade the Appliances

It’s amazing what a new set of appliances can do to change the look of your kitchen, especially if the appliances you already own don’t match. Black, white, or stainless steel, the appliances these days are sharp, efficient, and practically designer.

Even small appliances can brighten up the room. A Kitchenmaid mixer and a tea kettle that matches another color in your kitchen, such as your newly painted walls, can tie the whole look together!

Find a Fun Light Fixture

We often don’t think about our lights unless they’re not working. However, a unique light fixture can be the center of attention and change your kitchen’s whole look. A mini chandelier, drop lights, the options are endless. 

Another option for lighting is to add light panels above or underneath your cabinets. It makes the whole room glow.

As you can see, you don’t need to demo your kitchen to make a big difference in how it looks. Call Bright Star Handyman today – we’d love to help!

Home Renovations in 2019 with Bright Star Handyman Service

As we reflect back on 2018, we’re so grateful for everything this year brought and taught us! As we gear up for the year ahead, we’re expecting 2019 to bring even more big things!

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time for a home renovation in Philadelphia or South Jersey, the time has come. This year, we want to help you with all of your home needs. If you’re not sure where to start, begin prioritizing where you spend most of your time. Does your small kitchen need more space? Does your bathroom only have enough space for one person at a time?

Here are 4 ways to update your home in 2019!

Kitchen Makeover
You don’t need to completely gut your family kitchen to get more space and use out of your cooking and storage space. There are few ways to completely change the look of your kitchen without a complete renovation:

• Repaint the cabinets to freshen up their look and avoid a full cabinet installation

• Change out your cabinet hardware like knobs and handles for new decor

• Upgrade your kitchen appliances to new energy efficient appliances that might save you more money in monthly bills

• Change out your countertops to create a brand new preparation space for family dinner

Bathroom Overhaul
Older bathrooms are generally smaller than bathrooms built in newer homes. If you find that you need more space, there are plenty of ways to optimize what you already have:

• Change out the bathroom sink to better fit the amount of space you have, if you need more storage, select a model with a cabinet underneath or for more free space, select a pedestal sink to open up the area underneath

• Add floating shelves or cabinets above the toilet or sink to move your belongings off of the ground and countertops and into a designated space

• Swap out your shower curtain and bathroom rug to add a new color scheme and cleaner fill to your bathroom

• Treat your bathtub, sink, and toilet with a strong cleaner to remove any calcium, lime, or rust deposits to give your bathroom a super clean feel

Basement Conversion
Need more space in your home for storage or your growing family? A basement remodel might be in the cards for you instead of building a new room to add-on to your home. Basements make great home additions and the increased square footage can be used as a number of things:

• Turn your basement into a kids playroom with organizers for all of their toys and craft supplies

• Convert your basement into an extra bedroom to give yourself more space for guests or for your family

• Build shelving and organizational systems to store anything you are not currently using, including bike mounts, tool boxes, winter clothing, holiday decorations, and more

• Create your dream workspace by partly finishing the basement with a table for a crafting area, storage compartments, wall organizers, and anything else you need to make it your ideal workshop

Outdoor Beautification
Want to maximize your space by creating a beautiful outdoor space for nice days? Adding to the exterior beauty of your home can increase its drive-by value and creates an inviting space to come home to after a long day. We can help you:

• Build an outdoor deck for seating, grilling, and entertaining

• Clean the gutters to keep them lasting longer and to avoid leaks from water buildup on the roof

• Repaint the exterior of your home for a clean start and to make you feel like you’re walking up to a new home each time you pull into your driveway

• Repair the fence and landscaping to keep your pets and kids safe in the yard with a beautiful backdrop to encourage more time outside

Whatever your home renovation needs are in 2019, Bright Star Handyman Service is here to help! Reach out to us for a free home consultation today and let’s give you the home of your dreams in 2019!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all of our friends and family in South Jersey and Philadelphia! We are grateful for your love and support as we enter the last quarter of the year! If you have been considering a home renovation or remodel, now is the time to reach out to Bright Star Handyman Service for a free consultation regarding your next home improvement project.

If you’re curious about whether or not Bright Star is the right fit for you, check out our ever-growing project gallery or our Facebook reviews from satisfied clients. We love hearing from you and supporting you in your kitchen remodel, bathroom redesign, new deck build, garage or basement renovation, or anything else you can imagine! From installing new windows to adding an extra bedroom, we’re happy to help you!

From all of us at Bright Star, we hope you and your family have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Things To Know About a 2018 Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen renovations are number one on the remodel list for 2018.  Whether it's the large style shift, or high return on investment, kitchen remodels are on the rise compared to the last 2 years.  What are some key components to creating the kitchen of your dreams and working within your budget?

Organization is Key!

One of the largest complaints by homeowners is clutter, especially in the kitchen.  There are so many new ways to optimize the space in your kitchen.  There are storage items for the backs of closet and cabinet doors, utensil organizers, hanging baskets, pot and pan hangers, pull-out cabinet trash cans, dish bins, and more.  In one study, more than 60% of homeowners rated “Easy to Store/Find Things” as the top functional necessity in a kitchen remodel, followed by “Easy to Work/Play,” “Easy to Entertain,” and “Easy to Clean.”

Kitchen Remodels are the Most Requested Renovation of 2018

Kitchen style has varied greatly the last few years which could be a contributing factor as to why kitchens the most requested home remodel this year.  While modern and traditional kitchen styles have been most sought after for the last few years, consumers are now searching for more transitional and farmhouse style kitchens.  Kitchen technology is also advancing like any other room in your home, like appliances with greater energy efficiency updates.  Stainless steel has been the top selection for appliance color for the last few years.  Refrigerators are most commonly replaced appliance in the house.

The average small kitchen minor remodel in the US runs about $14,000, while a major large kitchen remodel can average around $42,000.  This wide range offers quite a bit of wiggle room for you to budget for your remodel.  In Philadelphia, the average professional minor remodel of large kitchen runs around $28,200, while a major remodel will creep into the $50k range.  Approximately two in five homeowners chose to begin a remodel because they could no longer stand their old kitchen, whether stylistically or functionally.  The rest of the majority of homeowners stated they chose to remodel because they finally had the means to do so!

95% of homeowners will update their countertops with a kitchen remodel, closely followed by kitchen sink, backsplash, and metal fixtures like faucets.  Engineered quartz is the top splurge for kitchen and bathroom countertops this year, followed by appliances and cabinets.  Nearly half of all homeowners choose engineered quartz over granite.  

The Look

Stylistically, the most popular kitchen color choices are modern & minimalist.  More than 40% chose white, shaker-door cabinets to be installed in their homes, while the number one color for kitchen walls is gray. The number one flooring material and color is hardwood, instead of tile or carpet.  Many homeowners are able to cut costs on flooring installation, too.

Across the board, the average size of a renovated kitchen is between 200-250sqft, allowing for more space in rural areas, and slightly smaller in urban areas.  In 2018 specifically, there has been a rise in increased kitchen space during a renovation.  This increased square footage can come in many forms.  For example, many kitchens are being convented into an open layout, where walls or partial walls are removed to create more space.  The second most popular way to expand a kitchen includes creating more outdoor space that allows the kitchen to spill out in nice weather.

While there are always trends, there are so many ways to make a remodel your own.  Bright Star Handyman Service is willing to work with you on a budget and create the room of your dreams!  Reach out to our consultants today to learn more about your future project!

What the 20 Most Popular Home Renovations Are Really Worth in 2018

Photo Credit to www.bidvine.com

Planning to remodel your kitchen, add a master suite, or undertake some other pricey home renovation in 2018? Watch out—not all of these home improvements pay off like they did in the past, according to Remodeling magazine's latest Cost vs. Value Report.

For this much-referenced annual report, now in its 31st year, researchers pinpointed the average return on investment of 20 popular home renovations by canvassing contractors nationwide on how much these upgrades cost to complete, then compared that with how much real estate agents estimated these features would boost a home's market price (in other words, their value).

And the news isn't so good for homeowners looking to remodel on a massive scale: The report found that in 2018, Americans should expect to make back only about 56% of the money they spend on renovations. That's down from 64% the previous two years.

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