(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. |
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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
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