Easy Ways to Declutter Your Kitchen In Time For Spring!

Winter is over, which means it is time for spring cleaning! To get your started early, here are a few tips that can help you declutter your kitchen.

Step 1: Create a donate/trash pile

This step can seem the most daunting, but it is the most crucial. Go through all of your cabinets and be honest with yourself. If there is something you don’t use, place it in the donate or cash pile. I know what you’re thinking.. What about that one serving tray I could use if I threw a party that was lemonade themed?! PUT IT IN THE PILE! If that day comes, I’m sure you can find a serving tray that fits more than one parties purpose..

Step 2: Organize what is left in your kitchen

Sometimes life can get busy and things can end up in the wrong spot. Or maybe you’ve been tired of the overflowing container cabinet. Now is the time to reorganize these cabinets. Think of how awesome it will be in a week when you go to grab something, and everything is organized and where it is supposed to be!

Step 3: Clean off your countertops

I know that everyone is different, but countertops usually mean clutter. Take stock of what you have on your counter, see if there are some things that can be put in cabinets until they are needed, and also see if there is stuff on the counter that doesn’t belong in the kitchen. Remove all of those kitchen and then wipe everything down. You will be amazed how much a clean countertop can change a kitchen!

Step 4: Go through your refrigerator and pantry

Check expiration dates on your dressing and sauces in the fridge. Go through your pantry and check expiration dates on your canned goods. A lot of time it can be “out of sight, out of mind” so it is important to go through this a few times a year. While you are doing this it might be a good time to make a list of items you need to stock up on at the grocery store. You can also reorganize as you go to make items more accessible.

Step 5: Relax!

Time to relax and enjoy the peace that comes with having a clean and organized kitchen! Make sure to keep up with the organization and try to keep the space from getting cluttered!

Box Cabinets Debunking

We are frequently asked how we differ from the large box cabinet dealers. People also see the word “custom” in our company name and assume this means that we only do complex cabinetry and that our cabinets come with a higher price tag.

To start off a large reason that we differ from box cabinets and why we say our cabinets are custom is due to the way we build our boxes. We do produce our cabinetry at our shop located in Harrington, Delaware. When we are designing cabinetry we do not have to stick to any standard size. People who are used to working with box cabinets know that you have to stick with certain sized cabinetry (12”, 18”, 24” etc.). Here at Sylvester we can change the sizes down to the millimeter.

Fun Fact: We work in metric at our shop which blows people away, but really its because doing math with fractions caused too many headaches (:

It is helpful to have the ability to make your cabinetry any size so that you can work with a variety of designs and layouts. This can include angled cabinetry, but also a run of cabinetry that comes to an unusual length.

We also differ in the way that we construct our boxes. Most box cabinet manufacturers build their cabinet box that sits on the ground.

In this picture the sides and toe kick area are all one piece and sit on the ground.

At Sylvesters our cabinets sit on legs, as pictured. Each cabinet has a minimum of 4 legs evenly spaced on the base of the cabinet. Each leg holds a minimum of 600 pounds per leg!

So our boxes sit on these legs which are adjustable, which helps when we are at a job site that has a dip or raise in the floor. We are able to adjust the boxes height in each corner to accommodate for the difference in the floor.

Our end panels and toe kick are all separately applied to the box after this. This is very beneficial if there was ever a water leak (hopefully NEVER), then the whole cabinet would not have to be removed and replaced, it would just be the end panels and toe kick!

Finally, we are a frameless (Euro Style) cabinet shop. If you want to learn more about what this means check out our blog here — http://sylvestercustomcabinetry.com/blog/2020/3/10/american-vs-european-style-cabinetry —that explains the difference between the two!

Looking Back On 2021

I cannot believe that we are already in 2022, it feels like just yesterday we were setting our goals and going over plans for 2021.

At the beginning of every year, we like to try to guess what styles we will see in the coming year. It is always cool to see what sticks around from year to year and what new styles pop up.

Last year we guessed that we would continue to see white cabinetry but would see a variety of color pops. We also thought we would see open floor plans with even more open cabinetry. If you want a more in-depth view read out blog here: http://sylvestercustomcabinetry.com/blog/2021/1/2/hello-2021

Looking back on last year I think all of those stand true. White cabinetry is here to stay. It is a timeless option that will stick around long term. We also did start seeing more pops of colors. We did a whole house in a matte forest green and an island for another job that was sky blue.

Open floor plans have been becoming more popular in the last few years and 2021 was no different. New construction jobs are almost all an open floor plan, and remodels are looking for ways to open their floor plan up.

We are so happy with the growth that we experienced in 2021. With Covid still going it was a year full of change and problem solving but we made it. Thank you all for the support, here’s to 2022!

You’re Just Steps Away From Your Dream Cabinets

Trust The Process

Whether you are thinking about remodeling your kitchen, bathroom, or even just adding some storage cabinets to a walk-way in your home we are here to help!

This can be a very stressful time when trying to make all of the decisions at once and we want to help out in any way we can.

Below is a very short version of how the process works with our team!

We like to start with a meeting in our showroom in Harrington. At this time you can bring a hand sketch of your space along with some current images and some inspiration images. Here we get a feel for what your goal is, along with what we have to work with.

After this meeting we will do a quick prelim drawing with an estimate. If you would like to proceed we will set up a time to go out to your house to grab our own measurements.

When we are getting our measurements we are also making sure there aren’t pre-existing conditions that might cause complications later. Whether this be a water line that needs to be moved, or a plumbing pipe running through a wall that we were thinking of removing. We like to check for this early on.

From here we come back and update our drawings to the measurements and send them over to either get approval or see if there is anything that needs to be changed.

Once we have a final design and sign off, we will have a meeting for selections. This is always the fun part! This is where you will decide on door style, colors and hardware to bring your vision to life.

We do understand that having your house torn apart can be stressful, and we try to do whatever we can to make this process a breeze. We usually like to tell people to plan to be without a kitchen for a minimum of two weeks from the time the old cabinetry is removed and the new cabinetry is installed.

*** While we do not act as a General Contractor, we do like to meet with all of the sub-contractors that are working on the project at the jobsite, to create a timeline so that everything can run smoothly.

Contact us today to see how we can help you get your dream space!

Hello 2021!

New year, new me? Isn’t that the saying?

Maybe for 2021 we should make it “New year, New kitchen!!”

With this blog I want to touch on some things we expect to see for trends throughout this year.

First and foremost, as shown in the last few years, white is here to stay. White cabinetry is timeless. It can brighten up even the darkest rooms, and people really love the clean look it creates in their home.

With this being said, in 2021 I think we can expect to see more of a variety of colors. We might see this with pops of color in the island or bathroom cabinets, or we might see it in the whole kitchen being painted a color other than white.

I think we can continue to see open floorplans which make for a more open kitchen feel. We see the open floor plans a lot in new construction, but we are starting to see it more and more with remodels as well. People want to redo their kitchen, and they want to try to make the space more open.

Along with open floor plans comes open cabinets. We are seeing an increase in requests to have floating shelves in kitchens. Whether it be a coffee bar area, or even a place to hold you wine glasses, we can expect to see more of that in 2021.

No matter what 2021 brings, we are looking forward to a new year with new challenges and experiences. Whether you are building new or want to remodel an existing kitchen, contact us today to see how we can make your dreams a reality!

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Home Office Design and Organization!

Did someone say “home office”?

I feel like in 2020 a home office is more prevalent than ever. Whether you have had to work from home, your kid has had to do school work, or maybe you just want some more home organization, a home office would be the answer for you.

Just because you hear the word office, doesn’t mean you have to have a whole room just for the office. Something just having a designated space for your stuff makes it that much easier.

Your first questions might be “where do I start?”

Well first you want to figure out what you want out of your home office. Do you need space for storage, for bills/mail, how many computers or screens do you need room for, and how much space do you actually need?

Once you figure out what you want out of your home office, you have to find the location for your space! Make sure it is large enough to include all of the items you listed in the first step. You don’t want to have a lot of needs for your office, and only have a desk that is 3 ft long.

Finally you can start to work on your design. Do you want the desk up against the wall, sitting in the middle of the room? Maybe you want an L shape desk that has a lot of counter space?

We have done several kitchens that have a desk area. This usually includes a knee-well spot, so you have the option to sit down on the computer or do paperwork. We also usually include a drawer stack that has a filling system in the bottom drawer to help with organization. We also include some kind of uppers above the desk as well. This helps to hopefully alleviate the desk being a “dump zone.”

I believe that if you create a space for everything in your house, than you are less likely to end up with a lot of “dump zones”

Finally, you have your space and you have your design. Now you get to organize it! There are so many options for organizing your desk area. To start, figure out what you’re trying to store and where.
You want to make sure you have enough space on top of your desk to read, write, and work. you don’t want to get through this process and feel like you’re always working over top of things. This might make some of the tasks you’re trying to accomplish more stressful. And let’s face it, we don’t need any more stress these days!
From there you can go shopping! (this is the most fun ;))

Debunking the Triangle Theory!

When starting a kitchen design one of the first questions we have is “what appliances are you going to have?”

This question can mean a few different things. Some people don’t want certain appliances, like a dishwasher or a microwave.

Others want all the “normal” appliances and then an additional wine fridge (because you can never have enough wine storage amirightttt?) or an additional sink, etc.

Also, they could have appliances that are not standard. For instance you could have a 42” refrigerator. Random thought. Why is fridge spelled with a “d” but refrigerator isn’t?

Alright, alright. back on topic. One of the most important things to know when starting to design a kitchen is… the appliances. At the beginning we don’t ask for the specs from these appliances, but just a general idea of what they want helps.

This way we can start our design by adding in all of the appliances. Can you imagine getting your kitchen design and then being told that you can’t fit a dishwasher in because it wasn’t planned for in the design process? I might cry.

So we get a list of the appliances you are thinking about, we then add those into our design and work from there.

There used to be a thought of having a “triangle” work area where you fridge, stove, and sink were all in close proximity and you could draw a triangle between the three.

This thought process has slowly started to evolve with home-life changing.

We now see a lot of times that the fridge is being put more on the outskirt of the kitchen. This way if someone is in the kitchen cooking and their kid wants a snack, or this significant other wants a drink, they don’t have to get in the way.

So when considering a kitchen remodel, or building a new house. Think of the appliances you want included in your design, and also where you would like those appliances to best fit you and your family.

Need some kitchen inspiration? Check out more of our kitchens at http://sylvestercustomcabinetry.com/kitchens-1