Cabinet Cleaning Tips for Custom Wood Cabinetry
By / June 2, 2016 March 20, 2023Kountry Kraft Custom Cabinetry is built with careful attention to detail, and by caring for them with our simple cabinet cleaning tips your cabinetry will add value to your home for many years to come. The number one question homeowners ask when we complete the installation of their new cabinetry is how to keep kitchen cabinets clean, and they are always surprised by our answer. They believe they need a special cleaning solution for kitchen cabinets or a homemade DIY kitchen cabinet cleaner, but that simply is not the case.
Customers are surprised when we tell them that we do not recommend any specific cabinet cleaning products besides a soft cloth and water with a mild detergent. We provide new customers with a list of ten simple cabinet cleaning tips to protect their cabinetry, and if these techniques are employed regularly, they prevent damage to your cabinets, and will assure you years of beautiful, functional use.
10 Simple Cabinet Cleaning Tips
- Wipe up spills, splatters and water spots as they occur – keep the cabinets dry.
- Clean as needed with a soft, lint free cloth. Use a mild detergent or soap and warm water.
- Dry surfaces immediately with a soft cloth.
- Avoid using a dishcloth or sponge – it could contain remnants of grease or detergents.
- Do not use products with bleach, ammonia or abrasive additives.
- Never use scouring pads, steel wool or powdered cleaners.
- Do not allow oven cleaners to come in contact with wood finishes.
- Avoid placing small kitchen appliances where heat is directed onto cabinet surfaces.
- Avoid draping damp cloths or dishtowels over cabinet doors – excessive moisture can cause permanent damage.
- Do not use waxes or polishes.
Laminate vs. Wood
If you have recently upgraded from laminate cabinetry to custom made wood cabinetry, it’s especially important to note that there are important differences in care. If you use the same cabinet cleaning tips on wood that you previously used on laminate, you may damage the rich patina that solid wood provides.
- Never use a low-abrasive brush or clean sponge on laminate cabinetry – this is a common way to remove stains on a laminate surfaces, but will cause irreparable damage to solid wood.
- Never use an abrasive cleanser such as baking soda or detergent on solid wood cabinetry. This technique may work on laminates, but choose plain water or soap water with a gentle cleanser to clean your custom wood cabinetry.
- Removing stains from laminate cabinetry sometimes calls for all-purpose cleansers. Using an all-purpose cleanser on solid wood cabinetry may remove the finish and damage the wood.
You’ve taken the time and the resources to invest in classic, high quality wood cabinetry – why shorten its lifespan with neglect or misuse? Follow these simple tips anytime you wonder how to freshen wood kitchen cabinets or how to clean cabinet doors, and you will protect your investment in custom cabinetry for many years to come. For cabinet designs, view our gallery and follow us on Houzz.
The Perfect Kitchen Layout For Your Lifestyle
By / May 18, 2016 March 17, 2023If there is one thing that relaxes me it is being in the kitchen. The kitchen is like the holy grail of the house. However, nothing is more frustrating than a kitchen layout that is difficult to maneuver around. You have to grab your eggs and milk from the refrigerator, which is on the opposite end of the kitchen from the mixers and the oven. Frustrating, right? The only way to fix this frustration is to change the kitchen layout to suit your space and have a better workflow. Listed below are four types of kitchen plans to create the perfect kitchen layout for your lifestyle.
Perfect Kitchen Layout Options
First is the galley kitchen layout. If there is not much room in your house, this kitchen layout is the best option for you. A galley kitchen includes two countertops, parallel to each other, to make the entire kitchen easily accessible. This layout is the best use of limited space. If choosing this layout, you want to select light colors to create the illusion of open space.
Next is the U-
shaped kitchen layout. The U-shaped layout is an ideal look for opening up floor space. It features three walls, which are lined with countertops, appliances, and cabinetry. When choosing this layout, homeowners should place their busiest appliances into a triangular workspace. There are many benefits to this kitchen layout, including a lot of counter space, and the ability to support a kitchen island.
The L-Shaped kitchen layout creates the feel of an open floor plan with two walls perpendicular to each other. This layout is perfect if you have more than one cook in the house. If eating space is what you are looking for, this layout is perfect for you! You can add an island to the center, or a table to accommodate your guests while you cook.
Finally, the single wall layout is typically found in small homes, because it works by keeping all appliances and ingredients in the same area with little reach and takes up as little space as possible. This design has countertops on both sides of the range oven. When choosing this layout, your best option would be to choose compact appliances to add extra counter space. This kitchen layout is ideal for loft and studio homes or apartments.
While these are not the only kitchen layouts you can choose from, these are the four most basic options. Deciding which layout to choose is going to be based off of a few things, including budget, how much storage space you will need, and how often or how many people you tend to entertain. Remember to take all of these into consideration, and LOVE the kitchen you choose. If none of these are to your liking, check out these other kitchen layouts we love.
Functional Kitchens to Enhance Your Home
By / May 11, 2016 March 17, 2023Installing new functional kitchens is a great way to make an investment in your home. A new kitchen that suits our lifestyle is a great way to simplify your life. But beneath the beauty of it all, the reason a kitchen improves our lives is it’s functionality. At Kountry Kraft we know how to build truly functional kitchens.
Overall, we pride ourselves in having a talented network of dealers who can assess a homeowners needs to build kitchens that are a masterpiece in functionality. A key to creating functional kitchens is the use of accessories that optimize space. Because today’s kitchens are used in a variety of ways – they may need to house everything from the family computer to a laundry center. For this reason we offer a wide variety of accessories to suit every need.
Accessories to enhance functional kitchens
:
- Maximize a small space with a base pull-out storage cabinet. These cabinets can be tucked conveniently next to your stove or sink to allow easy access to frequently used items.
- Pull out wicker baskets make an attractive addition to your kitchen space and are a great way to store items such as potatoes and onions.
- Spices take up valuable cabinet space, but we offer unique spice storage options such as spice drawers, wooden spice racks fitted inside a cabinet door, and combination knife and spice drawers.
- Conveniently store knives off the counter with a knife drawer designed to protect blades and fingers.
- Double level cutlery drawers allow you to organize your cutlery and other kitchen utensils neatly for ease of use.
- Store your cutting board out of the way to free up counter space with a pull out cutting board integrated into your cabinetry.
- Storage of baking trays just got easier with slotted tray base cabinets that can hold everything from cookie sheets to pizza pans. They provide easy access any time, and a combination storage cabinet can allow you to utilize unused space for such items as lids that clutter up your pot storage areas.
- Adding a food file rack to your pantry door places items you use frequently right on the door – and makes use of space
- Store your bread neatly in a bread drawer with partitions.
- Utilize often-wasted space in front of your sink with a tilt out tray to keep store unsightly sponges.
- Hide trash out of the way and away from pets with a slide away waste container.
- Pull out towel racks allow your kitchen towels to hang neatly out of sight to dry between uses.
Start living the good life today. Transform your home into an expression of your personal taste and desire for elegance. Kountry Kraft will guide you every step of the way. Follow us on Houzz to see photography of more of our custom cabinetry accessories. Find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you and begin planning a more functional kitchen today.
Home Entertainment Cabinetry
By / May 4, 2016 March 18, 2023Home entertainment cabinetry is a great idea for any home. Because many people choose to stay at home for family entertainment, or choose to entertain gu
ests in the comfort of their own home, having a custom
entertainment area with home entertainment cabinetry is a great investment in your home. Entertaining at home takes space, and finding room to store your Blu-ray collection, AV equipment and family games is often a challenge, and can cause a clutter problem in your home. At Kountry Kraft we can create home entertainment cabinetry to clear the clutter and enhance the fun.
Developing entertainment areas in your home by adding home entertainment cabinetry is a great way to enhance your family’s together time, create memories and build a place to unwind and relax. Home theaters with built-in entertainment centers are a great addition to any room in your home. Recreation space allows you to invite friends and family to gather to watch a movie, play games, or have a party – the possibilities for your new entertainment area are endless.
Custom entertainment centers for your home theater also help reduce the stress caused by clutter in your home. Piles of movies stacked on your entertainment unit or crammed in every corner of your home creates an unsightly mess – and makes it hard to find what you need. Home entertainment cabinetry organizes the mess and create a unique space to relax and enjoy family and friends. And with custom cabinetry every corner of your home can carry your style and express your individuality, while providing functionality and storage.
Home entertainment cabinetry considerations:
- What is the primary leisure activity of your family? Who will be the primary users of this space?
- Do you entertain large groups? Do you need a separate home theater room or can you integrate your entertainment area into an existing family or play room?
- How much space do you have to devote? Do you need to maximize storage, or maximize entertainment space?
- How long will the space you’re planning fit the needs of your family? Make sure the area you’re planning will have longevity or be a flexible space that can evolve as your family evolves.
Custom cabinetry isn’t just for kitchens – consider adding home entertainment cabinetry to enhance the functionality of your home. Contact a Kountry Kraft dealer near you that can help you start planning your entertainment space today.
Profile of Cabinet Dealers – Hanford Cabinet and Woodworking
By / April 27, 2016 September 2, 2021
Each month we profile one of our talented cabinet dealers and this month we are excited to profile Hanford Cabinet and Woodworking, located in Old Saybrook, CT. Hanford is a fantastic dealer led by owner and founder Stephen Hanford and a truly talented group of hardworking cabinet designers and staff. Hanford established his renowned firm in Connecticut over 35 years ago, based on his love of wood and the inherent beauty and warmth that it brings to life, and they pride themselves in creating quality projects built to last a lifetime.
Stephen began his passion for woodworking at a very young age. His father was a college trained instructor in woodworking and helped Steve progress in the wood medium. His love for the art grew as he became older. In fact, he chose to purchase an existing cabinet shop instead of gaining his PhD. In Botany!
Excellence in Woodworking
Stephen relishes the most unique and difficult projects because of his love and indisputable knowledge of 
woodworking and forestry. No project is too challenging for Hanford Cabinets and Woodworking. His knowledge and background in wood technology and forestry has proven to be indispensable when it comes to handling the more difficult and unusual jobs. Steve’s talent, both natural & trained, has turned Hanford Cabinet & Woodworking into the reputable Connecticut business it is today.
Stephen and his wonderful team of designers have fortified Hanford Cabinets and Woodworking as a well-established and reputable Connecticut business that we love to work with. For the Hanfords cabinetry truly is a family affair. Lane, Steve’s wife and business partner, oversees The Front Room Gallery and office duties. Sarah Hanford photographs finished work and does graphic design, and Allison Hanford is office manager, and also does design, build and install.
Hanford Cabinets and Woodworking offers cabinets, furniture, countertops, appliances, plumbing fixtures and much more. We love partnering with Hanford and are proud to include them in our list of talented cabinet dealers. Visit their website to see more of their beautiful custom cabinetry work.
Timeless White Cabinetry
By / April 13, 2016 February 25, 2023Over the years we have certainly seen our share of cabinetry fads, but one color has withstood the test of time – white cabinetry. Whether it is with a modern door style or fits into a traditional kitchen, customers still look to white cabinetry to provide them with a pure, clean space.
White Finishes
White finishes and glazes can be applied to any of our wood types to create a unique effect. You can choose white stained cabinets, or white painted cabinets for a different effect. White maple cabinets have a completely different look than white applied to cherry or knotty pine – and glazes can create a completely different effect. This color on distressed wood also has a unique appearance.
White cabinetry can truly help a small room look large. Adding white cabinetry will brighten up a room, enhancing the feeling of space in the room. Since white cabinetry can look cold, it is important mix up a variety of complementary shades of white in the paint, backsplashes, countertops, tile, flooring and cabinet stains. This can truly warm up a room and avoid a sterile feeling.
Warm Up a Kitchen
Another way to warm up a white kitchen is to add wood accents, on an island, or countertops, for instance. You can also add stainless steel pulls and appliances to a white kitchen to break up the white in the room, and hardwood flooring does a tremendous amount to warm up the space.
White can be made to fit into any design aesthetic – whether traditional, transitional, contemporary or modern. Cabinetry with full overlay doors can achieve a contemporary feel, while flat-panel inset doors, beadboard and rustic feeling knobs and accessories can give a kitchen a rustic farmhouse feel.
Over the years, we have created many beautiful white kitchens – like the beautiful white cabinets. This includes our slide show below designed by our friends at Stonington Designs in Madison, NJ and True North Cabinets in New Caanan, CT. With a wide variety of options available your custom white kitchen can have your own unique look and feel. You can also check out our Houzz projects for additional examples of white kitchens we love.
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Cabinet Style Primer
By / April 6, 2016 March 8, 2023Kountry Kraft cabinetry is truly custom, and each one of our projects look completely different from the next when you combine our vast offering of door styles, overlays, edge profiles, framing beads, wood type, paints and finishes. It can be hard to determine which of our cabinet styles to choose, but the best way to start is by selecting the cabinet styles that fit your design from our five most popular cabinet style options:
Beaded Inset
Beaded inset cabinetry features a bead around the edge for a decorative effect. This allows the door and drawer style you select to stand out in your design. It is not available with a door overlay. It is most popular in traditional and transitional style kitchens, and you can configure it with any edge profile, bead, hinge and drawer style.
Penn Line
Penn Line features a 3/8” inset-lipped door overlay. There is no framing bead or raise available with this style of cabinetry. It is most popular in transitional and contemporary designs. One common combination is to pair this cabinet style with our CRP door style
3001
This cabinet style features a full overlay, to allow the door style to take center stage. In this style of cabinetry, the cabinet does not show through – it is fully covered by the door and drawer. It can feature a bead and a raise and is most popular in contemporary and modern style designs. It typically pairs with the purity door style and full door overlay.
Cambridge
The Cambridge cabinet style does not feature a door overlay. It can be used with any of our framing beads and edge profiles. It is most popular in traditional and transitional designs and most often pairs with the CRP10, CRP10161 and CRP10797 door styles.
Inset/No Bead
In this style of custom cabinetry, doors are inset with no overlay. Because there is no door overlay, the door lays flush with the cabinetry. It can also be with any of our edge profiles, framing beads and raises, and is most popular in traditional and transition style design. This cabinet style typically pairs with the Amesbury and CRP10 door styles, but can be with any of our styles.
Kountry Kraft offers other cabinet styles in addition to these, and one of our talented kitchen designers can help you determine which of our cabinet styles is right for your next custom cabinetry project. Overall, they will show you visual examples of each style paired with our wood options, door styles and beads, and will work with you to narrow down the options to accomplish all of your design goals.
Dealer Profile – James Kershaw Associates
By / March 23, 2016 February 24, 2023A talented kitchen designer can help you design the kitchen of your dreams. The Kountry Kraft team is thrilled to work with a network of talented dealers and kitchen designers who create incredible custom cabinetry projects using our products. This month I am happy to profile our friends at James Kershaw and Associates, kitchen designer North Haledon, NJ.
James Kershaw began drawing and designing in High School. Soon thereafter, he was hired as an industrial draftsman. His fascination for architecture carried him through college where at night, he began working for a local kitchen dealer. After college, he began a long teaching career while continuing his passion for kitchen design.
In 1981, Jim received his accreditation as a “Certified Kitchen Designer”. He started his own business, James Kershaw Associates, specializing in interior planning, kitchen design, bath design, home theaters & media cabinetry, closets & specialized storage, custom furniture, and libraries & offices.
Jim’s daughter discovered her own love of kitchen design after taking a high school drafting course. She attended drafting school and then joined her father’s firm to learn design from the best. Patty became a partner in James Kershaw Associates in 2009. With almost 25 years experience working in the kitchen business, she gives much attention to design detail and engineering. She enjoys working with clients to make each kitchen special and personal. Patty believes “A satisfied client is the biggest reward.”
Jim and Patty also work with designer Bill Troncone, Bill studied interior design at Berkeley College of Business. He has focused on kitchen and bath design since 1998, and is committed to providing creative design solutions that meet a client’s needs while staying within their budget. Together the team at James Kershaw and Associates work to create designs that get the very best out of every space.
We are pleased to display several James Kershaw and Associates projects in the web gallery on our website. For more information and to see more of their work, check out the slide show of some of their projects below, and visit their website to see more of their designs at www.jameskershaw.com.
Metal Fusion – Kountry Kraft – Newmanstown, Pa
By / March 9, 2016 March 15, 2023
Metal Fusion by Kountry Kraft is an exciting new finishing process created to take a wood component from ordinary to extraordinary! Metal Fusion combines real pulverized metal particles with a special resin to create a metal finish. Together they form a coating that replicates the look of metal when applied to traditional wood products. Lighter in weight and lower in price than metal, this finishing process offers affordable options for dramatic accents and focal points throughout the home.
Metal Fusion is available in eight metals and three finishes to suit a wide variety of design styles and color combinations. Metal styles include:
- Brass
- Bronze
- Copper
- White gold
- Oil rubbed bronze
- Iron
- Nickel silver
- Stainless steel
Finishes include:
- Satin Patina
- Polished
- Polished Patina
Metal Fusion can be used with range hoods, moldings, corbels, appliqués, legs, posts, bun fee, picture frames, and more. Design applications are only limited by your imagination. Our metal finishes add a polished sophisticated look to any room, and ties in well with metal accents such as range hoods in kitchen design.
Metal Fusion will react to the environment, just as solid metal does, and will naturally patina overtime, thus enhancing the beauty of the piece. On products such as corbels, posts and decorative on-lays, a patina must be applied to give the appearance of tarnishing and enhance the recessed areas that cannot be polished. Metal Fusion is not available on Styrofoam or silicone. Cleaning cabinets with a metal finish is simple – simply wipe the surface with a damp cloth, and polish with a metal polish when necessary.
Our network of experienced dealers can help you decide where to incorporate cabinetry with a metal finish into your custom cabinetry design. Metal Fusion is yet another way Kountry Kraft stays ahead of the trends, offering unique and high-end design solutions to enhance the beauty of your home.
Custom Kitchen Designer Profile True North Cabinets, LLC
By / February 17, 2016 December 19, 2022Each month I am pleased to have the opportunity to highlight one of the talented designers in our dealer network who work with us to create beautiful cabinetry projects in homes all around the country. This month’s custom kitchen designer focus is True North Cabinets in New Canaan, CT.
True North truly offers “exceptional designs for your lifestyle.” Their award-winning family owned business is managed by Ken and Louise Pascal, and their beautiful designs have been featured in many national publications and in many prominent homes
True North provides custom kitchen remodeling and full kitchen design services, including cabinetry, stone work, back splash, wall color, fixtures, flooring and more. Their high-quality, custom made kitchen solutions are among some of the best designs we produce, and we always enjoy the opportunity to create new and exciting cabinetry projects in collaboration with the True North team.
In the above photos we are pleased to highlight this traditional style kitchen in New Canaan, CT, which you will also see featured on the Kountry Kraft home page. This kitchen features beautiful white beaded inset cabinets crafted of Hard Maple wood. The doors are complete with the Schaub 706-PN hardware. The drawers feature the Schaub 732-PN hardware. The door design is TW10 with an ogee framing bead, and the color is real brushed stroke VM-81680 finish.
In addition to creating beautiful kitchens, Ken and Louise continuously look to give back to their community. They have made charitable donations to 25+ organizations to date such as New Canaan Cares, Salvation Army and United Way to name a few. Being part of their community is incredibly important to them.
If you live in New Canaan and the surrounding area, consider True North for your cabinetry needs. For more information visit their website or call them at (203)972-3921. Let them know I sent you!