3 Essential Features For Your Luxury Kitchen Island

How many functions does your island serve? A kitchen island is an excellent spot for seating but does it heat leftovers, wash dishes, and charge devices? What about serving chilled drinks while storing every day serve ware?

If your kitchen island has limited functions, you could greatly benefit from an island redesign. From homework spots to hosting a dinner party, it’s time to maximize your island's potential. Here’s how… 

1. Space for Seating

First and foremost, an island should seat people. I cringe at islands that just have cabinets with no counter overhang for stools. Everyone gathers in the kitchen, so having a comfortable place to sit encourages great conversation and loving memories. While someone is cooking, everyone else can gather around and watch the magic happen while engaging in conversation. 

2. Drawers are Easier than Doors

Create an island with many purposeful drawers like microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator drawers. Regular and appliance drawers are my favorite things to design on an island.

Why? Drawers are much easier to access than doors. When you pull out a drawer, you can look at everything inside of that drawer instead of trying to fish for items inside a cabinet. 

Pro Tip: For efficiency, place drawers for your everyday dishes next to the dishwasher.

3. Enough Outlets for the Electronics

Everyone has a device these days and is looking for a charger. Try placing outlets strategically on the island. For example, install elegant powerstrips tucked under the countertop. My favorite way is to install charging drawers.

4. Bonus Features!

Your kitchen island is the hub of your home, and you can fill it with so many incredible features that will make your life so much easier. Here’s a quick list of features:

• Pull-out cutting board 

• Primary sink or prep sink

• Beverage fridge

• Microwave drawer

• A garbage bin and recycling center that also includes a compost bin

If you're ready to design your most luxurious kitchen (with an island, of course), reach out to us. We can't wait to hear about your project.

Cheers,

Angie

How Much Time Does it Take to Design & Renovate Your Home?

During COVID, in the Seattle area, especially Vashon Island, construction timelines are as nebulous as our near-constant cloud cover.

Creating accurate timelines has been extremely challenging due to supply chain issues with lumber materials, window manufacturing, tile shipments, and the like. In addition, most of the general contractors on Vashon Island are booked out for at least a year, complicating renovation planning even further.

Working directly with a designer and listening to input from a general contractor is the best way to establish the most accurate timeline. So today, I’m sharing helpful tips for turning around your next renovation project...  

Phase 1: Planning

Your project can’t move forward without creating a robust plan. A designer helps you establish a home's overall look and feel before designing the remodel. A solid plan ensures that your home has a cohesive aesthetic that you can base all your design decisions on, making sure the design flows throughout the entire house.

How Long It Can Take: A complete home remodel design can take several months, even up to a year. The timeline can vary depending on how quickly you make decisions and the number of revisions you make to your design.  

Having a GC available for quick meetings is extremely helpful even if they can't start the project for over a year. They can answer important questions, like determining if a wall is load-bearing, which can significantly influence your design. Establish a great relationship with a GC so they can come and answer questions while you are in the design phase. 

Phase 2: Procurement

Designing over the last two years during COVID has changed how we operate here at Harpole Home. We now complete the design work and then try to specify and order all materials before the GC can start. That way, the GC can hit the ground running when their schedule is free to start the remodel, with all materials on hand.

How Long It Can Take: Material lead times are ALL OVER THE PLACE. For example, custom window sizes and doors take 3-6 months. Tiles can take 6-12 weeks. Things like quartz countertop installation goes a lot faster, so I am specifying quartz in every kitchen remodel.

Phase 3: Construction

When the GC can finally start, they will have all of the completed construction documents supplied by Harpole Home. At this phase in the project, Harpole Home's involvement is project oversight - site visits checking on projects and answering questions.

How Long It Can Take: Construction phase timelines all depend upon the GC. If they have a large crew of subcontractors, the timeline is shorter. If it's just one person, construction will take longer. For example, if you are remodeling your kitchen, you can expect a completed project in a couple of months with a single person working. On the other hand, if your GC has a crew, it can be done in a matter of weeks. 

Phase 4: Installation

If your design project includes furnishings and accessories, then you need to order them at the same time as the windows, fixtures, and finishes. The same supply issues apply to the furniture as it does with windows and doors. It's a long lead time. The project's final phase includes bringing in all the new furniture and accessories and styling your new place to perfection! 

Then, the big reveal!

How Long It Can Take: With furniture stored in a warehouse, this phase just takes a couple of days. 

Your Next Step

Remodeling a home in real life is definitely not like the timelines on HGTV remodeling shows. First, it takes time to establish a look and feel appropriate to your home, lifestyle, phase of life, and personal style. 

Then booking a GC takes a considerable amount of time. It's just the new reality of life during COVID. But going through all of these steps and working on your patience will ensure a beautifully remodeled home! 

Ready for a home that supports your happiest life? Let's talk and see what we can create together.

Xoxo,

Angie

3 Ways to Improve Storage During a Kitchen Reno

Improving your kitchen storage during a renovation is a strategic endeavor. There is a lot to consider from cabinetry, specialty built-ins, and drawers when making the best use of your space. For example, in my kitchen, I only have lower cabinet drawers, and I have ample storage.

I want to make sure you know the best ways to improve your kitchen storage. So today, I’m sharing my top 3 ways to increase your storage during a kitchen renovation… 

1. Kitchen Cabinets and Molding Touch the Ceiling

Always take upper cabinets to the ceiling and have the molding touch the ceiling. This creates a seamless, built-in look that draws the eye upwards and makes the room appear taller than if you had shorter cabinets with disconnected molding. 

2. Double Sinks

I love adding two kitchen sinks to every design, even if it's a micro bar sink in the island. That way, you can cook unimpeded, and children and guests can help themselves to handwash and water refills out of your way. 

3. Increase Island Storage

I love adding cabinetry on both sides of the island. This increases storage space tremendously, even if one side of the island is for counter seating. The cabinetry behind stools can be used for specialty storage for serving pieces that are occasional use. They are out of your way for daily use but easily accessible when you have guests. 

Bonus: Storage Tip

All of my kitchen cabinets, except the sink cabinet, are drawers. It is so much easier to pull open a drawer and view all of the contents than to open a door and search for items at the back of the shelves.

Let's set up a consultation to discuss how we can increase the functional storage in your kitchen. Having everything in its place and a place for everything makes your life a whole lot simpler.

Warmly,

Angie