What’s so great about butcher block countertops?

• They are excellent for cooking, cutting, chopping, slicing and dicing.
• These surfaces are no-hassle when it comes to installation and repair.
• Although these surfaces are made to withstand scratches, they can easily be sanded out if needed.
• Chefs and avid cooks are the best candidates for these surfaces.

Are there any down sides to butcher block countertops?

• The wood does typically require food-friendly sealing that must be reapplied periodically.
• Since wood is porous, very frequent and thorough cleaning is necessary to prevent the growth and spread of bacteria and mold.
• Moisture and heat can negatively affect wood surfaces.

Not sure if wood surfaces are right for your kitchen? Contact Regarding Kitchens in Lenexa, KS to find out if it’d be a good fit for you.

Information and image from BHG

1. Dishwashers – First, decide your budget. This is the easiest way to narrow down your options in the category. Then figure out which options you really need. A fancy dishwasher with all the bells and whistles will probably be less energy-efficient than a more simple model.
2. Ranges – When the cooktop is separate from the oven, this offers a lot of flexibility as far as placement in the kitchen. But wall ovens, though a bit more pricey, offer the convenience of not having to bend over for access.
3. Refrigerators – New models are very high-tech these days with glass shelves, French doors and tons of storage. Although top freezer versions seem a little old school, they are more cost-effective and the updated ones don’t look bad at all.
4. Microwaves - From automatic reheating and defrosting to sensors for popcorn, microwaves have come a long way. Again, all the bells and whistles look nice… but do you really need them? Stick with feature you know you’ll use.

Check out our previous posts about appliances.

Information from The Nest

Image by Inti St. Clair on GettyImages.com

Here’s an excerpt from the 2012 Kitchen and Bath Style Report:

Cherry Wood in Decline

Given its beautiful look, there’s no surprise that cherry wood has consistently been the first or second most popular type of wood for cabinetry, jockeying for the top spot with maple each year. However, perhaps cherry cabinets have been overused a bit, as designers are slowly shifting away from it. While 80% of NKBA member kitchen designers had recently specified cherry cabinetry as 2010 approached, that figure dropped to 72% last year and fell again to 69% heading into 2012.

No one other wood species is taking that market share on its own, as even maple dropped in popularity this year, falling from 77% last year to 70% now. Instead, a number of lesser-used woods are being specified more often, including oak, which is specified by twice as many designers now (22%) versus two years ago (11%); walnut, which has increased from 3% in 2010 to 9% in 2011 to 13% today; birch, which is now specified by three times as many kitchen designers as it was a year ago (15% vs. 5%), and bamboo, which has doubled from 5% last year to 10% now. While alder is currently specified by 27% of kitchen designers, that figure is down from 30% last year and from 40% two years ago.

Darker Finishes

Natural kitchen cabinetry continues a steady move toward darker finishes. While light natural finishes have been recently specified by 30% of kitchen designers, medium natural finishes stand at 55%, with dark natural finishes at 58%. Two years ago, dark natural finishes were specified by only 43% of designers.

Among painted cabinetry, white continues to be the most popular option, as white cabinets have been recently specified by 59% of NKBA member kitchen designers, while other colors were specified by only 38% of designers. Another trend to note is that distressed finishes are making a comeback. After being recently specified by 15% of designers going into 2010, that figure dropped to just 5% last year, but has now risen to 22%.

Glass Backsplashes

Although glass remains a niche material for kitchen countertops, it’s been recently used by more than half of kitchen designers as a backsplash material, rising from 41% a year ago to 52% now. This trails only natural stone tile at 60% and ceramic tile (including porcelain), which has been specified of late by some 74% of designers. However, even at that high rate, ceramic tile backsplashes are on the decline, as they stood at 78% a year ago and 88% two years ago.

Other popular backsplash materials are granite at 30% and quartz at 20%. The popularity of these materials as backsplashes is due to their high use as countertop materials. Finishing off a granite or quartz countertop with a matching backsplash is quite common; however, the same doesn’t hold true for solid surfaces. While these materials are very popular for countertops (see Solid Surfaces below), they’re seldom used for backsplashes, as they’re specified by just 11% of designers.

LED Lighting

Energy-efficiency is clearly not a fad, but a real trend that can be seen taking hold in homes across the United States and Canada. Despite the higher initial cost, light-emitting diode, or LED, lighting is proof of this trend. Specified by 50% of NKBA member kitchen designers entering 2010, that rate increased to 54% the following year and has jumped over the past year to 70%. However, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) aren’t sharing in this trend. Although they use roughly a quarter the energy of an incandescent bulb when producing the same amount of light, measured in lumens, the poor color of the light they produce and the presence of mercury in these bulbs are keeping them out of newly remodeled kitchens, falling from 36% last year to 26% today.

Older incandescent bulbs stand at just 42%, a figure we expect to fall next year due in part to the U.S. ban on newly produced 100-watt incandescent bulbs that went into effect on January 1. A ban on 75-watt incandescent bulbs will go into effect on January 1, 2013, followed by 60- and 40-watt incandescent bulbs on January 1, 2014.

Pull-Out Faucets

Pull-out kitchen faucets have become established as the dominant type of kitchen faucet. Designers are increasingly eschewing the standard faucet with a detached side spray in favor of pull-out models that integrate the two functions into a single unit.

While standard kitchen faucets were specified by just under half of designers as 2010 approached, barely more than a third of designers have recently specified them. Meanwhile, the use of pull-out faucets has increased from 88% to 91% to 93%. In other words, 14 of out every 15 designers who designed a kitchen over the final three months of 2011 incorporated a pull-out faucet. These versatile models might also be mitigating the need for pot-filler faucets, which have been recently specified by just 28% of designers, down from 41% two years ago.