Rustic and Warm Farmhouse Kitchens

Farmhouse kitchens conjure up images of fresh-baked bread, sunlit'spaces, and warm family memories, so it's no wonder that this kitchen style remains a top choice for homeowners around the country. As the heart of your family's home, the kitchen is the perfect place to explore added a rustic touch and comfortable, inviting elements that create the ideal space for gathering with family and friends.
If you are considering updating your kitchen with this style, there are few key areas that you'll want to focus on to bring your vision to life:

• Shelving: Shelving and storage are key features in any kitchen, and farmhouse kitchens are no exception. To get more out of your storage space while adding to the homey feel of the room, consider removing the doors of a few of your cabinets to create open shelving and an airy environment.
• Kitchen Sinks: When you think ?farmhouse kitchen?, the sink is one of the first features that come to mind. This kitchen style typically includes a large, deep, basin sink crafted from heavy-duty materials. The apron-fronts and solid construction of these sinks are both extremely practical and guaranteed to be an eye-catching statement piece in your home.
• Oversized Features: When designing a farmhouse kitchen, this is the time to think big when it comes to the main features of the space! From oversized islands to large, wooden tables and rustic fireplaces, these larger-than-life features can make any room feel luxurious, rustic, and inviting.

Modern Kitchens With Sleek Styling

Is your home aesthetic a big more cutting-edge than the classic, rustic designs of a farmhouse kitchen? Then a modern kitchen remodel might be the ideal choice for your home! Modern kitchens are loosely defined with sleek styling and strong, horizontal lines throughout the space, while incorporating industrial elements that bring your current kitchen into the 21st century. The key features that you'll want to focus on when creating your perfect modern kitchen include:

• Cabinets: Called by many names, including overlay, Euro frameless, and full overlay, frameless cabinets are the perfect addition to a modern space. With this style, the cabinet door overlays the box of the cabinet to create a sleek, consistent look that plays off the other striking features in your kitchen design.
• Small Details: With a modern kitchen, the phrase ?less is more? has never been truer! Instead of overdesigning your remodel, focus on simple, clean accessories and an overall lack of ornamentation. Integrated hardware, glass backsplashes, industrial elements, and solid counters are all smart choices for a modern space.

If you love the look of a modern kitchen, but you want to add a bit of eclectic playfulness and cutting-edge technology to your home, you can expand on this style to create a contemporary kitchen! Contemporary kitchen designs include many of the same elements of modern kitchens ? with a few more surprising elements, vintage touches, and high-tech appliances thrown in.

Inviting and Warm Traditional Kitchens

Some homeowners might confuse farmhouse kitchens with traditional kitchen styles, but there are some key differences that make a traditional kitchen stand-apart as a popular design for any remodel. With a traditional kitchen, the details are what make the space come to life, and here you will find beautiful features and timeless elements that include:

• Architectural Details: Sweeping arches, moldings and corbels, and raised-panel cabinets are all found in traditional kitchens ? giving the space an elegant feeling that is still warm, comfortable, and inviting.
• Classic Stains: Unlike modern kitchens, distressed and aged stains are the go-to choice for traditional kitchens. When combined with furniture-style cabinets and the classic, neutral color palette of the space, this vintage touch is guaranteed to make a big impact.
• Stylish Lighting: Lighting is important in any kitchen, and traditional kitchen remodels are the perfect time to splurge on classic and stunning fixtures, including chandeliers, lantern-style lighting, and mood-enhancing recessed track lighting.
• Natural Flooring: When it comes to traditional flooring in the kitchen, you'll want to avoid the look of laminate. Instead, go for the timeless appeal of solid hardwood floors, natural stone, or beautiful tile to put the perfect finishing touch on your space.

Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms of the house, so you don't want to cut corners when it is time to design a space that your family will be enjoying for decades to come! Whether you live in a historic home or in a modern stunner, there is a kitchen style out there for everyone ? all you need to do is put your personal touch into your remodel to make it your own.

Word of mouth is how people find contractors they can trust.

While you may advertise on the radio, television, billboards, flyers, or in newspapers, your satisfied client base is still your best advertisement.

With companies like AngiesList.com and even Yelp.com becoming trusted sources for contractor reviews, it's important to get your customers spreading positive testimonials of your work.

• Will be looked for in multiple locations depending on your clientele
• Allow you to get feedback to improve your business
• Allow potential customers to picture themselves working with you

You want customer reviews from multiple sources if you can get them. Some people consider testimonials directly on a contractor?s website the most reliable, while others think posts on third party sit's or social media sit's are more trustworthy simply because they are third party.

A person thinking about getting their kitchen redone might ask a friend who recently had their bathroom cabinetry replaced who they worked with and if they liked them.

Another person might see the recent lawn and garden work at a backyard barbeque and get the idea to use their friend?s contractor to revamp their front garden or plant some rose bushes in front of their store front.

These types of encounters spread the word to one potential client.

If those people that are happy to recommend you as a contractor to their friends will put their testimonial in writing and allow you to put it on your website it will spread the word to countless potential clients.

Your company?s Facebook page is another perfect place for clients to post their personal account of your services.

A satisfied customer is very likely to rave about the great service They areceived and if they do it in a public forum, it is widely available to everyone in your area searching for the right contractor to work with.

Simply having a substantial number of people ?like? your page will impress some clients. Others will look to find the times you are ?talked about? since these aren?t necessarily positive.

Being well informed of what people are saying about you on social media sit's will not only help you get feedback on how your business is doing but keep you up to date on what the public is seeing other people say.

you'll know what your strengths are based on what your clients discuss the most. Do they appreciate most that you're on time or maybe that you pride yourselves on leaving a clean work place when you've finished for the day? it's all in the small details.

Clients like being able to picture themselves working with you.

Helpful and specific stories of your project work with a customer can paint a detailed picture for a potential future client that simple marketing can?t.

Do they feel comfortable telling you they?ve changed their mind when they decide on a different paint color or cabinet style? If you're flexible and understanding with your current clients, They are likely to pass that information along to future clients.

Original Post: Contractor Hero Blog

?Hillary 2016!?, shouts a man from the crowd of over 10,000 at the Temple Universitybasketball arena during Hillary Clinton?s Q&A session with USGBC CEO Rick Fedrizzi after her Keynote speech last night at Greenbuild 2013 in Philadelphia.

Ms. Clinton, realizing that the comment had to be addressed since everyone in the arena heard it, replied, ?There are some hecklers that I Don't mind so much.?

So does that mean?.well, right now, it doesn?t matter because Hillary was there to talk about green building and sustainability. Talk she did, and with knowledge and tenacity she spoke.

Ms. Clinton stressed that not only is green building good for the environment and human health and well-being, but it's also good business! This is the win-win phenomenon of green building that has always made so much sense. When you invest in sustainable building and improvements, not only are you providing work for the construction industry but you're saving money on energy and creating healthier more productive places to live and work. This is the economic ripple effect that can occur when people invest in construction work. And there is even more potential for a domino effect when the construction improvements are sustainable in nature.

Ms. Clinton, you're bangin? your figurative hammer right on the head of Constructonomics.

And if Ms. Clinton gets her way when she?s pres?ummm, I mean, if Ms. Clinton?s visions come to fruition, there will be a lot of literal hammers banging on heads of real nails in the midst of many more sustainable construction projects. And the ripple effect of sustainable construction or dare I say, Constructonomics, will snowball into a full blown wave of economic benefit. (Three metaphors in one sentence ? not too bad!).

Jon Bon Jovi, who played for an hour and a half after Hillary?s speach, sang (first with a solo acoustic guitar and then with the full band),

?Whoa-oh, we are half-way there. Whoa-oh, we are livin? on a prayer?.

I think this, once again, applied quite metaphorically to our situation because our planet is just about livin? on a prayer while Hillary Clinton is half way there??half way to 2016.