Kitchen
When it came to the kitchen, there were several products that were unique and really stuck out for me.   From backsplashes, to kitchen cabinet finishes, appliances,  and a huge amount of new sink styles, the trends for the kitchen were more than I anticipated.   Over the next couple of days, we will highlight some of the new trends and show you how you can incorporate them into your kitchen design, regardless of your budget.

Bathroom
We were focused on primarily the bathroom vanities for the bathroom, but there was definitely a new “theme” in the design of vanities. Booth and booth had at least one, if not several of the same style of vanity. When it came to vanity tops, granite was not the featured material. Everything from porcelein, to bamboo, to composite granite was being used in the displays. Keep your eyes out for some new vanity top styles being added to the site soon!

Latest Gadget
Let’s face it… everyone loves new gadgets! Whether it is electronics or new appliances, everyone likes to have the latest and greatest gadgets in their house. We will also feature some of the latest appliances, and a couple of innovative ways to open your cabinets and other doors in your house (think George Jetson style!).

So check back over the next couple of days for some pictures and design ideas straight from the Kitchen and Bath International Show.

So to eliminate that added stress and to help expedite the replacement process, we created our new “Hassle and Stress Free, No Worries” shipping program.   Every shipment is insured by one of the most trusted names in insurance-  Lloyd’s of London.  Each shipment comes with it’s own insurance policy, so if you get your order and something is missing or damaged, all you do is call them up and the claim is processed quickly and efficiently, eliminating the delays and downtime that can be associated with filing a claim with a trucking company.   We are the first in the industry to offer fully insured shipping.  For the minimal expense, I think it is well worth the peace of mind that it will provide.

For more information about the new program, head over to: RTA Shipping Instructions

So if you haven’t downloaded your free copy yet, head over to the home page sign up for our email list and then download your free copy.   If you signed up earlier, but still want to grab your copy of it, send me an email to gary@rtacabinetstore.com and we will send you the link.

Send us your feedback or leave a comment on our facebook page when you get a chance.   We are always interested to hear what you think or what we could do to make it better.

To start using the kitchen cabinet feature search, head over to:  http://www.rtacabinetstore.com/cabinet-features

This will allow you to easily compare cabinet lines based upon the criteria that is most important to you.   Try it out, and let us know what you think.

This cabinet line has all of the features of the Cherryville cabinet line, except the door is a slab style door with rounded edges on the top and bottom.   This is a great look for a modern city loft, or anyone looking for clean lines and not all of the traditional detailing on the other cabinet lines.   The Villa Cherry cabinet line is expected to be a huge hit for us.   This cabinet line also features a different style crown molding than any other cabinet line that we sell-  a slab crown molding that accents the cabinets.

So if you are looking for an ultra modern, sleek look for your house, loft, or city apartment, the Villa Cherry cabinet line will be the perfect fit.   Look for this cabinet line to be coming to an DIY Network show very soon

Check back after the show airs for some updates and high resolution images.

The cabinets turned out great!  I really like the concept of this show, since it gives the homeowners the opportunity to pick what goes in their home and what design they like the best.  This episode has a big surprise in the middle of it that is definitely worth watching!   For pictures from the show, and to see how the Mocha Shaker cabinets turned out, click on the link below:

Mocha Shaker Desk

The Ginger Maple cabinet collection is sleek enough for modern and contemporary kitchens, as well as the urban loft kitchen, yet warm enough for traditional and transitional kitchen designs. They slip right into many kitchen color palettes, yet our favorites are subdued warm reds and greens to set off the distinctive finish. A bold blue color is unusual in the kitchen, but it looks oh-so modern with these cabinets.

Granite countertops with veining of deep reds and browns highlight the Ginger Maple cabinets. For a more professional look, consider a deep, dark brown or even black countertop against a stainless steel sink or appliances.

If you are looking for some design ideas or ways to incorporate the Ginger Maple cabinets into your design, check out the design ideas tab under the Ginger cabinet tab.  We also have some photos in the Photo Gallery that will give you some idea of what it will look like in your kitchen.

When you go to check out, use coupon code GINGER to save 10%.  They will be our featured cabinet line for the entire month of April.

What I do find interesting is the number of people who were planning renovations.   Almost 70% of homeowners had home improvement plans, and were planning on spending an average of $3,500 which is up $100 from last year.  A low percentage of people buying, an increased number of homeowners remodeling, and an increase in average spending, means that homeowners are trying to add value to their owners because they are planning on staying in them longer (as we all know, the best value is in the kitchen… and $3,500 can you get you a spectacular kitchen if you buy our cabinets!)

The one statistic that I am happy to see is the percentage that are looking to do it themselves.   72% of homeowners plan on doing the work, with the primary source for their inspiration being home improvement shows (roughly 42% of people stated tv shows as the primary source).   Being that we are the largest participant in kitchen renovations on HGTV and DIY Network, this is a stat that I am happy to hear!

So if you were planning a kitchen renovation this year, you are not alone.  The majority of America is planning on doing the same thing, and getting their inspiration from the designs they see on the same shows that are using our cabinets for their designs!

In recent years the Chinese government has put increasing tighter restrictions on the clearing of Oak and Maple trees.   With these tighter restrictions, the manufacturers have been working with Russian land owners that are right on the border of China (and whose land has the same quality of oak and maple) to continue to supply the demand for the wood used in furniture and cabinetry.  While most of our maple lines do come from these forests…. would you be surprised to know that some of our cabinet lines use wood from the other side of the planet from China?  Believe it or not, our Marquis Cinnamon, Tuscany, Brandywine, and Harvest Maple cabinet lines actually are made from American Maple… yep, maple that is grown in the United States.  Why?  Because American maple is a softer maple and handles stain differently.  If you look at the grain pattern and finish on the Marquis, it is significantly different than say the Ginger Maple or Sunset.

So while our cabinets may not be made in the USA, some of the wood actually comes from here.  This is a little known fact about our cabinets that make them different.  The challenge for us, and other manufacturers in the coming years is how to supply the same all-wood, high quality products without the cost becoming too high and without damaging the growth of the forests. This is why conservation, new technologies, and newly used materials like bamboo are going to have an impact down the road.

Thanks to one of our latest additions to the marketing team, we are now updating the images for every cabinet.  Using design software, we are literally creating a realistic 3D rendering of every cabinet that we sell.   This is a big investment, but we think it will pay off in the end since it will give customers a more realistic vision of what each cabinet will look like.   We have the first three categories completed and would love to know what you think about them.  Take a look at the images below, post an opinion about them…. tell us if you love them or hate them.   We hope the images will help you better visualize the cabinets you will be putting into your kitchen and therefore make the buying experience less stressful.

We started with the Autumn Shaker, Brazilian Cherry Shaker, and the Mocha Shaker, but plan on rolling this out to every cabinet line we have.

3D rendering of our Autumn Shaker Drawer Base Cabinets

Mocha Shaker Sink Base Cabinet

Brandywine Kitchen Cabinets

If there is anything that you think we should add, remove, or could make the videos better, we would like your honest feedback.  We ultimately want to make the buying experience as easy and painless as possible, so if there is a way to do that through video we plan on doing that.

1. Cherry wood is on the decline – While 80 percent of NKBA member kitchen designers had recently specified cherry cabinetry as 2010 approached, that figure dropped to 72 percent last year and fell again to 69 percent heading into 2012.

2. Darker finishes are on the rise – While light natural finishes have been recently specified by 30 percent of kitchen designers, medium natural finishes stand at 55 percent, with dark natural finishes at 58 percent. Two years ago, dark natural finishes were specified by only 43 percent of designers.   This supports the fact that our Mocha Shaker kitchen cabinets have become the most popular cabinet line that we currently offer.  It is so popular, we are having a hard time keeping certain sizes in stock.

3. Glass tile 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 percent a year ago to 52 percent now.

4. 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 percent of NKBA member kitchen designers entering 2010, that rate increased to 54 percent the following year and has jumped over the past year to 70 percent.

We don’t mean to brag, but this is why we were ahead of the curve and started offering LED lighting to go along with our kitchen cabinets.   To learn more about LED lighting and how to use it in your kitchen, head over to www.ledundercounterlight.com

5. Pull-out faucets – 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 percent to 91 percent to 93 percent. 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.

For the full story and report results, head over to 5 kitchen design trends on the NKBA website.

March features the Harvest Maple Cabinet line.  This is definitely one of our more popular cabinet lines and can really go with just about any color palette.  For the entire month of March we will be offering an extra 10% discount on Harvest Maple.  Just simply enter coupon code HARVEST when you go to check out and it will automatically deduct the 10%.  Keep checking back to the website to see what cabinet style will be featured each month.

Along with the Harvest Maple, don’t forget we are closing out the Chestnut Maple cabinet line.   Use coupon code CHESTNUT to get the additional 20% off, while supplies last.  Once they are gone, we won’t be getting them back in stock!

However, what many of these articles fail to mention is that there’s another option that may be just as budget friendly and give you brand new cabinet boxes along with the new faces, doors, and drawer fronts refacing promises. Cabinet refacing is just as it sounds – the faces of your cabinets are covered with a new veneer and if you have exposed end cabinets, those sides are covered as well.  But what about the boxes themselves – if they’re showing their years of use, does refacing help them at all? Unfortunately the answer is no – most refacing projects only involve the exterior of the cabinets and if the boxes were originally constructed with particle board, you may even be throwing good money after bad.

Before signing on the dotted line with any kitchen refacing contractor, you should always price out replacing your existing units entirely with RTA kitchen cabinets. In many cases installing new RTA cabinets will cost about the same or maybe even less than refacing the cabinets you already have. What are the drawbacks? Well, for one thing you will have to remove your countertop which can normally remain in place during a refacing job and you might have to unhook a few plumbing connections and appliances. Of course, you will also have to remove the existing cabinets, but depending on your kitchen, that usually only takes a few hours.

However, the upside is that you get brand new cabinet boxes with all wood construction and you can even upgrade some of the configurations while keeping the same overall footprint. If you always wanted more drawer space in your kitchen, substitute an RTA 18 inch drawer base and 18 inch single door base cabinet for your existing 36 inch double door base cabinet. They should fit in the exact same space without any modifications at all. Installing new cabinets can also be a great opportunity to upgrade your appliances such as adding a wine or beverage cooler or even that dishwasher your older kitchen has always lacked.

Refacing can be a great way to give your kitchen a quick transformation, but it may not always be the most economical or practical choice.