Home & Hearth
Kick it Up a Notch
Famed chef and TV personality Emeril Lagasse, known for his Creole cooking and bushy eyebrows, is also known for saying “kick it up a notch” when preparing spicy dishes on Emeril Live every day. Chef Lagasse also owns seven award-winning restaurants around the country and has authored several cookbooks. This Massachusetts native doesn’t do anything in a small way, using the finest cookware and ingredients when cooking.
Kicking something up a notch can be applied to many different areas of our lives. Recently, I had a customer who loved to kick things up. Since I had worked with her on a previous home, I already knew her tastes. Her new project involved remodeling a beautiful lake home. The countertops that were in the home needed updating, so she chose to use Corian solid surface tops. For the master bath, I recommended keeping the existing cultured marble top, since removing it would be a serious undertaking.
After much consideration, she and her husband decided they wouldn’t be happy with the cultured marble and wanted Corian for all of the baths in the house. For the master bath, I told her about a bowl I thought would be perfect for her. I knew she loved the ocean, so I recommended a bowl similar to a conch shell, which spirals down from the top, giving it a small ledge. She loved the idea of using two of these bowls instead of the standard oval type, and the price difference was only $100.
By kicking it up a notch and spending just a little extra, you would be adding convenience that outweighs the additional cost. A cutlery divider formed exactly to fit your drawer box is $15. Rollouts for a base cabinet cost $75 to $125. A trash base insert is $300 to $400. Kick it up another notch by using corbel brackets, dentil moulding, fluting, or grape onlays. Allow anywhere from $500 to $1000 for these additional details, depending on the cabinet manufacturer.
The difference between a basic chrome faucet for the bath and a brushed chrome faucet may only be $100. Even cabinet hardware chosen to reflect your interests doesn’t add a great deal of expense, but it makes a statement in the kitchen or bath. Remember, the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is a little extra.
If you have questions for the author, e-mail them to info@peoriamagazines.com. TPW
Kicking something up a notch can be applied to many different areas of our lives. Recently, I had a customer who loved to kick things up. Since I had worked with her on a previous home, I already knew her tastes. Her new project involved remodeling a beautiful lake home. The countertops that were in the home needed updating, so she chose to use Corian solid surface tops. For the master bath, I recommended keeping the existing cultured marble top, since removing it would be a serious undertaking.
After much consideration, she and her husband decided they wouldn’t be happy with the cultured marble and wanted Corian for all of the baths in the house. For the master bath, I told her about a bowl I thought would be perfect for her. I knew she loved the ocean, so I recommended a bowl similar to a conch shell, which spirals down from the top, giving it a small ledge. She loved the idea of using two of these bowls instead of the standard oval type, and the price difference was only $100.
By kicking it up a notch and spending just a little extra, you would be adding convenience that outweighs the additional cost. A cutlery divider formed exactly to fit your drawer box is $15. Rollouts for a base cabinet cost $75 to $125. A trash base insert is $300 to $400. Kick it up another notch by using corbel brackets, dentil moulding, fluting, or grape onlays. Allow anywhere from $500 to $1000 for these additional details, depending on the cabinet manufacturer.
The difference between a basic chrome faucet for the bath and a brushed chrome faucet may only be $100. Even cabinet hardware chosen to reflect your interests doesn’t add a great deal of expense, but it makes a statement in the kitchen or bath. Remember, the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is a little extra.
If you have questions for the author, e-mail them to info@peoriamagazines.com. TPW