If you’ve been planning a kitchen remodeling project for your Prescott home, you’ve probably realized there’s a lot to learn. Understanding the lingo can go a long way toward demystifying the decision-making process. Here’s a helpful glossary, adapted from one created by BlueStem Remodeling (based in MN).
Kitchen Remodeling: Terms and Ideas to Know
- Accessible-Height Countertops: Countertops installed at around 30-32 inches to accommodate wheelchair users or people who have difficulty standing for extended periods.
- Air Purification System: A system designed to remove contaminants, pollutants, allergens, and odors from the air in a room or throughout a home, to improve indoor air quality for cleaner and more healthful air.
- Cabinet Refacing: Cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and visible frames are replaced while the cabinet boxes remain intact, providing an updated look without full replacement.
- Clearance: The minimum amount of open space required around fixtures, appliances, or furniture for safe and comfortable use, according to building codes and design guidelines.
- Color Theory: The art and science of how colors are perceived and how they interact with each other.
- Cosmetic Fixes: Minor improvements or updates to the appearance of a space, like painting, replacing hardware, or updating light fixtures.
- Design Elements: The components of a design (including line, shape, form, color, texture, pattern, and space) used by designers to create more visually appealing and functional spaces.
- Design Process: A systematic approach to creating a solution for a design problem, typically involving research, conceptualization, refinement, and implementation.
- Design-Build Team: A group of professionals (including designers, architects, and contractors) working under one contract to provide both design and construction services for a project.
- Durable Materials: Building materials that can withstand wear, pressure, or damage, maintaining their appearance and functionality over an extended period of time and regular use.
- Eat-In Counter: A kitchen countertop design with space for seating in the kitchen area.
- Eco-friendly: A general term for products, services, or practices that have a reduced negative impact on the environment.
- Electric Appliances: Household devices that operate using electricity.
- Easy-to-Clean Surfaces: Materials and finishes that resist staining, don’t trap dirt or debris, and can be quickly and effectively cleaned with minimal effort.
- Ergonomics: A discipline focused on making spaces and objects designed for maximum efficiency.
- Flow of Space: How easily you can move through a room or space, and/or from one room to another.
- Functionality: The degree to which a room or part of a room serves its intended purpose.
- Kitchen Remodel: Making significant structural changes to a kitchen. Full-service remodeling includes changing the layout and/or functionality, and replacing/updating all the elements of the kitchen.
- Layout: The arrangement of elements, furniture, and fixtures in a room.
- Layered Lighting plan: Lighting design using multiple light sources (e.g., ambient, task, accent) to create a balanced, functional, and aesthetically-pleasing lighting.
- LED Lights: LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. These highly energy-efficient lighting products produce light when an electrical current passes through a semiconductor. They are long-lasting and have many color options.
- Low-VOC materials: Building materials and products (e.g., paints, flooring, adhesives) with reduced levels of volatile organic compounds, designed to improve air quality.
- Managed Selections Process: Kitchen remodeling clients are guided through the numerous materials, finishes, and fixture selections by a design-build team or project manager.
- Maximalism: Design aesthetic characterized by abundance, bold colors, diverse patterns, and a layered approach to decor. Think “more is more”.
- Minimalism: A design aesthetic characterized by simplicity, clean lines, uncluttered spaces, and a focus on essentials. Think “less is more”.
- Non-Slip flooring: Flooring designed to provide traction and reduce the risk of slipping.
- Open-Concept: Designs in which two or more traditional rooms, such as the kitchen, dining room, and living room, are combined into a single, larger space.
- Peninsula: A countertop and cabinet extension that is attached to a wall or existing cabinetry on one side, with the other three sides open.
- Pocket Doors: Sliding doors that, when fully opened, disappear into a hollow space (a “pocket”) within the adjacent wall, saving space.
- Remodeling Process: The phases in altering the structure or form of a building or room, typically including planning, design, demolition, construction, and finishing.
- Scratch-Resistant Countertops: Countertops made from highly durable materials that are less prone to showing scratches, nicks, or abrasions.
- Specialty Cabinets: Cabinets designed for a specific purpose or to accommodate particular items.
- Sustainability: In home remodeling, a broader concept than eco-friendly, encompassing the long-term impact of human activities on the environment.
- Task Lighting: Focused lighting designed to illuminate specific areas where tasks are performed.
- U-shaped Cabinetry: Cabinets and countertops are arranged along three adjacent walls, forming a “U” shape, for ample storage and counter space.
- Universal Design: The principle of designing a product or room to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design, regardless of age, ability, or other factors.
- Ventilation system: A system that provides fresh air to a home/room while removing stale air, helping to control temperature, humidity, and air quality.
Clear Communication Starts Here
If you’re planning a kitchen remodeling project in Prescott, we’re here to help you understand the ins and outs. Book a consultation with our team and learn more about our streamlined, customer-centered approach to full-service kitchen remodeling.