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built-in entertainment center

Like to Entertain? 7 Features to Make an Ultimate Household Entertainment Center

If you love to entertain, then a great entertainment center is a must. Whether you host game nights at your house, invite friends to binge your favorite show, or your children have regular sleepovers, a top-notch entertainment center elevates the experience. Here are seven features to make an ultimate entertainment center you and your guests are sure to enjoy.

1. Adjustable TV Mount

Let’s face it, tastes and technology change over time. So if you’re going to invest in a custom-built entertainment center, one of the best features you can include is an adjustable TV mount. That’s because it allows your entertainment center to grow with you. Consequently, your entertainment center will work just as well for your next TV as it does for the one you currently have.

2. Built-In Bookcases

Built-in bookcases give your entertainment center an elegant appearance. They also provide the perfect way to display favorite photos, knick knacks, and novels, or to organize your media. Don’t forget to combine your bookcases with bottom cabinets if you’d like out-of-sight storage for less attractive items, too.

3. Cable Organization and Storage

Speaking of stowing away unsightly items, you’ll definitely want to add cable organization and storage to your custom entertainment center. After all, nothing looks worse than a jumble of tangled cables! It instantly ruins the look of your entertainment center and is distracting to guests. With built-in cable organization and storage, however, your cords and cables will be neatly organized and tucked out of sight. But don’t worry, they’re still easily accessible so you can reach them when necessary.

4. Accessory Storage

Along the same lines, accessory storage is a wonderful feature to include. It helps keep all your accessories easily accessible but out of sight when you’re not using them. This feature is perfect if your family is always losing remotes and controllers. Instead of having controllers strewn all over the room and remotes jammed between the sofa cushions, you’ll have a designated space to store them. As a result, you won’t have to search all over the house every time you want to use your TV or consoles!

5. Fitted Fireplace

Having an entertainment center in the same room as your fireplace often results in awkward placements. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to fit a prefabricated entertainment center around a fireplace, so many people end up with it awkwardly stuck in a corner. Fortunately, with a fitted fireplace entertainment center, that’s no longer a problem. We’ll build your entertainment center around your fireplace, so you can enjoy your fireplace and your TV at the same time. Can you think of anything more inviting on a cold winter’s day?  

6. Glass Display Doors

If you have items you’d like to display but don’t quite trust leaving out in the open, glass display doors are a perfect solution. They’re an attractive way to protect valuable items. And they’re also great for keeping dust off your components. Plus, if you have components that use infrared remotes, glass display doors are indispensable. Without them, you’ll need to store your components on a shelf instead.

7. Speaker Stands

If you’ve invested in a high-quality audio system, you don’t want to be hampered by an entertainment center that prevents you from using it to the best of its ability. Thankfully, you can put your speakers exactly where you need them with custom-built speaker stands. Just imagine how incredible your next party or movie night will be!

Your entertainment center is on display any time you entertain. So make sure you have all the features you need to make the ultimate household entertainment center. At Edgewood cabinetry, we can custom-build your new entertainment center to fit any style and any room. Plus, we have tons of options and accessories to help bring your dream entertainment center to life.  So what are you waiting for?

Contact us here to get started!

 

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kitchen cabinets

Tired of Household Clutter? 6 Cabinet Features That Can Solve It

Clutter doesn’t just look bad. It also has a significant effect on our well-being. As a matter of fact, too much clutter is linked to stress, anxiety, insomnia, and distraction. Conversely, clean, organized spaces give us a sense of calm. So what can you do if you’re tired of household clutter? Here are six cabinet features that can solve your clutter problem.

1. Pull-Outs and Pull-Downs

Longing for wide-open spaces? Then, consider adding pull-outs and pull-downs to your cabinets. They’re excellent for clearing floor space. That means you can finally say goodbye to trash cans, recycling bins, and laundry hampers cluttering your floor. With pull-outs and pull-downs, everything is stowed neatly out of sight. Consider adding them to your kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, walk-in closet, and any other room that could use some out-of-sight storage.

2. Lazy Susans

Lazy Susans are perfect if you find yourself constantly searching through your cabinets or needing to move stacks of items. That’s because they organize your clutter, all while keeping everything you need accessible. For example, add lazy Susans to your kitchen to store spices and oils. Or incorporate them into your closet to organize your belts and ties. You can even create rotating hanging systems to make your wardrobe more accessible. Just imagine the possibilities!

3. Drawer Inserts

At times, many of us are guilty of shoving our clutter into drawers. But the problem with that is, you only have so much space. Consequently, when your drawers aren’t organized, they wind up filled with a jumble of items that may even interfere with the drawer opening and closing. Thankfully, drawer inserts easily solve this problem. Moreover, they’re useful for every drawer, whether you need to organize silverware in your kitchen, washcloths in your bathroom, office supplies in your desk, or socks in your bedroom. No more rummaging through drawers, trying to find the one item you need. Drawer inserts keep everything organized, accessible, and, perhaps most importantly, visible.

4. Accessory Storage

Today’s homes are filled with accessories. You probably have small items like hair dryers, electric razors, game controllers, remotes, makeup, and jewelry throughout your house. These small, often oddly-shaped items are difficult to stack neatly in cabinets, so they’re frequently left on countertops and furniture instead. Fortunately, custom cabinets are made with accessory storage in mind, and they’re personalized to your own unique needs. So whether your nail polish collection is taking over your vanity, you constantly find remotes and controllers stuffed down the sides of your furniture, or you’ve accumulated an inordinate number of small specialty kitchen appliances, custom accessory storage areas accommodate it all.

5. Custom Sizes

If you live with stock cabinets, small closets, and an entertainment center from a big box store, it’s no wonder you have problems with clutter. Cabinets sold as one-size-fits-all solutions are anything but. Thankfully, custom cabinets open up a whole new world of possibilities. Have a multitude of oddly-shaped kitchen appliances? Build cabinets to accommodate them. Share a closet with someone a foot shorter than you? Custom-sized hanging areas make the most of your space. Own an extra large television? Display that beauty on a custom size entertainment center! Instead of trying to force your possessions into your existing cabinets, take advantage of custom sizes to make your cabinets fit your needs.

6. Racks

Racks allow you to both organize and display your items (if you choose). So get your spices off the counter with a spice rack. Store toilet paper in a behind-the-door storage rack. Tackle that pile of shoes in your closet with a built-in shoe rack. Or display your favorate vintages on a wine rack in your home bar. Indeed, racks are a useful feature to add to cabinets in almost any room. And since they hold a ton, they’re one of the best ways to clear up your clutter.

Are you ready to rid your home of clutter? Contact us to discuss your needs. We’re happy to talk to you about the storage solutions we offer and help you decide on the cabinet features that work best for you.

 

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Pantry Organization Tips

A well-stocked pantry is a beautiful thing. But if your pantry isn’t organized, it can be a source of frustration. When you can’t clearly see what you already have in your pantry, you’re more likely to purchase duplicate items. Or worse, you may forget about items in the back of shelves or at the bottom of stacks until they’re too old to eat. No one likes food waste. Fortunately, we’re here with pantry organization tips that will help you get the chaos in your pantry back under control.

Take Stock

If it’s been a while since you organized your pantry, the first thing you need to do is take stock of what you have. This also gives you a chance to pull everything out of your pantry and give it a thorough cleaning so you’ll have a clean slate when you begin putting items back inside.

Toss out anything that’s expired, and give away duplicates. After all, are you really going to use eight containers of rosemary before they go bad? Once you’ve gotten rid of what you can’t or won’t eat, you’ll have an idea of the type of storage you need to organize what’s left.

Use Clear Containers

Keeping your pantry organized is all about seeing what you have and being able to access it when you need it. That’s why clear containers are so helpful.

Instead of jumbles of boxes and bags, you have neatly organized containers that clearly show their contents. Clear bins, boxes, and jars are all excellent for this purpose. Wire baskets are a great choice, too, particularly for bulkier items like squash and onions.

Label

If you’re trying to improve your baking game and have six different types of flour in the pantry, will you know what’s what if you decide to put them neatly into clear storage containers? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean you need to settle for stacking bags again.

Instead, just take the time to label everything. We suggest including dates, too.  That way, you can toss ingredients that are too old, instead of figuring it out the hard way when your spaghetti Bolognese tastes rancid.

Invest in Organizers

If you’re still trying to stack everything on shelves, it’s time to embrace the world of kitchen cabinet organizers. You don’t need to deal with stacks of food that fall all over the floor every time you need to reach something in the back any longer.

Solutions like lazy Susans, spice racks, and cabinet organizers open up a whole new world of possibilities. Just imagine having all your bottles of oil stored neatly on a lazy Susan, your spices all organized and within reach, and all those annoying food storage lids neatly confined within a cabinet organizer, at last. Perfection.

Give a Method to the Madness

A well-organized pantry takes some thought. Don’t just try to group items by size. Instead, create designated areas for what you’re storing. Place all your pasta together in one area and all your baking supplies in another, for example. That way, you know exactly where to look for what you need, and your family members have an easier time helping to put groceries away, too.

It’s worth remembering that grocery stores put candy at children’s eye-level for a reason. We want what we see. So if you have foods that need to be eaten soon, or you’re trying to get your kids to choose healthier snacks, try strategically placing them at eye level. They’re more likely to be used than if they’re stuck somewhere on an upper shelf.

Customize

There’s no better way to organize your pantry than with customized solutions made just for you. A custom-built pantry accommodates your personal needs, instead of a cookie-cutter approach that leaves you constantly having to adapt.

With a custom-designed pantry from Edgewood Cabinetry, you can make use of every inch of available space. Take advantage of custom-sized shelves, cabinets, racks, organizers, and more to give you the pantry of your dreams.

Interested in installing a custom pantry in your home? Contact us here to get started.

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white kitchen cabinets

4 Benefits of Buying Custom Cabinets

If you’re in the market for new cabinets, you’ve probably wondered, are custom cabinets really worth the extra expense? Although store-bought stock cabinets may be cheaper, they don’t hold a candle to the beauty and personalized utility you gain from custom cabinets. Intrigued? Here are four benefits of buying custom cabinets.

1. Durability

Chances are the cabinets that were put into your home by the original builder are cheap stock cabinets constructed of plywood or particleboard and covered in veneer. They offer basic functionality, but they’re inexpensive and not really designed to last. So it’s not surprising if you find yours are wearing out, the doors no longer shut properly, or they’ve begun to look less attractive.

Unfortunately, such cabinets are installed more to save costs for builders than provide quality products to homeowners. And while you could replace them with more cheap stock options, you’ll find yourself in the same position in the not-too-distant future. In contrast, custom cabinets are made of much more durable materials. Here at Edgewood Cabinetry, for example, our custom cabinets are constructed from all wood, so they last much longer than cabinets made from composite materials.

2. Maximum Storage Space

When you purchase cheap plywood or particleboard cabinets, they typically come in preset sizes. That means you’re frequently left with gaps that cannot be used and items that simply don’t fit. Thankfully, custom cabinets eliminate these problems, since they are designed to fit your space and personal needs.

With custom cabinets, every inch of wall space is used, so there aren’t any useless gaps between cabinets. And because the cabinets are built to specification, you can create corner cabinets for large pans in your kitchen, custom-sized drawers for towels in your bathroom, custom hanging areas in your closet, and more. Eliminating wasted space means you’ll maximize your storage, a value you don’t get with cheap stock cabinets.

3. Personal Style

Your home is a reflection of your personality, and the last thing you want is for it to be boring and routine. Breaking free from the world of cheap stock cabinets opens up infinite possibilities to express your style.

In contrast to the limited colors, hardware, and styles available in stock cabinets, choosing custom cabinets allow you to put your personal stamp on every detail. Choose the species of wood, design, color, hardware, and accessories that fit your style. Whether you prefer your cabinets to look modern and sleek, evoke a European flair, or be completely eclectic, custom cabinets can make it happen.

4. Custom Utility

In the end, regardless of how beautiful our cabinets look, we need them to be useful. That’s where many stock cabinets fall short. Your kitchen cabinets are too small for your pots. You can’t fit all your appliances in your bathroom vanity. Your closet doesn’t have enough storage. Your entertainment center is overflowing. And your cleaning supplies are piled up in your laundry room. Sound familiar?

Fortunately, custom cabinets solve all these problems by providing the custom utility you need. There’s a nearly endless array of design options and accessories to choose from. For example, add slide-out bins for laundry, lazy Susans to store ties and scarves, or storage benches to stash your shoes. Whatever you need to store, you can find a custom cabinet solution that fits.

Interested in learning more about the benefits of purchasing custom cabinets for your home? Give us a call, or fill out this form, and we’ll be happy to discuss your needs.

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Organization Mistakes You’re Probably Making

Having an organized home creates a sense of peace and may even improve your mental health. That’s because when things are tidy, we feel less stressed and anxious, sleep better, and are able to better focus on other areas of our lives. Yet as beneficial as organization is, it’s also sometimes challenging, especially if you haven’t developed a routine.  Here are some common organization mistakes you’re probably making (and how to fix them).

Creating Stacks

Stacks look better than piles, right? Well, not much. If you’re in the habit of creating stacks of items around your home, you’re contributing to it looking cluttered instead of organized. It’s easy to create stacks of mail on the counter, stacks of papers on your desk, or stacks of laundry on the table, but that doesn’t really get rid of the clutter or help your home feel more organized.

Instead, set aside time every day to file your papers and put laundry away. That way, the stacks don’t become overwhelming. And consider storage options that make staying organized easier. Try adding cabinets and folding areas to your laundry room, installing a new shelf, or adding custom storage to your closet to hold the items that are currently stacked around your home.

Inconvenient Storage

When we choose storage areas that are inconvenient for us, we’re less likely to use them. For example, if you keep all your cleaning supplies in one downstairs closet, it’s less likely you’ll want to do all the extra walking to return them to their place. This results in cleaning supplies left strewn around your home. Some people also inadvertently create disorganization by trying to keep everything out of sight. Haphazardly packing your cabinets and closets makes it difficult to see what you have, so items may be forgotten and repurchased.

Instead, think about convenience when it comes to storage. In the case of cleaning supplies, store needed appliances and cleaning supplies near where they will be used. For example, keep bathroom cleaner in the bathroom. And instead of shoving everything into closets and cabinets, keep frequently used items like coffee makers on the counter and consider open storage for things like coffee mugs and frequently used dishes. Save your cabinet space for items like food storage containers and infrequently used specialty appliances.

Keeping Too Much

Many of us are guilty of keeping too much. Maybe it’s a junk drawer in the kitchen filled with random parts to things you’ve long-since forgotten. Perhaps it’s a rack of outdated or too-small clothes you’re hoping to wear again one day. Or maybe you have boxes of items you thought you would use but never really have. Whatever the case, it’s not uncommon to have unused items taking up space in our homes.

A good rule of thumb to follow is getting rid of anything you haven’t used at least once a year. So keep things like Christmas decorations, but consider letting go of those pairs of jeans you haven’t worn since 2010. It’s fine to keep sentimental items, but in general, aim to sell, donate, or throw away anything that has outlived its usefulness. Decluttering your home immediately helps it look more organized and gives you more space for the things you do use.

Not Enough Storage

Finally, not having enough storage is a big mistake many people make. It’s hard to keep even a modest number of possessions organized if you lack cabinet space, have only single-rod closets, and don’t have adequate shelving. Unfortunately, not having enough storage space forces you either to go with a very minimalist aesthetic or deal with cluttered surfaces.

Instead, invest in custom storage. That way, you have space for everything you need. And because custom cabinets are built to fit your home, there’s no wasted space that could otherwise be functional. If you’ve been living with stacks of items all over your home, it’s time to get organized. Contact us today to see how custom storage can help.

 

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8 Things You Can Do To Simplify Your Chores

7 Things You Can Do To Simplify Your Chores

Wouldn’t it be nice to wave a magic wand and just get rid of all your chores? While you’re busy dreaming about this, there are some things you can do to simplify your chores.

Much of it comes down to the little things, such as organization and handling small tasks before they turn into major problems.

Luckily, a few changes to your routine and even your home storage and cabinets might just make you dread your chores a little less.

1. Organize Supplies

First things first, organize your cleaning supplies. If your bathroom cleaner and sponges are in a kitchen cabinet, you waste time going back and forth with your supplies. Plus, you end up with a more cluttered cabinet and have a hard time finding what you need.

For kitchen supplies, consider adding a shelf, storage rack or even a hanging shoe caddy inside your pantry door. Organize your supplies by their use, such as countertops, stove/oven, cabinets and floors. For your bathroom, Set aside a little space under your sink to store a few supplies. Putting them in a basket makes them much easier to get to.

2. Add Storage Everywhere

Do you clean your home one day only to look around the next and wonder how you missed the tornado that came through? Maybe your kids decided to play with every toy from their room in the middle of the living room. Perhaps everyone came home and dumped their bags, coats and shoes here, there and everywhere.

Simplify your chores by adding storage in every room. It may take a few weeks for it to become a habit, but make a point of containing clutter to set storage areas. For instance, a mudroom or even just a set of cubbies near the door allows everyone to take off shoes and store daily gear without it looking like a mess.

Add side tables with pull out storage bins or drawers for quick clean ups. Then, once a week (or twice if necessary), clean out the storage bins so you can start fresh for another week.

3. Keep Quick Clean Supplies

Having a small arsenal of quick cleaning supplies is one of the best ways to simplify your chores. For instance, dry dust wipes work great for doing some quick dusting. You can use Swiffer or any other brand. Of course, you can use Swiffer or store brand sweepers and mops as well to quickly dust or mop your floors in minutes.

Disinfecting wipes are ideal for cleaning over counters every day without having to do much work or waiting for germs to really start building up. Consider having a few smaller vacuums to vacuum smaller rooms in minutes. Not having to lug around a large vacuum all over the house really helps. Keep your chosen quick clean supplies in or near the rooms you’ll use them in for best results.

4. Do A Little Each Day

Most people hate doing chores because it seems to take up their entire Saturday. So, why wait until Saturday or whatever other day is cleaning day? You could spend 15-20 minutes each day, get just as much accomplished and not feel overwhelmed.

In fact, since it doesn’t seem like so much to do, you get your chores done faster. For instance, take 10 minutes to use a dusting wipe over your living room and another 10 minutes to do the same to your bedroom. Doing little things each day helps you to simplify your chores and makes chores seem quick and easy.

5. Simplify What You Use

Does it take 20 supplies just to clean your bathroom? How many items do you use to dust your living room? The truth is, you don’t need dozens of different products to do your chores. Many all-purpose solutions now exist. You could also use natural solutions, such as vinegar, to clean a wide variety of things in your home.

Fewer supplies mean you do more in less time. Plus, you’re not dragging around a box full of cleaning supplies. Go through everything and get rid of what you don’t need.

6. Put Up A Schedule

Finally, put up a set schedule. Chores pile up when you procrastinate. Add a schedule to your refrigerator. If you live with someone else or have a family, delegate the chores. This will simplify your chores and make it easier for everyone. Plus, you see exactly what needs to be done today and you feel satisfied when you check it off.

7. Adopt Cleaning Life Hacks

In addition to the above, start adding some cleaning life hacks to your routine. For instance, did you know a squeegee works great for getting up pet hair? Some great lists to check out include:

Want to customize your cabinets for optimal storage and organization to simplify your chores? Contact us today to learn how we can help.

Image: Jonathan Francisca

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Spice Storage Solutions

The Best Ways to Store Your Spices

As a homeowner, you are always looking for new and better ways to improve your home, small changes can have big long term effects. The main focus of this article is the kitchen, and specifically how you store your spices and herbs. How do you store your spices? Most of us just place them on a single shelf and push things to the front as we use them, meaning older or lesser-used spices are going to populate the back. Other people prefer to have them better organized and grouped up so they can be found and used easier. There are many ways you can improve your spice cabinet, and we’re going to go into some of those!

Three Nifty Ideas for Storing Spices

  1. Custom cabinets for spice rack drawers: The beauty about this option is you can dictate exact size and parameters according to what you think you need. You also have the luxury of building it where you want it instead of trying to fit it in somewhere. You even get to decide what material and look you want overall. This could help your storage space blend with the entire home if your home has a theme. Just having complete control over your storage solution is fantastic, you can get exactly what you want and you don’t have to settle for whatever pre-made thing fits in your kitchen. It makes being organized fun!
  2. Open shelving: This is the most common means of storing spice. It simply requires a flat open base area for you to put and access all of your spices from. It is the most economical way and is common in most homes. The beauty of it is that you are able to see all the spices at once. You are also able to reach out and grab anything that you want as you cook without having to open a drawer of shelf door. You can also tell when you’re running low on something with ease. So make use of that free wall and stack some shelves for your spices.
  3. Pull out spice rack doors and spice racks: This is a good option for people who value privacy and uniformity. People that prefer this tend to be fans of more organized things, not wanting all their spices to just be out in the open. The pull out drawer both reduces the risk of accident of breakage and adds a certain degree of class as you don’t have to look at a bunch of unorganized spices at all times. This can go a long way towards making your kitchen look better and making your life easier.

Don’t just settle for keeping your spices in a cabinet where you can barely access them, or on a counter where they look bad and out of place. Get a nice but simple storage option and you’ll never have to worry about it again. Having all the things you need organized and arranged just makes your life that much easier. We create some of the finest custom cabinets and storage options around, if you need it built we can do it.

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pull out shelf bath storage

Maximizing Bathroom Storage: Shelving and Cabinet Ideas That Save Space

Maximizing bath storage with smaller spaces may not sound easy in the abstract, yet it can be done with some creative shelving and cabinet spaces. The bathroom is where we spend most of our time (next to the kitchen), so having items in convenient storage areas makes life so much easier. At the same time, the beauty of custom shelving and cabinetry allows those things to be hidden from view without adorning counter space with razors and toothpaste tubes.

What creative custom shelving and cabinet ideas should you use in your bathroom to maximize storage space? With our ability to custom build any type of cabinetry for you here at Edgewood Cabinetry, you have plenty of choices.

Caddies on the Back of Doors

Better Homes and Gardens recommends this storage idea as a way to hide away certain items that otherwise won’t fit elsewhere. These can be easily customized in various styles and hold smaller items that you might otherwise lose. They can hold everything from toilet paper rolls to lotions. No longer do those items have to sit and be visible on your bathroom vanity counter.

Floating Shelves

Perhaps you’ve seen floating shelves in other bathrooms, usually located under the sink. They’re becoming a popular customized storage idea based on the illusion they’re floating, even though the shelf connects with supports to the back wall. It’s a perfect place to store towels if you don’t want them sitting on the counter or on hangers near your vanity.

Building a Pull-Out Storage Cabinet in a Narrow Wall

Sometimes narrow wall space on either end of a bathroom vanity can be remodeled to include pull-out storage space. It’s a chance for you to get creative rather than having unnecessary wall space go to waste. With these pull-out cabinet ideas, you can make the shelves out of quality wood and store other small items you don’t want sitting around or stuffed into crowded storage spaces.

Freestanding Cabinets

If you have no closet space in your bathroom to store linens or towels, consider a freestanding cabinet you can place on one side of your vanity or on both sides. These can be customized with narrow dimensions just like the pull-out cabinet idea above. By building in a freestanding way, you can move them around and even use them in other rooms later. These are perfect for storing your towels and linens in open shelving styles or with solid doors.

No matter the custom ideas, we can do it for you here at Edgewood Cabinetry LLC with the vision you have in mind.

Contact us and we’ll start brainstorming with you on creative ways our cabinetry can store your ever-growing bathroom inventory.

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