Kitchen redesign usually encompasses some modern conveniences

ELLSWORTH — Homeowners usually remodel their kitchens to obtain a better lifestyle, not because their cabinets are dilapidated.

According to Ray Graham, who owns Sunrise Home & Hearth, that’s why “most people decide to remodel. Their cabinets are functional; so are their kitchens. They just want to update (a kitchen) to include some modern conveniences they have seen.”

Graham explained that the typical kitchen will be remodeled every 20 to 30 years. “That’s a long time between updates,” he said. “A lot can change in the way of improvements — and it all adds up to a better lifestyle.”

Today’s kitchen renovations might include:

Separate cooking surfaces, with the homeowner installing a cooktop and a wall oven, perhaps a barbeque.

“It is hard to do a lot of cooking on your standard range,” Graham said. He envisioned a cook sweltering in the heat rising from an oven and from pots simmering on the burners, then said, “People who like to cook like separate cooking surfaces. If the oven’s on, you can still use the cooktop, but you’re not getting the oven heat”;

Multiple sinks. According to Graham, a dedicated cook appreciates having one sink to wash food and another to wash dishes;

Recycling centers. As recycling gains popularity, homeowners “must find some place to put their recyclables,” Graham said. New recycling centers that fit inside an under-the-counter cabinet can incorporate two or more bins for cans, bottles, and other recyclables;

Slide-out shelves. Except for ruining a meal, nothing probably frustrates a cook more than pawing through pots and pans while on bended knee. The modern kitchen has slide-out shelves that glide full-length from a cabinet and place pots, pans, dishes, or food items at the cook’s fingertips. A typical recycling center or under-the-counter wastebasket usually slides out, too;

A spice rack. Graham explained that cooks often employ spices to improve a meal, so installing a cabinet-concealed spice rack “makes good sense”;

A dishwasher. A homeowner who recalls a noisy, water-wasting apartment dishwasher “has got to see the very quiet, low-water consumption dishwashers we carry,” Graham said.

He displays one such dishwasher at his Ellsworth store. “When we load it up and turn it on, people can’t believe how quiet it is. They wonder if it’s actually running,” he said;

An indestructible countertop. Gone are the days when a countertop will melt beneath a hot pan. The modern cook wants a countertop easy to clean and impossible to mar.

Responding to this national desire, kitchen designers often incorporate a Corian, granite, or similar countertop into a remodeled kitchen. “Very easy to wipe clean,” Graham said, running his left palm over a Corian countertop in his Bangor store;

New cabinets. “Out” are the one-size-fits-all cabinets of yesteryear. “In” are cabinets made with modern materials to reflect contemporary designs.

Kitchen cabinetry has assumed a status with other household furnishings, according to Graham. The 1990s’ homeowner “spends as much time looking over available cabinet designs and finishes as choosing a new sofa,” he explained. “People are realizing that the kitchen is where they spend a lot of time, so why shouldn’t they match stains or colors as they would in the living room or bedroom?”

Cabinet fashions range the spectrum from traditional wood finishes to the Euro-style, often a stark white with another solid color worked into corners and crevices. One American design emphasizes a simple country elegance, while others utilize hickory or wood from other nut-bearing trees.

Gaining popularity with homeowners are cabinets that offer full-access, Graham said. Such a cabinet has no face frame, and the drawers are their own “slides,” he explained. A full-access design frees more interior space for storage.

Today’s kitchen redesign usually tackles the refrigerator, too. A modern refrigerator has door attachments to which a cabinet-matching panel (called a refrigerator panel) can be connected to blend the appliance with surrounding cabinetry. This effect, described by Graham as the “built-in” look, can be achieved with dishwashers, too.

“Homeowners complete the built-in look by extending the cabinet that is over the fridge to come out flush with the front of the fridge,” Graham said. “You loose the space on top of the refrigerator, but you gain extra space in the cabinet while making one smooth cabinet front all the way across that side of the kitchen.”

As with other kitchen improvements, new cabinetry comes with a price. The cost varies with the cabinet line, Graham stressed, but “for $1,000 or $1,200, we can get people into new cabinets. There’s no need to break the budget. There are cabinet lines in all price ranges.”