Main Line Kitchen Design Blog

  A sure sign of a kitchen DIYer are words most often heard on HGTV and HOUZZ.COM like shabby chic, shiplap, and IKEA. Professional kitchen designers cringe when we hear these words. Just Googling kitchen photos with these profane words brings up page after page of kitchens that will devalue a home. Shabby Chic  is a term used to put a good spin on renovating a kitchen with some new elements but keeping other outdated design features. These kitchen creations are a complete waste of money and only forestall the time when a more sensible person will rip it all out and create something tasteful from scratch. Below are two examples of “Shabby Chic” HGTV personality Joanna Gaines popularized using  shiplap  exterior siding in kitchens. Beadboard, tongue and groove planking, or wainscoting is often used by professional kitchen designers. I’m pretty sure Joanna just didn’t know any better when she started using an exterior product inside but soon all these products became “...

  Every week over 8,000 people read our kitchen design and cabinetry blog. Hundreds ask questions about cabinetry and design online and many people call in to our Podcast Fridays 2-4 pm EST with similar questions. Who the people are that read our blogs, Facebook posts, and ask questions is as interesting as the questions they ask. For example on Facebook the majority of the people who read our posts are women. However, our Facebook quiz determining kitchen design IQ was read by predominately men 25 -45.  See Link . Main Line Kitchen Design’s  viral kitchen renovation video  has been viewed in 188 different countries around the world. So all but 7 of the existing Nations. Over the last 18 months people from nearly every country except Greenland have been on our site. Countries I had to look up like Kyrgyzstan have had many visitors. So why no visitors from Greenland? Famous Bala Cynwyd, PA Kitchen The vast majority of people who arrive on our site get there for the fi...

  Getting the best kitchen design for any kitchen takes an experienced designer and several design appointments. Getting the best kitchen for a really tough space often takes even more. Two kitchens presently under way by our designers Lauren Sciarra and Chris Rossetti explain how another set of experienced eyes can make all the difference between a very good kitchen and a great one. One of Laurens recent Kitchens Both of these kitchens began with a phone call to Main Line Kitchen Design and a conversation with our owner Paul Mcalary. Each homeowner explained that they felt they had a difficult space and weren’t completely happy with the designs other companies had come up with. Because real estate sales photos of both homes were available online, Paul quickly found major design improvements. Chris’s customer was even able to supply the new design they were considering. After Paul explained the design possibilities, the homeowners were excited about the better designs. Chris In Lau...

  I always tell our designers to treat our customers like family. Treating a customer like family DOESN’T mean agreeing with them and rubber stamping their ideas. It means having their best interest at heart, doing your best, and actively trying to prevent them from making a mistake. Fabuwood Butler’s Pantry Were a family member of mine going to make a mistake, I would try very hard to encourage them to make better choices. When you care about people, you are honest with them without hurting their feelings. Sometimes when truly bad ideas are being considered, tough love might be needed.  The old adage that “the customer is always right” doesn’t apply to family. We care too much about them to just sell them things. I know that sometimes this approach isn’t what customers are looking for. Main Line Kitchen Design has even gotten a few poor online reviews from people that were frustrated by our designers being honest with them. That’s OK, because the majority of our customers get...

  Designing a great kitchen takes more than money. It takes the help of a knowledgeable kitchen designer and the home owner being able to sensibly weigh a professionals design advice. Often the very wealthy are so used to getting their way that they are incapable of making compromises to their own poor design ideas. The result is that some of the most expensive kitchens are terribly designed. Below are several celebrity kitchens that while touted to be beautiful, have major design flaws that make them impractical and sometimes tasteless. Chris Helmsworth’s kitchen above has both sinks far away and facing the wrong direction from the range. Country music performer Kelsea Ballerini has one of the biggest kitchen design flaws. Placing the refrigerator right in back of the primary sink. Every time someone goes to the refrigerator they interfere with a person working at the sink. Suzanne Summers’ kitchen above has several bad decisions, including the sink facing a wall and sel...

  Why do red flags go up when Main Line Kitchen Design receives an email like the one below? How did you hear about us: Friend or Family Referral Message Body: Hi- I love your blog and have spent hours reading your web site. We are located in Northern New Jersey. Can you help us? We will need about 18 cabinets and the other trims of course.  We had to return an entire American Woodmark (Home Depot) purchase yesterday due to paint and construction issues on 50% of their cabinets. We are concerned that the pandemic is impacting the quality.  We do not want the cheapest cabinets but we do want quality plywood construction.  My wife is an architect and has the drawings of what is needed. I am off from work on June 9 and we can come visit your showroom.  Thank you. I’m going to dissect what’s troubling to me with this email line by line. 1) Someone that spends hours on our web site should know that Northern New Jersey is out of our service area. The emailer also...