I’m sure we all have heard someone say this at sometime in our life; “I know someone who can do that for you cheaply.” I get shivers when I hear the word cheaply. Cheaply unfortunately brings pain and suffering to the table. “He knows how to do anything. He’s a Jack of all Trades.” I don’t know about you but I have never met anyone that knows how to do everything well.

I had a friend a few years back shyly tell me that he had done his kitchen over and was sorry that he had not called me in to design and price it. I had a feeling that a long, painful story was coming my way. He continued that his neighbor had suggested a “Jack of all Trades” type relative to help him with his kitchen makeover. This person can save you a lot of money by buying the cabinets wholesale and he can install them for you, his neighbor proudly advised him. No need to hire a plumber and electrician, he can do that also and save you even more money. I don’t know about you but anytime someone says they can save me money, I say I am all set.

Well, my friend eager to save himself some money, decides to hire this person. That’s where the pain starts in the story and where cheap took a back seat. This person he hires comes in on a high horse and tells my friend what he should do and buy, without asking for any opinions. My friend figures that he must know what he’s doing so yeah, why not listen to him. No money was discussed on top of not going over any detail. “I’m going to save you a bunch of money” was repeatedly said during the process.

The cabinets arrive and they look good but really not what his wife was crazy about. They sit in his house for two weeks before the Jack of all Trades arrives to install them. He starts but soon after says he has to run to another job because they need him. This goes on for weeks. Meanwhile, my friend and his wife argue continuously about the tardiness of this man. Somehow cheap doesn’t seem to feel good anymore.

To make a long story short, the job goes on for 3 more months before the finish (if you want to call it finished). Doors are crooked, cabinets are uneven. There are dings and dents everywhere and the joints on the counters are uneven and have big gaps. They keep calling “The Man” and he is nowhere to be found. I felt sorry for their circumstance but have to do everything I can not to laugh.

This is a story of someone who can save you money. It’s about as believable as the the words; “The checks in the mail.” There are no bargains in this life. We work hard and smart for our money so making the right decision on any remodel in your home is crucial. I equate this story to one that asks; “Would you hire your plumber to perform surgery on any part of your body if they could save you money?” I don’t think so.

By the way, my friend has since been divorced over that kitchen remodel. That kitchen he cooks and eats in everyday, cost him a fortune and then some. Be wise, hire the right person to do the right job. Your peace and sanity rely on it.

Tim Holick

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Take a look at the various splashes shown. There are small mosaics in the contemporary kitchen that are black with a light grey grout. The geometric shape really lends itself to the contemporary vibe.

There is a lot to be said for using a tile that is the same color but in different shapes or put on a different angle to showcase the same can look different. In the picture, notice the highly glazed subway tiles that are put in a running pattern for most of the splash area. However, the same tile was installed in a herringbone pattern bordered with a bullnose trim also in white over the range. This is a beautiful way to add design interest without committing to a color.

Using a small band of mosaics within a limestone splash is a beautiful way to add glamour. The picture showcases the little mosaics in metal and glass finishes adding a sparkle to the splash area without overwhelming it.

Last, but not least, is a wood beadboard splash. This backsplash is shown in a pantry area and really captures the old time look in an updated fashion. I can remember going into my grandmother’s pantry and this is the look she had but in pine.

A backsplash is a relatively small area, but can pack a lot of design punch.

Be colorful!

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I think everyone has to be a food-a-holic in some ways. Eating is definitely one of my favorite pastimes. There is something about food that seems to warm a soul. There are so many ways food can enter our lives.

The Food-A-Holick that I am referring to today is something different though. I am referring to my new food radio show on Friday mornings from 11:00 to 12:00 noon time on WVBF 1530 AM. It has been a passion of mine for many years now to get back on the radio with my own show. My last encounter was co-hosting The Food Show on WPEP AM with Donna Colajezzi. We had many good times and laughs back in the 90′s when we had the show for about 4 years. Let’s just say I got the bug.

Food-A-Holick takes on a new identity. It is co-hosted by Dianne Landry, our head designer here at Wood Palace Kitchens. Dianne is a great cook herself and has a laugh as hardy as my own. Dianne was my logical choice to be that go to person on the air. We work well together and I know you will enjoy the jibs and jabs that are common between us.

I get asked a lot with what the show will be about. The show will be about food of course but will go in a lot of different directions. We will talk about entertaining in your home, parties, restaurants, healthy foods, foods and many more topics. The show will be a lot of fun and will have many laughs. Our vision is to cover the everyday moments of people when it comes to food or cooking. Maybe we will have a show some weeks that is live here at the working kitchen at Wood Palace Kitchens, with Dianne and I cooking away. Who really knows what direction we will take. That will be the fun of the show.

Our intent is to educate, have fun and laugh with you our listeners. I’m sure there will be many food related stories that will have us either laughing or feeling sentimental. Whatever the situation, I know that you will enjoy the show and not want to miss it. I hope to hear from you other Food-A-Holick’s out there and let us know if you have any questions or any great food or entertaining stories. There will always be a Tim’s Tasty Tid Bit time and at the end of the show, a Food For Thought.

So remember to tune in every Friday from 11:00 to 12:00 noon time, 1530 FM or go to intune.com and plug in the 1530 WVBF station in Taunton Ma. and you can listen online. We will be adding a page to my personal website for the show where you can find out and watch past shows and read what is going on in the Food-A-Holick world.    http://timothyjholick.com/. We will also be adding a Facebook page under the shows name, Food-A-Holick.

Thank you to all that have been listening and thank you to all that will start listening. I wish you food, family and fun this next week, isn’t it what life is all about?       Tim Holick

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Here are a few things that are necessary:

Budget
An idea of the “look” you want
What type of appliances
Time frame

Let’s take this one by one.

First, the budget: for most people this is the scariest part of the process. Why? Many people feel if they let the designer know this figure they will spend all their money. Truth be told, that is a guideline for us. We need to know where to start.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you want a new car. There are many cars out there with enormous price differences. There are the $10,000.00 cars and there are $100,000.00 cars. Not to mention all the ones in between. Yes, they all have four wheels and will get you from point A to point B but you have to admit with the price difference there are differences. The fit and the finish not to mention the amenities will all vary.

It is the same with cabinets. Depending on what you want to spend, there will be differences. This is where your budget meets reality. This is also where your priorities will need to be assessed. We can help you do that.

Have a look in mind. Look at home magazines and cut out the pictures. Scan the internet and print the pictures. Put notes on these pictures to remind yourself why you liked the picture. Show your designer all of the pictures you have gathered. We can easily see what the common thread is between the photos. That gives us a good starting point.

Go to an appliance showroom. See what appeals to you. If you have a medium to large kitchen, look at a cooktop and separate ovens. Small kitchens, however, need to combine items. For instance, instead of a cooktop and wall ovens, look at a range and a microwave above. This is really a space saver. Not only will your kitchen feel larger, you will have more counter area.

Shopping for your appliances, but not purchasing, will help your designer enormously. It is quite a different scenario when designing for a free standing range with a microwave above and a totally different scenario with a commercial cooktop with double ovens, warming drawer and a built in microwave. Contrary to what you might believe, there is no button we push on the computer that switches the design from one to another.

Have a time frame in mind. I cannot tell you how many times over the years people have wanted to have their kitchens ready for the holidays or for what I call “life events”. Life events are graduations, wedding, etc. Many times people come in expecting this is a four week process from start to finish. (This is not a TV show where it is done in thirty minutes!)

Please remember, the design process can be two to four weeks itself. You must allow time to have the designer design the space and present it to you. You will then need time to contemplate what you have seen. You may or may not have changes to the design which the designer has to implement. Then the job is repriced.

When you sign on the dotted line, the cabinets will be ordered. Cabinet deliveries vary from four to sixteen weeks. Then, the cabinet installation happens. Remember, it more than just the cabinets that are installed, there are countertops, floors, appliances, plumbing and electrical.

If a stone top is used, the bases must be in before the templating of the counter can be done. Only after the template is done will the top be fabricated. Usually, stone tops will take two weeks but that can vary.

As you can see, this all takes time. And there can be glitches along the way. Cabinets come in damaged, the sink is on backorder, the remodeler is sick etc. Life happens.

There is no question this is an investment. It is an investment in time, money as well as the enjoyment of your home.

Remember, “Good design doesn’t cost more than bad design. It is, however, far less painful to do it right the first time”.

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My answer is quite simple:

      Which one do you see more when you dream about your new kitchen?
Which one draws your attention more when you are looking at other kitchens?
Do you see the countertop or the cabinets first?

Last thought:

      Which one in your existing kitchen gets you dreaming about your “new” kitchen?

Most likely, that’s the one that will be chosen first! Of course, there are many other factors that come into play. You might even change your mind a couple of times before you are finished. Start with your gut (how fitting for a kitchen, huh?).

You might be taken back by getting that answer from a professional kitchen designer. After all, this is not only a very big job, but it is also one that you want done the right way. Never mind, one that you will have to live in everyday for a long time. EXACTLY! So make it one that you will want to live in too.

I want to share a secret with you. Even though designing kitchens is what I do everyday, I am not happy in my existing kitchen! There isn’t just one thing in it that gets me dreaming, it’s everything! BUT there is no doubt in my mind that I know I want hickory cabinets. It’s the countertop that I am still undecided on. I will keep looking and just like you, I’ll know it when I see it.

Remember, start with your gut. If you’re not sure what you like, don’t worry, your gut will tell you when you see it!

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Mother’s Day has to be one of my favorite times of the year. It’s the one day that we get to celebrate them and show them how much we care. Mothers come in many forms. We have our birth mother, adopted mother, step mother, friends mother and any other one that we call our mom.

What can we learn from his day? How can we become better children? Those questions should be on our minds daily so that we show our appreciation more often than just this one day. I was a lucky one, I had my mother for 53 years of my life. My mother taught me many things in my years. She taught me to love unconditionally. She taught me to persevere, no matter how much I wanted to quit. She taught me to respect myself first and then others. She taught me to respect all woman, no matter the circumstances. I learned many things from my mother and I couldn’t have been blessed with a better woman to take care of me in those early years.

Mothers take the most abuse of any human being that I know. They have many things that they have to accomplish daily, 365 days a year. They never complain much unless you are acting up. Think about all that they do for you. They cook, they clean, they do the laundry, they comfort you when you are sick, they run you around to school and activities and they council you periodically. I heard a friend say the other day that they stick up for you when you didn’t do or act right in public, even though you were guilty. My mother did stick up for me but did give me a whack when I was guilty though.

We seem to forget that mothers weren’t born mothers, they had to learn as they went along. There really hasn’t ever been a book that they can read. True, Dr Spock wrote many of books on parenting in the 70′s but did he really think that there is an answer for every situation and child? I think not!

True mothering comes from instinct and from the heart. What is right one day might not be the next. There were many times that I did not agree back then what my mother said that I could not do something. Now I realize as a parent that she was wiser than I thought and she was only protecting me and my reputation.

When we get to an age and our mothers are gone, memories are the only things that we have to hold onto. I often sit there and smile at some of those memories. The times when I would wake up in the morning and the smell of coffee and bacon lured me to get up and run to the kitchen. The times when I would be frustrated or didn’t believe in myself and she would know just the right words to say to make me feel better. The times when she would fluff my pillow when I was sick. The times when she would get frustrated at us and tell us she was giving us back. And the best times of all was when she would just hug me and made me feel that everything was going to be OK. Whichever the memory, they will always make you smile!

Mother’s Day falls on May 12TH this year. It’s time to start looking for that special gift that will make her smile. Whatever you decide on, you need to also give all of yourself to her that day like she does for you the rest of the year. You need to hug her and kiss her like she will be gone the next day. You need to make her feel special just like she makes you feel all year long. Mothers are truly a gift from God, don’t waste any time that you have her and never ever take her for granted.

Enjoy this coming Mother’s Day my friends. Make it a special day for her. Who else on earth could make us smile like the picture above on the first day of school? Only our mother! Happy Mother’s Day Ma up there in heaven. You were an incredible woman and mother. My love for you burns on and on.  I love you!

Tim Holick

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These two styles, while similar in the crisp clean lines, are different in subtle ways. Contemporary design is harder edge than modern. The lines are tighter and “thinner” whereas modern designer is warmer and “thicker”.

Take a look at the photos I found online and see the contemporary kitchen is lighter and brighter. Note, the countertop on the island has a waterfall edge. (A waterfall edge is one where the countertop that goes to the floor.) Also, the heights of the counters vary too.

The modern design also has smooth sleek lines but the cabinets are much darker on all the base cabinets. This gives it a warmer and a grounded look. The backsplash is stainless and gives it a professional cook feeling.

It is true that much of these elements can be interchanged and depending on what is chosen could either be contemporary or modern design.

In the end, choose what makes you happy. Life’s too short to compromise.

This is after all your home!

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I had the pleasure yesterday to leave work early and head into Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play. I’m usually not a fan of going to see a weeknight game mid week but had that little boy feeling of excitement to head in and make a night of it. I have owned weeknight season tickets now for almost 10 years but the thrill of knowing I was heading into Fenway, (one of the oldest ball parks out there) in April, was nothing short of exhilaration. There is something romantic about the game of baseball for us Americans. Eating at a pub close to the park, eating hot dogs, having a beer and eating peanuts seems to bring us back to the days of old when we were young. Thoughts of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays dance around in our minds like they just happened yesterday.

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I remember when I was living in Sitka,Alaska. Sitka is located on the southeast panhandle of Alaska.  It is an island that is 80 miles long, with only 13 miles of road.  Keep in mind that the only way to get off the island was by boat or airplane.  It was absolutely beautiful to live there!  The only downfall was that it didn’t have any shopping malls or even any variety of discount or home improvement choices.

If we wanted to go on a shopping spree, our only choices were to hop the ferry and head down to Seattle,Washington or start thumbing threw the catalogs. Seattle was a treat because the Alaska residents didn’t have to pay taxes.  (Just like some places online now.)  If we didn’t take the trip to Seattle very often, we had to shop by catalog.  (Computers were not popular in 1991-1994)  So, we took our chances on the merchandise being what we expected.  We could only hope the sizes of the clothes were all the same.  We could only hope that it didn’t cost an arm and a leg for shipping!  Especially when it came to home improvement!

Where am I going with this?  I was thinking back the other day about how different each state is to live in.  What would it be like if I was still in Sitka and wanted to remodel my kitchen?  What would be my options?  Do they have a designer showroom with an experienced designer to guide me threw the process like we do here?  Maybe one?  What if I am not satisfied with their choices or comfortable with the designer?  Then what are my choices?  

Oh, silly me!!  I can just shop online for new kitchens!  There are all kinds of websites for anything.  I am sure I can find kitchen cabinets too.  There are even designers I can upload my measurements to so they can design my kitchen and I can just order the cabinets from the online store.  Then I wondered how this designer will know what is needed to design the kitchen so it will function for me.  So I dug a little deeper.  Do you know what I found?

I found that I can “chat now” with a designer!  Except when I was online the designer was offline.  But, I could leave a message for them to get back to me.   I could only hope that they understood what I wanted.  I guess I would have to find out when they go back online and reply.  (Who knows when that will be?)

It would be so much easier if I could sit down with a professional and find out how to get my kitchen to work for me.  There are so many options to choose from.  How do I know if the things I want will fit? How do I know if I will like the color of the cabinets?   Well, I don’t know why I am so worried.  They must be professionals if they are online, right?

I have to be honest with you.  It felt like I was having a nightmare and I AM a kitchen designer. I cannot even imagine how overwhelmed the average homeowner would be?  Even worse, how furious they would be once their new kitchen was finished and it still didn’t function for them.  They have no where to go! 

You might be able to find almost anything online, but there are some things that you just need to physically go to the professionals for.  

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I recently had a client walk into our showroom looking for a quote for her kitchen. She was honest from the beginning and let me know that she was out to a few places already and she was looking to see where she could get her best deal. By being honest with me, I am in a good place right now to help her out. My first words to her were; “getting the best deal has many meanings and in order to pinpoint things and give you some options, you would need to let me know if the lowest cost is what you meant.” I explained that anyone can find a way to give her the lowest price but would it be what she really was looking for? Her response showed me that it wasn’t the lowest price and that she was looking for decent quality cabinets but didn’t want to go high end.

The last paragraphs scenario is why we introduced the “American Collection” two years ago. This line of existing cabinet lines that we carry is for the sole purpose of helping people find the right fit of cabinetry for a price around what they were looking to invest. The collection covers kitchen needs between the $6,000.00 to $15,000.00 levels for cabinetry and counters. Our purpose as designer/sales people is to help a client make the right decision for their needs when making a large purchase. There is nothing worse than getting your project done and finding out it does not fit their needs or their longevity needs. Your happiness depends on the company and sales person that you choose so making the right choice is very important.

If you are out and about looking to remodel your home or are building a new home, take the time to do your research and due diligence. You will be living with your choice much longer than the time it takes to do it right the first time. For more information on how to help you understand the process better, email me at tholick@woodpalacekitchens.com with any questions. I also have a new book out; “Dream First”, How to enjoy creating the exact kitchen that you desire.   Timothy Holick

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