Bertone presents information on Kitchens & bathroom remodeling in Scarborough, Markham & Pickering

The Best Finishes for Bathroom Vanities?

May 5, 2016 By Bertone

Potential finishes for bathroom vanities cover the spectrum from soft, traditional painted finishes that blend in deftly with an established decor to custom designed, high end veneers that will create a striking visual counterpoint to other design components at play in the bathroom. Selecting the appropriate finish for your bathroom can be a confusing process so in this post we’ll try to clarify things a bit by taking a quick look at your options.

Finding the Right Finish for Bathroom Vanities in Scarborough: The Basics

If you keep a few things in mind about the pros and cons of different finishes it will simplify things for you. Here are a few facts about the different types of finish for bathroom vanities in Scarborough.

Polyurethane – Polyurethane is legendary for its ability to repel water which would seem to make it a perfect match for the heavy humidity of the bathroom. The thing that gives people pause when it comes to poly though isn’t its durability, which is without question, but the thick, high gloss finish that typically results. The face of the vanity isn’t a countertop after all and most people believe it shouldn’t look like one either.

Stains – Stains are more pliable and therefore more durable overall than paint which makes them a good match for bathroom vanities in Scarborough. Their durability stems from the fact that the stain won’t crack the way paint on a wood surface can when the wood expands and contracts with the seasons. Stains also provide a deep, rich finish that has a natural lustre and glow paint simply can’t match.

Paints – Painting the vanity face seems like it should be a breeze but in fact it almost always requires spending hours properly preparing the surface and then waiting as much as several days between coats for the paint to cure properly. If done right the effect can be satisfying and long lasting but if rushed you’ll find yourself repeating the process in short order.

Veneers – A veneer is a sheet of natural hardwood that’s attached to an underlayer of lesser quality wood. Because it’s real, high quality wood a veneer typically looks great. But because it’s basically glued onto the underlayer there’s always the chance it could become unglued if the initial application process was defective in some way.

Laminates – Laminates are basically a wood grain or other pattern printed on a sheet of paper or plastic and then fused to an underlayer of inexpensive wood product. If you’re looking to keep costs down laminates will definitely fit the bill. If laminates have a drawback it’s that they tend to wear through, especially around the edges, revealing their artificial nature.

Talk to the pros at Bertone Woodworking for comprehensive answers to all your cabinetry questions. We’re the GTA’s premier woodworking company and have been providing fine custom furniture and millwork as well as bathroom vanities in Scarborough and vicinity for many years. Don’t trust your home’s woodworking to just anyone with a lathe and jigsaw, call Bertone today.

Repair or Replace Your Kitchen Cabinets?

April 25, 2016 By Bertone

Cabinets are the indispensable element of any modern kitchen. They’re not only essential for food, dishware, cutlery and other storage but in most kitchens they’re the single largest visual element. Because of this your entire kitchen will suffer aesthetically once the face of your cabinets start to show their age. Restoring the look and vitality of your kitchen then will come down to a choice: to repair/reface the cabinets or simply replace them. In this post we’ll make a case for the latter.

Kitchen Cabinets Scarborough: The Case to Replace

Once kitchen cabinets become a bit long in the tooth it’s time to decide whether to repair them – typically by refacing them – or to simply rip them out and replace them. There are 3 main advantages to repairing your kitchen cabinets in Scarborough:

Shorter downtime for your kitchen – Refacing your cabinets is quicker than having new ones designed and fabricated, having the old ones removed and then installing the new ones. You’ll likely be able to use your kitchen without much disruption throughout the process.

A wide range of available styles and finishes – You have an incredible array of options when it comes to new faces you can apply to the old cabinets. You won’t have to worry about finding the look that’s right for you.

Environmentally responsible – Refacing your cabinets creates less debris which makes it a more sustainable, environmentally friendly choice than total cabinet replacement. You won’t be contributing to already overflowing landfills.

Those are all pretty good reasons to consider repairing/refacing your old kitchen cabinets in Scarborough. Now let’s take a look at the advantages of replacing the old cabinets outright.

A fresh start – If you’re serious about giving your kitchen a makeover you’ll also want to address shortcomings in the size, number and distribution of your old cabinets at the same time you address their exterior appearance. To do that there’s no substitute for new cabinets.

Long term durability – In most cases cabinets that are being replaced are already 20-30 years old or more. They’ve not only become unattractive but inside they’ve absorbed a lifetime of dirt and grime and their joins have been loosened by decades of expanding and contracting. It won’t be long after you reface them that you’ll need to think about replacing them anyway.

ROI – New kitchen cabinets are considered a mid-level kitchen renovation project and as such you can expect an ROI in the neighbourhood of 70-75%. That’s a pretty nice neighbourhood. By contrast simply refacing the cabinets will typically return something like 50-55% of what you spent; and they’ll need to be replaced sooner rather than later anyway.

There are good arguments to be made on both sides of the issue but if you’re interested in long term usefulness, return on investment, a serious upgrade in functionality and the sparkling new face you’d get from refacing then replacement kitchen cabinets in Scarborough is the way to go. Talk to the pros and Bertone Woodworking to find out more about how new kitchen cabinets can benefit your home.

Why Walk in Closets Are One of the Most Desirable Features of the Modern Home

May 23, 2015 By Bertone

If you ask any realtor that works in the Markham and Scarborough areas about the features that home buyers look for the most when viewing properties that are for sale, we guarantee that walk in closets would be right up there. But why are they such an in-demand feature? What value do they add? We’re going to find out the answers to these questions in this post.

What are the Main Benefits Offered By Walk In Closets

Before investing in one of these, it’s important to look at all of the facts and work out whether the value walk in closets can bring is going to be worth the investment required under your circumstances. To help you decide, here are a few of the main benefits that they offer:

More Space – This may be stating the obvious, but as it’s one of the biggest benefits that walk in closets offer, we simply have to put it down. While you might currently have to cram all of your clothes into a freestanding closet, crumpling and creasing them in the process, walk in closets have bags of space and everything can be stored neatly without causing any unnecessary damage.
Greater Organization – You’re in a rush, you need to get to work but you can’t find your work shirt amongst all of the clutter in your freestanding wardrobe. Does this scenario sound familiar? In a walk in closet, because there’s so much extra space, each type of clothing item can be allocated its own specific spot, which makes it extremely easy to track down any item stored inside it. They are worth the investment for this alone as the more efficient organization can save you a considerable amount of stress.
Extra Privacy – Walk in closets often double up as changing rooms, which is especially handy if the main part of your bedroom offers little privacy. By adding the right lighting, some seating and some carefully placed mirrors, not only can you store your clothes inside your new closet, you can get yourself ready inside it too!

Walk in closets have been one of the most frequently requested projects at Bertone Woodworking over the last few years and if you would like to utilize the expertise of our team, we would be glad to meet with you to discuss your requirements. We also design and install custom kitchen cabinets and bathroom cabinets.

Bathroom Vanities Markham

May 13, 2015 By Bertone

Watch Out for These Common Mistakes When Buying Bathroom Vanities Markham

Bathroom vanities are an integral part of any bathroom design and it’s essential that you make a good choice when having yours replaced. Contributing to the room in both an aesthetic and a practical sense, they are heavily utilized on a day to day basis. There are many styles and types of vanities that Markham and Scarborough homeowners can purchase nowadays, making the choice even harder, which is why we’re going to offer you a helping hand by listing some of the most common mistakes made when going through this process.

Buying Bathroom Vanities The Wrong Way: Here’s What Not to Do

So often when making changes to your home it’s as much about avoiding mistakes as it is about making good selections. With regards to bathroom cabinets, here are some of the mistakes most commonly made:

Not Considering Design Flow – What do we mean by design flow? Well, ideally Bathroom Vanities Markham should slot perfectly into the rest of the room’s design, complementing and enhancing other elements that have been used. During bathroom renovations, many homeowners make the mistake of picking each element individually and end up with a disjointed design where the bathroom vanity sticks out like a sore thumb.
Opting for the Cheap Option – Bathroom Vanities Markham are available at a wide range of different price points, but this is not a feature that we would advise you to skimp on. Heavily relied upon and forced to endure difficult conditions (high moisture levels and heat), bathroom vanities made from lower grade materials don’t last long and their appearance will start to deteriorate relatively quickly. Remember that the bathroom can have a significant impact upon the market value of your property!
Choosing Form Over Function – Bathroom vanities must strike the right balance between form and function in order to “work” but many times the former gets far more attention than the latter during the selection process. Remember that many different items are typically stored in bathroom cabinets and if the storage facilities of your cabinets aren’t sufficient, your bathroom might turn into a very chaotic environment – not what you want to see first thing in the morning!
Not Getting Your Measurements Right – It doesn’t matter if you find the perfect bathroom vanity for your home, if it doesn’t fit into the space you have available, it will be useless. Make sure you take accurate measurements before you start looking at vanities to avoid disappointment.

Need help selecting a bathroom vanity for your home? Look no further than Bertone Woodworking, who have been serving the communities of Markham and Scarborough for many years.

Some of the Most Important Questions to Ask Before Ordering Custom Kitchen Cabinets

May 3, 2015 By Bertone

If you’re in the process of planning for a kitchen renovation, kitchen cabinets are undoubtedly one of the aspects that you’ve been thinking about heavily given their importance and presence in the room’s design. And if you’ve decided to invest a little extra and go for custom kitchen cabinets rather than prefabricated cabinets, there are a number of questions that you should ask your cabinet maker before you commit to working with them. We’re going to explain what those questions are and why they’re important.

Don’t Order Custom Kitchen Cabinets Without Asking These 3 Questions First

In addition to the questions below, remember that it’s always important to ask the contractor about their level of experience and ask for some references to verify that they are capable of doing what they say they can. Here are a few more specific questions you might want to ask:

Do You Produce the Doors & Drawers In-House? – While this question might sound a bit redundant, you would be surprised at just how many cabinet makers use prefabricated components when constructing custom kitchen cabinets, with the doors and drawers being two of the most common. If they do follow this practice, the quality of the cabinets they produce for you could suffer.
Can I get Involved in the Planning Phase? – Being involved in the planning of your new cabinets is a must. One of the main reasons for investing in custom cabinets is the ability to have them designed to your exact needs and preferences, so you want to work with a cabinet maker that is going to listen to those need and preferences before they sketch out some plans. They should also seek approval before they start constructing your cabinets, otherwise you could be in for a nasty shock when the finished product is delivered to your property.
Is Installation Included in the Price? – It’s usually better to work with the same contractor for both the construction and the installation of your new custom kitchen cabinets. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it’s usually cheaper and secondly a contractor will usually be more skilled and more comfortable at installing their own work, so you end up with a better quality finish. Check whether installation is included in the quote you receive and, if not, how much extra it would cost?

If you live in Markham or Scarborough and you’re looking for more information on high quality custom kitchen cabinets, get in touch with Bertone Woodworking. We also offer bathroom vanities, built in cabinets and walk in closets.

How New Bathroom Cabinets Will Improve Your Bathroom

April 24, 2015 By Bertone

Have you been thinking of ways that you can improve your tired looking bathroom in 2015? New bathroom cabinets could well be the answer. For those homeowners in Markham and Scarborough that are on a limited budget but want to make the biggest impact possible for their money, new bathroom cabinets are a great option and we’re going to explain why below.

Bathroom Cabinets: Why a New Set Can Make a Big Difference to Any Bathroom

Bathrooms typically feature several key elements that ensure that your personal requirements can be met, but bathroom cabinets are often one of the more underappreciated features. If you’re planning a renovation, here are a few reasons why new bathroom cabinets should be at the top of your list.

Focal Point of the Room – While bath tubs and showers are considered the “showstoppers” in most bathrooms, the bathroom cabinets are often a focal point without you maybe realising it. However, you only have to think about where you spend your time in the bathroom each morning and we guarantee that you spend several minutes in front of these cabinets. Refreshing this focal point can make a big difference to the room visually.
Improve Organisation – If your current bathroom cabinets are outdated, new cabinets could improve the organisation of the room ten-fold. Modern bathroom vanities, particularly if they are custom built, are much more space efficient, making sure you can pack as much as possible into the space you have without compromising access to these items. Additionally, decluttering the room can help to create a more peaceful and relaxed environment.
Make Your Home More Desirable – It’s a well known fact that that one of the main things that any home seeker looks at when viewing property is the bathroom. It they perceive it as needing a lot of work then should they decide to make an offer on your property it will usually be lower to compensate for this, and a shabby looking bathroom might even put them off altogether. New bathroom cabinets freshen up the room and make of the main rooms in your house much more appealing.

Lastly, when replacing the cabinetry in your bathroom, you have the opportunity to stamp your own tastes and preferences on the room. Perhaps your current cabinets were installed by the previous owners or your tastes have changed over the years. For further help and information on replacing bathroom vanities, get in touch with the team at Bertone Woodworking.