Before You Begin
We want you to be ready to take on your kitchen remodeling project confidently. The first step in our kitchen remodeling guide is finding out what you need to know about and what you need to be prepared to decide before you begin a kitchen remodeling project.
How to Create a Family Kitchen For All to Enjoy
A family kitchen needs to be comfortable, delightful, and easy for food prep. Our key design strategies help you plan and create your kitchen for your home.
What You Need to Know: Top Kitchen Renovation Challenges
Keeping a kitchen well-functioning and pleasant is one of the best things you can do for a home. Here are some of the key kitchen renovation challenges.
Kitchen remodeling tips: How to achieve your vision with less stress
Looking for kitchen remodeling tips to make the entire process easier? We’ve got a few that will help you achieve your vision while decreasing your stress.
Make Meals Easier for Alzheimer’s with Easy Design Tips
These easy home design tips can make meals easier for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Mealtime will be less stressful for everyone.
Design can reduce stress in the kitchen for an Alzheimer’s household.
There are ways you can make your kitchen reduce stress for you and your Alzheimer’s loved one. Kitchens are usually a flurry of activity and…
3 things to consider when considering a kitchen island seating
But, there are a few things to think about before deciding on the design of a kitchen island.
What You Need to Know: How Much Weight Can a Kitchen Island Hold?
Kitchen island weight: We’re looking at new kitchen designs and are concerned about weight. Would granite counters in the kitchen be too much weight?
Kitchen design ideas: Bring the beach inside
One look at Wellborn Cabinets’ new Antigua door and I was instantly transported to a far away beach hideaway and my mind washed over with…
How do we make a kitchen renovation affordable?
When undergoing a kitchen renovation, there’s usually a question that pops up about how to make a kitchen renovation affordable. Here’s some help.
Kitchen Renovation Mistakes: Emergency Budget
For both homeowner and contractor, setting both a reasonable budget and an emergency budget for unseen issues like water damage from the previous kitchen, moving…
Kitchen Renovation Mistakes: Installation Confusion
Question: What are the biggest kitchen renovation mistakes to avoid? Answer: There’s no single answer to this question from our perspective. From framing issues to kitchen islands,…
Backsplash: It Costs HOW Much?
Question: What’s the average labor cost of installing 17 sq ft of kitchen tile backsplash? Each tile is on 1 square foot mesh backing. Answer:…
Quick Tip: Kitchen Remodeling
If you are replacing a stove—or an entire kitchen, including the stove—there are two important details to remember, and they are two things the inspector…
Old Kitchen Design Tips
One of the trickiest projects in old houses weaving modern kitchens into old spaces. Even as little as a half century-ago people had cast iron…
Installing Kitchen Cabinets? Read this before you get started.
Setting cabinets is a tempting DIY project because the installation principles are basic, but the reality—especially in the old-house world of crooked floors and uneven wall surfaces—is more complicated.
Taking out the kitchen
We’re demoing our kitchen this week. (…deep breath here) It’s a big job and a huge life-changer in the way I take care of my…
Kitchen Ideas and Inspo
Envisioning your goals for your kitchen remodel is a priority before you even consider getting started. Make sure you formulate the overall aesthetic and goals that you want to achieve with the kitchen. And if you have a life partner, ask about their kitchen ideas and communicate your vision. Getting on the same page for aesthetics and budget is essential for a successful remodeling project.
What You Need to Know: Top Kitchen Renovation Challenges
Keeping a kitchen well-functioning and pleasant is one of the best things you can do for a home. Here are some of the key kitchen renovation challenges.
Theresa is asking: Are we going back to black in our dream kitchens?
While there has been a surge back to black in European markets, the trend to black and other options has been slower elsewhere. But it is picking up as a trend. Black and darker colors have made their way back into the kitchen (just take a peek at Pinterest), and now there are really good alternatives to stainless steel in appliance finishes.
Keep cat food bowls neat and discreet with this DIY pet bowl organizer
Cat food bowls, in my house anyway, seem to be in constant motion. And then there’s what I’ll discreetly call the ‘halo effect’, as in:…
Simple kitchen decor ideas—and how not to screw them up
Simple kitchen decor ideas only look good, well, if they look good. Stuff that looks terrible isn’t really decor. At least in the traditional sense….
Should we drop the ‘drop zone’ in the kitchen? Let’s talk.
The drop zone is a dreaded area for most every mom and designer. How do we deal with it? Join us.
Interview: Norm Abram talks Saving Trim and Waterfall Countertops
Norm Abram talks with MyFixitUpLife’s Mark and Theresa about This Old House’s Cambridge project and the details of the waterfall countertop.
MyFixitUpLife talk show: I Hate My Kitchen
We’re all about kitchen on this episode of MyFixitUpLife, from aging-in-place to surviving a remodel to talking ‘I Hate My Kitchen’ with host James Young….
MyFixitUpLife talk show: Counter cultured 180FX
From counter to cabinet, right up the wall, we’re finding out that surface runs sensuously deep inside the world of Formica at the Kitchen & Bath Industry…
MyFixitUpLife talks Outdoor Kitchens w/ Air King
Mark & Theresa talk about making your outdoor kitchen better by thinking beyond just design with Air King. Combating the ‘camp fire syndrome,’ which is…
FixitUpFinds: Cooking solution for small kitchens
Featuring a single row of burners, the Binova Linear cooktop is perfect for a narrow countertop. It can be centered on an island (out of…
Kitchen: After renovation
Love the remodeled kitchen! It’s like walking around inside a magazine photo shoot. Our kitchen took about four months from demo to usable kitchen, and…
The Kitchen Project
We’re renovating our kitchen (stylish, maybe, from mid-20th century). If you’ve lived through a kitchen overhaul, you know what it’s like. And, I’ve fallen in…
How it was cooking in the kitchen
Our kitchen is a dust-storm of excitement and discovery. In the grown-up world, this means that we have to be extremely organized, careful, and patient….
Kitchen Materials and Appliances
Selecting the right materials and appliances for your kitchen remodel is essential for keeping your budget managed, making installation low-stress, and ensuring that your completed kitchen performs well while achieving your desired aesthetic.
Get Your Value: Lifespan of Appliances and Home Materials
Many appliances and fixtures have a surprisingly shorter lifespans than you might guess. Here’s a simple guide to the lifespan of appliances and home materials.
How to Pick a Paint Color with Your Partner
Have you ever been frustrated picking a paint color with your partner? I’ve got a few strategies that make how to pick a paint color so much easier.
Home Tech: Healthier eating from best refrigerators 2022?
How are the best refrigerators of 2022 helping us eat healthier? In every form, the point of the refrigerator has been to keep food fresher…
Kitchen makeover project! Let’s talk about that kitchen sink.
What are some things to consider about the kitchen sink that will make everyday a little better? Note: Elkay has provided me with the product used…
Want better drinking water? Let’s talk water filters.
To celebrate healthy water, GE Appliances is giving away a dual flow under-the-counter water filter during the #HOSSdesign chat. If you are curious about the impurities reduced by GE Appliances filtration systems, click over to www.gewaterfilters.com.
New! Write on your countertop, walls, and more with Formica’s new Writable Surfaces collection
One of my favorite new home products is the Formica Writable Surfaces collection. Yes, whiteboards and chalkboards have been popular for a long time in…
It looks like metal lace, and it is a 3D printed faucet. Hello DXV.
It looks like metal lace, and it was printed by a 3D printer. Hello DXV.
Newborn at KBIS2016: Fabuwood’s Vista cabinets in Blanc
I love a cabinet that can be delivered in less than a few weeks, and so I’m already excited about the newest addition to the Fabuwood family of products.
Craftsman + Kenmore = Stuff that’s awesome for your house
Craftsman & Kenmore invited us to check out some of their new gear for home, shop, lawn, garden, and garage. Up-armored is the theme—from design…
Video! Mark and Theresa talk cabinets at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show
It’s the little things in life that make me happy. Like cabinet drawers that easily open and lights that help me see what’s inside. Mark…
Get rid of that smell! Countertop compost bin
Hi Mark, We have a question about kitchen compost bins. My dad has been using an old pot with a lid for his kitchen waste….
FixitUp Find: Formica Corporation’s Steel, Fabric, & Wood Looks
We love using unexpected materials and textures in our designs. We love being on-trend—and trend-setting—and depend on materials that keep pace. For on-trend surfaces,…
Powered-Up Solution: Leviton’s USB/Receptacle
Full disclosure: Our kitchen counter, office desks, and several outlets NOT behind a couch are a tangle of charger cords and transformer cubes. Kind…
How do we make a kitchen renovation affordable?
When undergoing a kitchen renovation, there’s usually a question that pops up about how to make a kitchen renovation affordable. Here’s some help.
Kitchen Renovation Mistakes: Flooring
Don’t cheap out on flooring. We don’t mean don’t get the floor you want, we mean install it everywhere in the space, like under the…
Kitchen Renovation Mistakes: Toe-kick
For the installer: Details are “custom critical” a term we stole from the FedEx service—not to mention, these are the awesomeest trucks in the fleet….
Kitchen Renovation Mistakes: Materials
Using lower end materials near a dishwasher can be vexing—especially foils or laminated trim stock instead of solid hardwood. Steam escaping from the dishwasher can…
Kitchen Renovation Mistakes: Cabinets
Kitchens are too complicated even for most contractors to design and specify (select cabinet sizes and parts.) After we designed the space, picked products and…
Buying Kitchen Appliances
Question: Budget question: I’m doing a new kitchen and wonder what your recommendations on appliances are. Answer: First thing is this: We know all projects have budgets…
FixitUpFind: KraftMaid Cabinets
J.D. Power Survey—and great kitchen cabinet purchase advice: KraftMaid ranks highest in customer satisfaction among cabinet manufacturers, excelling in 3 of 5 factors: design, performance…
FixitUpFind: Lava-look surface from Cambria
Talk about a show stopper. The lava-like look to the Aberdeen counter by Cambria has me dreaming of ways to incorporate it into our home,…
MyFixitUpLife talk show: Eric Stromer & Storage Solutions w/ Merillat
Lazy Susan is on high alert, because she’s got some competition in corner. Her lazy days of having a corner on the market are over….
FixitUpFinds: Smart countertops?
Yes, your countertops could be getting smarter. Our friends at Charles & Hudson tipped us off that Intel is developing the technology to make it…
FixitUpFinds: Paper countertop?
We labored over the decision about our countertop. There are just so many options. We did want to use a producer that is eco-friendly, kid-friendly,…
Cabinet Installation and Under-Cabinet Lighting
We like under-cabinet lights and specced them for our latest kitchen reno. Problem is, typical under-cabinet lights are placed beneath the shallow cabinet carcass (usually…
Watch Mark & Theresa share tile tips on NBC 10! show
Mark and Theresa share a new way to tile that saves an entire day out of a tiling project, and the need for a tile…
FixitUp Find: Wire Brushes—Unsung Work Horses for Paint Prep
It seems few of us pay attention to a wire brush — until it’s the only tool for the job. We use wire brushes for…
MyFixitUpLife: Live show w/ Merillat
MyFixitUpLife’s Mark & Theresa Live! at the 67th International Builders’ Show in Orlando. January 14 @ 3pm: Mark and Theresa are sharing what’s new from…
Picking the perfect tile for our kitchen backsplash
When we were in the middle of renovating our kitchen, I announced to Mark that I wanted a tile backsplash. His reply: “Are we EVER…
What kinds of countertop can I install myself?
I’m a teacher and I get out for the summer in a couple of weeks. I’m hoping to do a remodel of my kitchen on…
Kitchen How-To
Learn how to install a tile backsplash, swap out kitchen faucets, install kitchen cabinets, and more.
How to fix a chipped mug with epoxy
Learn how to fix a chipped mug or learn how to repair ceramic decor. Fixing ceramic with epoxy and pastels isn’t hard. Here’s what you need to know.
Kitchen makeover: How we updated our sink and faucet
A kitchen makeover that doesn’t have lots of dust and demolition is usually something suspicious. But here’s how we did it. (video)
Video: How to paint a room | Paint a straight line with a paint brush
I hope this video about how to paint a room by ‘cutting in’ with a paint brush saves you time and makes your project easier…
How do we paint cabinets?
Slow and steady is how I like to paint cabinets for that factory finish look. Yes, you can paint cabinets. No, you shouldn’t expect to…
Ask it: How to install tile backer board
Hey MyFixitUpLife—I have a question about how to install tile backer board. Can you help? Question: I know, generally, how to install tile but I…
Video: How to unclog a clogged garbage disposal
A clogged garbage disposal always seems to happen right before a party. The good news is that you might be able to fix it yourself….
How-to Prep Cabinets for a Quality Paint Finish
In order to prep cabinets for a quality paint finish, you need to go through the prep steps methodically or else your paint won’t look as good as you envision.
Kitchen Island Installation Blunders
Question: What blunders might I expect—or try to avoid—installing a kitchen island? Answer: The main blunder is mis-sizing it. Just because a certain combination of…
Today’s Tip: Combination Square
To accurately lay out door or drawer pulls we like to measure the hole location once, then transfer it to the other doors/drawers of the…
Kitchen Project: Dish It Out
Here’s a kitchen/bath project I call a marriage-saver. Its not that it saves the marriage directly, I hasten to point out, but it short circuits…
