Flavours of the Season

Another year is drawing to a close. It is hard to believe, but in just a few days Halloween will have passed and Christmas will be before us.

With the new season comes a whole selection of fresh seasonal trends and colours. Materials, colours, paints, are all going through their regular transformations as trends and tastes change. Here at Coordinated Kitchen and Bath we are projecting more purples in the trends for 2015. Expect to see more magenta, rose, mauve in paint colours and tiles as the year comes to a close.

Happily winter will not last forever, so with the arrival of the new year, expect to see mossy greens and taupes enter the mix. This means a play of these colours in fabrics, carpets, and paints. For those seeking a safer colour palette, greys and whites will once again hold their own; however, they can be beautifully complimented with touches of rose and mossy greens to add sparks of colour.

The only certainty in life is that it will never be constant. Coordinated Kitchen and Bath and Colours by Paula are pleased to help our customers on the North Shore and in Vancouver navigate the complex array of colours, cabinets, fixtures, and materials that are key to creating the perfect kitchen, bath, and home renovation time after time.

North Vancouver Kitchen Renovation

This beautiful Mount Seymour home is part of a neighbourhood undergoing substantial new home construction and general renovations.

The home owner approached Coordinated Kitchen and Bath after being referred to us by one of our current clients. They were looking to completely redo their kitchen and make a transition from tile to hardwood floors.

Some of the major changes involved the installation of clear alder Columbia Kitchen Cabinets with Richelieu hardware. An island with a Cambria Quartz countertop on a hardwood floor base was also designed in. The kitchen window was replaced with a high efficiency window. Plumbing was upgraded and replaced with a stainless steel Grohe dual spray faucet and a stainless steel Franke double undermount Regatta sink. There were also substantial lighting upgrades to the kitchen and dining area.

Click the youtube link below to see the evolution of this kitchen renovation from start to finish. Thank you to the customer for supplying the photos!

North Vancouver Kitchen Renovation, Start to Finish

We absolutely love our new kitchen! All trades that came in to our home were courteous,professional and friendly.Mike was an excellent project manager that got us what we wanted and stayed on budget! We have plans to use Coordinated Kitchens in the future!

Vancouver Home Renovation

Interior full-home renovation in Vancouver by Coordinated Kitchen & Bath. Project Management by Mike Williams.

Dual Flush Toilets

Here at Coordinated Kitchen & Bath in North Vancouver we want to help you find the ideal toilet for your home. Below we have outlined the differences in water consumption between single-flush toilets and dual-flush high efficiency toilets.

There is a vast difference between the low-flush, high-efficiency toilets and their predecessors, which waste a phenomenal amount of water. Low efficiency toilets typically use 5 or 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf). When multiplied by the average number of uses in a home over a year a 5gpf single flush toilet consumes approximately 36,500 gallons per year, a 3.5gpf single flush toilet uses roughly 25,550 gallons per year. Modern high efficiency dual flush toilets typically use 1.6gpf. When converted to typical use over the course of a year, a 1.6gpf dual flush toilet uses roughly 7,000 gallons per year.

Single flush Toilet: A single-flush toilet uses the same amount of water per flush, no matter what the toilet is flushing. This leads a wasteful use of water.

Dual-Flush High-Efficiency Toilet: A dual-flush toilet has two options for flushing. There is a full flush option, which is designed for solid waste, and a low-output flush option, designed for liquid waste only. Dual flush toilets can be more expensive; however overall can cost a consumer less, as water usage is diminished.

Tile Rating Standards

As outlined in our previous post, there are two contradicting definitions of Porcelain and Ceramic, which can lead to confusion as you try to discern the overall quality of the tile you are looking to purchase and install. In this post, we here at Coordinated Kitchen & Bath in North Vancouver will outline the testing and rating process for tile, hopefully providing you with a clear understanding of how tile quality is rated.

The rating standards attempt to discern how a tile functions. These standards are all performance standards, thereby, the tile gets rated as to how if performs regardless of the material that it is made from. Tile is subject to numerous tests, these include slipperyness, resistance to cold/heat, breaking strength, stain resistance, chemical damage, wear resistance, and water absorption.

This allows the consumer to make numerous critical decisions regarding a tile’s use. A tile that absorbs a great deal of water should not be used outside where it is likely to freeze and crack. A tile that wears easily is not suitable to use on the floor, but could be a reasonable choice as a backsplash.

The two tests that are used to test resistance to surface wear and resistance to water penetration are the rating method’s developed by the “Porcelain Enamel Institute” (PEI Scale) and the “American National Standards Institute” (ANSI) respectfully. Each has their respective rating system to discern what tile is appropriate in what conditions. The categories for both the PEI and ANSI are listed below.

PEI: Resistance to Surface Wear

Group I: Soft tile, suitable for walls and backsplash
Group II: Soft tile, good for use in residential areas with very little foot traffic, would not be suitable for a kitchen.
Group III: Good for all residential settings, would work in low density commercial settings.
Group IV: Good for any interior setting, can work as a heavy commercial tile.
Group V: The sturdiest tile. Good for use in high density, high traffic, commercial settings.

ANSI Rating: Resistance to Water

Non-vitreous: Tile for areas that are not exposed to any moisture. Typically used for walls and fireplace surround’s.
Semi-vitreous: Tile that works for areas that may be exposed to moisture once in a while.
Vitreous: Suitable for any indoor application, this includes shower walls, floors, and outdoor areas that do not freeze.
Impervious: Can be used in any outdoor or indoor application.

Here at Coordinated Kitchen & Bath we hope that this assists you as you look to purchase and install tile in your kitchen and/or bathroom renovation.