Fall Kitchen Cleaning Checklist

It’s getting to be that time of year again…the air gets cooler, the leaves start to change, and pumpkins are out in full force!  It’s also a great time of year to do some major home cleaning.  Cleaning the kitchen can certainly be a project, and sometimes it’s difficult to know where to start.  Here are some steps for deep cleaning your kitchen for fall:

Remove all items from each cabinet and drawer (NOTE:  Be sure to go one cabinet/drawer at a time so you don’t feel completely overwhelmed!)

o   Dust or vacuum inside and wipe down with a mild cleanser*

o   Go through items and organize, toss, or donate.  Throw out chipped, cracked, old, broken and barely used items.  Store items that aren’t used daily to allow more cabinet space for items used more frequently.   Reorganize the most important items in the cabinets and drawers where they are easily accessible.

Clean the outside of cabinets and drawers with a mild cleanser*. 

o   Polish/clean cabinet hardware

Clean trash and recycling bin with hot soapy water (inside and out)

Clean the sink and drain thoroughly.  Your choice of cleaner may depend on the type of sink you have, but we love Bar Keepers Friend!

Clean refrigerator (inside and out!)

o   Remove any magnets and wipe down front/sides/back

o   Throw away anything that is old or expired inside the fridge

o   Wipe down / wash shelves and drawers

o   If possible, vacuum coils in back

o   Remove plastic grill in front and scrub with soapy water

Clean microwave (inside and out)

o   Try microwaving 1 cup water and ½ cup white vinegar for about 7-9 minutes to do a good steam cleaning.  Any tough stains should come off easily and the microwave will smell fresh and clean.

Clean Stove/Oven

o   If possible, pull out stove and wipe down the sides, back and underneath

o   Clean knobs

o   Self-clean if option is available and can be done safely

o   Clean interior racks

Clean small appliances such as toaster, blender, Keurig, etc.

o   Here’s a great tutorial on thoroughly cleaning your Keurig

Clean windows, sills, curtains and miniblinds

Dust / Clean countertops and backsplash. If you have granite countertops and backsplash, this would be a great time to put on a coat of sealer. We have a great variety of sealing products available at our showroom.

Dust baseboards and sweep and mop floor

*Remember that every surface in your home is unique.  Always be sure to test a small area first or refer back to cleaning instructions direct from the manufacturer so finishes aren’t ruined! 

Storage Ideas for Bathroom Vanities

Did you know that you can accessorize bath vanities the same way you can accessorize your kitchen? Internal organization is sometimes forgotten when it comes to planning a bathroom. Not at Details! Take a look at these examples from our custom cabinet line, Plain & Fancy. Can you imagine how wonderful these cabinets would be in your bathroom? All three of our cabinet lines offer similar lines of internal organization, which can be incorporated into your new bathroom!

We're on Houzz

Planning a home project or renovation and don't know where to begin? Start here! SO many times we have visitors in our showroom telling us about how they are starting to think about an upcoming project but feel lost. In our opinion, photos are the best way to figure out what you want, what you need, and what you don't want or need. This website is similar to Pinterest in the sense that you're "marking" photos and creating your own inspiration groupings. Houzz calls it an Ideabook. You can create your own to help turn your project into your dream project! A lot of designers, manufacturers and contractors post their own project photos that you can look through. We started a page, too! Check it out and get your project rolling!

Nantucket Inspired Kitchen | Custom Color Match

Here at Details, we want each one of our clients to have a kitchen that is unlike any other. We love that our custom cabinet line, Plain & Fancy, allows us to color match pretty much any piece of inspiration. We are now excited to announce that our semi-custom cabinet lines are following suit and processing custom colors as well!

In this specific kitchen, our client wanted to achieve the feel of a Nantucket cottage here in Mattapoisett. We selected soft, ocean like colors, and kept it fairly whimsical, to keep the formality out of the space. When our client was interviewed, she was so pleased that we were able to bring her dream kitchen to life. She also raved about the functionality of the kitchen. She loves how well the bar area in the adjoining room works for entertaining. It also keeps her guests out of the main cooking area. She also stated how much she enjoys the corner sink overlooking her back yard. Prior to the renovation, this space was the main doorway into the home. Everything was opened up and by doing so the house flows better and definitely seems more spacious. We are so happy to hear that we were able to create the kitchen of her dreams!

Amazing transformation by Tena Collyer and design team at Details

Materials Used in this kitchen...

Cabinetry: Plain & Fancy Custom Cabinetry

Appliances: SubZero & Wolf (42" SubZero Side by Side; SubZero Beverage Center; Wolf L Series Double Ovens; Wolf Electric Cooktop; Wolf Warming Drawer)

Custom Color Matching...

Do you have a paint color or piece of inspiration that you would like to see in your kitchen or bathroom cabinetry?

Here’s some information about the custom color process from Plain & Fancy:

 “Requests for custom color matches arrive at Plain & Fancy every day, often in the form of a paint or fabric swatch. Working with our encyclopedic color library, trained technicians with years of experience begin the matching process by selecting an existing base resin that’s closest to the desired shade. Using bench-top mixers, the base resin is blended with high-concentrate pigment tints, which are painstakingly measured out in 0.01 gram increments until the correct color is achieved. The resulting paint is then hand-applied to a pair of sample doors—one for the customer and one for our library—employing the same two-stage technique used on the production floor: first a catalyst is added to help cure the finish; then heat is applied to create an extremely hard and durable surface. Once the customer has approved the match, full-scale production can begin.

We’ve so perfected the Plain & Fancy custom color match system that we are able to recreate accurately almost any hue from any source a customer cares to send us, however bold or subtle, quirky or classic. Recent cases in point include a pair of well-worn (and much-loved) denim jeans; a sky-blue vintage 1950s coffee cup; a weathered gray painted roof shingle; and, most challengingly, the delicate shade found on the underside of a wild mushroom.”

Whimsical Decorative Hardware

We're having a lot of fun reminiscing and going back through eight years worth of ads, articles, photographs, etc.  We picked out two of our favorite hardware ads to showcase on our blog. So much fun! And… we still have these available for sale!