How Your Next Home Could be Powered by Batteries

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For Homeowners who feel incomplete when they leave their phones at home, or for the storm-haters who cannot stomach another blackout, battery-operated homes may be your solution. Solar panel energy has been brushed under the rug for a while, quietly being installed in American homes while it works toward improvement, as a company and for homeowners.

Beginning in a few U.S homes, and making its way in superstores such as Walmart (in Cali), Tesla’s home batteries may be the green and efficient revolutionary technology America wants (and needs!). If this ideological improvement in saving and storing energy is so efficient, how come it isn’t in every home and store across America? Why is the biggest machine on earth, America’s power grid, still making its energy-stripping use in nearly everyone’s home?

Maybe it’s the ambiguity or uncertainty of Tesla’s home batteries, charged by the sun. The biggest flaw may lies in that it needs sunlight to charge and usually goes off at night. But Tesla’s batteries can store extra, or more than necessary, energy to make it through night. But that’s not all, Tesla’s home batteries can last up to three hours during a black out- including enough energy to run on the treadmill, make lots of coffee, cook dinner, and take showers.

Another reason that people, even the Green-goers, haven’t switched to Tesla’s batteries: the cost. Everyone wants to know what they get out of this 5-figure investment. Well, in the beginning it is a huge investment. Tesla believes that a small downpayment of $1,500 could get you started, with only $15 a month to keep generating (a 20-year lease). One of many reasons to pay the $50,000 outright would be that when you’re home is fully charged, and not expecting bad weather, you can sell back the energy and make some money off of it!

In fact, though the initial cost is not desirable to many, in the end you’ll save a lot more than you do with traditional power grids. Traditional power grid companies, of course, will look to make a comeback. They are certainly reliable- the energy and power works so long as there are no black outs. Some fear power grid companies will charge extra because of the “net metering” and potential money-back system that Tesla’s batteries are promising.

Companies supporting solar-panel look at this as competition, and understand that people have different values on reliable energy and energy in its entirety. Some people find the worthy in the annoying (and frequent) black outs in their homes, like in Maryland or California. Others find it necessary to have for these blackouts, to ensure they have certain needs met for a longer time.

In fact, companies and people recognize that they may never make back the money spent in power grids, but the happiness truly lies in this small step toward going green. Consider remodeling your home or buying a new home with battery-operated energy installed. The investment not only helps the environment, but could potentially save you dollars (and even let you pocket money!). It’s a small but worthy deed, and this country certainly needs it!

For more information, or questions about remodeling your home, click here to visit Golden I Construction. We offer a wide range of construction services. Would you like to speak with someone or ask a question? Call 1.212.837.8117 now!

Kitchen Showrooms NYC

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Are you interested in having your kitchen renovated? Whether you are going for a modern or traditional look, there are many options for people with varying preferences. But sometimes it is not easy to start the process of looking for styles that fit your idea of the perfect kitchen. Therefore, we recommend going to see kitchen showrooms near me when researching.

If you happen to be in major cities like NYC, then you are in luck. Most of the high-end showrooms are located in such cities. Kitchen showrooms are a great place to find and actually feel what you might invest in. It is one thing to see the cabinets designs online versus going to a specialized showroom that features various designs for kitchens.

Kitchen design showrooms are designed with the customer in mind. It is important that you feel at home when looking for a kitchen design. NYC kitchen showrooms can range from apartment designs to home designs. If you are not satisfied with a color of a design, the company in charge of the showroom should be able to help with that. Colors and patterns may be subject to change in order to comply with a preference of a customer.

Golden I Construction currently has kitchen showrooms in NYC for different tastes and styles. We are currently located in 147 West 35th Street Suite 1204 New York, NY 10001. Come and check out our high-end showrooms for your next kitchen project! Call us at 212-837-8117 or email us at info@goldeniconstruction.com. To see more of our projects, go to our website at goldeniconstruction.com.

5 Pros and Cons on Open Floor Plans in Your NYC Apartment

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Here we will talk about the pros and cons of open floor plans. First of all, what is an open floor plan? An open floor plan is when you knock down walls, creating one “BIG” room instead of having 3 small rooms (kitchen, dinning room and living room). 

PROs:

Increase natural lights. Why do you want to pay more for electricity when you have natural sunlight?  Having large windows can maximizing this effect.

 Increase sociability among family members and guests. Think about the time when you are alone in the living room of a friend’s house while your friend is cooking. Aren’t you bored? Isn’t it awkward being alone? What if you want to catch up with your long time no see friend? Open kitchen allows people to converse more easily without having to shout through walls.

 

Increase visibility in the house.  

Keeping an eye on your children and pets. It is time to make lunch/ dinner but you can’t bring your kid to the kitchen. Wouldn’t you want to keep an eye on your kid? What if he/she is just learning how to talk, wouldn’t you want to here their first words? What if your toddler just learn to walk, would you want to respond to any falls. Well, you definitely will not hear them through walls.

Dinner is ready but your soup is not. You are so hungry but you need to keep an eye on the soup. Should I wait for the soup to be done or should I eat first? Why do you have to choose? Having an open kitchen allows you to see what goes on in other rooms

Flexibility in customizing your apartment. When the walls are down, there are more space to work with.

If you are a indecisive person, like me, you are going to have trouble styling each room. Why not have one design that represent you?

Creating an illusion. The populations in NYC exceeds 8 millions and there are limited space in housing. Having an open floor plan creates an illusion that a small apartment is looks bigger. 

 

CONs:

Keeping the pets away. When there is food, you pet is always going to want it. Having an open kitchen may be difficult to keep your pets away. In addition, it also makes it easier for your pet to get to the kitchen.

It can get noisy. What did you say? I cannot hear you! Without the walls to keep the noise out, you hear everything in that one big room. Your toddler is crying, your dog is howling and your spouse is watching television, can you concentrate on making make dinner?

Less Privacy. Because it is one big room, you see everything. 

Less Creativity  With the less walls you have, there can only be a limited pictures and artworks you can present.

Bad Reflection If your open room is messy, it makes the whole apartment looks messy. 

Small Kitchen Renovation Ideas

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For several families, the kitchen is the gathering place to eat, do homework, and spend time together so it’s important your kitchen is huge. When you have a little kitchen and wish to renovate it may be a nightmare because there are lots of thoughts, plan, and notions which you cannot do with a little kitchen that you can do for a sizable kitchen. On the bright side, a smaller kitchen renovation can have its own advantages and benefits, one of which is a lower price to renovate. When discussing renovation it could mean something as do little updates to a whole kitchen makeover.

The three most used items in the kitchen are your kitchen sink, fridge, and stove and are the three points of a triangle in a kitchen. When doing a kitchen renovation it is better if these three things are positioned in the three points of a triangle. By doing this it’ll give you plenty of room to move around in your kitchen. In a kitchen, it is strongly recommended to have three practical spaces for food storage, food preparation, and clean up.

Painting and flooring

The walls and floors occupy a significant part of a kitchen and since of their size, they are going to influence the look of your kitchen. This is exactly why you’ve got to give attention to the walls and floorings. The very best option is to replace the flooring but it really is expensive so decide to se laminate or vinyl flooring. They come in a variety of patterns, colors, and designs. When you’ve got a tiny kitchen, you need to paint the walls in light colours to give an illusion of space.

Appliances that are glossier

In case you only have two or three folks in your family you don’t need the larger capacity kitchen appliances as they take an excessive amount of area in your kitchen. If you are doing a total kitchen renovation, buy the smaller, more compact, and sleeker appliances. This can have a fridge that’s medium size, smaller dishwasher, and apartment size cooker.

Storage space

Lack of space is one criticism that many have when dealing with a small kitchen. This consists of cabinet and counter space. When doing a kitchen renovation look at your kitchen and see where you can add more space. Whether there are appliances such as a coffee maker, juicer, etc that you do not use on a regular fundamental store it in a bottom cabinet to free up counter space. When there’s room in addition to your fridge store containers for your sugar, flour, etc. Build more cabinet space to the top of your cabinets.

These are only some of the ways in which you can do a little kitchen renovation.

NYC kitchen renovation cost

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Are you really searching for some expert tips on remodeling your kitchen? If so, we recommend that you simply follow the suggestions given below. The suggestions can also assist you to prevent expensive mistakes while renovating your kitchen.

1. Don’t Overspend

While planning, you must consider the market in order to ascertain the kind of remodeling you would like for your kitchen. The price of a low end remodel can be as great as $2,000. On the other hand, for high-end upgrades, you need to be ready to spend up to $50,000. This includes expensive high-end appliances and countertops. You must look at your neighborhood before determining on your own budget. This will allow you to avoid spending too much.

2. The Identity Crisis

You can not remodel a 100-year-old kitchen into a modern kitchen. As a matter of fact, every home is constructed based on a particular style of architecture. Thus, you must follow this style. Don’t spend too much on an age old kitchen or it’ll look like something else.

3. Trends Matter

As far as kitchen remodeling goes, you can always find something new. If you keep on top of the technology trends, you’ll find low-cost variants of the things you want in your kitchen.

4. Do not Touch the Gasoline or Water lines

Gasoline and water lines can cost an excellent deal of money if you would like to move them to another location in your kitchen. So, we suggest that you just do not move the pipelines from their original place.

5. Do not Ignore The Floor Plan

For those who have establish a budget for the rearrangement of appliances, you should ensure that there’s a great floor plan set up. Each appliance should be in the correct area or you will get a lot of difficulties in the future.

6. Don’t Save Money on New Hardware

In the home innovation stores, you’ll locate a great group of quality door hardware. Predicated on your own architectural preference, you might want to really go for the right knobs and pulls. You must not save cash on the door hardware. Besides that, you need to remove and replace old hinges with modern hinges. Though it can take plenty of time, it will not cost a lot. But it’s going to make a great difference.

7. Don’t Ignore the Free Guidance

You also ought to have a look at some home invention centers offering free guidance. It’s possible for you to reap the benefits of computer-created designs to lay out your kitchen. The home invention specialists can allow you to design state of the art designs for your kitchen remodeling. They are able to give you ideas about project management and installation services also.

The takeaway

Thus, if you have been looking for free guidance in order renovate your kitchen, we recommend that you just follow the suggestions given in this article. Aside from that, you may also touch base with a good home remodeling specialist. They could supply their services for a modest charge. Or you can even follow DIY strategies in order to renovate your kitchen yourself.

Kitchen Remodeling in NYC

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Ever possessed a NYC home or apartment? What was one room that you just want you may have remodeled? Well for lots of us the room we spend lots of time in is the kitchen, and in New York City Apartments, kitchen sizes are on the smallish side!

A few years back I renovated a miniature kitchen, it was literally 5 x 5 square meters, and through the job I was totally convinced the finished product would come in well under budget – it did not. When you take in to consideration cupboard building, fitting, shelving, plumbing, tiling, painting and accessories – even if it’s a DIY job, the dollars keep growing (as did my blood pressure in the time).

In New York City we’re fortunate to be surrounded through a huge number of well-designed, practical and comparatively cheap home furnishing and design products. The sole serious issue to be figured out is what design will fit your financial plan and where to start!

So let us start in the kitchen! Making the most effective use of a little space is rough, but definitely achievable and well worth the first preparation you put into it. Smaller spaces only mean that you might want to think a bit more creatively. Likely one of the primary goals behind redesigning a little space would be to mystify the visitor with how large it seems post renovation, while of course enhancing the functionality of it.

Among the greatest designer strategies for making a kitchen appear bigger is to think about selection of colour. Keeping walls and ceilings light and bright is consistently a top point, particularly when you’ve got no windows. To improve the feeling of floor space, occasionally it is best to replace those amazing coloured floor tiles with something simple and long-lasting. You may get some fairly hard vinyl products these days in the event you are on a strict budget and do not believe you need to always pick white all the time, attempt other somewhat neutral colours like wheat or cream. Sticking to the principles, selecting light cabinetry and selecting for a darker seat top will develop a flow between the walls, flooring and seat space and make an illusion of space. Of course there are always exceptions to the rules and in a few cases if there’s enough light created by means of your flooring, cabinetry and great lighting subsequently a darker backdrop on the walls can also appear warm and grand without feeling cluttered.

A nicely working modest sized kitchen shouldn’t just make you happier, but a lot more efficient when preparing those special dinners. The essentials to a kitchen are occasionally minimal but without things like sufficient bench space and also the right positioning of appliances you’ll be able to become reasonably dissatisfied rather fast. A general rule in almost any little kitchen will be to maintain matters straightforward and practical. Think about purchasing kitchen appliances, including the refrigerator or dishwasher, that are streamlined and certainly will fit nicely in to small designated areas, select open shelving rather than shut cabinetry and in the event you opt to put in cabinetry, ensure it’s multi leveled abilities.

Living in a little space additionally needs you to become a little neat freak. Keep your seat tops free of papers and other items which take up space, keep in mind which you’re striving to make a space for cooking not writing a term paper!

Remodeling little kitchens might be extremely interesting. When you decided on your own financial plan, commit to it and design a space which will satisfy all your requirements.

NYC Galley Kitchen Ideas

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When you have a galley kitchen in your NYC home, you have to be able to decorate it so that you can use all the available space in addition to have some fashion in the small area.

There are decorating techniques that can make a galley kitchen appear larger as well as help to make it even more functional for you. Below are some excellent tips for decorating a kitchen to make it work best for you.

Maximize Vertical Space in a Galley Kitchen NYC

Among the top ways to decorate a galley kitchen and have it be functional would be to utilize all the available space and this means any vertical space that you might have. Should you not have kitchen cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling, then you may be wasting lots of space in the kitchen.

You can still utilize all the space in case you don’t have cupboards up to the ceiling by using the cupboards as a shelf and placing items on top of them. Place baskets or bins on the top to keep kitchen items you may well not use very often. Should you not want all the space on top of the cupboards, add a plant or display some exquisite dishes to add some style to the room.

Add Lots of Light to a Galley Kitchen

Most galley kitchens are usually dark simply because they are a dead end into a wall. This may make the room appear darker which is the reason why it’s important that you’ve tons of light in the kitchen.

If you have a window, make certain that the window treatments allow light to filter into the room. Overhead light is a great thought for youe kitchen. You can even try track lighting, in order you could train the light were you need it in the kitchen.

Make Kitchen Equipment Function Double Responsibility

Instead of bringing in décor items to hang on the wall use your kitchen supplies instead. This will save you space since you previously need the kitchen supplies why not put them on display?

In case you have fine dishes you’ll be able to place them on a ledge to exhibit in the kitchen. Decorative or monogrammed kitchen towels can be hung on the stove or even a peg on the wall to act a towel along with a décor item. Get creative in how you’ll display the kitchen equipment. This’ll save you space and cash.

Pick Lighter Shades for the Kitchen’s Décor

Most galley kitchens are on the small side, which means you have to avoid dark colors when painting the walls and picking the primary color scheme. Dark colors painted on the walls make a room look considerably smaller while lighter shades can make a room appear larger.

Choose a neutral color like cream or white for the walls of your kitchen. Also stay away from dark cabinets and countertops. If you have a galley kitchen, a black granite countertop might not look the very best. You may also want to avoid black appliances and instead go with white or even stainless steel.

For those who are in possession of a little galley kitchen it can present a challenge when trying to decorate it, but keep these hints in thoughts in addition to your own personal style as well as your kitchen can appear a good deal finer and be much more practical too.

Top 5 Kitchen Renovation Trends

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Kitchen renovations are the hottest thing these days when it comes to general home remodels and construction. The kitchen is the most important room in the home to renovate, since it says a lot about the home owner. As one of the most customizable rooms in anyone’s personal abode, you’re given much more creative freedom that you would be with others.

  1. Change the color palette

Paying attention to the color decisions you make can really make your kitchen pop without having to spend tons of money on other things such as appliances. For example, using gray instead of white would help because gray is much more pleasing to the eye. Gray also tends not to show dirt and grime as much (although it’s still highly that you clean your kitchen regularly). Consider mixing different colors to complement each other, such as black and white or gray and brown. Sometimes even classic palettes like black and white can make your kitchen look great.

 

 

2. Make your kitchen sink stand out

As weird as this may sound, changing the color of your sink can have great benefits if you do it right. Still going off of color, choosing to go against the traditional white or stainless steel look of your sink is becoming a fairly new trend. It also helps make your kitchen look brighter and more lively overall.

 

3. Mix materials

Sometimes a clash is a good thing when you’re considering what materials you want your kitchen to be made of. When picking what kinds of materials you want, it’s also important to consider the color these materials generally come in. Take wood. If you have a wooden countertop, you’d perhaps consider using a gray color for cabinets, as those colors work very well together. Now when you consider two different materials, there are a few really god options to consider. Nowadays wood is becoming a very nice look for a countertop. Marble is a good compliment for a wood countertop, for example. Considering a mix of materials to give your kitchen that flair can be a great addition.

4. Maximizing storage space

Storage space is an important aspect of one’s kitchen, and being able to control the amount you have through smart construction and innovation is important. You can have cabinets and drawers customized for this, or you can find your own ways to save on space. Take Tupperware products, for example, which are a very popular option for storage.

5. Imitation

Imitating a certain look or material can save you a lot of money on a kitchen renovation. Say you wanted a new countertop and like the look of granite, but you’re working with a smaller budget. There are look-alike options such as laminate which create the look of a granite countertop without the overall expensive price. No one has to know but you, and your kitchen will still look amazing!

These are only a few of the trends out there today. There are so many more options you’ll want to consider when making a fashionable decision for your kitchen renovation, but we hope we were able to give you some insight as to where the general attention is on today’s remodels.

Planning a Kitchen Renovation in NYC: What it Takes to Redefine Your Space

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A kitchen can say a lot about a person. Your lifestyle, your likes, hobbies, and much more. For this reason alone, many people are considering a kitchen renovation for their homes. There’s a lot of things that go into this, however, and planning it is no easy task. Read on to find out what it takes to properly plan out a kitchen renovation in NYC for yourself.

First off, you’ll want to really double down on function and efficiency for your kitchen rather than only focusing on cosmetic changes. We’ll go into more detail about this later, but it’s also important to note that this is a good way to tell if your kitchen even needs a remodel. For example, if you mostly bake, but you don’t have the most optimal oven or storage space for your pans and other supplies, then you might want to consider a remodel. Going back to function rather than looks, it’s all about doubling down on what you need. Overall, if it doesn’t look like it will last more than two decades, it needs a remodel.

Set your budget according to what you know you can afford versus what you want, and always have a plan B for backup options. Convenience is much more important rather than your kitchen just looking pretty. The overall goal here is to make cooking much easier and efficient for both you and your family, to create a much healthier, cleaner environment.

Learn how to shop for materials effectively based on cost and durability. For example, consider marble versus wood, or stainless steel versus porcelain.  Nearly everything I mention will, again and again, go back to that functionality that’s the main necessity of someone who will be constantly using their kitchen’s facilities. This part is, of course, entirely subjective to you. Recommended areas where you should spend a lot are storage (cabinetry) and appliances. As these are the things you’ll be using the most, you should spend the most money on them. However, you still need to have a balance between these and the rest of your kitchen remodeling plan. You can’t have one without the other, as you could end up with nice floors but shabby-looking countertops.

If you’re looking for good options when it comes to appliances, you should consider energy-saving options such as more efficient dishwashers or fridges. For cabinets, your price range should focus on function, such as a waste-recycling center or larger storage space for any of your kitchen materials. If you end up spending more on cabinets, then the utility rather than the beauty should be upgraded in much more effect. The much less important part of your kitchen would be the floor. You can save money on this by perhaps going with a more cost-efficient option such as tile, for example, since it lasts a fairly long time and is much more resistant to wear and tear damage. As opposed to something look wood, which can lose its finish and shine fairly quickly (depending on how much you use or clean your kitchen), tile is the best option if you’re looking to cut costs down. Countertops, while they do make up a large portion of the overall look of your kitchen when it comes to things like the color scheme and layout, can be budgeted as well. There are cheaper options such as lamination that would make a countertop look like stone rather than it actually being made of stone. This way you can still achieve a luxurious look while keeping costs down and focusing on purely function as well.

Don’t forget to stay trendy, especially living in the NYC area. No one ever appreciates old or tacky décor when you do a kitchen renovation. I realize that this will sound a little hypocritical of me to say, as I’ve been pounding into your head that you need to focus on what you need, but that doesn’t mean your kitchen still can’t look nice. An upgrade in both visuals AND performance is always good. You should definitely base your layout on your lifestyle, since your kitchen is always one of the most verbal rooms when it comes to saying something about your personality. For example, you can go for gourmet, family-friendly, or a guest-based kitchen for entertaining purposes. The possibilities really are as endless as your needs and imagination.

Make sure you’re able to maximize both space and overall storage to its fullest, and work your remodels around these as well. For example, new cabinets or an expanded pantry that allow for more plates, china, spices, and the like or china are very useful upgrades to make for your kitchen. A spacious kitchen is also more pleasing to the eye, as this goes with anything. The appearance of much less clutter is a very good thing to look for.

When considering who to hire for the job of carrying out your remodel, there are a few important things to also consider.

Base your choice off of past reviews of other homeowners who were clients of this contractor. Look at their past work and portfolio to see if that’s what you’re looking for. Homeowner references are especially the best to have because they provide genuine, honest opinions about the contractor you’re looking to hire, so you’ll have a much higher chance of getting a good bang for your buck. You’ll also want to look at a company’s history in terms of not only what they’ve worked on, but how long they’ve been a company for. That is very important, because a lower price isn’t always automatically favorable. For example, starter companies are almost always lower, but if the company was just formed, let’s say, half a year ago, do you really want them to work on your kitchen? This can be a dangerous situation, because you can jeopardize he quality of your kitchen renovation even though it’s a lower price. Steer clear of these, and always look for someone with much more experience.

Hopefully this comprehensive list of things to go for when considering to plan out your kitchen remodel in NYC was helpful for you and you have a better idea of how the process works. Although it can be a troubling area to delve into at first, with a little focus, it becomes a much simpler ordeal. Happy remodeling!