15 Ways To Update Your Kitchen Cheaply And Easily
January 27, 2012 | 
Author Everyone knows that the kitchen is the heart of a home. As such, making your kitchen beautiful needs to be a top priority. Believe it or not, this does not need to be an expensive or difficult proposition. Take a look at the following tips that can change your kitchen from dreary to dreamy!
1. Be bold and use more than one stain on kitchen cabinets. When you look at designer kitchens in magazines, you will often see a lighter stain on top cabinets and a much darker stain on the lower ones. You can also add a third stain between the two for drawers.
2. Completely change the cabinet doors. Most people consider paint or stain, but what about fabric or tin? Cut out the center of some of your cabinet doors, leaving a frame. Inside the frame you can staple any fabric to add pizzazz to your kitchen. If you want an old timey country look, you can replace the fabric with tin. To really jazz up this look, punch holes in the tin in a simple Pennsylvania Dutch pattern. The best thing about this update is that you can change the centers easily. In fact, some people have different inserts for the seasons and holidays!
3. Another way to change the cabinet door is incorporate glass etchings as the center panel. Although a bit more expensive than fabric, this simple change can lighten up a kitchen and give it a whole new look.
4. Eliminate the doors altogether. A great way to create some storage space in your kitchen is to take off the cabinet doors and put in glass shelving. This now becomes the spot to display your china, glassware, or other items.
5. Change the hardware. Creating a whole new look can be as easy as changing the knobs and pulls on your cabinets. Nowadays, knobs and handles come in every size, shape, and color imaginable.
6. Paint the room, but not with a paint roller! Try one of the newer techniques like sponging or stenciling to give your room an added flair.
7. Add a border, but don’t be conservative about it. Instead of adding a border at the ceiling, try adding a border at your waist level, at chair level, or even at eye level!
8. If the walls need a change, consider adding wallpaper instead of paint. Lively wallpaper can make a bold statement in a kitchen.
9. Update the backsplash. This can be done with a bit of tile, a new coat of paint, wallpaper, or even beadboard.
10. Don’t forget the windows! Something as simple as changing the window treatments can make your kitchen look completely different. Be sure to create window treatments that go with your style. For instance, ruffles and pull back ties look great with a country kitchen, while a sleek valiance will look better with a modern one.
11. Add a pot rack over an island. This is a great way to save space in a small kitchen while adding an interesting focal point.
12. Add a few new accessories. Try a new breadbox or towel rack. Consider adding a collection of something like jars, plates, plants, or even books. All of these add color and spice to your kitchen. You might even consider buying unfinished pieces and painting them yourself to add just the right color or theme.
13. Update your appliances without buying new ones. You can do this by updating the panels to your dishwasher, stove, or refrigerator to match your new color scheme or even your cabinet door color.
14. Change the countertop! Laminate countertops are the cheapest way to make a change. And with laminate tops, you can find every color under the sun. If you have a bit more to spend, you might want to consider solid surface tops, quartz, or granite. Although more expensive, they do last longer and are less likely to be damaged during regular use.
15. Another inexpensive way to make a countertop change is with tile. Tile is especially useful on secondary surfaces and can be used to add spots of color.
Redecorating your kitchen does not have to be difficult, nor does it have to be expensive. Consider any of these ideas or use them as a jumpstart to one of your own. Why accept dreary when you can have dreamy?
Living Room Divider Cabinet Designs
In the times when space is an expensive commodity, having a big living room is sheer luxury. But decorating huge living room is also as painstaking. They are difficult to maintain in the long run. Converting it into two different rooms seems a good idea. Room divider cabinet comes in very handy for splitting a big room into two parts. Keeping both these room equal in size or different depends upon the planned usage of the rooms.
Living Room Divider Cabinet
Room divider cabinet is a regular cabinet, often bigger in size than the regular ones. The bigger size of the divider cabinet is planned feature that is added to make it more useful like a wall. Living room divider cabinet is a decorative cabinet designed beautifully to be a decorative accessory along with providing storage solution. Most of the cabinet designs are the ones that allow view from one part of the room to the another. Wood along with glass is the most common material used to manufacture them. White finishes are quite popular and the designs can vary as per the requirement of the room and designer.
Decorative Aspect
Living room divider cabinet asks for a nice decor that keeps them fit well in the room. It should not look an out of place accessory.
Therefore choose decor accessories like decorative picture frames, pottery products, paintings etc to display. The room other than the living room can be used for a variety of purposes. Use the backside of the cabinet as a wall and decorate accordingly. Books, however, are a good thing to arrange in a divider cabinet. Using it as a book rack also helps to partially block the view to the other part of the room. Or the same decor can also be used for the other room, if the cabinet is without a completely blocked back. Smaller sizes also look good when the cabinet is kept adjoining a staircase of a slanting wall.
3 Essential Steps to Organizing a Small Closet
Is your closet in shambles? Are your clothes taking over your closet? Are you at a loss about what to do to tidy things up and get things back on track? If so, then I’ve got some tips that I think will solve the problem. So sit back, relax and go through these steps with me to find the solution to your small closet trials and tribulations…
Step 1: Clean up and Clear out
If your closet is in shambles, the first thing you need to do is a major clean-up. Closets don’t clean themselves, they need to be cleaned every once and awhile. So, a good place to start is to simply take everything out of the closet.
Once you’ve done that, sort through your items items and get rid of things that you may no longer need and donate them to charity. Once you’ve initially cleaned up and cleared everything out, to keep things under control it is recommended that you do an inventory check and occasional clean-up every 3 to 6 months.
Or if that doesn’t work for you, consider using the “Replacement Strategy” instead.
It’s a simple method of keeping your closet up to par every time you go shopping. This will help you keep a steady flow going rather than having to wonder if you’re once again cramming too much in your small space as time progresses.
This is also very helpful if you shop a lot. It will keep quantity-in and quantity-out consistent. To make this strategy work, let’s use an example of how it’s done…
Let’s say one day you’re ready to go shopping. Before you go shopping, it’s vital to go through your closet and find a certain number of clothing that you’re no longer happy with. Once you’ve gone through your closet, let’s say found 2 pair of pants and 3 shirts that you’re ready to get rid of. The next step is to then go shopping for the equal amount of clothing that you plan to toss out or donate. In this case, it’s 2 pair of pants and 3 shirts.
During your time out shopping, your job is simple. All you have to do is find 2 new pair of pants and 3 shirts that you’d like to REPLACE your old clothing with. And that’s it. Simple, huh? But let’s not forget. You have one last thing to do once you’re done shopping…
And that’s to simply drop off the old clothing at the thrift store and then you’re finished for the day.
So if it’s not clear by now, you’re basically replacing the old with the new. This is a simple method that will help you keep things tidy as well as help you maintain a certain shopping budget whenever you’re ready to add something new to your wardrobe.
Step 2: Create Your Own Closet System
If you have a small closet that is just overflowing with clothes, even after you’ve done a major clean-up, you might want to consider several options on doubling your space. You can get a complete closet system, but often this requires that you remove your current closet system and put a new one in. And if you’re renting a place, you know this is definitely off-limits.
So what do you do when you need a closet system but can’t put one in?
Well, you turn to closet organizers to get the job done.
They can be just as effective as a complete closet system and all you have to do is hang them up on the closet rod that’s already in your closet. All it takes is a few moments and voila… you have your own makeshift closet system.
To do this, you will simply need…
Closet doublers
Hanging shelves and drawers
Hanging shoe organizers
StacksandStacks.com is a great place to find the organizers that you’ll need to achieve this look.
The great thing about closet doublers is that they do exactly what they say. They double your space by utilizing the unused space blow your clothes, so you essentially have two hanging spots instead of one.
Hanging shelves and drawers offer you a big advantage because they allow you to eliminate your need for a dresser or chest of drawers. And this can be extremely helpful if you have a small bedroom but can’t afford the room for a dresser.
With the hanging shelves and drawers, you can store all of your undergarments in them, such as socks, underwear, bras and so forth. And if they’re big enough, you can even store your purses in them too. If not, they make organizers that you can hang up for those as well.
Hanging shoe organizers are also self-explanatory. If you don’t want your shoes lying around all over the place, get a hanging shoe organizer that will get the job done.
Once you have all of these organizers, consider placing the hanging shelf and shoe organizer in the center of your closet and a closet doubler on each end. However, before you jump the gun, be certain your closet can accommodate a hanging shelf, shoe organizer and 2 doublers. If not, you might need to eliminate one of the doublers or organizers.
Step 3: Don’t Just Guess… Label It!
Once you’ve gotten rid of everything you don’t want in your closet and you’ve gotten your organizers in place, you might want to consider one last (optional) step to take care of business…
And that’s closet dividers.
TheContainerStore.com has great blank closet dividers that you can use to achieve this great look and feel.
You can use them to label your clothes…
By season
By type
Or simply by style
…and they’ll help you know exactly where each section begins and ends.
For instance, if you organize all of your long-sleeve shirts together, you could put a label up that says “Long-sleeve Shirts.” Or if you prefer, you could place all of your formal clothing together and create a label that says “Formal Clothing.”
But what if you enjoy organizing your clothing by season? Well, obviously you could do that too. Simply create four labels in accordance with the four seasons of the year: spring, summer, winter and fall.
This will eliminate guesswork and each day you’ll be able to quickly go to what you need section by section.
Once you’ve done all 3 of those steps, you’ll have a small organized closet you can take pride in. And from then on out keeping it tidy will be a breeze. Simply tidy up every 3 to 6 months or use the “Replacement Strategy” to keep quantity-in and quantity-out flow on par.
Who knew it could be so simple, right?
Cabinet Face Frame Construction – Choosing the Best Method
There are two basic types of cabinet: “frameless” cabinets, which are essentially just a box made of plywood or particleboard, and “face frame” cabinets, which have an added wood frame on their front edge. When building face frame cabinets, joining the parts of the face frame together is arguably the most challenging task in the entire process. So, what is the best joinery method for cabinet face frames? There’s no shortage of options: pocket screws, mortise and tenon joinery, dowels and biscuits all have their champions. In the end, the choice really depends on your situation and objectives.
For most professional cabinetmakers, the decision to adopt one method or another has to square with a pressing interest in getting cabinets out the door as quickly and efficiently as possible. For the hobbyist, who has much more freedom to experiment, it’s a slightly different story. If your livelihood doesn’t depend on shaving a few seconds off of this process or that, then the choice really depends on the conditions the cabinets will have to face, your skill level, the equipment you have available, the amount of time you want to give your cabinetry projects, and what you think it takes to join a face frame “right”.
Mortise and Tenon Joints
Some cabinetmakers just seem to prefer time-tested joinery methods, and may go to the length of cutting a bona fide mortise and tenon for every face frame joint. There’s little doubt that this method is the slowest, but there’s also no question that it produces the strongest joint. Many would argue that structurally, a mortise and tenon joint surpasses overkill in this application. But if you’re dedicated to making cabinets in the highest possible craft, then the knowledge that you’ve used the most resilient joint possible may be worth the extra effort.
Of course there are many ways to make a mortise and tenon joint, some being much faster than others. If you’re committed to idea of building cabinets suitable for centuries and centuries of use, but prefer to move along as quickly as possible, here are a couple of options to consider.
Quicker, Easier “Loose” Tenon Joints
Arguably every bit as strong as a traditional mortise and tenon joint, a “loose tenon” joint is typically much easier to make. The “loose” in loose tenon joinery simply means that instead of cutting the end of one joint member into the shape of a tenon, a mortise is cut into both parts and then the two are joined by a separate piece of stock. The process is easier because the primary task is simply making two identical mortises, rather than the exacting procedure of cutting a precisely matched mortise and tenon in two separate – often set up-intensive – steps. The loose tenon stock itself can either be purchased ready-made as part of a joinery system, or can be easily made with common woodworking tools.
The affordable BeadLOCK Joinery System is a longtime favorite among weekend woodworkers and produces loose tenon joints easily and fairly quickly. The BeadLOCK system employs a uniquely shaped mortise made up of overlapping drill holes and a matching “ribbed” tenon stock, which is available ready-to-use, or can be made using tenon stock router bits and a router table. The BeadLOCK Jig consists of a multi-holed drill guide and a mechanism for positioning it on the stock so that the BeadLOCK mortise can be reliably and repeatably executed using an ordinary hand drill. Recently redesigned, the BeadLOCK Jig now comes in a Basic and Pro version, both of which can be upgraded with accessory kits that allow greater versatility in mortise/tenon size. A BeadLOCK joint can be made in a fraction of the time that it takes to cut a traditional joint, and many devotees argue that the unique, interlocking shape of the parts actually produces a stronger bond.
The Festool Domino Joinery System also produces a loose tenon joint, and makes the process as slick as it’s ever likely to get. The Domino looks similar to a biscuit joiner, and produces joints about as fast, but the similarity between the two tools ends there. Instead of cutting a thin slit into the stock, the Domino uses an oscillating carbide cutter to make a mortise wide enough to house one of the system’s specially designed “domino” shaped hardwood tenons. The result is a rock solid joint in record time. Of course all of that speed, strength and precision doesn’t come free; the Domino’s price tag isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. But if you plan on being in the cabinetmaking game for a while, like to speed along as quickly as possible, and prefer a joinery method that will leave no questions about the integrity of your face frame joints, the system is impossible to beat.
While the Domino is definitely not to be confused with a biscuit joiner, that doesn’t mean that a biscuit joiner can’t be used to join face frames. In fact, the Porter Cable Deluxe Biscuit Joiner comes standard with a second, smaller cutter designed specifically for the task of cutting biscuit slots in 1-1/2″ face frame stock. In terms of strength, a biscuit joint is no match for any type of mortise and tenon joint – loose or otherwise. But many cabinetmakers find that fact to be simply beside the point. When you get right down to it, a face frame joint really doesn’t have to stand up to a whole lot of stress. Once it’s attached to the cabinet box, it simply has to remain stuck together. And we’d guess the majority of cabinetmakers would deem a biscuit joint more than equal to the task.
Faster Still – Pocket Screw Joints
Still more cabinetmakers swear by pocket hole joinery for joining face frames. Pocket hole joinery is used widely in the cabinetmaking industry, and by all accounts is the clear winner when it comes to getting through the face frame assembly process fast. A pocket hole joint doesn’t require clamping, but instead comes complete with its very own permanently installed clamp – i.e., the screw. That means that once its assembled, a face frame joined with pocket screws is ready for the next stage in the process, and can be joined to the cabinet box without further ado. Fast, strong and self-contained, pocket hole joinery appears almost tailor-made for face frame joinery, where joint stress is low, and a visible fastener on one side of the finished product is not a problem.
For the hobbyist, the name Kreg has become synonymous with affordable, easy to master pocket hole joinery systems. Over the years, Kreg has continued to improve its groundbreaking jig, and now offers a number of kits. Starting at under $15 and ranging up to around $140 for the K3 Master System, Kreg jigs are available for virtually every woodworking budget. And later, when you turn pro, the semi-automatic Kreg Foreman will bring you up to industry production speed.
More Options…
Still other cabinetmakers prefer to dowel their face frame joints. Nothing wrong with that: Dowel joints have been around for hundreds of years, are more than strong enough for a face frame and – provided you already own a hand drill – require only a modest investment in a doweling jig and few dowels.
A Side Benefit – Learning New Skills
None of the joinery methods mentioned here are limited to face frame assembly, of course. All can be used in a wide variety of woodworking situations. In other words, buying the equipment necessary to try one or more on a specific project involves very little risk – if it turns not to be the preferred method in one situation, you will, without a doubt, find a use for your newly acquired joinery technique somewhere else.
How to Get Rid of Sour House Smell
You should start with the basics first; chances are, if you’ve reached the point of looking for help in terms of getting rid of sour house smells on the Internet, then you need to do some serious cleaning. Set aside a day, or a weekend, specifically for cleaning.
If you don’t want to or you can’t do it alone, enlist the help of those you live with. Perhaps you can also ask for your friends’ help. Bribe them with pizza and beer or brochettes and wine if you have to. Afterwards, use the following suggestions to get rid of your house smell, and maintain a fresh, aromatic or at least breathable living space.
Sour House Smell Removal
* Dry out the living quarters first, and then clean out your basement so it is empty of anything that can hold moisture and run it down there as well. Remove cardboard boxes.
* If you have a forced air heating and cooling system with ducts on your home, get the ducts checked. Decades-old houses can have mold, lots of built-up of dirt and other nasty stuff that can cause a foul odor. Your ducts can also be rusting now, so you may need to have them changed.
The newer ducts available on the market today are much more energy efficient. You’ll save air conditioning costs this summer by getting new ducts. You can also hire a company that cleans ducts to inspect the ducts you have right now. Some have a camera that can show you what is in your ducts. Be careful who you get! Use a reputable company and check with the Better Business Bureau. Ask them for references. Some only clean a short way and spray a deodorizer. The estimate to get your ducts cleaned can be hundreds of dollars less than getting new ones.
* Check your carpets. Sometimes carpets are steam cleaned unprofessionally and a lot of water remains. This causes mildewing and a related musty odor.
Remove your carpets and put in hardwood or similar type flooring, with area rugs that can be cleaned outside of the home and dried before returning to the area. If your carpets are ten years old, it doesn’t hurt to remove them.
* You may have a mold of some sort growing in your carpet or behind your wallpaper. Create a bleach solution (1:10 to start, then up to 1:4 if it does not work) and gently wash down all of your walls and mop boards. Rent a hot water carpet cleaner and put a bleach solution into the reservoir rather than the soap they try to sell you. Add a drop or two of dish soap, but add no more. It is the water that cleans, not the soap. Adding too much soap will actually make your carpet dirty because it does not rinse out of the carpet and soap bonds with dirt.
* Though chlorinated bleach is very notorious in discoloring a lot of things, you may risk using that for really heavy-smelling jobs, even on dark carpets. If you’re still wary, there’s always oxygen bleach. It kills “everything” that may be causing an odor and the hot water cleaning really helps allergies as well.
Keep babies off the rugs as breathing chemicals of any sort is especially bad for them. If the smell comes back more quickly than you think it should, get a dehumidifier.
* Never run a dehumidifier where you have an open window or you will dry out the immediate atmosphere of your home. An air conditioner actually works even better because of the filtering system in it, but if it is too cold where you live to still be using one, then stick with the dehumidifier.
* To rid your linoleum or hardwood floors of that not-so-fresh-smell, simply mix a 3:1 solution of warm water and white vinegar in your mop bucket and get to work. Remember to crack a window or two. Vinegar has a good clean smell, but it’s a strong one.
Sour House Smell Removing Products
* Buy a large pump of Febreze since it works on everything. Smelly hampers, sticky cars, sleeping bags that reek of camp fire… you name the smell, Febreze can quell. You can get it at most supermarkets.
Another idea is to use a citrus odor neutralizing spray; it’s so effective that beauticians actually use this at salons to get rid of perm smell.
* An Ozone Generator or Air-born Hydrogen Peroxide Device can also work, but they tend to be expensive and may not get to the root of the problem. Covering or filtering odors is always more costly than eliminating their source.
* If you want something a little cheaper, you can try Ozium Air Freshener-it’s the best way to keep the air in your home or work space clean and smelling fresh. Ozium does not cover up the odors associated with sour smelling houses – it eliminates them!
Ozium, the original air purifier, is a chemical agent that actually eliminates unpleasant odors and reduces airborne bacteria. Ozium actually cleanses the air through glycolized action. The Ozium glycolized formula acts directly on odor causing particles in the air.
* Electrostatic Air Filters are good for getting rid of dust buildup, but can be bad if they don’t operate properly. Electrostatic air filters work by ionizing the air that passes through the filter, collecting dust from the air by creating an electrostatic field, like a comb collects particles after being run through dry hair quickly enough.
Why are electrostatic dust collectors be bad for you? If they don’t operate properly, they can produce ozone, which is a respiratory irritant. So make sure you do your research before investing in one of these air filters.
* Try Renuzit, in any scent. If you can, try to find the Super Odor Killer scent. The fragrance in SOK (introduced in 1972) is not readily identifiable, because SOK uses a blend of perfumes left over when fragrance manufacturers produced a little too much for another company’s orders.
This blend is not only good at masking a variety of odors, it can slightly be used at higher fragrance levels without overwhelming the user. The popular and more readily available Country Kitchen scent will also suffice.
* Fresh Wave has an array of all natural, non-toxic and earth friendly products for laundry, upholstery, floors and ventilation that are designed to attract, capture and neutralize sour house odors.
Sour House Smell Prevention
* The best way to stop sour house smell from building up is to clean as you go. Put things away as soon as you’re done using them. Throw things away as soon you know you won’t use them. Everyday maintenance is the key to a breathable, livable home.
Have a presence of mind when it comes to cleanliness. Create a small space for things to be donated and recycled and clear it out as soon as it gets full. Limit your storage space and “junk” drawers so you don’t have the opportunity to just toss clutter in a closet and forget about it.
* People will tell you that the best way to get rid of mold – one of the main contributors of bad house odor – is to use an ionizing air purifier to help pull the pollutants and mold spores out of the air. Well, they’re half right.
An air purifier isn’t a bad idea for preventing mold growth, but those ionized air filters can cause health problems if they’re not constructed properly. Sometimes if an ionizing air filter isn’t built right, it will spit out ozone which, as scientists will tell you, is good for the atmosphere and bad for your lungs.
Serious complications can arise if you’re using the wrong air purifier. Choose wisely and make sure you buy from a reputable company.
How to Design and Layout a Coffee Shop Or Espresso Bar
If you are planning to open an espresso bar/coffee shop, then developing an efficient store design and layout will be one of the most important factors in positioning your business for success.
Speed of service is critical to the profitability of a coffee business. An efficient ergonomic store design will allow you to maximize your sales by serving as many customers as possible during peak business periods. Even though your business may be open 12 to 16 hours a day, in reality, 80% of your sales will probably occur during 20% of those hours. Coffee is primarily a morning beverage, so your busy times of day (those times when you are most likely to have a line of waiting customers), may be from 6:30AM to 8:30AM, and then again around lunchtime. If you have a poor store layout, that does not provide a logical and efficient flow for customers and employees, then the speed of customer service and product preparation will be impaired.
Think of it like this; if someone pulls open the front door of your store, and they see 5 people are waiting in line to order, there’s a good chance they’ll come in, wait in line, and make a purchase. But, if they see that 20 people are waiting in line, there is a high probability that they may determine that the wait will be too long, and they will simply get coffee somewhere else. This is money that just escaped your cash register! And, if they come to your store multiple times, and frequently find a long line of waiting customers, they may decide you are not a viable option for coffee, and will probably never return. Poor design slows down the entire service process, resulting in a longer line of waiting customers, and lost sales. So in reality, your daily business income will be dependent upon how many customers you can serve during peak business periods, and good store design will be essential to achieving that objective!
The financial impact of a poor store design can be significant. For the sake of this example, let’s say the average customer transaction for your coffee business will be $3.75. If you have a line of waiting customers each morning between 7:00 AM and 8:30 AM, this means you have 90 minutes of crunch time, in which you must drive through as many customers as possible. If you can service a customer every 45 seconds, you will serve 120 customers during this 90 minutes. But, if it takes you 1 minute 15 seconds to service each customer, then you will only be able to serve 72 customers. 120 customers x $3.75 = $450.00 x 30 business days per month = $13,500. 72 customers x $3.75 = $270.00 x 30 business days per month = $8,100. This represents a difference of $5,400 in sales per month ($64,800 per year), coming from just 90-minutes of business activity each day!
So how should you go about designing your coffee bar? First, understand that putting together a good design is like assembling a puzzle. You have to fit all the pieces in the proper relationship to each other to end up with the desired picture. This may require some trial and error to get things right. I’ve designed hundreds of coffee bar over the past 15 years, and I can truthfully tell you from experience, it still usually takes me a couple of attempts to produce an optimal design.
The design process begins by determining your menu and other desired store features. If you plan to do in-store baking, then obviously you’ll need to include in your plan an oven, exhaust hood, sheet pan rack, a large prep table, and perhaps a mixer. If you plan to have a private meeting room for large groups, then an extra 200 sq. ft. or more will need to be designed-in, in addition to the square footage you are already allocating for normal customer seating.
Your intended menu and other business features should also drive decisions about the size of location you select. How many square feet will be required to fit in all the necessary equipment, fixtures, and other features, along with your desired seating capacity?
Typically, just the space required for the front of the house service area, (cash register, brewing & espresso equipment, pastry case, blenders, etc.), back of the house (storage, prep, dishwashing and office areas), and 2-ADA restrooms, will consume about 800 sq. ft. If space for extensive food prep, baking, coffee roasting, or cooking will be required, this square footage may increase to 1,000 to 1,200, or more. What ever is left over within your space after that, will become your seating area.
So, a typical 1,000 sq. ft coffee bar, serving beverages and simple pastries only, will probably allow for the seating of 15 to 20 customers – max! Increase that square footage to 1,200 sq. ft., and seating should increase to 30, or 35. If you plan to prepare sandwiches, salads, and some other food items on site, 1,400 to 1,600 sq. ft. should provide enough space to seat 35 to 50, respectively.
Next, you will have to determine the tasks that will be performed by each employee position, so that the equipment and fixtures necessary to accomplish those tasks can be located in the appropriate places.
Normally, your cashier will operate the cash register, brew and serve drip coffee, and serve pastries and desserts. Your barista will make all your espresso-based beverages, tea, chai, hot chocolate, Italian sodas, as well as all the blender beverages. If you’ll be preparing sandwiches, panini, wraps, salads, snacks and appetizers, or will be baking on-site, then a person dedicated to food prep will be necessary. And, if you anticipate high volume, and will be serving in or on ceramics, a bus-person/dishwasher may be a necessity.
After you have determined what you will be serving, the space you will be leasing, and what each employee will be responsible for, you will then be ready to begin your design process. I usually start my design work from the back door of the space and work my way forward. You’ll need to design in all of the features that will be necessary to satisfy your bureaucracies and facilitate your menu, before you make plans for the customer seating area.
Your back door will most likely have to serve as an emergency fire exit, so you’ll need a hallway connecting it with your dining room. Locating your 2-ADA restrooms off of this hallway would make good sense. And, because delivery of products will also probably occur through your back door, having access to your back of the house storage area would also be convenient.
In the back of the house, at minimum, you will need to include a water heater, water purification system, dry storage area, back-up refrigerator and freezer storage, ice maker, an office, 3-compartment ware washing sink, rack for washed wares, mop bucket sink, and a hand washing sink. Do any food prep, and the addition of a food prep sink and prep table will be necessary. If doing baking, gelato making, full cooking, or coffee roasting, all the equipment necessary for those functions will also need to be added.
After all the features have been designed into the back of the house, you will then be ready to start your design work on the front of the house service and beverage preparation area. This area will probably include a pastry case, cash register(s), drip coffee brewer and grinder(s), espresso machine and grinders, a dipper well, possibly a granita machine, blenders, ice holding bin, blender rinse sink, hand washing sink, under counter refrigeration (under espresso machine and blenders), and a microwave oven.
If serving food beyond simple pastries and desserts, you may need to add a panini toaster grill, a refrigerated sandwich/salad preparation table, soup cooker/warmer, a bread toaster, etc. If you plan to serve pre made, ready to serve sandwiches, wraps, and salads, along with a selection of bottled beverages, an open-front, reach-in merchandising refrigerator should be considered. Serving ice cream or gelato? If the answer is yes, then an ice cream or gelato dipping cabinet will be necessary along with an additional dipper well.
Finally, when all the working areas of the bar have been designed, the customer seating area can be laid out. This will, of course, include your cafe tables and chairs, couches and comfortable upholstered chairs, coffee tables, and perhaps a window or stand-up bar with bar stools. Impulse-buy and retail merchandise shelves should be established, and a condiment bar should be located close to where customers will pick-up their beverages.
A quick word about couches, large upholstered chairs, and coffee tables. Living room type furniture takes up a lot of space. If you plan to be opening evenings, and will perhaps serve beer and wine, and having comfortable seating will be important for creating a relaxing ambiance, then by all means do it. But if you have limited seating space, and are not trying to encourage people to relax and stay for long periods of time, then stick with cafe tables and chairs. The more people you can seat, the greater your income potential!
Features from the front door to the condiment bar should be arranged in a logical, sequential order. As your customers enter the front door, their travel path should take them past your impulse-buy merchandise display, and the pastry case, before they arrive at the point of order (where your cashier, cash register, and menu-board will be located). Exposing customers to your impulse items and pastries, before they order, will greatly increase their sales. Then, after the order and payment has been taken, they should proceed down-line away from the cash register to pick-up their beverage, and finally, the condiment bar should be located beyond that point. Be sure to separate your point of order from the point of product pick-up by at least six feet, otherwise customers waiting for their beverage may begin to intrude into the space of those ordering.
Don’t make the mistakes that many inexperienced designers commonly make. They arrange these features in a haphazard way, so that customers have to change direction, and cut back through the line of awaiting customers to proceed to their next destination in the service sequence. Or, wanting to make their espresso machine a focal point to those entering the store, they place it before the cashier along the customer’s path of travel. Customers inevitably end up trying to order from the barista before they are informed that they need to proceed to the cashier first. If this happens dozens of times each day, confusion and slowed beverage production will be the result.
On the employee’s side of the counter, work and product flow are even more important. Any unnecessary steps or wasted movements that result from a less than optimal design will slow down employee production. All products should flow seamlesly in one direction towards the ultimate point of pick-up. For example, if preparing a particular item is a 3-step process, then placement of equipment should allow for the 3 steps to occur in order, in one linear direction, with the final step occurring closest to the point where customers will be served.
Equipment should be grouped together so that it is in the immediate proximity of the employee(s) who will be using it. Beyond the actual equipment, empty spaces must be left on the counter top to store ingredients and small wares (tools) used in product preparation. Counter top space will also be needed where menu items will actually be assembled. Think of the grouping of equipment for different job functions as stations. Try to keep different stations compact and in close working proximity to each other, but make sure that there is enough space between each so that employee working-paths don’t cross, which could contribute to employee collisions.
Creating defined work stations will allow you to put multiple employees behind the counter when needed. When it is busy, you may need to have 2 cashiers, another person just bagging pastries and brewing coffee, 2 baristas behind the espresso machine, a maybe even a dedicated person working the blenders. If you’re preparing sandwiches and salads to order, then another person may need to be added to handle that task. Keeping your stations in close proximity to each other will allow one employee to easily access all equipment during very slow periods of business, thus saving you valuable labor dollars.
When you arrange equipment in relationship to each other, keep in mind that most people are right handed. Stepping to the right of the espresso machine to access the espresso grinder will feel more comfortable than having to move to the left. Likewise, place your ice storage bin to the right of your blenders, so when you scoop ice, you can hold the cup or blender pitcher in your left hand, and scoop with your right.
As you create your store layout, the equipment you select should fit your space and the needs of your anticipated business volume. A busy location will most likely require a dual or twin, air pot, drip coffee brewer (one that can brew 2 pots at the same time), as opposed to a single brewer. If you anticipate selling a lot of blended and ice drinks, then an under counter ice maker, one that can only produce 100 pounds of ice or less per day, will not be sufficient. You should instead locate a high-capacity ice maker (one that can make 400 or 500 lbs. per day) in the back of the house, and transport ice to an ice holding bin up front. Plan to bring in frozen desserts and ice cream? Then a 1 door reach-in freezer in the back of he house will probably be inadequate for you storage needs, so you’ll need to consider a 2 or 3 door. I always recommend a 3-group espresso machine for any location that may generate 150 drinks per day or more. And, I can tell you from experience, you can never have too much dry or refrigerated storage space!
Make sure that any equipment you select will be acceptable with your local bureaucracy before your purchase and take delivery of it. All equipment will typically need to be NSF & UL approved, or have a similar, acceptable, foreign certification equivalent. Your bureaucracy will most likely want to see manufacturer specification sheets on all equipment to verify this fact, before they’ll approve your plans.
ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act) compliance will also come into play when you are designing your coffee bar. In some areas of the country, this will only apply to those areas of your store that will be used by customers. However, other bureaucracies may require your entire store to be ADA compliant. Following are some of the basic requirements of compliance with the code:
• All hallways and isle ways must be 5 feet wide (minimum).
• All countertop working heights must be 34 inches high (instead of normal 36 inch height).
• 18 inches of free wall space must be provided on the strike-side of all doors (the side with the door knob).
• All hand-washing sinks must be ADA friendly.
• All bathrooms must be ADA compliant (5 foot space for wheelchair turnaround, handrails at toilet, acceptable clearance around toilet and hand washing sink, etc.).
• No steps allowed, ramps are OK with the proper slope.
• If your space has multiple levels, then no feature may exist on a level where handicapped access has not been provided, if that same feature does not exist on a level where it will be accessible.
You can find the complete regulations for ADA compliance at the following website:
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm
Beyond the basic Equipment Floor Plan, showing new partitions, cabinets, equipment, fixtures, and furnishings, you’ll need to produce some additional drawings to guide your contractors and satisfy the bureaucracies.
Electrical Plan
An electrical plan will be necessary to show the location of all outlets needed to operate equipment. Information such as voltage, amperage, phase, hertz, special instructions (like, “requires a dedicated circuit”), and the horizontal and vertical location of each outlet, should all be specified.
A small, basic coffee shop might get away with a 200 amp service, but typically 400 amps will be required if your equipment package will include items like an electric water heater, high-temperature dishwasher, or cooking equipment (ovens, panini grill, etc.).
In addition to the electrical work required for your coffee business-specific equipment, you may need to adjust existing electrical for additional or reconfigured lighting, HVAC, general-purpose convenience outlets, and exterior signs. Also, have your electrician run any needed speaker wires, TV/internet cables, and cash register remote receipt printer cables at the same time they are installing electrical wires. Finally, make sure your electrician makes provisions for lighted exit signs, and a battery-powered emergency evacuation lighting system, if needed.
Plumbing Plan
A plan showing all plumbing features will be necessary. At minimum, this should show stub-in locations for all needed water sources (hot & cold), drains, your water heater, water purifications system, grease interceptor (if required), bathroom fixtures, etc.
While a typical P-trap drain should be acceptable for most fixtures and equipment, some will require an air-gap drain. An air gap drain does not go through the “S”-shaped twists of the P-trap. Instead, the drain line comes straight down from the piece of equipment or fixture, and terminates 2 inches above the rim of a porcelain floor sink drain. This porcelain drain basin is usually installed directly into the floor. The air gap between the drain line from your equipment or fixture, and the bottom of the basin, prevents any bacteria in the sewer pipe from migrating into the equipment or fixture. I drain the following pieces of equipment to a floor sink drain when creating a plumbing plan:
• espresso machine
• dipper wells
• ice maker
• ice holding bin
• food prep sink
• soft drink dispensing equipment
To save on the life of your water filtration system, only your espresso machine and coffee brewer should be supplied by with treated water. Coffee is 98% to 99% water, so good water quality is essential. Your ice maker should only require a simple particle filter on the incoming line (unless your water quality is terrible). There is no need to filter water that will be used for hand and dish washing, cleaning mops, flushing toilets, and washing floors!
Be aware that many bureaucracies are now requiring a grease interceptor on the drain line from your 3-compartment ware washing sinks and automatic dishwasher. A grease interceptor is basically a box containing baffles that traps the grease before it can enter the public sewer system.
Also understand that a typical retail space will not come equipped with a water heater with enough capacity to handle your needs. Unless your space was previously some type of a food service operation, you will probably need to replace it with a larger one.
If cutting trenches in the floor will be necessary to install porcelain floor sinks, a grease interceptor, and run drain lines, then establishing a few general purpose floor drains at this same time behind the counter, and in the back of the house, will prove useful. Floor drains will allow you to squeegee liquids away when spills occur, and when washing floors.
Finally, if you added some new walls during your remodel, you may need to have the fire sprinkler system for your space adjusted or reconfigured.
Cabinet Elevations
Drawing cabinet elevations, (the view you would have if you were standing in front of your cabinets), will be necessary for your cabinet maker to understand all the features they will need to incorporate into your cabinet designs.
These elevations are not meant to be shop fabrication drawings for your cabinetmaker, but merely serve a reference, showing needed features and desired configuration. Where do you want drawers, and under counter storage space; and, where do you want cabinet doors on that under counter storage? Where should open space be left for the placement of under counter refrigeration and trashcans? Will cup dispensers be installed in the cabinet face under the counter top? These elevations will provide your cabinetmaker with a clear understanding of all these features.
While your kitchen base cabinets at home are typically 24 inches deep, for commercial applications they should be 30 inches deep, and 33 inches if an under counter refrigerator is to be inserted. Also, when specifying the size of an open bay to accommodate under counter refrigeration, be sure to allow a couple of inches more than the physical dimensions of the equipment, so that it can be easily inserted and removed for daily cleaning.
Dimensions Plan
You will need to create a floor plan showing all the critical dimensions for new partitions, doors, cabinets, and fixtures. This will, of course, help make sure that everything ends up where it is suppose to be, and will be the right size.
A final thought about design; unless the space you will be designing is a clean vanilla shell (meaning, nothing currently exists in the space, except perhaps one ADA restroom), you will have to make sure that all the features that you are considering keeping, will be acceptable with your local bureaucracy. Many older buildings were not designed to present codes. If the business type remains the same (your space was occupied by a food service establishment before you), then some times any non compliant features will be grandfathered-in, meaning you don’t have to bring them up to current requirements. But don’t count on this! You need to check with your bureaucracies to make sure. More and more I see bureaucracies requiring new business owners to remodel, so that all features are compliant with codes. This means you may have to rip-out bathrooms and hallways, add fire sprinkler systems, and provide ramps where there are steps. Better you know all these things before you begin your store design!
I always tell my consulting clients, that if I produce a perfect design and layout for them, they will never notice… because everything will be exactly where you would expect it to be. Unfortunately, if you create a less than optimal design for your coffee bar, you probably won’t realize it until you start working in it. Changing design mistakes or inadequacies after the fact, can be extremely expensive. Not correcting those mistakes may even cost you more in lost potential sales. For this reason, I strongly suggest using an experienced coffee business space designer to create your layout for you, or at very least, to review the design you have created. Doing so will payoff with dividends.
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Top Ten Things to Do in Spring
It must be serendipity that I am in currently in the janitorial industry and that I enjoy cleaning. I use my skills as a sales and marketing director to sell my ritual of welcoming spring.
While some people enjoy lounging, daydreaming or reading when the days are still cool but sunny I enjoy tying up loose ends and starting with a “clean” slate. So what if others do not share my enthusiastic spring dance in honor of mother-nature! Why do they insist on their own dance and will not applaud my magnificent performance? Here are my favorite things to do in spring:
1. Spring clean & de-clutter home & office:
Make a caddy of your basic tools. I use multi-purpose cleaner, microfiber cloths, lamb’s wool extension duster, furniture polish, disinfectant spray, trash bag and a laundry basket to put items I am removing from the room. If your ceilings are high you may need a small step ladder. I also have a broom to get behind furniture I can’t move and for carpet edges and corners. A vacuum with attachments is also very handy. Place your equipment outside the entrance of the room you are cleaning. Give each room a thorough, top to bottom cleaning. This is the perfect time to launder the curtains and bedding. If you are up to the challenge you can also flip furniture cushions, mattresses and rearrange the furniture. The best approach I have found is to start each room at the entrance door and circle the room. Start your high dusting, touching all surfaces on the walls such as picture frames, shelves, etc. If the curtains are not going to be taken down, remove the dust on the tops & fabric folds. Cobwebs can get anywhere, including the flat walls. Get under and behind the furniture with the duster and/or broom. Dust inside the window frame. Wash the windows. Use a microfiber with just a mist of all-purpose cleaner and dust the surfaces you can reach. The last thing I do is use my disinfectant spray and vacuum.
2. Get rid of clothes not worn:
I bring storage containers or boxes and kitchen trash bags and a black marker. First go through the shelved clothing, second the clothes that are hanging and third clothes that are in drawers. Make a pile on the floor of clothes that should be place in the garbage. Box up the seasonal things you are going to keep. Things you are giving away put into the trash bags. Use the marker and put your name and season of clothes on the boxes. Label the bags with the person’s name you are giving them to, yard sale or Goodwill. Store away the seasonal boxed clothes, put the give-away clothes in your garage or auto so you will not forget to take them away.
3. Clean yard, porches & garage:
All of these are good for family team work, but this one especially is. The garage needs and occasional de-clutter and cleaning. You will need a broom, plenty of boxes or plastic containers, a black marker and maybe some white mailing labels to write on. If you have a large major crisis in there you may want to copy the show “Clean Sweep” and get out three tarps on the drive or yard. Tarp number one is for things to keep, tarp number two is for giving away or yard sale, tarp three is trash. When you have everything out that you can, you may now dust, sweep and/or pressure wash. Organize tools by their use and season. Keep the yard tools together, garden tools and the basic repair tools together, etc. The sports equipment and toys are also organized and the off season sports equipment and toys should be boxed and put up. Tarp number one “things to keep” will be boxed up and labeled and neatly put back into the garage. Tarp number two “things to give away or yard sale” should be boxed, bagged or price tagged for yard sale. Label the give-away or yard sale items and neatly put back into the garage. Tarp number three “trash” items need to be bagged if they can fit into garbage receptacle or hauled to the dump if necessary. Now the garage is neat and clean!
4. Thoroughly detail autos:
Have a contest with someone if you are detailing two autos! Guard yourself from the sun. Tools needed are a vacuum with attachments, trash bag, towels, paper towels, 2 microfiber cloths and a large terry cloth, two old large beach towels, a long handled car wash broom if you have one, and a stiff brush for the wheels & tires and bucket & sponge. I also fix a small caddy with window cleaner, Mr. Clean, some Q-Tips, Armor-all, Febreze, car wash, wax with an applicator or soft cloth and tire “black” spray. Start on the inside and fill up your trash bag with any garbage in the auto. Look under seats and in the cracks of the seats. Pick up items that will hurt your vacuum. Take out all the carpets and lay them down to vacuum. Then fill a bucket with about a gallon of water and an ounce of Mr. Clean. Use this water first to scrub the seats with a very damp cloth, it may remove some stains and it smells good. Then wash the dash, wheel, seat dividers and inside the doors. Constantly clean your cloth in the bucket. Dip Q-tips in the water and use to get the dash cracks, corners and areas the cloth couldn’t get into. Spray Armor-All on a microfiber cloth and wipe down the dash and hard smooth surfaces made from similar material to shine up and make like new. When finished put that cloth away from the others so you will not use it again. Time for the inside windows! I use a window cleaner and paper towels to wash all the inside windows, then I go back over them with a microfiber cloth and it really polishes good. The last thing I do is vacuum the carpet. Be sure to adjust the seats forward and backward to get all areas. Last I give the fabric and carpet a spray of Febreze, carefully avoiding my windows. Vacuum the carpets that you took out. If you want to organize the trunk and vacuum, this is a good time. Now get the windows up and shut the doors. Empty your bucket and refill with plenty of water and a little carwash. Hose down the entire auto and wash by sections. Immediately rinse off each section as you go around the auto. When you think you are done walk around the auto for any touch-ups. Now use your stiff brush and scrub the wheels and tires a few times, then rinse. Hose off the carpets you removed and let air dry. Use a beach towel to dry off all areas of the auto. After drying and no water spots it is time to wax. My favorite auto wax is the new spray on wipe off type, but if you are using the paste wax it is done the same way. Put wax on a section at a time, and then remove it with the second beach towel. Let the paste wax dry before buffing off. Again check all around the auto for any areas that need touched up. After waxing I wash the windows with paper towels and then polish with the microfiber cloth. Your wheels and tires should be dry by now so you can spray your “black” spray on them. Now that is a sparkling beauty!
5. Get planting beds & flower containers ready:
You can start seedlings indoors or wait for the nursery centers to stock your favorite plants. Guard yourself from the sun. Tools you may want for the large planting beds are a tiller (if large area) rake, shovel, garden claw, landscape fabric or plastic, gloves, trash bag potting soil (my favorite is Miracle Grow with the water holding material). First pull all weeds and place in trash bag. Rake the surface of leaves, old mulch and debris, put in trash bag or compost bin. Use shovel or garden claw to turn the soil (till if large area) and mix in your potting soil. After the area is complete, cover with the landscape fabric or plastic. When you are ready to plant, cut holes in the landscape fabric or plastic and place plant where you want. To finalize your flower gardens, cover the fabric or plastic with mulch or rocks. For the flower containers, if they have previously been used they must be washed and let air dry. When the weather is warm enough you can plant. Place some large stones or broken pottery pieces in the bottom for drainage. Fill pots ¾ of the way full. Decide where to place your plants and surround them with potting soil and firmly press down. Give a good drink of water. Check on weekly to remove dead material and water if needed.
6. Start seedlings indoors:
Pick a few seeds you want to start, veggies, herbs, flowers (Burpee is my favorite brand). You can use a sun lamp, although I never have. Just don’t start too early or they will grow too large before you can transplant. The easiest way is to get the jiffy pots ready for water and seeds. You can also use a rectangle receptacle like a cake pan and fill with potting soil and sprinkle on the seeds and water. Pour off excess water. Save your seed envelopes to mark your plants or you won’t remember what you are growing and where. When the weather is warm enough and all chances of freezing are over they can be transplanted either in a prepared bed or container.
7. Write down new things to do in the summer and fall:
I like to write down things I haven’t done in a while, new things or things to do with particular friends and family; go to museum with mother; watch movie with Linda. Learn how to rollerblade, take a painting class, run a marathon, go boating and so forth. I have things to do indoors for rain and outdoors for sunshine. Keep your list next to your calendar and when you want something to do check one off. Make arrangements a week or so ahead so you will have a full social calendar.
8. Begin a customized fitness plan:
First schedule a check up with your family doctor and make sure you are okay to become more active. Define what you want to accomplish and a date to accomplish this by. If you have more than one goal, do this for every goal. Example: I want to lose 30 pounds by August. Next step is to plan out how you will accomplish this. Example: I will clean out my kitchen and replace with healthy low calorie foods. I will walk one mile every day. I will lift weights thirty minutes every other day and so on. Keep positive affirmations and motivational post-its on your bathroom mirror and refrigerator.
9. Get a new hair cut, hair style or color:
Be browsing the magazine for cuts and color you like to get an idea or two. Visit your favorite hair salon or one that a friend refers. Ask the stylist to recommend a cut and or color for your complexion, lifestyle and budget. Ask questions regarding maintenance before you decide. Your cut must be quick and easy to maintain if you lifestyle is very busy. If you are young you can easily go more dramatic and bold. If you are more mature or have a career you may want to stick with some classic styles and color, but different than you usually get. This is a great ego boost and when you are confident and happy, it will rub off on everyone around you.
10. Take a long walk, hike or bike ride in a scenic area:
This is a great family outing, or couples and friends outing. Bring your dog if you can. If you have a favorite park or recreation area, plan a day and a picnic for this event. This could ba a great way to scout out a camping area. Take the basics, sandwiches, fruit and water. Dress for the occasion and don’t forget sun protection. Bring a rain jacket or wind breaker in case the weather suddenly changes. Let someone know where you are going and bring a cell phone. Bring a Frisbee or football to mix things up. Just enjoy the time to spend with good company and appreciate the beautiful earth.
With a “clean” slate completed there is still ample time to soak up all the crisp air and sunshine. I feel I have accomplished something great and it makes me feel terrific about the next great season!
Look for more articles coming soon!
Tips for Moving to Another Country
BE SURE – Moving can be extremely stressful, be as certain as you can be that it’s the right move for you before you go. If possible visit the country before you make up your mind, don’t rely on other people’s impressions. Ask yourself if the new culture will really suit you (and your family).
BE PREPARED – …For anything and everything to go wrong. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to find the perfect job or house immediately. If possible make sure you’ve got enough money to see you through the first couple of months at the very least (preferably longer). And to do that you’ll need to…
BUDGET – As unglamorous as it sounds, good budgeting could be what makes the difference between a successful relocation and a disaster. Before you go, work out what everything is going to cost during those crucial first months when you’re trying to find your feet in a foreign land.
DON’T DELAY – Start preparing as early as possible, just getting all the necessary paperwork in order can take a long time. Make a checklist of everything you need to do!
CHECK YOUR BENEFITS – If your company has initiated your move you may be eligible for relocation benefits. Make sure you ask if they haven’t told you already!
HEALTH – Make sure that the country you are moving to has adequate healthcare facilities and infrastructure to support you (and your family), especially if you suffer from a medical condition which requires treatment or medication.
YOUR HOME – Think about what you want to do with your current home (e.g. sell it, lease it, leave it empty) and what kind of accommodation will be most suitable in your new country. If you don’t know anyone in the new country who can help find accommodation, consider the services of a relocation agent.
EMPLOYMENT – Will you be looking for work in your new country? If so, consider starting your job hunt before you go (use the Internet!) Will you be able to use your existing qualifications or will a period of retraining be necessary? If you’re moving somewhere where they don’t speak the same language as you then you should…
LEARN THE LANGUAGE – Few skills will have such a positive impact on your relocation experience as being able to speak, or at least understand, the local language. Getting to grips with the local lingo before you go is a great idea!
PAPERWORK – No matter how insignificant that old document at the back of the bottom drawer may seem now, take it with you, the chances are at some stage you’ll have to show it to someone. Moving countries can be a bureaucratic nightmare at the best of times but if you come prepared with the necessary paperwork you stand the best chance of a stress free relocation. Things to think about include birth certificates, wedding certificates, educational certificates, medical certificates (including those for your pets!), etc.
FRIENDS & FAMILY – Don’t forget to inform everyone of your new address and when you’re going (unless you don’t want them to find you, of course 
Seriously though, saying goodbye to friends and family can be the hardest thing about leaving, be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster ride as the day of departure draws near.
YOUR BELONGINGS – Will you be taking everything with you or leaving some items in storage (or even getting rid of them completely)? How will you move your belongings? Can you transport them yourself or do you need the services of a moving company? Set aside those things you need to take with you in person so they don’t get packed accidentally (passports, tickets, etc.)
INSURANCE – Once you’ve decided what you’re taking with you, insure it. If you haven’t already arranged appropriate insurance (health/life/travel, etc.) for yourself and your family as well…DO SO!
BANKING – You may need to open a new bank account in your new country – look for information on the one which suits you best. Do you need to close your current bank account? At the very least you’ll need to tell your current bank that you’re moving.
CREDIT CARDS – Credit card companies need to be informed you’re moving. Also, will the credit cards you’re taking with you be widely accepted?
DRIVING – Depending on where you’re going and how long you’re going to be there you may need to apply for a new driving license or even take a driving test. Will you take your car with you or buy/rent/lease one when you get to your destination country?
UTILITIES etc – Gas, electricity, cable companies and so on will need to be informed of your departure and contracts terminated where appropriate. Make arrangements for final meter readings and bill payments.
POST REDIRECTION – Having your mail redirected after you leave can prevent you from missing something important.
ELECTRIC DEVICES AND MOBILE PHONES – Check whether or not your TV, video, hair dryer, alarm clock etc will work in the new country. You may need to take out a new network subscription for a mobile phone (or buy a new one with a subscription) – watch out for roaming charges with your current phone if you use it.
EMAIL – If moving means you can’t keep your current email address, consider a free web based email account you can access from anywhere.
And finally, a couple of important tips for when you get to your new country…
MAKE FRIENDS – Whether locals or fellow expats, nothing will help you more than being able to rely on the assistance of your friends when you need it. Don’t think that socialising is time wasted, it’s what makes a new country feel like home.
DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF – Moving to a new country is difficult. Even when everything goes according to plan it’s still difficult. There will be times when you’re physically and emotionally exhausted but try not to let things get on top of you. Don’t be shy about asking for help or support, there are plenty of people who have been there before.
Good luck!
Gun Cabinet Plans
Gun cabinet plans are essential for anyone who is looking to build a customized gun cabinet to store their firearms and ammunition safely. They can give you tons of ideas about building cabinets that are not only secure, but also stylish.
Size
When it comes to building a gun cabinet, the first thing you need to decide is the size of the cabinet. If you have a large collection of firearms, you need a spacious cabinet to store all your guns, pistols, and ammunition safely. If you only have one or two guns, a wall mounted cabinet would suffice. Before you get started, you need to make sure there is enough room in your home for the type of cabinet you are looking to build.
Style
What comes next is the style factor. You can browse various gun cabinet plans and pick something that looks appealing to you. Sometimes, a cabinet might look great in a catalogue or a website, but it might not go well with your home. So, it is important to choose something that matches your decor.
Safety
A gun cabinet is a place for storing your arms and ammunition safely. So, you should look to build a cabinet that is strong and secure. Thin walled cabinets with glass fronts might look elegant, but they are not safe at all. So, it is a good idea to use thick, dense woods like oak to build the cabinet. Similarly, it is advisable to go for a complex locking mechanism as the traditional setup of lock and key can be easily tampered. You can go through various cabinet plans or get in touch with a locksmith to choose the right type of locking mechanism for your cabinet.
Choices
When it comes to gun cabinets, you have plenty of choices. You can build a decorative cabinet with extra drawers, cabinets, and other accessories to store all your arms, ammunition, and hunting gear. You can build a convertible display case that can be used to store your arms or to showcase your collectibles. If you are not a big fan of traditional cabinets, you can build a locking gun rack with an ammo box. You can also build a compact, wall mounted cabinet if you have space constraints in your home. You can also contact woodworking websites and ask them to give you customized plans that match your budget and needs perfectly.
Vintage Kitchens of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s
1930s: The Steam-lined -Depression Era “Modern Kitchen”
By the 1930′s, the kitchen was being transformed from the old fashioned kitchen to the “Streamlined-Modern Kitchen” with time saving features, better organization and much improved ventilation. The “all-electric kitchen” was promoted in popular magazines with numerous advertisements showing newly designed small and major appliances. Mixers were the homemakers dream now designed with numerous attachments that could sift flour, mix dough, grate cheese, squeeze lemons, whip potatoes, shred, slice and chop vegetables and even sharpen knives. “Depression Green” was the “in” color used on the wooden handles of kitchen utensils, on kitchen cabinets and tables and on kitchen wares. Often accessories were cream and green replacing the white and black look of the previous decades.
Other popular color combinations in the 1930s were Gray and Red or Crimson, Silver and Green, Pearl Pink and Blue, as well as the use of checkered patterns on textiles. Kitchen wares such as canisters and Bread boxes tended to be softly painted with perhaps a simple decal.
In 1935 the National Modernization Bureau was established to promote modernization throughout the country. Manufacturers competed for better designed appliances and kitchen accessories. Color began to enter the kitchens of the thirties and articles in magazines featured decorating tips on color schemes and how to incorporate the kitchen into the rest of the home. Kitchens were no longer work stations but gaining as much attention as the rest of the home. Small and large appliances were available in color and Sears and Montgomery Ward featured colorful kitchen wares and “japanned” accessories such as canister sets, range sets, cake savers, bread boxes and waste baskets.
1940s: The Postwar Colorful Era
The Post War kitchen of the 1940′s began to become family gathering places and now tables and chairs made of chrome bases with enamel, linoleum or plastic tops could be added to a more spacious kitchen which replaced the smaller work centered earlier kitchens. Separate formal dining rooms were being replaced by kitchens that could accommodate the family and guests. The kitchen was becoming a very inviting space and primary colors dominated the interior décor palette. Magazines advertised products for your “Gay Modern Kitchen”. Combinations of red, green and yellow or red and black were popular as well as brightly colored tablecloths, textiles and curtains. Flowers, fruits and Dutch motif were in vogue and found on shelving paper, trim, decals and kitchenwares. Appliances continued to be produced with streamlined designs, rounded corners and smaller proportions. The combination washer/dishwasher was introduced as well as the garbage disposal and freezers for home use.
1950s: The Atomic Era-Pastel Color-Space Age
Dramatic changes would occur in the kitchens of the 1950′s as space age, atomic era designs and materials entered the scene. The fifties kitchen featured plastics, pastel colors such turquoise or aqua, pink and yellow (cottage colors), Formica and chrome kitchen table and chair sets matched formica kitchen counters and were easy to keep clean with messy little ones. After the war there was more time for leisure promoting kitchenware’s and accessories for picnics, barbecues, parties and the home bar.
The introduction of color T.V. in the 1950s brought full color into America’s living rooms where homemakers could now see all the exciting products and appliances available to them. Following World War II, there was a new generation of plastics and time for “gracious living” and entertaining. Kitchens and homes saw the transition from glass, ceramic and tin products to numerous types of plastics which made casual living easier. Melmac and Melamine dishes, Lustro-ware and Tupperware storage accessories and “thermowall” for picnics were a huge success. Vinyl was used for tablecloths, chair covers and furniture and bark cloth with boomerang and abstract shapes was popular. Tablecloths and dishcloths continued to be brightly colored and souvenir textiles were added to the home with tropical, Southwestern and Mexicana themes. Poodles, roosters and designs with kitchen utensils, tea pots and coffee pots decorated potholders, appliance covers and linens. Appliances were built-in and came in fifties colors such as turquoise, soft yellow, pink and copper.