Category Archives: Kitchen Appliances

Make Your Fridge More Manageable

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From Chinese takeout to grandma’s special dish, our refrigerators see a lot of food over the year. The organization in our refrigerators can make or break our family’s health. It is extremely important to be able to see all of your expired products and constantly clean out your fridge. Poor organization can lead to a poor visualization which causes us to not know when things need put in the trash. To help maximize your family’s refrigerator, we have five simple hacks for making your fridge more manageable. 

 

Ways to Make Your Fridge More Manageable: 

  1. Get Adjusted. Your refrigerator’s shelves are able to adjust to your personal preferences. Take advantage of the ability to recreate your shelving and have it work in a way that is beneficial to you. Your everyday lifestyle should affect the way your fridge is set up. This will make things more convenient and easier for you. If you find yourself wanting to place the milk on the top shelf, reconfigure the shelves towards your liking. 
  2. Labeled. Always label everything with a date in your fridge. This is one of the most beneficial life hacks we can give you. From your eggs to last night’s pasta dinner, you want to mark it with the date in permanent marker. This will help make everyone in the household on the same page and reduce unwanted confusion. 
    • Be sure to mark eggs with their expiration dates. This will save you and your family from consuming expired dairy. 
    • If you do not want to ruin your containers, you can place clear tape on the container then write the date in permanent marker. 
  1. Separated. Everything in your refrigerator should be grouped by what it is. This will help make finding food a little easier for everyone. If you find yourself running out of drawers, you can purchase baskets + bins for extra storage. 
    • Pro-Tip: NEVER put dairy in your refrigerator doors. Since the doors are frequently open, they fluctuate in temperature too often. This can create a health hazard; therefore, be sure to place your dairy and meat products inside of the fridge. 
  1. Lined. Line your shelves with placemats or shelf liners to avoid spillage stains. The mats make it easier to wipe down and clean up unwanted messes. 
  1. Fresh. Mask unwanted scents and odors with coffee grinds or baking soda. Simply place the grinds or baking soda into an open dish and let it sit inside of your fridge. They will help collect the smelly food scents and reduce the stink when you open your fridge. 

 

What ways keep your fridge manageable and under control? We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

 

Cleaning the Refrigerator

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Refrigerators can become smelly and dirty rather fast. Your liquids can spill and create a sticky mess in your recently cleaned refrigerator. The next thing you know, your fridge needs fully clean again. The task of cleaning a refrigerator seems daunting and we want to avoid it all cost. Well, there is no need to drag your feet any longer with these simple cleaning tips. 

 

Tips for cleaning your fridge: 

 

  • Make a DIY Refrigerator Cleaner: 

Step One. To avoid the use of chemicals, you can to create your own homemade cleaner. Combine one cup of white vinegar with two cups of hot water into a glass spray bottle. Then add a couple of drops of the orange or lemon essential oils to your mixture.

Step Two. Take your homemade cleaner and spray it throughout your refrigerator. Let the mixture sit in your fridge for a couple of minutes.

Step Three. Using a damp wash cloth, wipe down the inside of your refrigerator. The solution you made should help pick up any stuck food or leftover residue. 

  • Eliminate all odors.It is not very fun to think that our food makes the fridge smell bad, but it does and we have to deal with it. 

Step One. To eliminate the overall smell in your refrigerator, place a small bowl of coffee grinds in the back of your fridge. You should notice a difference within 48 hours.

Step Two. To eliminate smells in your vegetable drawer, crumple a brown paper bag into a ball and place it in the drawer. In two days, you can remove the bag and you should notice that smells are gone.

  • Make the temperature right. Try to keep your refrigerator at 37 degrees. 
  • Do not forget to clean under the fridge. Think about all the dust and dirt that remains trapped under your refrigerator. It is essential to remember to clean underneath your fridge.
  • Remove fingerprints. If you have a stainless steel refrigerator, you understand how often fingers leave their mark on your fridge. 

Step One. In a small bowl, mix together mild dish soap and warm water. 

Step Two. Dip a wash cloth into the bowl and gently rub out all greasy fingerprints. 

Step Three. Take a different wash cloth and dip it into warm water. Use this cloth to rinse off the soapy water you just put on and begin to wipe it off from the fridge. 

Step Four. Dry off the refrigerator with a paper towel to avoid streaking. 

Step Five. You can take some baby oil on a clean wash cloth and polish the refrigerator after it has been cleaned. 

Note: Move in the direction of the grain when you are cleaning off the fridge. 

 

We hope you enjoyed these tips and that they help you the next time you need to clean your refrigerator!

 

Creating the Perfect Kitchen for You

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design center 2What would your perfect kitchen be like? Would looks or functionality be more important? Do you want great cabinets or would you compromise on that to have just the right appliances? Could you live with a smaller refrigerator as long as you have a gas range? Well, when you walk into the Fulton Design Center, those may be the decisions you will face, so it pays to think about them now.

Start by taking a look at your current kitchen. Would you like more cabinet space? How about better lighting? Do you like your current cooktop or do you want something different? How much countertop space do you have now? Could you use more? When you think about what you want in a new kitchen, analyzing your current kitchen is a good jumping off point.

Next, visit the Fulton Design Center during one of our browse nights. Spend time in the various kitchen vignettes like this one. Take the time to see which kitchen feels the most comfortable for you. Are you drawn to the rich dark finish of these cabinets? Or maybe you’ll find you prefer the lighter tones of one of the other vignettes. Spend some time standing and looking around at the various choices. They’re designed to help give you ideas for your own home.

Finally, check out all of the options available. Some might be a good fit for your approach to cooking. Others may be unnecessary. Don’t project your dream of becoming a gourmet chef onto your kitchen if you know you specialize in tuna casseroles. On the other hand if you like hanging with your kids after school while you fix dinner then you probably want that island extension that gives them space to sit and chat with an after-school snack.

Whatever kitchen you create, we know it will be just as perfect  for yourself and your family as your new Fulton Home will be for all of you!

Slate Finish Appliances

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wModern-kitchen-Evergreen-Elm-at-Morrison-RanchStainless steel has been the go-to finish for kitchen appliances for over a decade. There is something fresh and crisp about the stainless look, so it’s popularity is no surprise. But it may be time to consider another option: slate. This kitchen, from the Evergreen Elm Model in Warner Grove at Morrison Ranch, shows a full line of slate-finish appliances.

This new look carries the sophistication of stainless steel, but with a darker, matte look. Slate has some of the advantages of stainless but with a sophistication all its own. Here are some of slate’s advantages:

  • It’s completely neutral, allowing you to make color decisions without factoring in your appliance finish.
  • The matte finish does more than reduce shine. It makes fingerprints almost nonexistent. This has always been a concern with stainless’s much less finger-forgiving finish.
  • It’s darker and warmer than stainless, providing some of the advantages of black appliances without taking over a kitchen the way shiny black can.
  • Foir a kitchen as light as this one, it adds a nice sense of contrast without having the appliances yell out in the room the way they would with black.
  • Unlike other finishes that have come and gone since stainless first came on the scene, slate finishes seem to be lasting in interest and appeal.

If you like the sophistication and professional look of stainless but would prefer a warmer look that is easier to maintain, take a look at slate. It’s available in many appliance options, with more coming online every day.

A Splash of Red

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kitchen-whitewater-webWith this combination of dark cabinets and dark wood flooring, this luscious kitchen could easily feel like too much brown. But a wise choice of countertops and pops of red turn it into a cozy and inviting space. Let’s take a look at the smart decisions that make up this kitchen, from the Whitewater model in the Oasis at Queen Creek community.

Light walls and countertops: You don’t often see dark wood on dark wood in a kitchen. Of course today’s wood flooring finishes make wood workable for kitchens and even bathrooms, but it still seems like a design risk. Bringing in lighter tones with the countertops and soft beige walls provide the needed contrast. The backsplash also uses light tiles to showcase the dark wood cabinetry.

Stainless appliances: A little bling brightens up any room, and using appliances with a stainless finish breaks up the wood, while the reflective surfaces contribute to the overall glow.

Architectural details: The carved pillars at the outer corners of the island combined with crown molding and the door/drawer styles break up the wood look, adding shadows and highlights to the cabinets. In addition, the handscraped wood flooring provides its own three-dimensional element. Altogether these features add the interest needed to keep the space from feeling simply wood-on-wood in design.

Pops of color: The red leather seats set off the island, and this color is echoed in various accessories scattered through the kitchen. Red’s strong bright presence lights up the room.

Natural light: This kitchen can carry off the two dark woods thanks to the natural light that pours into the space. And in the evening, multiple lighting sources keep the kitchen light and bright.

Is this the kitchen for you? Why not visit our models in Oasis at Queen Creek and see for yourself!

Introducing Slate – GE’s New Appliance Finish

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Rancho-Mirage-kitchen-webFor the last decade and more, stainless steel has been the preferred finish for kitchen appliances. Other choices have appeared, but none with the staying power of stainless.

At the same time there are disadvantages to stainless. It’s a magnet for fingerprints, which requires daily wiping if there are children in your home. The bright shiny surface looks good against dark wood cabinetry but isn’t quite as effective with painted or light cabinets.

Now GE Appliances has introduced Slate. This darker look combines a charcoal tone with a matte finish that hides fingerprints and smudges. It also works exceptionally well with a kitchen that has grey colors. This cooler tone has grown in appeal lately.

Slate doesn’t demand the attention that stainless does. If you want your open-concept home to include a kitchen that incorporates itself into the rest of the space, Slate is more low-key.

Most important of all, so far this new appliance finish seems to have staying power. Introduced in 2012, the response has been so positive that GE continues to expand its Slate line. With its sophisticated look and feel – including just enough bling with glossy handles – Slate creates a feeling of cutting-edge style.

Thanks to its cool tones, Slate can also be used in a mix-and-match approach with stainless if you want. For a close-up look at GE’s new appliance finish in this kitchen, we invite you to check it out in our Oasis at Queen Creek community, where we showcase this and many other kitchen ideas designed with you in mind.

Design Center Kitchen a Study in Texture

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Bertazonni KitchenWhen designing and decorating a room, people often think in terms of color and contrast, but there’s another factor that can create interest – texture. This kitchen demonstrates how texture can make a space exciting. Let’s take a look at all the texture decisions that make this kitchen appealing.

Stainless and wood: One of the most popular contrasts in today’s kitchens comes from two common texture choices – shiny stainless appliances and soft wood cabinetry. In this vignette having the refrigerator provided with cabinet doors – as the largest appliance – creates a softer textural mood than you would have with a stainless refrigerator.

Cabinet finishes: The primary cabinets have a soft gentle glaze, giving them variety while allowing them to serve as a color base for the kitchen. On the other hand, the island cabinets show a more rustic texture that helps this element to stand out from the rest of the space.

Countertops: The countertops against the wall have a soft look with rounded edges and minimal contrast. On the island, strongly variegated granite adds an extra design element to this kitchen. Picture the island with the same soft counters as the rest of the kitchen – without that additional feature, the island would not have the impact it shows now.

Island columns: By choosing the braided texture on the island columns, you add the feel of rich old-world finishing. Once again, this choice brings the island to the forefront of this kitchen vignette.

The designer’s decision to use texture rather than tone to create interest in this kitchen helps to create a space that is cohesive, lower contrast, yet still interesting. That’s the power of texture.

 

Balancing Cabinetry and Appliances in your Kitchen

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Models 061This kitchen, from the Fulton model at Legacy, shows two ways of approaching appliances in your kitchen: showcasing them like this Bertazzoni range and hood, or reducing their impact by blending them in with the cabinetry. You can see this with the built-in refrigerator to the right.

In this example, both design choices work. The drama and color of the oven creates a focal point in the kitchen. The generous size of the space allows this dramatic piece to shine without overwhelming the room. On the other hand, if the refrigerator had a stainless skin, it would be a distracting influence. Its size would draw the eye away from the strengths of this kitchen – the range and the island.

Transitional design allows you to take advantage of many choices combined into one integrated whole. In this case the moderately-traditional cabinets take a back seat to a strongly-contemporary island and a retro-style range. Smartly, the dark red of the range is allowed to stand alone rather than having the color echo throughout the kitchen. If you wanted to carry the color further, a few accessories would provide all the impact you need.

Notice the stainless microwave to the right. That could have been installed in black, but there are enough stainless accents throughout the kitchen to make this work. The small size ensures that this appliance does not become a distraction. However, cabinet pulls are dark rather than stainless. Design is always about balancing strong features with others that fall into the background.

For a better look at this kitchen as well as two others with interesting style and design elements, visit Fulton Homes Legacy in Gilbert and wander through our three new model homes.

 

A showstopper in your kitchen: Bertazzoni

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Legacy Models 027 (1)You want to be the star in your own kitchen, and a star benefits from having other performers that will show you at your best.

Well, here’s a co-star that will enable you to shine. Bertazzoni’s 48-inch gas range and oven combination is a stand-out in any kitchen. Bertazzoni has been making quality cooking products in Italy for over 135 years.

The heritage style shown was inspired by the original wood-burning stoves Bertazzoni built in the late eighteen hundreds. Look for Antonio Bertazzoni’s signature carved into the stainless above the oven, showing the pride of a family known for quality since his father Francesco built the first Bertazzoni wood-burning stoves and made them popular throughout Italy.

The amazing range and hood come in this glorious red as well as a luscious cream and classic black. Whichever you choose, this will make your kitchen into the showstopper you dream about.

And the beauty is designed to last. Because of their durable double-layer coating that uses the latest processes developed for the automobile industry, you will find the finish to be acid and temperature resistant, giving you a luster that will hold up over time.

This product is also more than just a pretty face. Its performance will help you create the gourmet meals you want with plenty of space on its six-burner range complete with griddle and double oven. Bertazzoni’s exclusive dual valve burners in brass provide high-efficiency, from a delicate low simmer to full power (750 –18,000 BTU). The power burner delivers best-in-class heat-up times.

Pots are placed closer to the flame, reaching the boiling point more quickly and reducing gas consumption during the cooking process. The one-touch, child safety ignition system lets you light and adjust burners with one hand. The safety system automatically stops the gas flow if the flame goes out, even when electrical power is cut

Bertazzoni’s one-piece worktop molding is best-in-class. With sealed burners, no sharp angles or dirt traps, cleaning is fast and easy. Heavy-duty cast iron grates allow easy movement of any kind of pot.

To see this stellar example of a kitchen appliance in person, visit the Fulton Design Center or check out the Fulton model home at Legacy. You’ll be glad you did.

 

The O’Connor: Entertaining from the Kitchen

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Models 081If you enjoy cooking for friends and family, this kitchen could make your dreams come true. With plenty of space for helpers and gawkers, you can prep, heat and dish up to your appreciative audience.

The Viking range and hood provide a close-to-professional cooking space with four gas burners and a center section that can serve as a grill or griddle, you have the capability and BTUs to fix a gourmet meal.

In the meantime, set up a buffet of appetizers to keep your guests happy until dinner. The generously-sized island has the perfect shape to share prep space with munchies. Two sinks provide flexibility to have helpers assigned to different responsibilities.

This kitchen is remarkably functional, but just as important, it shows style and flair. The rich dark color of the cabinets work well against stainless appliances, and the backsplash tiles become even more intriguing by also showing up above the cabinet lines. With two ovens, hot appetizers can bake while the meal does. And notice the pantry through the door in the back – ready to store all of your serving dishes until it’s time to plate.

The refrigerator/freezer is oversize, but with the doors matching the cabinetry, it is still a subtle look. Contemporary countertops and stainless handles work well with the stand-out industrial-style pendant lights over the island. Overall, this kitchen is designed to capture attention and serve as the center of your entertainment events.

Want a closer look? Visit Legacy and see what the O’Connor has to offer.