Jun 16, 2021 Share Back to Blog Back to Blog Gourmet Custom Kitchens Making the decision to build with Quality Homes means giving yourself the freedom to design the home or cottage you’ve always dreamed of. This of course includes a gourmet custom kitchen, courtesy of our dedicated cabinetry partner Woodland Horizon. About Woodland Horizon Established in 2005, Woodland Horizon has been perfecting the art of woodcraft. Based out of Drayton, Ontario (15 minutes from the Quality Homes Factory) the team at Woodland pride themselves on excellence, high-quality product, and exemplary customer service. Specializing in kitchens and bathrooms, as well as custom closets, laundry rooms, mudrooms, home offices, and everything in between, Woodland’s highly skilled craftspeople use cutting-edge technology to design, build and install cabinetry in every Quality Home. We sat down with the team at Woodland Horizon to discuss the latest and greatest in kitchen and cabinetry design. The Evolution of Kitchen Design For a long time, kitchens used to be purely about cooking – a separate room with a specific purpose, to be used by the homeowner and nobody else. These days, kitchens are now seen as a communal gathering space to share meals, memories, and relationships. Kitchens act as the heart of the home and are often incorporated into the layout of the entertaining space to foster a feeling of community, closeness and comfort. “Kitchens used to just be about cooking and were a separate room in the house. Now, people really want to be part of it, with their guests or families, while meals are being made.” We have seen an evolution in our habits and lifestyles, which has turned a space typically known for being a workstation or utilitarian space purely existing for food prep, into a multi-purpose room for gathering, socializing, doing homework and other activities. This has made large islands in the centre of the kitchen that much more popular in support of these evolving trends. Woodland’s Top Secrets to Functional Kitchen The functionality and overall design of a kitchen is of the utmost importance both to Woodland Horizon and Quality Homes. Woodland follows the ‘kitchen work triangle’ when designing any kitchen. This refers to the layout of three key points; the fridge, the stove, and the sink. This ensures a good flow and eliminates as many steps as possible through the kitchen for optimal efficiency and comfort. The Kitchen Work Triangle “The kitchen work triangle creates a good flow in the kitchen, eliminating as many steps as possible.” Storage space is also important in any kitchen, no matter the size. Drawers with inserts or spice pullouts ensure optimal organization and customization, and are supplied by Woodland, which eliminates the need to shop at a third-party location. Your imagination is the limit when it comes to your design goals for your kitchen! Key Features of Quality Home Kitchens When you build a Quality Home, there are certain kitchen features that your home is guaranteed to receive – inclusions that would be considered upgrades by other builders. We pride ourselves on our ability to provide an overall higher end look for your gourmet kitchen, with completely custom, locally handcrafted cabinetry. Included Features: Your choice of door style, colour (stained or painted) and wood species (maple, oak or MDF) Upper cabinets to the ceiling with crown moulding Soft close drawers & doors on all cabinetry Birch dovetail wood drawers throughout Bank of pots & pans drawers Decorative island features including furniture base and finished panels Laminate countertops with 3-inch laminate backsplash (*with the option to upgrade to quartz) Choose your cabinet door style, colour (stained or painted) and wood species (maple, oak or MDF) With a wide selection of door styles and profiles, you can choose to stain or paint your cabinets. Wood doors can be stained in a variety of colours. Painted cabinets are available in any Benjamin Moore colour. You can also mix and match within your kitchen. Upper cabinetry to the ceiling With beautiful crown moulding When it comes to upper cabinetry, there are 4 choices for crown moulding. Everything is built to the ceiling meaning there will not be a gap from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling, eliminating the often frustrating task of dusting or cleaning grease from high cabinets. Building directly to the ceiling also accentuates the overall look and appearance, giving a much grander, higher-end feel. Laundry rooms and bathrooms also include crown moulding on any upper cabinetry to ensure consistency throughout your Quality Home. Soft close drawers & doors For drawers within the home, we opt for soft-close dovetail drawers, which offer an overall stronger and longer-lasting drawer, coupled with a larger holding capacity. If there is one thing, we at Quality Homes and our talented friends at Woodland Horizon agree on, is that it’s all in the little details! Decorative furniture base With finished panels When it comes to kitchen islands, each piece gets a piece of moulding at the bottom, matching the cabinetry door style. This gives your island a more formal edge, ensuring it looks more like a furniture piece. Finished panels on sides and rear of island are also included. A variety of colours to choose from for your laminate countertops With 3-inch laminate backsplash The Design Process As part of the Quality Homes experience, designing your gourmet custom kitchen is an exciting step. Once the drawings are complete, they are then passed on to Woodland Horizon who will produce 3D drawings. This give homeowners a more detailed visual of how the finished kitchen will look, showing colour and details (such as countertop finishes) to really bring the vision to life. “It allows homeowners to see beforehand exactly what their kitchen will look like before it’s sitting in their home.” The Fabrication & Installation Process Once these designs are signed off by the homeowner, they go to Woodland’s engineering team where the units are assembled through their shop into the finishing department, where final touches such as stains and paint are added. Completed inside the Quality Homes factory, your kitchen is installed by the Woodland team themselves, which adds an additional layer of efficiency and quality assurance to the entire build process. So the team who builds the cabinetry is the same team who installs it. It is amazing to see a fully completed kitchen come to life even before the home gets transported to the lot. Kitchen Trends Looking forward in kitchen design, one trend we have seen more frequently is accent pieces. This includes steel or wooden hood ranges, which draw the eye to a specific focal point within the kitchen. Steel hood range Wooden hood range “Accent pieces are more popular now than ever; it draws the eye to a specific point in the kitchen.” Reclaimed kitchen counters are also a popular touch, and mixing finishes such as reclaimed and quartz countertops, or paints and stains within a kitchen. Mixing hard and soft surfaces can make your kitchen pop! Reclaimed countertops Bathroom Trends A popular design for bathroom cabinetry is floating units with light features and furniture-based styles, as they can give an open feel in a smaller space and eliminate that heavy feeling that bulky cabinetry can cause. A common trend is lighting underneath a floating unit that shines down onto the floor. Maximizing shared space in such places as the bathroom will ensure that your design will be as practical as it is beautiful and as with all things, lighting plays a key role. Woodland also offers options when it comes to framing your mirrors within your bathroom to match your cabinetry. Furniture base style Floating cabinetry with lighting Framed wooden mirrors Mudroom, Laundry Room & Home Office Trends With more and more people working from home, home offices, mudrooms and laundry rooms are seeing increased use. Customizing these spaces with cabinetry and storage will increase both comfort and productivity – such as: cabinetry or shelves that go to the ceiling, built-in desks, spaces for baskets and cubbies, and utilizing counter space above the washer and dryer for folding and sorting. Making use of wasted space is a great way to get the most out of your home, as there is no such thing as too much storage space! Mudrooms Laundry Rooms Home Office Space Since 2019, Woodland Horizon has provided Quality Homeowners with exquisite craftsmanship and exceptional customer service. Anything wood finish and cabinetry, Woodland specializes in it, and their quality work will be sure to make your home stand out. Find out more information about Woodland Horizon through their website and on their social media: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Houzz. Watch our seminar to learn more about our gourmet custom kitchens: CONTACT US: Send us a message online: click here Give us a call: 1-800-265-2648 Send us an email: info@qualityhomes.ca