Elkay Kitchen Sinks

A new kitchen: Cooking is even more fun after makeover in Freeburg home

"If I had to redo (the backsplash), I wanted tile. I said, 'I'm not putting tile up with these cabinets.'"

That got the ball rolling: Out with the oak cabinets, in with a trip to the Home Show in Belleville in January 2010. Carol, 57, returned with a lot of ideas, but more importantly, the names of a handful of kitchen designers she wanted to interview.

"Everybody had different ideas on what to do," she said, but it was Mike Fleming of Concept Kitchen and Bath in Red Bud who got the nod.

"He was wonderful to work with. He asked me what I liked about my kitchen and what I didn't like. What I wanted."

No walls needed to be knocked out, but rearranging was definitely on the agenda and a new wood floor would have to be laid to cover up where the original island had been.

"The sink and stove and dishwasher stayed in the same place, but everything else got moved around," Carol said, laughing. "I come in here and have to think about where some things are. I have more room, it feels bigger, even though it's somewhat the same footprint."

No trophy kitchen

Carol, who is married and has two grown sons, retired last July after 25 years working in St. Clair and Madison counties as a nutrition and wellness educator for the University of Illinois Extension. Among her responsibilities was teaching food classes, from canning and cooking for diabetics to how to prepare wild game and food safety.

"I've cooked since I was a small child; my mother was a fabulous cook," she said. The transition to studying home economics in college was a natural one and she ended up focusing on nutrition and food.

"That was my real love." Now she has her own food-safety consulting company, Safe & Savory Solutions.

She wanted the new kitchen to both look good and function well.

It does both.

"I love just coming in here and looking at it," she said, beaming.

Golden maple cabinets have a mocha glaze. Quartz counertops gleam. Details include crown molding and spiral wood columns.

But Carol is just as enamored with the features that can't be seen -- the ones that make her kitchen better organized, neater and easier to use.

She opened a built-in pantry next to the refrigerator and showed off drawers that roll out. It's filled with tidy rows of her canned fruit and preserves. Everything can be seen easily.

Below the new five-burner Wolf stovetop is a long shallow drawer filled with Carol's herbs and spices. "These are the ones I use the most," she said of the 50 or so jars.

Elkay Lustertone - Elkay Kitchen Sinks

Are so popular since they are the best sinks of their kind on the market. This Elkay remarkable line of sinks are specifically designed with an exclusive finishing that brings deep, warm, classic tones to stainless steel.

With Elkay lustertone sinks, there is no need to worry about your design lacking shininess. On the contrary, they’ll allow your style to get exposed in their premium stainless steel look.

The Elkay lustertone collection comes in a number of shapes and sizes to choose from. You can easily choose one that fits your needs and budget. You can go for single, double or even triple bowl sinks. If you want to know what type of sink is the most popular, it’s the Elkay’s lustertone undermount sinks .

Most of Elkay lustertone undermount sinks are 18-gauge. What is gauge? It refers to the thickness of a stainless steel sinks. The higher the gauge, the thinner the sink is. You should know that 18 gauge is the standard gauge for high-end sinks.

You may find that the lustertone collection is quite more expensive than the elumina collection. However, you pay for the quality you will get from the Elkay lustertone. In addition, these sinks look nicer than the elumina sink.

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