You Won't Find Anything Else Like Checkbook
- Nonprofit and independent
- Takes no advertising or referral fees
- Ratings and reviews by surveyed Consumers' Checkbook and Consumer Reports local subscribers
- Undercover price comparisons
- Complaint counts from local consumer agencies and attorney general offices
- Advice to help you get the best service and value
Are you ready for a kitchen makeover? Here's advice on how to get the kitchen you crave for the least amount of hassle and money. We provide tips and ratings to help you plan your space, find the right designers, suppliers, and contractors, and get good prices.
Since you’ll probably redo your kitchen only every 10 to 20 years, you’ll want to select finishes and fixtures that you love. But also make sure they fit current, up-and-coming, and long-term cabinet and countertop trends.
While granite is still popular, the most popular kitchen countertops are quartz, which looks like stone but is actually a mashup of minerals and resins and usually colored with patterns that mimic granite or marble. No matter what type of material you select, you can save plenty by shopping for the best price.
Finding the right appliance, buying it, and getting it delivered and installed without hassles can be an aggravating experience. Fortunately, some area stores serve their customers well, and you don’t have to pay more to get this kind of treatment.
Begin by carefully considering what you think you want and how you can get it. Weigh your wish list against what you’ll probably pay to fulfill it.
To get your money’s worth, and a job that looks good and lasts, here are tips on tiling—from finding a good contractor to checking the finishing details.
Whether you need to cover a kitchen backsplash, redo the floor in your powder room, or pick finishes and materials for an entire house, tile is a big part of many remodeling projects. But walk into a tile showroom or home improvement store, and you may be overwhelmed with options. Cement or porcelain? White or off-white subway tiles? Glass tiles etched and painted with songbirds or a marble mosaic that looks straight out of Pompeii?