National Kitchen & Bath Association - according to their Web site, the NKBA is "the only trade association dedicated exclusively to the kitchen and bath industry." The consumer section of their site contains kitchen and bathroom design tips, links to member businesses, as well as, pictures and descriptions of award winning kitchen and bath designs.

NKBA Kitchen & Bath Planning Guidelines with Access Standards - "a collection of illustrations and planning suggestions to aid professionals in the safe and effective planning of kitchens and bathrooms" taken from the NKBA Professional Resource Library Kitchen Planning and Bath Planning volumes. This comprehensive resource contains building code requirements and recommendations for many aspects of kitchen and bathroom design, including distances between kitchen work centers, recommended counter space, dishwasher placement, seating clearances, refrigerator landing area, bath vanity heights, bathroom grab bar locations, lighting, shower sizes, and other kitchen and bath design recommendations.

Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association - according to their mission statement, this national trade association "serves and represents kitchen, bath and other residential cabinet manufacturers and suppliers." The KCMA Photo Gallery features pictures of kitchen cabinets, bath vanities, entertainment centers, home offices, and other cabinet installations and the list of active KCMA members (more than 220 at the time of this writting) includes links to most of their respective Web sites.

IKEA Kitchen Planner - a free software download that allows you to create a scale drawing of your kitchen and then drag and drop kitchen cabinets and appliances into the available space. It's fun to use and it worked pretty well the last time we tested it, but it has it's limitations. Do not expect it to replace a full function 3D CAD program.

Kitchen, Bath, and Home Design Magazines - one of the best ways to get ideas for your own kitchen or bath project is to look at pictures of what others have done. Since kitchens and bathrooms are frequently the most impressive (and expensive) rooms in a house, they are often featured in magazine articles. Such articles are able to provide readers with pictures of current design trends, which are often more up-to-date than books, which might have been written many years ago - not that those ideas are bad. This link will take you to our own list of home building and design magazines - browse around their sites, order a subscription, visit the periodical area of your local library, or just get to your dentist's office about an hour early for your next checkup;-)

Cabinet Manufacturers

American Woodmark Corporation

Armstrong Cabinets

Elkay Manufacturing Company

MasterCraft Cabinets, Inc.

Medallion Cabinetry, Inc.

Schuler Cabinetry, Inc.

Yorktowne, Inc.

Haas Cabinet Company, Inc.

Kitchen Kompact, Inc.

KOHLER Co.

Canac

LesCare Kitchens, Inc.

Masco Corporation

KraftMaid Cabinetry, Inc.

Merillat Industries, LLC

Mill's Pride Limited Partnership

Quality Cabinets

Zenith Products Corporation

MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc.

Aristokraft

Decorá

Diamond

Kemper

Schrock

Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.

Countertop Material Manufacturers

John Boos & Company - Appalachian Red Oak and Hard Rock Maple Counter Tops, Butcher Blocks, and Cutting Boards

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company - Corian^® and Zodiaq^® Solid Surfaces

Formica Corporation - Formica^® Brand Laminates, Surell^® and Fountainhead^® Solid Surfacing

Hartson-Kennedy - CERATA^® Solid Surface Products

Nevamar Company, LLC - decorative laminates, ChemArmor^TM chemical resistant laminates, and decorative metal sheets

Panolam Industries - Pionite^®

Cosentino USA - the U.S. subsidiary of Cosentino, S.A. in Spain, which manufacturers Silestone^®, a "natural quartz surface" -- actually a mixture of ground granite (quartz) and resin.

Wilsonart International - high pressure laminates, Gibraltar^® and Earthstone^TM Solid Surface