Turning that unfinished basement from a cold, damp and dreary place was one of the best things we did. Besides making use of existing space, we also turned it into a welcome and pleasant space that could be used by teens, guests, an au pair suite or a home office. Overall we made some very good choices and everything went relatively well.

What we did
The basement now consists of a kitchen/laundry room, bedroom, storage room, hallway, bathroom and living room with fireplace Take a look at some before and after pictures of the kitchen/laundry room.

Danze bathroom and kitchen faucets are available in many plumbing show rooms and on the Internet. However, we've often wondered who stands behind Danze? More important are they reliable like Kohler, Grohe, Hansgrohe, Delta, Moen and American Standard or problematic like Pegasus faucets.

The rule of thumb in most American kitchen remodeling projects is undermount stainless steel sinks. Now Duravit, a European manufacturer, provides a ceramic kitchen sink alternative in several syles that will add a wow factor to your kitchen remodeling project.

There's a lot of talk these days about bacteria in the kitchen and how to keep it at bay. You want to keep your family safe from harmful bacteria and there are a lot of products today specifically designed to do that. Aside from using these products, what can you do to keep bacteria off of your granite countertops and stainless steel sinks? Below are a few tips for kitchen safety.