To be more accurate, the statue of Lucy is going to be refaced. The likeness of
Lucille Ball, in her hometown of Celoron,
New York, is so bad looking that
the town has decided to have her refaced. The newspaper headlines vary, but my
favorite is “Upstate Town Terrorized by Demon Lucy Statue”. Thank goodness refacing is now considered an
acceptable method of rejuvenating a scary, sad looking statue or kitchen.
The mayor of Celoron, Scott Schrecengost, has chosen to
reface Lucy, rather than replace her, because it is considerably less expensive
to put a new face on a 400lb bronze statue than to replace it completely. And,
it can be done much faster that starting a new statue from scratch.
Interestingly these are the same reasons most people chose to reface their
cabinets rather than replace them. It comes down to convenience and cost. With
our hectic schedules, many people don’t want to have their lifestyles disrupted
any longer than necessary. It’s hard enough getting everything done that we’re
supposed to each day without having construction going on for several weeks.
Refacing takes much less time than replacing a kitchen and is much less
stressful than a total renovation.
And in most cases it’s usually more economical than a
new kitchen. I say “usually more economical” because there are factors that can
increase the costs of refacing. When you select thermofoil replacement fronts
the cost is about 50% less than buying and installing new, all-wood cabinets.
However, if you choose special shapes or wood fronts the savings begins to
diminish. Another factor that can add to the expense of refacing is changing
the layout of your kitchen. You realize the greatest saving when no alterations
are made to the floor plan. If you intend on changing more than 10% of the
cabinets in the kitchen it makes more sense to think about replacing all of
them.
The selection of replacement fronts has recently expanded
exponentially. Now, Lucy’s new face could be anyone; Ethel, Marge, Wilma, or
best of all, a pretty image of Lucy, as was originally intended. In your home,
you can reface with real wood, choosing from maple, cherry, alder, birch, pine
or exotic woods. If you want to go with laminate fronts there are close to a
hundred colors to chose from, and now the laminates can be textured or
hand-crafted with a glazed finish or Italian high gloss lacquer, just like real
wood. Add to this all the modern internal conveniences that you find in new
kitchen cabinets and refacing becomes a viable alternative.
Although,
in the past, refacing used to conjure up a less-than-beautiful solution, where
the material used to cover the cabinets and doors didn’t look real and would
peel off in a few years. While this may have been true years ago, the materials
and adhesives used for refacing today have improved dramatically. Most
contractors who offer this service now replace the door and drawer fronts and
cover the cabinet with the same material the new fronts are made of. Today, a
custom refacing job, if done properly, looks just like a new kitchen and lasts
just as long.
If you’re terrorized because you’re
living with a scary looking kitchen, like the folks in Celoron are of their
statue, it might be time to consider this wonderful solution. Granted, it’s not
for everyone, so it’s in your best interest to speak with a professional
designer for their input, however, most kitchens will benefit from refacing.
And considering Lucy was one of the most talented, beautiful and funny women in
TV’s history, it is only right that her statue get a face-lift. If you find
yourself upstate, stop by the Lucille
Ball Memorial
Park to visit with Lucy (after the work has been
completed) and see what a difference a new face can make.
No comments:
Post a Comment