Informational

Joseph Otto Enterprises Awarded Best of Houzz 2019!

Joseph Otto Enterprises Awarded Best Of Houzz 2019! Awarded by Community of Over 40 Million Monthly Users, Annual Best Of Houzz Badge Highlights Home Remodeling & Design Professionals with Top Ratings and Most Popular Home Designs   January 30, 2019 – Joseph Otto Enterprises has won “Best Of Customer Service” on Houzz®!  Our custom cabinetry firm was chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 2.1 million active home building, remodeling and [...]

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Bar Cabinetry

Most of us can agree that the kitchen is the heart of the home, but I think we could also agree that a bar is a darn good gathering spot as well! Bars and beverage centers are fantastic for entertaining and can add personality to a space. They can also provide convenient storage for glassware, specialty dishes, and liquor. We can create a custom bar or beverage station that incorporates storage, refrigeration, a wine cooler, and seating.   Imagine the good times [...]

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Summer Fun Ideas

  If your family is anything like ours, you’re likely always trying to make the most of our fleeting summer months and have some summer fun outside! We are always on the lookout for things to do outside and new places to explore. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a hike from our house, so we are not regulars. However, this summer they have a special exhibit called Nature Connects. It features thirteen sculptures constructed almost entirely out of Legos. Since [...]

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Straw Bale Gardens

A New Way To Garden This is the time of year when many people get the itch to garden. Have you heard of straw bale gardening? When I first did, it didn’t make much sense to me and then the more I learned the more I thought it sounded fantastic. You see, I love fresh produce and I hate weeding. Straw bale gardening makes for prolific plants and virtually no weeds. Brilliant! Like with most things, the prep work is an [...]

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Let’s organize those cabinets!

Let’s organize those cabinets!   We always tell our clients the most difficult part of a kitchen design isn’t picking the door style or stain color, but designing a kitchen that functions well.  Of course, everyone spends time thinking about and dreaming about what that dream kitchen will look like.  But we also want to spend time talking about how you will use that kitchen and how to keep everything organized and easily accessible.  Here are some ideas we’ve used in [...]

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Kitchen Design Trends

Kitchen Design Trends   Are you like me and are hoping this is the year to FINALLY remodel your kitchen?  9 years ago we moved into our home (after fully renovating our previous home) and decided the first thing we would change was the kitchen.  Instead we replaced all the mechanicals, dealt with a flooding issue, planted over 1,000 plants and revamped all the landscaping, and decided to have me work full time in the cabinetry business as well.  So, fast [...]

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Kitchens: The Heart of the Home

I suppose it makes sense that I love kitchens. They have a reputation for being the heart of the home, I love to cook, and our family business is cabinet making. We have designed and built some lovely kitchens over the years…I wish ours was one of them! Our kitchen is not a dream kitchen. We went through a period of time when the oven door would simply fall off of the oven. This is never good. We now [...]

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Breathe Easy

Breathe Easy We are in the thick of what typically are the coldest days of a Minnesota winter. If you aren”t planning on visiting a warmer climate, you may be missing the color green. You know that color that the grass is during the spring, that color of tree canopies, and the color of vegetable and flowers plants? If so you are not alone. Houseplants can boost your mood during a long winter and they can also improve your home’s air [...]

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Holiday Shipping Tips

Holiday Shipping Tips It’s crunch time when it comes to holiday shopping. While stores like Kohl’s will be open around the clock for the days before Christmas, many of us will be shopping online or shipping gifts. This process can be convenient, but it can also be costly. Here are a few things to keep in mind to help keep budget and anxiety under control. The United States Postal Service expects to deliver up to 470 million packages between Thanksgiving and [...]

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Cabinet Construction FAQ

Many of our customers come to us with questions regarding cabinet construction and what makes a “better” cabinet. We thought this would be a good introduction to some basic cabinet construction techniques. Framed cabinets have a wood frame around the front outer edge of the cabinet box. The face frame is made up of several pieces of wood that are fastened together and then fastened to the cabinet box. The face frame helps to keep the [...]

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