Have you found yourself dreaming about a new kitchen with shiny new appliances, organized cupboards and loads of counter space? Or are you thinking about sprucing up your kitchen in preparation for selling your house? Whatever your reason, renovating your kitchen can be done within budget and with wonderful results, provided that you take the time to plan it properly first.
Set Your Budget
This is the most important step. Decide how much you can realistically afford and are happy to spend before you start looking at your dream kitchen. If you try to budget once you have seen a kitchen that you love, you will find yourself justifying spending more than you meant to and you will suffer for it later on.
If you are planning to remodel your home in order to sell it, you should bear in mind that you are unlikely to get back all that you spend in value added to your property. It’s been estimated that you can expect to recoup around 60% of what you spent in added value. It makes sense. Although a swish new kitchen will certainly turn a buyers head, and some people love the idea of a home they can live in straight away without having to do loads of work, most people will want to put their own stamp on a property and would be planning to do a remodel of their own eventually.
Do Some Research
Once you have your budget in mind, do some research. Have a look around kitchen showrooms to get a rough idea of costs and to get some ideas on the type of kitchen that you would like. If you have any friends that have remodeled their kitchens, speak to them about the process. You will get great ideas from them not only for features that you could include in your own kitchen but for potential pitfalls to look out for, such as design elements in their own kitchens that they have ended up regretting.
Ideally, you’ll want to make sure you use good quality materials to ensure that your kitchen lasts a long time. Speak to experts about what materials they recommend and why, and then follow up these recommendations with research of your own so that you don’t fall prey to a sales pitch. It’s also well worth checking second-hand sites like eBay as people will often post second-hand kitchens made from good quality materials that you can reuse, gaining yourself a high quality kitchen for a reduced price.
Your research should also include the likely cost of the installation itself. Consider whether there are any parts of the installation that you are able (and willing!) to do yourself as this will save you money. Be sure to get quotes from a few different contractors to be sure that you are looking at a realistic price.
List Your Needs Vs Your ‘Nice to Haves’
The possibilities for what you can do with a new kitchen are almost endless, and it can be a bit overwhelming when you are confronted with so much choice.
Begin by listing out what you absolutely have to have in your new kitchen. For example, does someone in your family have a bad back that would prevent them from reaching a floor level oven? If so, an elevated oven would be a necessity. Once you have ascertained the things you really need from your new kitchen, work out a rough budget and if there is scope you can think about ‘nice to haves’ with what is left over.
Using Your Space
Now you know what is going into your kitchen, have a think about how to lay it out. Some things to consider are:
Do you need to allow space for more than one person to work at once?
What works and what doesn’t about your current kitchen layout?
Consider using the classic kitchen triangle, which means arranging the sink, stove and refrigerator in a triangular pattern. This means less unnecessary trips because the three things you will use the most are within easy reach of one another.
If you aren’t sure how best to use your space, or you just want some ideas, it’s worth engaging with a kitchen designer. Designers like Kitchen Capital can provide experience of working with multiple different types of spaces and kitchens, so they can often provide you with ideas for your kitchen renovation that you haven’t thought of. They’ll also be able to advise you on what design ideas are likely to work, and what pitfalls you may experience.
Don’t Get Overexcited!
It’s worth having a good idea of what you need and what you don’t before engaging with any designers. They are a wealth of knowledge and information, but they may also get you thinking that you need things in your kitchen that you really don’t! Be sure of what it is that you want, and be clear about that, and your designer will be able to work with you to design your perfect kitchen.
