A beautiful backsplash and beautiful cabinetry aren’t the only things that make a kitchen beautiful. When planning your kitchen makeover, keep these helpful hints in mind to create a place that is both useful and enjoyable to work in.
Plan Well
Your kitchen remodel’s planning phase should take longer than the construction phase. If you prepare ahead, you can limit the amount of time you’re inconvenienced by creating havoc. You’ll be more likely to stick to your spending plan as well.
How much time should you set aside to plan? At least six months is recommended by the National Kitchen and Bath Association. You won’t be tempted to alter your mind and issue change orders during construction, which will drive up construction costs and reduce your return on investment.
Get Real When It Comes to Appliances
It’s easy to get carried away when it comes to planning your new kitchen. Even though a six-burner commercial-grade range and a luxury-brand fridge may seem attractive, they may not be suitable for your cooking needs or lifestyle.
Cooking and storage appliances are the most common types of appliances. The design and functionality of the entire kitchen, not the tools, should be the focus of your kitchen makeover. Spend your money on long-term elements like cabinetry and flooring that add value, unless you’re a wonderful cook who cooks a lot. Then choose products that have earned positive evaluations on the internet and in Consumer Reports.
Keep Your Footprint the Same
Changing the location of plumbing fixtures and power sockets, as well as pulling down walls, will drive up the cost of a makeover. This is frequently when unanticipated issues arise. Maintain appliances, water faucets, and walls in the same place if at all possible.You’ll save money on demolition and reconstruction while also reducing the quantity of dust and waste produced by your project. If you have to replace your water faucets, purchase automatic kitchen faucets that have a pull- out activation and temperature control.
Don’t Ignore Lighting’s Influence
In a kitchen, lighting can make all the difference. It has the ability to make it appear larger and brighter. It will also aid you in working in a safe and productive manner. Because cabinets provide such dark work environments, under-cabinet lighting should be on your must-have list.
To avoid shadows, plan to include LED linear light that have a special optical design that increases luminance without any kind of glare. For islands and other worktops without low cabinets, pendant lights are ideal. With no cabinets overhead, recessed and track lights work nicely over sinks and basic prep spaces. Ambient lighting is created in your kitchen by flush-mounted ceiling lamps, wall sconces, and track lights. You can use dimmer switches to modify the intensity and mood of the lighting.
Go for Quality
During kitchen remodeling, functionality and durability should be the main considerations. Avoid low-quality bargains in favor of devices and products that require little maintenance and have a long warranty period. Solid-surface countertops, for example, may be more expensive, but with careful care, they will last a long time. Purchase your chairs from a restaurant chair manufacturer as they are professionally created to provide a comfortable sitting experience, and they will also add to the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen. Also, if you’re going to sell your home soon, devices with long warranties are a selling point.
Keep an Eye out for any Gaps in the Floor
If you keep your current floor and replace your cabinets, you may have to deal with gaps between the old floor and the new cabinets. Base cabinets are normally 24 inches deep, however toe-kick depths vary. Cabinet widths are available in 3-inch increments from 6 to 48 inches. If the new cabinets don’t fit the old cabinet footprint, you’ll have gaps. Make sure the width of the new cabinets matches that of the ones you’re replacing. Use molding to hide gaps of less than 3/4 inch.
Obtain valuable counter space
Without the clutter of spice racks or knife holders, pull-down racks provide rapid access to kitchen staples. When the cooking is finished, the rack swings up against the cabinet’s underside. To accommodate knives, spices, or other tiny goods that take up counter space, you can buy ready-made racks or buy a set of hinges and create your own wooden rack. You can find racks and other hardware at IKEA.com where there is a wide range of affordable and functional home furnishing products.
Take into Account the Cleanup
The amount of time you spend tidying later will be influenced by your design decisions. Keep an eye out for things that will get dirty; for example, open shelves surrounding the range look great, but grease splatters will require frequent cleaning of the objects sitting on them. To prevent water from coloring your grout, run a line of silicone over the seam between the counter and backsplash behind the sink (they make it to match grout colors). Remember to plan where you’ll put the garbage and recycling, which must be accessible to your prep area and sink.
Grease traps are designed to capture and hold the grease and oil that is produced by cooking. If they are not cleaned regularly, they will fill up and overflow, which can cause a major mess in the kitchen.
Make sure to do your grease trap cleaning at least once a month, but more often if use is heavy. This is a job that should be done by a professional service company with experience in this type of work.
Conclusion
The most expensive renovation is a kitchen remodel, which may cost up to $4,500 for even basic adjustments. If you knock down walls, reorganize the layout, and purchase new appliances, cabinets, and worktops, your kitchen remodel could cost $20,000 or $30,000 or more. So, before you hire an expert or start doing it yourself, read these money-saving tips from simple tweaks to a complete gut renovation to get the kitchen you want while staying within your budget.