Ultimate Guide to Remodeling a Kitchen
There are a lot of things to consider when thinking about remodeling your kitchen. Before jumping into any home remodeling project, it is important to be well-informed and prepared. This is especially true for a kitchen remodel because the kitchen is the most used room in almost any home. No matter what your kitchen looks like today, after a quality renovation, it can be the heart of your home!
Hire a Contractor
The first step to any home renovation should be to find a trusted contractor. Having a contractor in mind before you begin planning your remodel will provide you with a consultant and connections to interior architects and designers. With the help of an experienced contractor, you will be able to plan a realistic design and budget. Check out our tips to read up on how to choose the right contractor in the Michiana area. Our home remodeling contractors will work with you to create the kitchen of your dreams.
Plan the Design
Designing the kitchen can be the most exciting part of the process. If you aren’t working with a designer, there are plenty of programs out there for 3-D kitchen design. If you have a good idea of what you’d like done, you might be able to design it yourself. When planning your kitchen’s layout and improvements the most important things to think about are flow and storage.
Flow
The most efficient kitchens follow the floorplan of a work triangle, with the sink, refrigerator, and stove just steps apart in a triangular pattern. With that in mind, think about how many people usually use your kitchen. If you tend to have more than two cooks in the kitchen, an island or wheeled cart will provide more space for meal preparation. If you’re cooking for a large family, you might consider a double oven or an extra-large refrigerator-freezer. For smaller families, you might want to focus more on countertop space for any appliances you regularly use. Think about how your family uses the kitchen, then schedule a time to talk to a contractor about the best way to make your kitchen work with your home and lifestyle.
The style and color scheme of your kitchen will also really affect the flow from room to room. Unlike most rooms which simply have wall paint and furniture/decor, kitchen color schemes rely on wall paint, cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, appliances, fixtures, etc. Neutral colors will give your kitchen a sleek look but lack personality. Using compatible will give your kitchen a more lively look. You can add more style to any kitchen with an ornate backsplash and pendant lights. You can see our partners/suppliers at claytonhoover.com/kitchen to begin browsing their selections. We encourage you to play with the design and talk to a contractor or designer to maximize natural lighting, choose complementary colors, and incorporate your own style.
Storage
From the drawers to the pantry, there needs to be a convenient place for everything in the kitchen. And while we all might want a huge walk-in pantry to store everything we could possibly need, most of us simply don’t have enough space. In the South Bend area, the median house size is 1,348 square feet, with roughly 160 square feet for your kitchen. Choosing the right storage options will help transform your kitchen to meet your individual needs and your own unique style.
Open shelving can be really beneficial. Although this modern trend is not for everyone, open shelves can be extremely affordable and the results are insanely chic! Open shelves make a kitchen feel larger and brighter. And having everyday tools, ingredients, and serving dishes within reach and sight can make your kitchen much more efficient for cooking. Plus, you can still hide away your pots, pans, and storage containers in base cabinets.
For more storage, consider traditional kitchen cabinets. You can always opt for some wall cabinets with glass doors or a small set of open shelves to display your favorite dish set or wine glasses, while still hiding away your clutter in wall and base cabinets. Traditional cabinets are also a great option for those that don’t know exactly what style they want for their kitchen. Traditional kitchens are warm, welcoming, flexible, versatile, and timeless. Unlike open shelving, which can look messy if you aren’t a very organized person or a minimalist, traditional cabinets can be used for a range of purposes and can fit any style of home.
For maximum storage, install slide-out shelves throughout your kitchen and consider converting a closet or part of an adjoining room into a walk-in pantry. If you have the space for it, a walk-in pantry is a remarkably economical way to upgrade your kitchen! A pantry can give you more storage than an entire wall of cabinets, at a fraction of the cost. Quality slide-out shelves, on the other hand, are not cheap. If they are something you are interested in having in your kitchen, you will need ones that can hold the weight of whatever snacks, ingredients, or cookware you are storing. You want ones that will last, and depending on how many you install throughout your kitchen, the price can definitely add up. But for large families and seasoned chefs, slide-out shelves are a must-have to make your kitchen work for you.
Build your Budget
When it comes to a kitchen remodel you always want to aim for quality. You can read up on how to save money without cutting corners in our article on How to Effectively Remodel. Before getting an estimate, it is a good idea to prioritize every aspect of your kitchen remodel from “must-haves” to “in our dreams.” Knowing what is important to you will help your contractor give you everything you need without going over budget. That being said, unexpected costs can arise in any home renovation. Whatever your budget may be, you should set aside an extra 10-20% for unexpected overages.
Explore more of our articles to prepare for a home improvement
and when you’re ready to start your remodel schedule a consultation.
