Remodeling is exciting, especially when it’s the kitchen! It’s an opportunity to customize the heart of the home according to your personal preferences, lifestyle and needs. There are many moving pieces, some more fun than others, to consider and manage in the process.
If you’re getting ready to remodel, here are five mistakes to avoid when remodeling your kitchen:
Forgetting functionality.
Most homeowners get so excited about picking out new colors and finishes that they skip the process of considering how they need their kitchen to work for them. For example, if you enjoy entertaining throughout the year, the layout of the kitchen should be designed to accommodate that through an open floorplan and/or additional seating options. Plus, what about clean-up? The KickVac is a small vacuum system that can be built into the bottom of your cabinet to make cleaning the floor that much easier. There’s a lot you can do with your new kitchen!
Storage, storage, storage.
Choosing cabinets is an integral part of remodeling your kitchen, but the storage conversation can go far beyond that. Consider what you would like to be able to store in the kitchen, and how, as you think through your ideal remodel. Our Remodeling Designers have had fun designing creative storage solutions like these for homeowners:
- Coffee enthusiast? In this kitchen, we designed an Espresso station that is built-in to the cabinet system.
Ignoring maintenance needs.
When choosing your countertops, backsplash, and flooring, remember to consider the maintenance needs of your choices. Some tile backsplashes are difficult to keep clean due to the texture or nature of their surface and could require special treatments to protect them again the typical messiness that comes with cooking. If you like to throw the chef hat on every night, this may not be ideal for you as the splashing of sauces, oils and more is inevitable for even the tidiest of cooks.
Overfilling the space.
It’s easy to keep adding features and ideas to your remodeling project, and it’s ok… as long as it all fits while leaving space for YOU. Many folks like the idea of having an island, but if the space you have available doesn’t allow for it without reducing the width of your walkways (and important cooking space!) it may not be a wise move. This mistake is most easily avoided by working with a Remodeling Designer who can show you previews of the space before work begins. Moving the picture in your head to paper makes a significant difference when making decisions.
Dismissing the importance of lighting.
Lighting has a substantial impact on the look and feel of a kitchen. Where your kitchen is in your home, and the natural light it receives, will help determine the lighting fixtures, lightbulbs, spacing, etc. you may want. Maybe you’ll want pendant lighting that accentuates a specific color used in the kitchen. Maybe walking into your kitchen, saying “Good Morning,” and having the spotlights above the coffee area automatically turn on sounds lovely. There are Smart Lighting options for that. Lighting is an opportunity to accentuate your beautiful new kitchen.
If this sounds like more than you can manage on your own, you’re like many other homeowners who have remodeled their kitchens! Balancing the management of such a large, multi-faceted project while handling all of your other responsibilities and obligations would become overwhelming very quickly. That’s why there are companies like us who partner with you from design to build on remodeling projects. We guide you through the fun stuff you’re probably most excited about and handle all the other moving pieces on your behalf.
Before you know it, you’ll have a brand new kitchen and avoid the five big mistakes mentioned above along with the stress that would’ve come with it.