Kitchen Remodel
Remodeling a kitchen requires a lot of work and usually a big budget and there are many costly mistakes you don’t want to make. Since your kitchen is generally considered to be the center of your home, it’s understandable that you want to make sure your kitchen is everything you dreamed it would be.
There are some common mistakes homeowners make. We’ll share our thoughts to assist with your Santa Barbara kitchen remodel to help with the complicated design of a kitchen and the many moving parts.
Of all the millions of people working on a kitchen remodel project some end up with the kitchen of their dreams. While others find out they made costly mistakes and the project took way longer than they hoped it would. We’re going to share the top remodeling secrets that you need to know about before starting your kitchen remodel to ensure your project’s success.
1) Your Kitchen Remodel Should Consider Form Before Function
Style usually drives a kitchen design. Paint, kitchen equipment, backsplash, and countertops are more fun than storage, lighting and ventilation. Functionality will be more important than the beautiful features in the long term.
Great kitchen design focuses on work zones. For food prep, the stove, refrigerator and prep counter should be in close proximity. Sometimes homeowners design a kitchen with the refrigerator further away from the prep area than it should be. It might look great, but it will be very frustrating over time.
A range hood will do a much better job of removing smoke and odor than the built-in ventilation or an over-the-range microwave. Lighting is very important as well and It doesn’t cost much to add under cabinet lighting and it’s important for food prep.
Of course the reason you’re doing a remodel is to end up with your dream kitchen but don’t only focus on the aesthetics. You still need to spend every day working in the kitchen – and you’ll be unsatisfied with your kitchen design if you find out it creates more work for you when doing your everyday tasks.
Another common mistake when doing your kitchen remodel is to not consider how your cupboards, refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher open. For example, can you open the refrigerator and the nearest cupboard door at the same time? These little items happen more often than you might think. You can still have a beautiful kitchen that works great for your needs.
2) Don’t Change Your Mind Once You Start The Kitchen Remodel
Changing your mind is the biggest mistake homeowners make while doing a kitchen remodel once the project has started. It will cost time and money and since the average kitchen remodel in the country costs around $28,000 all the changes will add up quickly.
Once materials have been ordered changing your mind can become a great setback. Changing your mind on tile, cabinets, fixtures, or countertops can cause…
- Your project to be stopped immediately while you wait.
- Additional costs to re-order.
- Extra funds being needed to cover the difference in pricing between materials.
- Applicable restocking fees of the original material.
- Labor and/or material delays holding up your project.
3) Your Kitchen Remodel Needs to Including enough storage or countertop space
You can never have too much storage space, because you will always fill it. A good design for your kitchen remodel will create additional storage in the exact space needed. One of the most common complaints about a kitchen is not enough counter space, so be sure to keep this in mind when planning your kitchen remodel.
You can’t work efficiently in a kitchen without counter space, and your general contractor should be able to share some ideas to help increase your countertop space for your kitchen remodel.
One way to extend your counter space is by adding decorative elements to the ends of your cabinets, such as corbels for shelving supports to create added room. Another idea to help with counter space that many Santa Barbara homeowners love is adding a peninsula or freestanding island.
Just like you need space to work on, you need places to store everything. Nobody has ever complained about too much storage. Experienced general contractors, like Davis Construction can advise you on the design so you’ll have adequate storage and countertop space.
4) A Kitchen Remodel Needs Sufficient Electrical Outlets
It seems like everything in the kitchen needs power, including items that aren’t necessarily kitchen tools. Your KitchenAid, and your toaster, for sure but don’t forget about your smart device.
Maybe you need to watch your tablet to see your favorite chef explain the details of how to make a difficult recipe. There are also many times that you just need to charge your phone, or your guests need to charge their phone.
Talk to your general contractor before your kitchen remodel about ways to hide additional outlets within the island, backsplash or in a drawer for those times you need another nearby socket available.
5) Don’t Wait To Choose your Appliances
Choosing your appliances last in the design phase of your project can cause a lot of extra work. It’s understandable that you don’t really want new appliances sitting around your house before it’s time to install them, but it’s important to at least make a decision.
The size and specifications of your appliances are imperative to know as they have a direct effect on the size of the surrounding materials. By choosing your everything first, it’s easier to design the cabinetry and countertop around it for a perfect fit instead of the other way around.
6) Don’t do a kitchen remodel by yourself
If you’re an HGTV fan, you probably think it’s as easy as it looks on TV to renovate your home. Reality TV isn’t as real as you might think, because it’s not really possible to remodel your kitchen in a weekend with three thousand bucks.
Everyone seems very excited to get started on their kitchen remodel but doing some of the work yourself can actually be more costly and time consuming than you realize.
There will be plumbing and electrical plans, and maybe even structural and permitting problems that need to be considered in the design stage, that a general contractor can help with.
There is a lot that a homeowner can do, but unless you’re a general contractor, it’s important to work with a licensed professional to make sure that you take all the necessary factors into consideration
7) Be Smart About Your Spending
Your general contractor can advise you on what to do about almost any aspect of your kitchen remodel, but you’re the only one that knows your budget. Make sure you know your budget before you get started.
Make sure to take everything into consideration, like your current home value, what your primary goals are with the kitchen remodel and what your needs are versus your wants.
There are cost saving options that can still deliver a beautiful look. Some natural materials, like marble countertops and hardwood floors can be luxurious. But they can be extremely expensive and they also are often susceptible to wear and tear. Instead of marble, consider low-maintenance quartz that offer entry-level lines that combine looks, durability, and a competitive price tag.
On the floor, consider a porcelain tile that resembles the real thing, it earns near perfect scores in tests, and costs less than $4 per square foot, which is half what you’ll pay for some solid hardwood floors.
Also remember certain items are very difficult to change while others are much easier. Spend a little more of your budget on cabinets because higher end cabinets last extremely long and are very costly to replace, vs. light fixtures that can be easily replaced at a later date.
Be sure your budget includes a way to pay for contingencies as well, because it is inevitable that there will be some issues that require a little extra expense.
Kitchen Remodel Conclusion
A good kitchen remodel increases the value of your home, and makes your home more warm, inviting and comfortable. A bad renovation can be a stressful, costly and time-consuming mistake so do everything you can to avoid mistakes when doing your kitchen remodel.
As a licensed Santa Barbara general contractor for over 10 years Christopher Davis Construction can walk you through your entire project and provide a free estimate.
