You have thought about it for a long time, and now the time has come to complete one of the most important home improvement projects.
The time has come for a kitchen remodel.
As one of the highest traffic areas of your home, your kitchen requires focused attention for cleaning and maintenance. Every decade or so, your kitchen also requires at least a partial overhaul.
Let’s see how we can make a kitchen remodel increase the value of your home, as well as improve the functionality of preparing and cooking meals.
Create a Realistic Budget
Performing a home improvement project such as a kitchen remodel involves setting priorities. The first priority is to establish a budget for the kitchen remodel. This requires you to balance what you want to spend on a kitchen remodel with other home improvement projects that can include adding insulation in the attic and creating an extra bedroom in the basement.
You have to account for material costs, such as the cost of installing a stone countertop. If you outsource much of a kitchen remodel, you will have to pay labor costs. List the things you want changed in the kitchen, and then decide which tasks are the most important to complete. At the top of your list should be adding a new kitchen countertop.
Consider Installing a Kitchen Countertop
Installing a kitchen countertop is one of the most effective ways to increase the value of your home. You also create extra space to store kitchen accessories, as well as to prepare and cook delicious meals. If you want to entertain guests in a higher energy environment, setting places around a kitchen countertop is an excellent way to serve food to your friends and family members.
The most important decision to make when adding a kitchen countertop is to choose the right material. Three types of stone ranks as the most popular stones used to construct countertops of any kind.
Granite
Considered by many contractors to be the best stone available for building a kitchen countertop, granite is virtually resistant to heat. This means you can include a range in your kitchen countertop plans. The incredibly strong natural stone does not chip, dent, or scratch to ensure you get high performance use out of a granite countertop for years to come. Slabs of granite typically run between $40 and $60 per square foot, although you can find granite tiles that cost between $5 and $15 every square foot.
Marble
As the most beautiful stone available for use as a kitchen countertop material, marble will produce a visually appealing elegant ambiance fit for royalty. Veining patterns unique to every slab of marble gives you the ultimate in kitchen design flexibility. The natural stone resists the damage caused by prolonged exposure to moisture. As one of the costliest materials used for constructing countertops, marble is valued anywhere from $40 to $100 per square foot.
Quartz
Engineered for customization, quartz is actually comprised of 93% quartz particles and seven percent binding resins. The engineered stone is easy to maintain because sealing the engineered stone is not necessary. Resistant to stains, quartz is the perfect countertop material for homeowners that plan to serve meals around the countertop. Quartz can cost between $100 and $200 for each square foot.
Select Your Appliances
There is some debate as to whether you should choose a countertop material first or make selecting your appliances the top kitchen redesign priority. We like the principle of building around a new, beautiful kitchen countertop. With that in mind, you need to decide how large you want any new appliances to be. The size of your new appliances will determine how much work needs to be done to expand or contract the space of certain areas of the kitchen.
After deciding on the size of appliances, you then should choose the material used to produce each appliance. You want your appliance materials to blend seamlessly with the look of the new kitchen countertop. For example, stainless steel appliances work aesthetically well with natural stone kitchen countertops.
Location of the New Cabinets Matter
Many kitchen remodels involve the placement of new cabinets. What you want to follow is the timeless kitchen design principle called the kitchen triangle, which represents the easy flow of foot traffic among the sink, stove, and refrigerator. You do not want to install new cabinets above a refrigerator, nor do you want to place cabinets next to the stove. A home improvement expert who works at one of the big box home improvement retailers like Lowe’s and The Home Depot can offer you a tool that projects the right cabinet sizes and the proper placement of each cabinet.
Used Discounted Materials
No, we are not saying you have to sacrifice quality to save a few bucks on materials. For example, you can use remnant countertop pieces instead of whole slabs to save money on the installation of a new kitchen countertop. Recycled wood like pine and cedar typically costs less than wood freshly extracted from a forest. Many merchants including big box retailers run several discount specials throughout the year. The key is to remain alert for discounts and make sure to buy materials in bulk to enjoy bulk discounts.
Some Tasks Require Advanced Notice
This tip does not apply to DIY kitchen remodels, as you plan the home improvement project according to your schedule. For kitchen remodels that require the services of an independent contractor, you will have to plan some of the tasks weeks, if not months in advance of the sub project. Windows take several weeks to fabricate and new cabinets require advance notice to ensure the supplier of the material has the material in stock. You should also remember to consider the time of year when you plan to remodel the kitchen. The peak season for kitchen remodels runs between the bookend summer holidays: Memorial Day and Labor Day.
By applying each of the six tips for a do-it-yourself kitchen remodel, you should be able to complete the project on time and within the home improvement budget.