Tips while planning your kitchen remodel.
Creating a plan for a kitchen remodel can be stressful and overwhelming. Aside from figuring out exactly how you want your space to look and working around a budget, you must also make a lot of selections to create your masterpiece.
As a home remodeling company, we have a very detailed process to make your remodel run smoothly throughout design + build. Before we get started on a kitchen remodeling project, we gather all the information needed to make your kitchen unique to you.
This includes kitchen and bath remodeling! We will be covering bath remodeling tips in our next blog post!
Managing the amount you spend on your next kitchen remodel should be a breeze if you follow these simple tips:
Choose 3 Kitchen Remodeling Goals
Start with a basic idea of what you want to accomplish. This doesn’t usually include specific details such as color and style, but more of a general, overall vision of what you would rather have.
Examples:
- More space to resolve layout conflicts or make way for new appliances.
- More kitchen counters to better accommodate your style of cooking.
- Add a kitchen island to your remodel for guests to socialize while cooking.
- Add more storage space for the kitchen area, such as a walk-in pantry
Try to devise three primary goals you’d like to accomplish with a kitchen remodel, and then make sure you know exactly why you want to achieve them.
Prioritize Your Wants & Must Haves
Our wish list is more significant than our budget for many of us. It’s important to remember that remodeling is an extensive—and expensive—project. Be prepared to adjust your scope of work to match your budget.
One of the advantages of working with a design-build firm rather than an architect and separate contractor is that a design-build firm has firsthand construction knowledge and cost data to help guide the budget process.
Architects are prone to overlook necessary steps in the construction process, and the cost tables they use are based on industry averages that do not consider crucial information such as material durability and finishes.
Be aware when you are choosing a kitchen remodeling contractor! In College Station, contractors are not required to have a license, which can lead to many problems. Check out our blog post on choosing a contractor safely.
Prepare for Unexpected Expenses
We recommend setting aside at least 15% of your budget in case of unexpected problems. This is another advantage of using a design-build firm.
Deep building science and field experience during design help anticipate and account for possible surprises. Our average cost of hiding surprises is far lower than 15%, but we want our clients to be ready for the worst-case scenarios.
Make Arrangements for Living Accommodations
Kitchen remodeling can be stressful, especially since there will be a lot of renovating, reconstructing, and possible minor demolitions. This can prove to be an inconvenience for your family. We recommend discussing this with your family and deciding on a place for your temporary kitchen/dining area while the ongoing project.
Some may prefer to eat out during that time, but this could be pretty costly. You can always set up a minimal kitchen for making coffee and small meals during this time. Temporary kitchen items might include a mini-fridge, toaster oven, and microwave.
Work Out a Payment System
Take time to explore your options (i.e., personal loans, refinancing, home equity loans, etc.) for paying for the remodel. Be sure to know when the funds will be available as well. You’ll need to know when to get a hold of those funds to pay for the project. Some forms of lending will not allow the project to start until the loan is secured.
Kitchen remodels are inevitably disruptive, but the result is always worth it. Of course, you’ll have forgotten about the inconvenience a few weeks after the project is completed. When you walk into your newly remodeled kitchen, the difficulty of the process will be gone. You will appreciate the upgrade in the quality of life. That is why our tagline is “We Design and Build Happiness.”
