Photos By: Unsplash

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where memories are made and laughter is shared. This space is where the aromas of food waft through the house and where delicious meals are shared. Conversations at the table bring the family together. With so much going on in the kitchen, it’s no wonder this is one of the most renovated parts of a house, according to statistics. You want this space to be fully functional and customized to your liking. It should embody your household style and be a warm and inviting place to spend some time.

People want to renovate their kitchens for many reasons, including:

• Bored of look and feel
• Does not match the rest of the house
• Is outdated
• Is too small

If you are considering remodeling your kitchen, you probably want to make sure you can find the best quality work for the least amount of money. You should also consider important factors such as timeline and vision. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. There are a few things you should know. Here are 7 kitchen remodeling tips to help you get the most bang for your buck and achieve your dream kitchen!

1. Look at Inspiration

First, you should consult the internet, home design magazines, and in-person staging at stores for inspiration. Which color kitchen cabinets do you prefer?

“Even if you think you have the perfect kitchen look in your head, it’s always good to see what can and cannot be done and make note of little details out there that can elevate your kitchen to the next level,” says Boyar’s, a company that specializes in kitchen cabinets in San Diego. Some popular websites for renovation inspiration include Pinterest and Instagram. Save your favorite kitchens and show them to your contractor during the consultation.

2. Establish a Timeline

Next, it’s time to establish a timeline. This is important as you will determine when you want to start the remodeling and when you want it to finish. These are tentative dates that depend on the contractor you decide to go with. In addition, you should plan out how you and your family will work around the renovation in the meantime. Will you still be able to replace your kitchen in the meantime or will it still be functional? Will you be living out of the house or somewhere else temporarily? These are important questions you should incorporate into your planning stage.

3. Set a Budget

Your budget largely depends on the extent of your remodeling project. Be sure to be realistic with your goals and with your budget. Be ready to compromise on certain aspects of your new kitchen once you get your estimates. Also, be open to considering alternatives that are more affordable but offer a similar look and feel.

4. Read Contractor Reviews

When shopping around for a company to tackle your kitchen renovation, you want to make sure you hire a professional, talented group you can trust. Be sure to read reviews by customers to learn more about their services from an honest perspective. If they fit the bill, give them a call and have them come out for an estimate. The contractor you hire would have just the right combination of value and professionalism.

5. Research Appliances

Are you planning on replacing your appliances while you’re renovating your kitchen? In some cases, this may be necessary, while in others you may simply want to use this opportunity to upgrade your refrigerator to a larger one or replace your gas stove with a modern electric appliance. Before determining your appliance of choice, conduct research and read reviews to find the right fit. In addition, consider the size of the appliance and whether it comes with a warranty.

6. Don’t Underestimate Lighting

It may not be part of your new backsplash or granite countertop, but lighting can make a huge difference in your kitchen. Therefore, don’t underestimate lighting! Perhaps you want to add lights beneath your cabinets to illuminate your countertops. Or, maybe you want a warm glow throughout your kitchen. Whatever you decide, be sure it captures the energy of your kitchen.

7. Add Storage, Not Space

When it comes to kitchen renovation, it’s easy to want to go bigger — but you should also go smarter. More counter space means more areas for you to cook and conduct daily kitchen functions. However, what’s the point of having that new space if you don’t have a place to hide away your kitchen tools and foods?

A kitchen lies dormant upon your arrival. It is only then that it begins to pulsate, cabinets unfurling with essentials spilling out. Before you know it, every inch of your counter space is littered with the makings of a good meal. The thud, thud, thud of a heartbeat beats on.

Photos Via: Living Etc.

Remodelling your home can be a fun activity. Many people engage in remodelling their home after a period of time so that the home value will mature and the home will become more in line with their current interests. It is a pretty helpful project as it enables one to ensure that their house always remains in tip-top shape. It is also a convenient opportunity to incorporate a particular design or appliance that you have always wanted to in your home. The kitchen is always a great place to start since it is pretty easy to replace your tiles, countertops and install some new and modern cabinets. Below are a few tips to use in your remodelling project.

Set a Budget

Any form of renovation can take up a lot of resources, such as time and cash. You can thus end up spending way much more than you intended to in your kitchen remodel, especially without some form of guideline such as a budget. When taking up such a project, therefore, it is best that you develop a budget first in order to get an estimate of the overall cost of the remodelling. This will help you to plan in advance and identify whether or not you have enough money to get the whole thing done to completion. This will help you avoid suspending the project when it is halfway done. Keep in mind, however, that the initial budget figure may turn out higher by a significant amount.

Do your Research

Ensure that you get your facts right before embarking on kitchen remodelling. Do research on the prices of items you will require, such as tiles, tools, and kitchen furniture. Moreover, read reviews of various construction companies online which will enable you to pick a company that will not disappoint you in terms of quality and work performance. In addition, you can check out examples of various remodelling ideas and get inspiration for designs and colors, for instance, you would like in your kitchen.

Buy Only the Appliances you Need

While remodelling your kitchen, you may be largely tempted to replace all your appliances with some which are much larger and more expensive, which you may not even actually need. Buying an eight-burner cooker or a huge fridge and you are not large on cooking is actually a waste of resources which you could have used on something else. Be honest enough with yourself during remodelling and get appliances that will efficiently suit all your family’s needs. This will cut down a lot on time and effort used.

Focus on Quality

Buy materials that are of good quality and do not compromise due to cheap prices or bargains. Hire the best kitchen renovations specialists that you can afford to get the job done right, the first and last time. Investing in such appliances will ensure that you will not have items breaking down and you will thus not have to spend time constantly getting them fixed. When buying appliances, ensure to purchase those with a warranty since it is also a good way to ensure that you can get professional assistance in the repair of a malfunction in the items. Investing in quality will also help to ascertain the durability of your kitchen appliances and overall look.

Photo: 1111 Light Lane

If you want to get the most out of this space in your home, as well as out of the funds you spend on renovating it, it’s important to design it well. Read on for some top tips you can follow today to renovate your kitchen.

Put a Budget in Place

One of the first steps you need to take before you begin any remodel work is to set a budget. The costs of renovating a kitchen can add up very quickly, and you don’t want to get halfway through the work and find that you can’t finish the job because of a lack of funds, or that you have to skimp on important parts because it has become too expensive.

Once you have a budget in mind, take the time to price out all of the jobs and supplies that will be needed to create the kitchen you desire. You must factor in the costs of all the labor and materials, not just the large things. While buying a bunch of new appliances and ordering a new benchtop and cabinets are some of the more costly elements of a kitchen remodel, all the little things, like fixtures and fittings, can actually really add up too.

Photo: HGTV

If you find that your budget will be blown way too quickly, it’s time to go through your list to determine what work you really need to do, and what things you can get away with leaving for later. You should be able to find areas where you can cut costs by spending less on materials or by doing tasks yourself. Make sure that you leave yourself a minimum 10 percent buffer, too, as the cost of at least one thing is likely to blow out when the actual work is done. For example, there could be a plumbing issue that takes a contractor more time to resolve, or a price increase on a product.

Make a Plan

A good way to stay on track as far as your budget is concerned is to make a plan early on. Renovation work typically has to be done in a certain order (e.g., a plumber may need to do some work before cabinets can be installed), so if you list out the order in which things need to be finished, you can keep things moving along as the work progresses. This will help you to ensure that time, and as a result money, is not wasted.

Photo: Decor Pad

In addition, for a kitchen renovation, it is important to plan out every element of the design so that you can feel confident that it will all tie together nicely. On top of the more obvious things like benchtops, cabinets, and appliances, you should think about the flooring, wall color, backsplash treatment, and hardware that you will use. By making a plan, you will ensure that you end up with a cohesive look that incorporates the same kind of design styles and colors throughout. Sometimes though, you can go off track and over budget. During my last kitchen reno, I purchased a convection over from Build a Green Bakery and ended up going over budget. In the long run I actually saved more money since I purchased an oven that saves a ton on electricity.

Think About Layout, Workflow, and Usability

One of the biggest mistakes a lot of people make when they re-do their kitchen is that they don’t spend enough time considering the layout, workflow, and usability of the space. When you renovate this important area of the home, you need to make sure that the end result will actually be functional.

To help with this, think about the busiest areas in the kitchen: the sink, the stove, and the fridge. Often referred to by designers as the “work triangle” in the kitchen, since they resemble a triangle in their relation to each other, these things need to be easily accessible and in an efficient location.

Photo: My Domaine

Other considerations when it comes to the layout of your kitchen are the set-down spaces on either side of your cooking areas, and the amount of preparation space. You don’t want to limit either of these too much. In addition, there should be a good flow according to the kinds of jobs you do in a kitchen and in the order you complete them. For example, a space for chopping up vegetables should be close to the sink so you can wash the food first, while a garbage bin recessed into a cabinet should be nearby for dumping peelings and other waste without the need to move about the kitchen.

Having the right kind of storage, and enough of it, is also key. Make sure you design your cupboard space, for example, so that it is big enough to house your largest items, such as cookware, trays, and vases. Alternatively, add some wide shelving to store your most beautiful possessions, like elegant Match pewter serving-ware; or pop up some hooks to hang oft-needed pots and pans.

Photo: Apartment Therapy

The floorplan and aesthetic of your kitchen will also likely be affected by where it is located in your home. For example, a kitchen that is on show in an open-plan home will need to be integrated well with nearby spaces, while one that is tucked around a corner, or in a very separate space, can have a completely different look, feel, and layout.