Is a kitchen remodel on the horizon? If you’ve been dreaming of an update to the heart of your home – which may or may not be screaming late 90s/early 2000s – we’ve put together a list of things to consider before a kitchen remodel goes into play.
Our team has a list of important elements that we encourage our clients to consider before taking the renovation plunge. Not that we don’t support the idea (we’re in that business after all), but in our professional experience the renovation project will go a whole lot smoother once you have a clear direction in place.
1 / Goals
Define your goals: Why are you remodeling the kitchen? Is it a minor refresh to update fixtures and surfaces and increase the home’s resale value? Or is it to improve functionality and flow for your busy family? Some of our clients remodel their kitchens to accommodate lifestyle changes, such as empty-nesters upgrading well worn, standard kitchen cabinets and fixtures to higher quality ones.
Make a list of your specific needs and wants, such as more storage, better lighting, additional appliances,and/ or a new layout. Determine if a full gut renovation is required or if a lighter refresh would suffice.
2 / Budget
This is by far the MOST important thing to consider. There are many factors that come to play here but at the end of the day your budget needs to be your budget.
There are also underlying costs that are unforeseen that we won’t know about until we open up walls and demolition takes place, so we suggest to our clients to have a 10-12% contingency fund of the total cost of the project put aside for the ‘what ifs’. It’s best to be prepared and if you don’t need it,all the better!
3 / Layout
Speaking of budget, do you want to keep the existing layout? Or add/remove walls? The latter will significantly affect the cost, as will relocating plumbing, and electrical.
If the walls are load bearing, permits will be required depending on the structural work being done, which will impact the budget and timing. Condo owners might have other considerations such as strata approvals and building noise regulations.
4 / Design
If you’ve been dreaming of a kitchen remodel for a while, it’s probably safe to say that you have a specific look/style in mind. With the powers of Pinterest and Instagram, we have access to amazing inspiration images to act as jumping off points.
Interior design requires extensive knowledge and a high attention to detail. Achieving a harmonious and visually appealing space requires the skilled eye and expertise of a professional interior designer. To ensure you get exactly what you envision (and more), our in-house Design Team works closely with clients to decide on every detail from plumbing fixtures and paint colours, to cabinetry and countertop profiles. Our designers focus on functionality – how you want your kitchen to function to suit your needs – and will think of details from different standpoints such as construction or mechanical. And they’ll help you stay on budget.
5 / Custom Cabinetry
Why should homeowners consider a custom cabinet maker rather than ‘off the shelf’ stock cabinetry? Custom allows you to create a kitchen that not only meets your functional needs but also reflects your personal style and maximizes the potential of your space, resulting in a more efficient and long-lasting kitchen design.
In particular, custom cabinets facilitate organized kitchen spaces by providing storage solutions tailored to your individual needs. Customized drawers, shelves, and dividers/racks ensure that every item in your kitchen has a designated place, resulting in easy access, clean-up, and efficient workflow. For example, we commonly plan to incorporate features like pull-out shelves for cooking ingredients by the stove and very accessible storage for recycling bins—and often a very customized feature like appliance storage or specific activity zone for baking or breakfast making.
6 / Appliances
Appliances can easily eat up to 15-20% of your kitchen remodel budget. We recommend spending a good chunk of time researching brands and makes/models as well as getting a sense of order timelines prior to your renovation start. When you’re prepared, you won’t be scrambling at the last minute and potentially not getting the appliance you really wanted.
7 / Lighting
Without the right lighting, your kitchen renovation vision could fall flat. Inadequate illumination can literally cast a shadow over the most beautifully designed spaces.. For this reason, we like to remind homeowners of the pivotal role of lighting when considering a kitchen remodel. While abundant natural light during the day is a great asset, what does the space look like in the evening?
In addition it’s the layering of lighting that creates an overall wow factor. Pot lights, puck lights, under cabinet lighting, dimmers, drawer lighting, pendants over an island, chandelier over the dining table, and more. There are a lot of lighting decisions to be made, and our team will guide you every step along the way.
8 / Duration
This is a huge factor to consider before a kitchen remodel. For those who have never been part of a renovation before, it’s always a bit of a shock when it comes to the timeline. But when you think about all the moving pieces such as the design process, product/material selection and ordering, permits, and labor, you can start to understand.
Depending on the scale of the renovation, it may take anywhere from 2-3 months. There are several weeks of planning that go into a kitchen renovation before it starts, and we typically recommend 4-6 weeks to work with us on the labor and design as well as getting products ordered to make sure we’re ready to go for the start of the project.
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Want to learn more about our kitchen renovation process? Please contact us.