5 Things To Ask Yourself Before You Remodel Your Kitchen
Your kitchen is out dated. There are things about it that bother you, like that broken drawer you tug on every morning to get a coffee spoon, or maybe that broken cabinet door from when your 5 year old decided to climb onto the counter. There are days that you imagine yourself with a sledgehammer, and the satisfaction of smashing said cabinets with it while you scream "DEMO DAY!"
We get it.
But before you grab that sledgehammer and remove all of your current frustrations with it, lets look at some key questions regarding your kitchen before you destroy it.
1) ARE YOU FIXING AND FLIPPING OR IS THIS YOUR FOREVER HOME?
There are 2 categories of remodeling.
Fix it to Flip it - or -
Love it and Live in it.
Fix it and flip it requires a different design that is favorable to your majority buyer and not so much your personal taste and style. If you plan to list your home in the next 12-24 months, this is a more conservative approach because you want that kitchen to be the main selling point of the home. There's an old real estate saying, "Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes." and it's true. Your kitchen is the epicenter of the home and the main focal point for most buyers.
Love it and live in it. This is your forever home and you are never ever ever moving so the investment you make into your home, you will enjoy for the rest of your life, or until you get the itch to remodel it again (usually between 10-20 years). Your home is a reflection of your personal style so you may splurge on things like upgraded cabinets and countertops or designer tile, and high end appliances. After all, you will be there to enjoy every minute of them. You can branch out with your design and be bold and unusual without having to worry about taking away from the homes value.
2) WHAT ARE YOUR MUST HAVES?
What do you like? What don't you like about your kitchen? Deciding what you really want in your new kitchen is an important step to before remodeling.
What are the pain points of your current kitchen?
What do you need more of?
What do you need less of?
Will you need to change the layout?
What needs to be updated?
Are you looking to sell soon? Which updates will add the most value to your kitchen?
3) WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET FOR REMODELING?
And is it realistic?
According to HomeAdvisor, the average cost of a kitchen renovation in the U.S. is $22,129. Lower end remodels are around $4,000 and higher end as much as $50,000.
How do you know what a realistic budget is for your kitchen renovation? A good rule of thumb is to spend 5% – 15% of your homes total value on your kitchen renovation. For example, if your house is valued at $200,000, a decent kitchen renovation budget would be 10% of that value, so about $20,000.
Divide Your Budget By Area Of Focus
Let’s say you allocated $20,000 to renovate your kitchen. How do you know where to spend that money? According to HomeAdvisor and the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the breakdown could look something like this:
Cabinetry and hardware: 29%
Installation: 17%
Appliances and ventilation: 14%
Countertops: 10%
Flooring: 7%
Lighting: 5%
Walls and ceilings: 5%
Design fees: 4%
Doors and windows: 4%
Faucets and plumbing: 4%
Other: 1%
4) WHAT DESIGN CONCEPTS ARE YOU DRAWN TO?
Sites like Pinterest and Houzz are great places to get design examples and explore different styles and ideas. Creating a Pinterest board or Houzz to save your favorites is very helpful when putting together the overall design elements of your kitchen.
5) DO YOU HAVE A STORAGE PLAN DURING CONSTRUCTION?
This is an important but often overlooked question - What do I do with all of my stuff?
Plan ahead and have a storage location for all of your kitchen essentials. You will be "moving out" of your kitchen during construction and will need ample space to store your items until the construction is completed.
Staging a "temporary" kitchen area is also a good idea so that you are still able to cook and clean while your kitchen is under construction. Some homeowners move out during renovations while others continue to live there during the remodeling phase.
Planning ahead helps eliminate additional stress.
Schedule your FREE Consultation online with Gwen Co. Our team will assist you every step of the way from the design process to the logistics of remodeling. We are here every step of the way to ensure a smooth remodeling experience. Whether you plan to fix and flip or stay in your home forever, we're happy to assist you in achieving your remodeling goals.
Roofer Gwen
"Everything you love is under that roof."