Kitchen Remodeling Tips & Ideas
You’re finally ready to update your home after decades of neglect and now you’re thinking about improving the function and appearance of the kitchen. The kitchen is a favorite room most homeowners first think of when an upgrade is needed.
Kitchen remodeling can get quite expensive, but it is the best investment in your home because it is the room used most often and when it is time to sell the house, the upgrades done to the kitchen usually keeps its value.
Before you hire the contractor or do it yourself, you might be wondering what to do with the kitchen you have now. You can find ideas for your kitchen in a variety of ways. Here are a few suggested ways to fire up your imagination.
Visit Open Homes
Many owners put up their house for sale near your area. You can visit these homes when they are open for viewing. You can dash straight into the kitchen and take notes of the layouts or floor plans you like. This is a chance to see what other people’s kitchens look like. Be sure to look at such things as cabinetry, proximity of the stove, sink and refrigerator, countertops and flooring. You should be able to get a feel of what your neighborhood has by visiting several of these open homes. Naturally, the quality will vary in each home you visit, but you will get a firsthand look that will help you find the features or the styles most appealing to you.
Visit Showrooms
Complete kitchens can be viewed in home improvement retail showrooms. They have arranged them to include cabinets, appliances, sinks, stoves, refrigerators, tables and chairs to help you get a feel of how a new kitchen will “almost” look like in your own home. You are sure to find a few of these retailers within your neighborhood. Don’t just limit yourself to the well known chains such as Home Depot or Lowe’s. Look in your phone book to find the smaller dealers were they could give friendlier and cozier service.
Home Improvement Shows
Each year, a gathering of leading suppliers will set themselves up at booths under one roof to present their home improvement products or services. In these fairs or shows, you will see the newest kitchen remodeling products available today. They usually hold “how to clinics” or workshops that will teach you how to do certain remodeling or home improvement jobs. There may be a small entry fee, but it would be worth it, considering what you will learn by talking to the experts.
Kitchen Remodeling Magazines
Many kitchens are shown in magazines that focus on home improvement such as kitchen remodeling. You get to see the newest designs and appliances. Sometimes you might think these kitchen designs are out of your price range, or your home isn’t big enough, but it is a good source for fresh ideas and you might learn a thing or two about what’s new. Many of these periodicals can offer you how to information and reviews you can use to help you decide what to look for in a design, materials and more.
Last Thoughts
These are just a few sources to help you get some ideas for your kitchen remodeling project started. Don’t forget to talk to anyone you know about their kitchen, such as your family members or relatives, friends and co-workers. Find out if they had a remodel job done lately and ask for their experience or advice. Good luck in your kitchen remodeling.
Copyright 2006 by Leroy Chan
Watch the video related to kitchen remodeling
Kitchen remodeling is a great home improvement investment and can be done on a budget. Update kitchen light fixtures, cabinets and countertops with tips from a professional home repairman in this free video on home improvement. Expert: James Drew Contact: www.jnchomerepair.com Bio: James Drew is the owner and president of JNC Home Repair in Austin, TX. Drew is also an HVAC certified tech with more than two decades experience in plumbing, masonry, and carpentry. Filmmaker: Todd Green…
Help answer the question about kitchen remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling – What is the First Step toward Remodeling my Kitchen?I've already considered the budget and materials I want to use.
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What a fun and great way to add value to your Mom's home. Keep in mind some simple project ideas can be very involved. Good Luck with your kitchen remodel. I hope these websites help you.
The DIY Network has some awesome project ideas…
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/pac_ctnt/text/0,2019,DIY_14161_33146,00.html
Home Depot and Lowe's are also great sources…
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=SF_MS_PD_New_Mover_Dream_Home_Kitchen&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=categorySelect&category=Indoors&Ne=6000&N=0
Some kitchens are on the small side (mine is a narrow, galley style kitchen) and there`s not much you can do to actually increase the space. But below are a few tips to make it APPEAR larger than it is.
1, Bright, well lit.
2, Light, pastel colours.
3, Plain, modern cupboard doors, perhaps maple or beech (not chamfered,old country cottage oak doors)
4, Try having all your units around they edge of the room, utilising all the wall space including corners, leaving the middle of the room with a free space.
5, The main thing is to keep clutter to a minimum. Find cupboard space for most of your utensils and have nothing out on the worktops except for things needed for everyday use(ie kettle, toaster,etc)
google "kitchen backsplash"
A sink with a hole for a dish soap pump
A slide out shelf in a base cabnet for pots and pans
First you should draw up some possible plans for your kitchen–where the appliances might be placed, where the cabinets and counters could go, placement of a table and chairs, etc. Include accurate measurements of the floor and wall spaces, as well as where the windows and doorways are located.
Then get some input about these plans from a few people whose opinions you value (but don't ask too many people, as having too many suggestions could just add to the confusion).
Then go to a place like Home Depot and meet with someone in their Kitchen dept. These stores provide a free computerized kitchen planning service (it's free because they are hoping you will wind up buying the stuff you'll need from them). Bring along your sketches and measurements. They will put this information into a computer, which will then print out not just a diagram of the new layout, but will show just how things would actually look from different angles (just as if you were standing in different places and looking around the kitchen). If you are like me and have trouble visualizing in your head how things will look, these computer-generated pictures will be of great help in deciding which layout could look the best and work out the best for you. Another bonus is that the people working at these stores have helped hundreds of people redesign and renovate their kitchens, and are highly likely to give you additional ideas of what would work well for you.
Lastly (assuming you are not going to do all the work yourself), get prices from at least 2 or 3 experienced people for the job. Hanging kitchen cabinets and installing counter tops can be tricky, so you should make sure whoever you hire is expert when it comes to kitchens. Ask the people for references, and actually call some of these past customers to find out how satisfied they've been with the workmanship. And when you finally decide who you want to hire, make sure you get a written contract which specifies not only the price of everything (both materials and labor), but also the time-frame of the job (the start date and how long the work will take to complete).
Like the answer above, refinish or reface cabinetry if the bones are good. It is a huge money saver. If you have to replace appliances and fixtures, shop the outlets, seconds and even second hand appliance stores. If you have a Sears outlet near you, check it out. You can find scratch and dents, but also returned goods and reconditioned appliances that are still warranted. Our neighbor saved thousands of dollars on their new armoire fridge, double covection oven and cooktop, all in stainless and warranted at the Sears Outlet.
Save on labor by doing it yourself. Take the classes at home depot and Lowes to learn to set tile, for example. You can save a lot of money on the tile by looking for returns and restocks at the Home Depot Expo, tile stores and home improvement centers. Shop smart, be patient and don't go anywhere without your measurements so that when you find a good deal you can make certain there is enough material for your project and can jump on it.
Our kitchen remodel took about 5 weeks. What we did…..
I set up a temporary kitchen in the laundry room and set up my microwave, coffee maker, electric skillet, crockpot, and toaster on a work table. We also purchased a small refrigerator for $50 to hold milk, eggs, and assorted perishables.
It was tight, but it gave us a place to fix breakfast and dinner instead of having to eat out all the time!
We washed the dirty dishes in the utility sink, and let them drip dry on a rack that we set inside the sink, after they were washed.
As far as the rest of the stuff, it went into storage in the garage. Instead of "packing it up", I simply set things in open boxes and covered them with a sheet. This made it real easy to find the misc kitchen items that I needed from time to time.
Paint the walls a nice color.
Regrout the floor.
Add a stainless steel backsplash behind the stove.
Add an over the oven microwave.
Add under cabinet task lighting. Easy and inexpensive to install, looks great.
Spend as much time as you can on-site while the work is done; there are many preferences in how things are installed and how the work is done that could use your input. If you are not there, then the contractor or sub-contractor will do what they prefer or what is easiest. The worker may try to ask you though and if you aren't easily available, then the work will be held up. Try to be there to answer questions and make sure that quality work is done. You'll be glad you did!
try bhg.com
they have a tool there (arrange a room) that lets you put in the dimensions of the room and then place cabinets, tables, appliances, etc where you want them. You can move things around until you find what works for you. Hope this helps.