Quite often, a home improvement project is one we undertake with a little bit of trepidation. How much will it cost? Will it look as good as you hoped? Will it increase the value of the home?
All understandable questions but once you take the plunge, more often than not you look back, glad that you did.
Today, we look at kitchens, one of the most important rooms you could renovate within a home. It’s an area that can really add some character to the house, help drive up its value, and provide you with a stunning focal point for the property.
Whilst many that embark on such a project opt for professionals to install it or set out to complete the task by doing it themselves, there are some that struggle with knowing where to start.
We decided to pick 5 things that will help you get a better kitchen should your creative mind not be inspiring you, or the blueprint you envisaged just doesn’t seem to fit together!
1. Create a budget
This may sound straightforward but many people piece together a dream kitchen plan only to find that once all parts of it are on the wish list, it is simply unaffordable. By drafting an outline of the look you want and the items you need, you can start to shop around to work out what kind of costs may be heading your way.
Factor in labour costs, delivery charges and alternative appliances or features should some products not be available. At the same time put the list into priority order. Some things may be more of a want than a need and will be perfectly fine as they are in your newly modelled kitchen. This can help save you lots of money that you can put towards other home features or kitchen improvements.
2. Consider the flooring
With any home improvement project, it often seems to be the case that flooring is considered last. Perhaps more so in a kitchen. The stunning worktops, the curvaceous kitchen island, the deluxe freezer and the omnipotent oven all seem to take priority, but the kitchen floor could be one of, if not, THE most important aspect of your new kitchen.
With high levels of traffic and the potential for mess, it needs to be both durable and hard wearing so that you aren’t replacing it soon after having it installed. Utilising the attributes of luxury vinyl tiles or LVT means that you can achieve durability, easy cleaning, and style affordably.
3. Think about the flow
Certain areas of the kitchen will be busier than others, meaning they can get congested. The cooking area is likely to need a lot of space and the appliances should all be within a suitable distance. Think of a triangle. Each point should have something vital at its end.
In a kitchen, these would be perhaps the sink, the cooking area and the fridge. Each should have just a few steps between them.
This flow further extends itself to doors. Which way does your dishwasher open? How does your oven door operate? If opening one is going to compromise access to an important area, you may need to reconsider where things go. You could end up blocking half the kitchen if you don’t!
4. Remember plumbing, electricity, and plugs
Depending on the scale of the work you have in mind, you may need to consider the feed of both water and electricity. If going for a full kitchen renovation you will need to factor these in before any work takes place. Can you work around existing pipework and cables? Or will additional work be required to make sure everything you need can be suitably connected?
It may well be that you work this into your initial plan, but this is most definitely a process you need to check and recheck, especially if appliances are moving into spaces where there were none before.
If you do not plan for this and find you have no feed of either, then the job to pull up your new flooring, have the work corrected and then a new floor laid could end up costing much the same as the kitchen refurb itself.
5. Factor in the children!
If you have kids, there will no doubt be times they want to use the kitchen. Whether that be to help with the cooking (no, seriously!), do the washing up, (honestly, sometimes they do!) or just to get access to the fridge for a sneaky snack (always!).
However, safety should always come first, especially if the children are young. Keep cooktops away from high-traffic areas and anything that can generate heat should be at a suitable height so that they can’t just reach out and grab it. Likewise, factor in corners, doors, appliances, and electrical points. No kitchen can ever be 100% kid-safe but factoring in some tweaks here and there will prevent accidents and injury.
There are, of course, many things you should think about when planning a kitchen renovation but the five we mentioned above are some that often go under the radar when aiming to get that dream kitchen style.
