Remodeling a kitchen is the kind of project that can grow exponentially depending on how much you want to change, which in turn, also makes it easy to get out of control.
The idea here is to think of your kitchen remodel in steps, from a solid plan to slowly but surely executing said plan – this way, you have a solid foundation for what you really want and you can focus on the remodel without distractions.
Having this foundation is important because a lot goes into a kitchen remodel, often making it hard to decide on the best ideas for your home. What’s the best color, tile pattern, cabinet knobs, countertop material? There’s a lot to consider.
So to make things easier, let’s start from planning and go from there!
“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. – Buddha
Plan, plan and plan
Planning is everything. Given the scope of the project, it’s crucial to spend as much time as needed during the planning phase to make sure you have every detail laid out, because this will make it much easier to discuss costs later.
So for a better plan:
Write everything down. Look for inspiration online and take tons of notes – this part is totally free, so don’t be shy about going big here. In the later stages, we’ll be making a better job of adapting this plan to something realistic that you can afford.
Take references. Once you’ve got a string of inspiration to follow, see things for yourself as much as possible early on. Go to department stores and see different materials in person to decide if you like the way they look and feel. Online inspiration is excellent for planning, but you’ll have a much better idea if it works for you if you see it for yourself.
Outline costs. It’s really hard to figure out costs before you figure out what you want, but you can already draw some ballparks to have an idea and keep your budget in check. Worst case scenario you drop a few pointers for later, but best case scenario, you could talk to a professional and find that you can do a lot more than expected.
Don’t be afraid to go big. We will discuss ways to save money later, but for now, don’t be afraid to let your imagination fly – there’s absolutely no harm. The very worst thing that could happen is you cutting out some of the more ambitious ideas and saving them for some other time, but you’ll still have a solid plan to follow.
Find ways to save money
When we hear the term “ways to save money, most people automatically think of ways of cutting corners, but that’s not the case.
Saving money is not about hiring the worst possible company, getting the worst possible material, and finding other cheeky ways to cut corners in order to get the cheapest version of a remodel. In fact, this will probably cost more in repairs and headaches in the future.
No, we mean intelligent ways to save money. For example, you might find that replacing your kitchen cabinets would cost a tad too much, so what can you do? Refinish or reface them instead.
Did you plan for a marble countertop but that exceeds the budget a little bit? Consider a granite countertop instead – it looks very similar and it’s slightly cheaper.
You can find many ways to save money without necessarily compromising your plans!
Focus on an objective
Think of your kitchen remodel as an objective-focused project. What’s the main goal? Make everything more practical? Revamp the look without rearranging stuff? Making more room in an otherwise small kitchen?
Outline one or two of your most important objectives with the remodel and stick to it when looking at your plan. The purpose of this is to help you make better decisions – when we look for tons of inspiration, it’s easy to get a bunch of stuff we don’t need simply because it would be cool to have it.
And while it’s fun and even healthy to dream big, it can slow down the decision making process by a lot when you need to make some compromises. Whenever that happens, refer back to your main objective!
Look for detailed estimates
So you’ve laid out the plan and you’ve figured out most of what you want. It’s time to start talking to professionals and asking for estimates!
A lot can change here depending on the kind of estimates you receive, but one very important bit is looking for the most detailed estimates. If all you get after describing your plans is a solid cost with no description, there’s not a lot you can do with that – how are you supposed to know if the professional is charging fairly for the job if they’re not willing to share details?
But beyond the transparency, knowing exactly where costs are allocated will make it much easier for you to make decisions later on. For example, if one particular bit of the project costs more than expected, you can make a compromise on that bit alone without changing the rest of your plans.
Need more help with a kitchen project? Talk to a kitchen expert today and get free quotes in your area!
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