Kitchen

Remodeling a kitchen is an important financial and emotional investment. Home design trends today encourage developing a living kitchen, acknowledging the kitchen as the heart of the home. Therefore, if you are going to remodel your kitchen, it makes sense to take the time and do it right.

Before you start remodeling your kitchen, it is a good idea to do some preliminary thinking in preparation for this major do-it-yourself project you are going to undertake. Start by assessing your current kitchen; its shortfalls will help you determine what features are most important to you. Do some research, and then start to visualize while creating a wish list for your new kitchen. Your ideas don’t have to be fully formulated, but be as thorough as you can. The following exercise can help.

Take note of your thoughts as described below. Be sure to include the opinions of those who live with you. This creates a team spirit and cooperative attitude among family members.

1. Assess your current kitchen.
- List what you don’t like about your current kitchen. Common complaints include poor lighting or heating, inadequate work space or prep area, cramped storage, outdated plumbing, old cabinetry, and tired appliances.
- Identify what you do like. What would you keep?

2. Create a wish list of features in your fantasy kitchen.
- Create a list of adjectives that describe the kitchen you want. Don’t hold back. This is a good way to involve even young family members.
- Create a list of functional and design features. Include everything you can think of, from basics like the style and finish of cabinetry to custom extras like a drinking station or butler’s pantry.
- Give each item on the wish list a ranking of one, two, or three, with one being the lowest priority and three being the most desired. If you have a partner, both should rank the items. Which features score the highest?

3. Assemble a photo gallery of magazine clippings or web pages featuring kitchen styles and elements you like.
-You can use file folders or organize a notebook with clear plastic sleeves, creating separate sections for cabinets, flooring, lighting fixtures, appliances, countertops, backsplashes, hoods and faucets.

4. Organize a file system to hold manufacturers’ brochures and any sample materials.

5. As you conduct research and create your wish list, keep the following things in mind:
- When determining the style of kitchen you want, consider your home’s overall character. What style would enhance and complement the other rooms in your home, particularly those that are adjacent to the kitchen?
- Be conscious of the amount and duration of natural light. Would you move or add windows?
- Be aware of traffic patterns into and out of the room; is the door placement optimal?
- Keep in mind that kitchens aren’t traded in like cars every two years. The decisions you make now you will live with for years to come.

6. Determine a maximum spending plan.
-Ask yourself, do you plan to live in this home long enough to get your money’s worth out of the investment?

FLOORING

You can enjoy choosing from a magnificent range of materials well beyond your grandma’s linoleum. Wood flooring, tile or marble – the flooring choice will set a tone for your space. While flooring can be changed out more easily than say, cabinets, keep in mind that it can be costly, so choose something you can live with and maintain.

APPLIANCES AND SINKS

There are a wide range of appliance alternatives. In order to choose and budget wisely, you need to consider your lifestyle. Do as much research as you can ahead of time for each of the following, and you will have a pretty good handle on the material costs.

Remember to revisit your wish list to see what your family’s priorities are and determine which appliances may be entitled to more funding. For example, if you have an active family who enjoys many meals a day, a dishwasher that can handle the added volume may be a good investment.

Consider these appliance and sink categories:
- Cooktops, ovens, microwaves, and ranges
- Ventilation (range hood, downdraft system)
- Refrigerators, freezers and ice makers
- Dishwashers
- Kitchen sinks, faucets and water filters
- Garbage disposals
- Specialty appliances like built-in coffeemakers, warming drawers and wine coolers

CABINETRY

Cabinets are probably the most prominent feature of your kitchen and require the most careful selection as there is a vast range of cabinet quality and design. You can choose from stock (prefabricated to standard measurements), semi-custom (stock with some standard upgrades) and custom (whatever you want).

COUNTERTOPS

Countertops come in a wide variety of materials for every taste and budget, including granite, concrete, stainless steel, manmade solid surfaces, plastic laminate, metal and wood. When you rip out the old surfaces, however, keep in mind that your backsplash may be affected, particularly if your new countertop height is shorter.

BACKSPLASHES

When selecting a kitchen counter backsplash, keep the word splash in mind. First of all, it will endure the splashes of your culinary efforts; therefore you will want to consider maintenance when selecting materials. For example, limestone tile is more difficult to clean than porcelain. For a decorative splash of interest, choose from mosaics, stones such as granite or quartz, metals like stainless steel, tin or copper or even wood. Be careful to choose backsplash materials that complement rather than compete with your cabinets or counters.

LIGHTING AND ELECTRICITY

Long gone are the days of jarring fluorescent lighting. Suitable and subtle lighting creates ambiance and focus in today’s kitchens. If your kitchen is adjacent to other living areas, this becomes even more important. Recessed ceiling, under cabinet task, ambient and interior cabinet lighting, and of course decorative fixtures, are critical touches to create a truly polished kitchen design. Think of the role lighting plays in a stage performance. Your lighting can perform similarly, creating drama and spotlighting your focal points, such as your center island or cooking areas. Consider work spaces and traffic flow to determine where switches and lighting effects should be placed. Electrical outlets can be cleverly hidden beneath cabinetry.

With your DIY expertise and your thorough research and planning, your kitchen will fit seamlessly into your family’s lifestyle, and you can pat yourself on the back and say, “who needs a professional kitchen designer?”