5 Tips on Re-Modeling Your Kitchen

1) First Things First - Plan!

The National Kitchen and Bath Association recommends at least six month of planning for a fresh and easy kitchen remodel. Take your time and plan thoroughly to ensure surprises don’t come up along the way. Be open to creative kitchen remodel ideas for a real kitchen update. Give yourself extra leeway with your budget if, and most likely when, they do. Speaking of budget, do set a kitchen remodel budget. While it is not an exact estimate and needs vary, most kitchen remodels cost about 10-15% of the home’s value. Planning ahead of time will lessen the likelihood of last minute budget-blowing decisions or errors in details like measurements (for example, you wouldn’t want to pick out your ideal fridge or give your new cabinets up only to find out after cutting crafting the space in your kitchen for it that it doesn’t fit through your door). To avoid these mistakes, create a drawing of your kitchen with exact measurements. And keep the same footprint so you aren’t rerouting wiring or plumbing.

2) Consider Workflow

Think about who will be using your kitchen. Work aisles should be a minimum of 42 inches wide for one cook kitchens and at least 48 inches wide for multiple cooks. The fridge, stove and sink are the three busiest areas in the kitchen. Often, these appliances are arranged in a triangle, making it easy to transition from one area to the next. Place the fridge in a space that allows access both by passerby and those working in the kitchen, so that the chef isn’t interrupted while they are working with guests grabbing drinks from the fridge.

Think about landing space as well. You won’t want to be searching for a place to set your piping-hot-out-of-the-oven casserole when it’s in your hands. There should be at least 15 inches of landing space beside the oven, range, sink and microwave.

3) To Island or Not?

These days, an island is almost seen as a necessity. It’s true; a kitchen island can be a useful prep space, storage space as well as dining space; best of kitchen storage and organization ideas! But does your kitchen have room for one? Remember the workflow and think about whether installing an island would leave enough space for traffic. If you do have space for an island, remember form follows function. What purpose will the kitchen island serve? If you want your island to double as casual dining space, consider a waterfall island so there is room for chairs underneath.

4) Importance of Lighting

Don’t underestimate the affect of lighting can have on a space. In the kitchen, you will need three types of lighting: ambient lighting, which lights the whole space, under-cabinet lighting, which provides task lighting over countertops, and pendants or ceiling fixtures, which brighten work zones like islands and sinks. If you got all of them, then you got an upgraded kitchen too!

5) Don’t Forget the Backsplash

Equally fashionable and functional, the backsplash is a zone where you can express your personality. It also, of course, makes clean up easier. Many kitchen backsplash ideas abound here, including stone, metal, tile and mosaic. For a clean kitchen and contemporary look, you can also choose a different shade or complementary color of your quartz countertops. We like the stark contrast between Belenco’s 9219 Marquina Tierra (black with white veining) and 8119 Calacatta Verona (white with grey veining). These fresh and trendy countertops will change your kitchen’s atmosphere forever!