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15 Must Do's When Planning Your New Kitchen
2. Ask yourself if you really need to buy a new kitchen or could you get away with simply replacing the countertops and cupboard doors? In general terms if you want the ‘wow factor’ or you are remodeling to help sell your home, it is advisable to get a professional designer in as they will know what homebuyers are looking for and what will add value to your home. Again be really clear about your budget and insist that you wont go even one penny over it. If you just want to modernise then simply replacing the countertops and cupboard doors can save you a small fortune when renovating a kitchen, even if you include the cost of getting a professional to do the replacement work for you. 3. Make a list of things that you like and dislike about your current kitchen in order to help identify your needs. Think about the amount of storage, type of cooker, the size of your sink etc. 4. Put together an ideas board of pictures from magazines and by looking around the internet at modern kitchen designs: consider colours, styles, textures, equipment, lighting, furniture and gadgets. This will help designers understand what style of kitchen you are looking for. 5. Plan your kitchen according to your lifestyle. Keep this also in mind when planning your storage. Do you eat in your kitchen or is it just for cooking? Is your kitchen the social meeting point in your home? Who will use it? 6. Keep the existing service points in mind when planning the kitchen as rewiring and re-plumbing is an expensive part of the renovation process. 7. Think about the ventilation points when planning your kitchen. Don't plan cabinets over them! 8. Plan the main areas (sink, food preparation and hob) close together and store your utensils near to where you are most likely to use them. This will make your kitchen more efficient. 9. In a small and or narrow kitchen you can create more space by making the wall-cabinets taller rather than having them protruding outwards. You will create more headspace and the kitchen will look wider. 10. When it comes to storage, think about reducing clutter; Does that kitchen draw really need to be full of non-essential items or could you store it elsewhere in your home? 11. Think long term: Building a new kitchen is a major expense so make sure that you consider the wow factor. Ask your kitchen designer what other customers are buying that they weren’t buying a few years ago, including equipment and gadgets. A kitchen with the wow factor can easily add up to 10% to the asking price for a home and or make it a more attractive proposition in a competitive market. 12. Consider trends: the Starbucks generation love gadgets and having a built in coffee making machine could be what gives your kitchen the wow factor. We all want a kitchen that takes less time to clean, less time to cook, offers more storage and uses less energy and water: so take a look around the internet for new kitchen appliances and gadgets ideas. 13. Try and build in easily changeable features. You may love your kitchen now but as fashions and equipment change, how easy will it be to replace work surfaces and cabinet doors? If you can get away with just changing the countertops and cupboard doors every few years, your kitchen will always look modern and fresh at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one. 14. Go green – you won’t regret it. Ask your kitchen designer how you can save energy and water in your kitchen. Not only will the help the environment but also you will save money on your utility bills AND have an attractive feature for any future potential home buyer. 15. Can you get a grant for making your kitchen greener? Ask around! Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Article by Kitchens Plymouth Devon and Bathrooms Plymouth DJ Interiors South West Ltd for Bathrooms & Kitchens Design and Installation throughout Devon UK |
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