Kitchen Renovation Tips You’ve Been Looking For
A kitchen renovation can be exciting and nail-biting. A kitchen is your family’s food factory hence an essential room in your home. Renovating it is the best way of adding some spark to your home. There are lots of things to put in place to achieve a glamorous kitchen ranging from the floor to utensils. Check out this Kitchen Remodeling Guide too.
A sparkling kitchen doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s also possible to get your dream kitchen with a small budget. Here are some helpful kitchen renovation tips that will add beauty to your home.
Choose Between a Peninsula or Center Island
When redesigning your kitchen, ensure there are paths of at least 36 inches apart. For the cooking zone, the paths need to be at least 42 inches. If you want the kitchen to be a hangout central, choose an island as you will be able to talk to your guests as you cook. Make sure that there is adequate space between the opposing cabinets and the island for ease of opening the drawers, appliances, and doors.
On the other hand, if your kitchen space is small, consider a U or L shaped peninsula to serve the same purpose as the island. To enhance its magic, compliment it with unique architectural specifics like corbels, and also paint the base.
Include Open Shelves or Cabinets
If you love neatness or have charming kitchenware to show off, choose open shelves. Besides, open shelves create more space by doing away with the upper cabinetry. On the contrary, in case you want to save your time for neat stacking after meals, then go for cabinets.
If you’re dealing with components that can attract visual clutter, enclosed storage is the best choice. Do not forget to paint the cabinets with a matching color that will give your countertops a tonal variation. Nevertheless, you can also mix a few cabinets with open shelves to avoid monotony.
Decide either Stainless Steel or White Appliances
If you are after a contemporary and a never-fading look, stainless steel is the way to go. A variety of brands are offering new technology models like the built-in screen that you can use to manage the family calendar or play music. However, the silver finish attracts fingerprints and smudges, which needs regular wipes.
For less costly yet finger-proof appliances, white is the best. White cabinets perfectly blend with white appliances, particularly for a small kitchen — they visually expand the space. Likewise, you can combine white appliances with stainless appliances and still achieve a charismatic kitchen view.
Tiles or Hardwood Kitchen Floor
Choose tiles or laminate for a durable yet scratch-resistant floor covering. Laminate is pocket-friendly since a square foot can cost $3. However, you can’t reseal or restain it like wood, but it is long-lasting. Amazingly, you can’t distinguish some ceramic tiles and laminate options from the real wood.
On the other hand, using hardwood for kitchen flooring works magic if you want a floor that can withstand wear and tear. You can refinish a hardwood floor over and over but, these floors can be expensive — a square foot costs between $5 and $15, which depends on the wood type.
There are engineered hardwoods with a plywood base that is topped with a thick veneer of solid wood. You can refinish a hardwood many times, and its price is slightly lower than the solid hardwood.
Mount Under-Cabinet Storage Racks
Having some pull-down racks saves you time in accessing kitchen essentials without a clutter of knife holders or spice racks. After you are done with cooking, the storage rack swings up against the basement of the cabinet. You can buy hinges to customize your own wooden rack or purchase a ready-made one.
The rack also saves you space since it can hold spices, knives, and other items that take up space. Get these racks from market stalls or online retailers and glam your kitchen.
Choose Proper Lighting
Proper lighting adds splendor to your kitchen. Light has the magic of enhancing your kitchen, making it look brighter and bigger. It’s recommendable to have two types of lighting in your kitchen to enable you to work efficiently and safely.
Task lighting – you need under-cabinet lighting because cabinets darken the work area. The renovation period is the best time to hard-wire your lights. Include not less than two fixtures for each task to eradicate shadows. Pendant lights are ideal for counters without low cabinets as well as islands.
Track lights and recessed lights work wonders for the general prep zones without cabinets overhead and also over sinks. Ambient lighting – track light, wall sconces, and ceiling fixtures create complete lighting in the kitchen. Remember to include dimmer switches for controlling mood and intensity.
Buy Quality Kitchen Products
Durability and functionality should be your key priorities when renovating your kitchen. Choose durable and quality kitchen products that have extended warranty periods and require low maintenance. Avoid low-quality bargains and be quality-conscious.
For instance, the best dishwasher will give you long service, and you will enjoy using it. Do not look at the cost, but focus more on quality. List all the kitchen products that you need, and if you can’t afford all at once, you can buy some and buy the others later.
Be Clear With Your Remodelers
Creating a good rapport with the construction team or the manager keeps you on track. You might be working far from your house; hence, they will keep you informed of their progress. Besides, your presence shows your commitment to quality work. Have a communication routine to stay updated on any emerging issues.
Leaving all the work to the remodelers may leave you disappointed, especially if they miss your instructions. Be clear from the word go and be kind. A little generosity can go a long way; offer them some refreshments, crack jokes, and give credit when necessary.
Create an environment that is conducive to questions when something is not clear. That way, you will lower your frustration levels, and you will be happier with the final results.
A kitchen renovation doesn’t have to be complicated, especially with these tips. Also, the project shouldn’t be overly expensive. Budget for what you need, and do everything within that budget.
Resources- Real Simple, Bhg, House Logic