Your kitchen is always going to be the heart of your home, which is why you need to choose your new kitchen design wisely before starting your kitchen remodeling project. As a local contractor in Oakland, California, I have helped design and create fabulous kitchens, and I can honestly say that this room is my favorite room to do.
Here are the 9 steps that you will need to follow if you want to manage your kitchen remodeling project successfully from start to finish:
Create an Initial Layout
You may not be ready to create your final kitchen design, but an initial layout sketch can have you starting to see exactly how your newly remodeled kitchen will look at the end. While you are working on your new design, I urge you to consider everything that you like and don’t like in your current kitchen.
Create a List of All the Items in Your Kitchen
This list is going to be extensive, and as you are writing it, you may find that some of the items inside your kitchen shouldn’t be there. In the end, you should have a good idea of how much space you will need within this room and how you should choose to store each item that you use.
Consider Your Wants and Needs
By creating a list of your wants and needs, you can determine exactly what you want in your new kitchen. Of course, since you will be working with a budget, this is an excellent way to choose your needs over your wants when you are purchasing items and having the work completed. Obviously, your needs will always need to be completed first, with the wants being more of a, “If you have money left at the end’.
Consider Your Storage Options
I have talked to many homeowners over the years who have wanted to install fewer storage options than they have needed, which is why I now urge all my clients to practically double the amount of storage that they initially consider. After all, you know that eventually you will purchase new items for your kitchen, and you will need a space to place them all. Now, if you have a large kitchen, and have designed this room to have four times the amount of storage that you can use, you may want to take a step back and try to find other features that you can incorporate into this space. A little seating nook or a small space with a table and two chairs will make your renovated kitchen look better than a ton of extra cabinets will.
Consider a Few Open Shelving Options
While you may be a fan of hiding all your pots and pans, as well as dishes and glassware, behind cabinet doors, you should consider installing at least a couple of open shelves. You can use these open shelves for a few of your more unusual accessories or special glasses and ceramic plates.
Determine Your Style
While you will probably know the exact style that you want for your new kitchen at this point, you will need to finalize this before you choose your countertop, cabinets, appliances, and hardware.
Choose Your New Appliances
As you are finalizing your kitchen design, and choosing all your materials, you will need to choose your appliances. This will ensure that the ones that you want will fit into their designated spaces and that you can make necessary changes to your design if you need to.
Stand Back and Watch from a Distance
You may want to be a part of every aspect of your kitchen remodel, but I can assure you that the work will get completed much faster if you are not in your kitchen multiple times a day when the work is being done. As a licensed contractor, I understand that you want to see what is being done and how everything looks, but by saving those glances for the end of the day, you will ensure that I can follow the plan as it has been laid out.
Decorate and Accessorize
Once a licensed contractor has finished the work on your kitchen, it will be time for you to unpack your belongs and decorate and accessorize the space. You may have everything that you need, as you purchased it all when you were choosing all the other materials that you used for the renovation. However, if you waited to see how your kitchen looked before purchasing the items that you wanted to use, now is the time to go out and look for those accessories that will make your kitchen shine.
Many of these steps will be occurring at the same time, which may be a little nerve wracking, but if you follow them carefully, you will be pleased with the result of your kitchen remodel. Just remember, a successful kitchen remodel is dependent on an excellent kitchen design and a helpful licensed contractor who can turn your dreams into reality. If you have an idea about your kitchen renovation project that you may want to share with us, feel free to contact Pointvertex Construction at 510 859 7448.
