Culinary masterpieces happen when all the right ingredients and inspiration come together in harmony. There’s no reason your kitchen cannot be an expression of your love for cooking, so if a kitchen renovation sounds like just the remedy to your cooking blues, make sure you read the label to your revamp. From budget to design, here are 5 ideas to consider before starting your next home investment.
1. Establish a Budget
While designing a new kitchen should be everything you dreamed, getting carried away with kitchen ideas is a quick way to make the process not-so-dreamy. No matter how much you anticipate your budget to be, everybody can appreciate value. That’s why establishing a realistic price point for your kitchen remodel you should absolutely be the first step to your kitchen renovation.
Start by knowing the facts. On average, a kitchen remodel in the Bay Area will cost around $80K, but remodels depend on factors like your neighborhood and the economy. Before you invest in the opinion of a contractor or designer, tap into the priceless resources that are available.
- Free online remodel calculators give you an idea of how much a remodel might costs
- Compare quotes between contractors
- Ask friends, family, and neighbors if they know of reliable and affordable contractors
- And, of course, contact us—the Trusted Name in the Bay Area Since 1922™
Once you’ve settled on a number, give yourself wiggle room for unexpected costs by setting aside 20 percent of the total budget.
2. Function Comes First
The time has come to start building out your vision. Exciting, right? But before you start going hammer crazy (figuratively, that is), take a moment to really envision what cooking in your dream kitchen is like.
Start with the negatives: What are some pain points you experience in your current kitchen? Is the flooring outdate or damaged? Are you left-handed and want to change the way your cabinets open? Does having a sink and dishwasher separated rather than next to each other create a puddle on the floor after carrying dishes back and forth?
This is all to say, while design is fun and thrilling, form needs to follow function. Here are some key points to keep in mind when considering the function of your new kitchen.
- Islands provide a handy place to enjoy meals and add extra storage, but can impede in kitchen workflow
- Give your kitchen extra dimension with ambient and task lighting
- Consider the impact of windows and natural lighting
- Remember to give yourself ample countertop space
- Celebrate your kitchen’s natural architecture; it will save you money and keep the space cohesive with the rest of your home
3. Select Appliances Early
There are many reasons to consider a kitchen appliance package for your remodel.
- For one, kitchen suites cost 20 percent less than if you purchase each appliance individually.
- Secondly, having everything delivered to you at one time allows you to get a clear idea of how your new kitchen appliances work with the style of your kitchen remodel.
- Thirdly, purchasing a kitchen ensemble early means your contractors can accurately measure how your new appliances fit between cabinetry, countertops, and with the flooring.
- Kitchen appliance packages provide a streamlined look which looks nice, while making operation easier by avoiding the need to learn different functions and features from brand to brand.
Friedmans is proud to carry appliance packages in extreme-value options from $1,799 to luxury kitchen suites around $12,496. Our inventory has a brand for every lifestyle, including popular brand names like GE, Frigidaire, and KitchenAid, plus Signature and Fisher & Paykel. For more information, learn about all the pros to purchasing a kitchen appliance package!
Of course, when you shop at Friedmans, you can expect incredible value and reliability—even if you decide to purchase kitchen appliances individually!
4. Get Familiar with Your Remodel Team
We all know, teamwork is everything, especially when your dream kitchen is in the hands of the designers, contractors, and the kindness of next-door neighbors who get a front-row show to all the magic. Before you hire your team, do some “shopping around” to find the right guys to make everyone happy. Read reviews (bad reviews are just as important as good reviews), conduct phone interviews to get a general vibe, look at portfolios—and above all, make sure your contractor is licensed to work in your area.
Once you’ve made your selections, make things easier for everyone with these easy tips:
- Create easy ways to communicate via text, email, or a whiteboard for messages
- Establish house rules: which rooms are accessible, which are not
- Don’t get on your neighbor’s bad side; set up a designated area to park
- Do get on your team’s good side; make sure to provide plenty of snacks, water, praise
5. Prepare for Life During Remodel
Do not make the mistake of starting your kitchen remodel without preparing a temporary kitchen. After all, the world won’t stop during renovation (though, that’d be lovely), and the last thing you want to be asked while nail guns and sledgehammers bang away is “What’s for dinner?”
Thankfully, you don’t need a ton of space to create a makeshift kitchen. A garage, spare room, or even a tented patio is a great place to settle in during your kitchen’s makeover. The key here is creativity:
- Repurpose an old credenza to store dinnerware and utensils inside the drawers, and a microwave and electric burner on top
- Ask if you can hold onto old cabinetry until a final roundup of debris
- Purchase a temporary kitchen sink that connects to a bathroom sink; make sure to stock up on extra bleach to keep things sanitary
- Invest in a foldable table that double as countertop workstation and place to enjoy meals
- Small appliances can be your best friend when you’re sans oven
- Additionally, a grill is a fantastic alternative to an oven
Shop Better—Shop Friedmans
Grab hold of all your creative ideas—they’ll come in handy when you discover Friedmans wide catalog of brands. Shop, explore, and compare appliances in the latest style options, plus trendy features for a kitchen remodel that’s truly exceptional and unique. Stop by online or in-store today!