When it comes to your kitchen makeover, you have to go into it with a strict budget. Of all the rooms in your home, this is the easiest to overspend on, mainly due to all the highly desirable gadgets and gizmos that you can buy to make your life in the kitchen ‘easier’ than before.
Although you can get an idea of how much replacing the units, flooring, and even the wall coverings will cost alongside the necessary appliances and desired tech, you will not know how much the labor will cost unless you get written quotes from qualified contractors. In order to make sure you are choosing the right contractor for the jobs at hand, you should endeavor to obtain at least three for each major job you want carried out.
On top of this, you will also have to take time to ensure that the other facets of your makeover are well thought out so they go to your plan.
1. Measure your space
When designing your kitchen, you have to focus on the layout and ensure that there is enough room to move around the area without feeling too restricted – or, for the larger kitchens – walking miles backward and forward while completing your kitchen tasks.
In order to get this right, you should measure your space accurately and draw up scaled floor plans of your room and the appliances that you want to include, adding to this the cupboards and any furniture that will also share the space. This is to ensure that it all fits easily with room to spare.
2. Make your kitchen a little different
You can, however, add a little twist to your kitchen area to make it look highly fashionable without paying out for highly expensive or overly fashionable units, and that is by adding wallpaper to the area. Of course, you will need to choose wisely as not all wallpaper is suitable for this area of the home due to the heat and steam that can be found there. So, rather than shop for any kind of wallpaper, you would do better to seek out the best wallpapers for kitchens to give your new space a unique and fashionable twist.
3. Choose your kitchen style
No doubt you already have a kitchen style in mind and a color scheme, too. It is important that you choose something that is going to stand the test of time rather than what happens to be the height of fashion at the moment. Most high fashion designs can look immensely dated within a very short amount of time, and spending money on a modern style of kitchen, which is far from cheap, may not be the best investment unless you are looking to sell the property soon after the refit has taken place.
4. Remove the units and flooring
Unless you have an extensive budget, you will have to remove the current units and flooring yourself. This is where you will be able to see if you can reuse your current units and just replace the doors, drawer fronts, and countertop. This is more than likely to make your kitchen makeover that much cheaper, but if you are unsure of the quality or the longevity of the units, you would probably do better to swallow the cost and replace the whole lot.
If you are thinking about replacing the flooring as well, you may have to consider the fact that the previous owner may have laid the floor under the units, so even if you decide the units are staying in situ, you may still have to move them out and then back in again.
5. Enlist the help of professionals
Some jobs you cannot do yourself regardless of knowledge, and for these, you will need to seek professional contractors’ help. Moving pipework, taking out walls, plastering, and even electrical work will need specialist attention. This will leave you free to do the planning, shopping, and organizational part, which can be far more fun.
You should keep in mind that with an empty room and contractors at your disposal, you will be able to have major areas of your room changed. For instance, moving your sink or cooker to another wall is not out of the question and should be explored when you are planning and designing your new kitchen area.
So, a few final thoughts
In order to make your kitchen makeover work and not cost too much, you will have to shop around and try and make use of what you already have. This will include kitchen cupboards and look to replace doors, drawer fronts, and countertops. If you have to replace the whole lot, look to classic or traditional styles rather than expensive modern equivalents. Include your fashionable colors and styles in wallpaper, which is relatively inexpensive and can be easily changed as and when you want a fresh look.
