Taking on a project like a kitchen remodel is intimidating. There are plenty of horror stories on the internet about projects going wrong, taking forever to finish, or not going as planned. These stories might have caused you to push off your project longer than you wanted to, and we’d like to make it easier for you to jump into your kitchen remodel. So here we will go over the most common mistakes people make when remodeling their kitchen and how you can avoid these mistakes and have your own remodeling success story.
Tight Spaces
We’re all probably familiar with bumping our hips, knees, or toes into the corner of a cabinet, table, or appliance. When remodeling your kitchen, it’s the perfect time to design and create a space built for the way you live. Ending up with a kitchen that has too narrow walkways or a corner that’s too tight where you bruise your hip every time you walk by is not what you want. When designing your kitchen with your designer, ensure that each workspace, walkway, and corner has plenty of room for you to maneuver easily. Remember that you’ll likely be navigating your kitchen with bowls of hot soup, boiling pots of pasta, and right out of the oven pans of lasagna. These are not times in your life when you want to watch where you place your foot.
Islands too Big
Those pictures in the magazines or Pinterest showcase kitchens with large islands with plenty of space for cooking meal prepping school projects and morning coffees. However, not all kitchens have the space available for such expensive islands. Don’t make your kitchen too crowded or your walkways too small by making your kitchen island too big. It’s tempting to squeeze in the biggest island you can, but it will be better for aesthetics and functionality if you design an island that’s suited for the size of kitchen you have.
Not Enough Outlets
Between your phone, the tablet, the laptop, and that toy your kid needs to charge, there is always a need for more outlets. When designing your kitchen, ask about hidden outlets, drawer outlets, and maybe even a charging station in your kitchen for everything you need to plug in. Not only is it popular to use your tablet while cooking, but you’ll also need to consider your smaller kitchen appliances. Toasters, blenders, InstantPots, and so on all need outlets, and you don’t want to have to unplug something every time you pull out a new appliance.
Changing Midway Through Project
One of the most important aspects of a successful kitchen remodel is the order in which you do things. We recommend hiring a Design-Build company like McDermitt Remodeling that will designer every detail of your project before the project begins. This way, everything is ready to go, items can be ordered in time, and you can avoid long wait times. This method streamlines the process, but if you change your mind midway through the construction phase, you’ll cause a bit of a hiccup. Of course, this is your project, and if that tile you initially chose isn’t sitting with you, you’ll want to change it for sure. Just know that it will likely prolong your project, change the budget, and cause a bit of shuffling around for your crew.
Not Enough Storage
You might get so caught up in how the kitchen cabinets look that you forget to ensure there is enough storage for your beloved mug collection. Everyone uses their kitchen differently, and storage needs between homes are unique to everyone. We recommend that you take some time before designing your kitchen to look through the items in your kitchen and identify what type of storage options might be right for you. If you’re working with a professional designer, you can bring your list of kitchen tools, and they can help you design enough storage where everything will have its place.
Not Designing for Yourself
It’s, of course, smart to remodel your kitchen with resale in mind. Unless you’re 100 percent sure you’ll be living in this home forever, you want to be sure what you do to the home will improve or at least maintain its resale value. However, this can be a dangerous road to go down, ending with you not being happy with your new kitchen because you were too concerned with matching the neighbors or improving the resale value.
Aesthetic Over Functionality
Similarly, choosing items or designs solely based on how it’s going to make your kitchen look in the end will not be what’s best in the long run. There is a delicate balance to find between aesthetics and functionality. With a professional designer by your side, it will be easy to find this tricky balance, but be sure you’re considering how you’ll be using the space as well as how the space looks.
Not Enough Light
One of the secret ingredients to amazing kitchen designs is lighting. Three types of lighting need to be applied in every kitchen design to ensure there are enough layers to illuminate the space correctly. Those types are general lighting, task lighting, and mood lighting. Professional designers will help you identify these types of lighting and apply them in your kitchen to best suit the design style and your needs.
Not Hiring a Professional
We love a fun DIY project as much as the next guy; however, some things should be left to the professionals. While it’s possible for you to DIY your kitchen remodels, it’s usually when mistakes arise. Hiring a professional Design-Build company will ensure you have someone on your side walking you through the process. You might only remodel a kitchen twice in your life, but contractors remodel so many that it becomes second nature to them. Having someone with that amount of experience will set you up for success and reduce your fear and anxiety during the whole process.
Turning an old, dysfunctional, and outdated kitchen into the kitchen of your dreams is an exciting time. Avoid disappointment or expensive mistakes by using these tips and remember to design before you start construction, and hire a professional to help you out.
