Planning Your Kitchen Makeover
Having a whole new kitchen fitted is very exciting but don’t rush into it. It can save you a lot of time, money and mistakes if you plan it really carefully.
The first thing to do before you go ripping everything in the kitchen out is to consider what you are going to change and what is going to stay the same. If you are making any structural changes to the room such as removing a wall or moving doors and windows then you’re likely to need to replace everything in the kitchen, but if not then have a good think about it. If your kitchen cabinets are in decent condition you could consider simply replacing the doors rather than the whole cabinets. Even if you want to change the layout of the kitchen this may still be possible if you carefully remove the cabinets first. Then consider your flooring. If you have a good but tired floor, consider how it would clean up before changing it for another. Old terracotta floor tiles for example can be restored and look really beautiful.
Next you need to put some thought into your budget. If you have a strict budget then this is going to restrict what you can do, so keeping anything from the old kitchen that you can, will be important to free up cash to spend elsewhere in the room. If you’re not replacing the kitchen floor tiles then you can spend more on some really stunning kitchen wall tiles for example.
Consider the layout of your new kitchen. You are most likely going to have to live with it and use it daily for many years, so it’s important to have it just how you want it. A lot of kitchen showrooms will now be able to take the measurements of your room and show you various layouts on a computer in 3D, which is incredibly helpful, but only you know your actual needs so you need to work out what they are. If you entertain a lot then you might need a large table and a lot of chairs. If you do a lot of cooking in bulk you might want a chest freezer in your kitchen. Every family is different, so determine your specific kitchen requirements and make sure they are taken into account at the design stage. You can also buy software for your home PC that will enable you to design rooms, this can be a great help if you have some time to spare.
The most fun part of choosing a new kitchen is picking out the kitchen itself, along with the kitchen wall tiles and other accessories. Again do put plenty of thought into it. You need something that isn’t going to date too quickly and that you’re not going to get fed up of in a few months! If you know you won’t be replacing the kitchen again for several years then try and pick a classic design that will last rather than the latest trend that may tend to look old fashioned more quickly.