Common Kitchen Remodeling Mistakes Everyone Makes
Ah! Kitchen remodeling, the one word every man and woman loves to hear because they know that it will freshen up their house like nothing else. Sure you can remodel your bathroom or bedroom, but how much time do you really spend in those 2 places?
Probably less than a couple of hours. But the kitchen, now that’s the place where you spend most of your time in. If you cook as a man, then you probably spend more time than usual because you cook as well as have meals in the kitchen. And you might also work there because let’s be honest, 2020 has been a weird year for all of us.
And if you have kids, then you’re definitely spending more time with them in the kitchen before moving out to the living room or the hall where you guys play some video games.
So, remodeling your kitchen is a great idea because that will liven up the place more and everyone will feel happier because of it.
But there are some mistakes that almost everyone makes. And that’s what this article is all about. So our good friends from Kitchen Remodeling Fort Collins were kind enough to help us out with this article so you can avoid making those mistakes.
Remember, these guys are veterans at what they do. They’ve been remodeling kitchens and houses for decades and they know the mistakes most people make.
So without any further ado, let’s just jump right into it.
Improper Lighting
If there’s one thing that will mess everything up, it’s lighting. It is as important to have proper lighting in your kitchen as it is when you want to take a good photo. You can’t ignore it. And if you do, you’ll make the same mistakes as everyone else.
A lack of lighting, or uneven lighting conditions will make it difficult for you to properly see what you’re cooking. It will make it difficult for you to chop vegetables/meats, preparing your cooking surfaces, etc.
So, when you’re designing your kitchen, make sure you take into account how the natural light will come into your kitchen and how that will interact with the LED lights or fluorescent lights in your kitchen.
A good rule of thumb is to have all types of lighting in your kitchen, that includes ceiling lights, track lights or even strip lighting to have proper illumination available for anything you’ll need.
Lack of Planning
You’d think this one shouldn’t be on the list. But you’d be surprised how many people just try to wing it and fail HARD.
Any remodeling expert will tell you that you need to plan things out. And not just plan the overall designs that you’d like to see in your kitchen. Go into as much detail as you can. That includes measurements, type of paint, how many drawers you’d like to have, etc.
Because once the construction starts, it will be hard to make changes to those plans. It will either be way too difficult for the remodeling company to change things around, or it will cost you more money than you thought. In most cases, it will be both.
So the best thing to do is to plan everything in detail beforehand so you know what’s going to happen and stick with it regardless of the obstacles you face. Because then, both you and your remodeling company will know where this project is going.
Improper Ventilation
This is another big one. Improper ventilation is the kryptonite of any kitchen in the world.
Sure, you may LOVE the smell of that delicious lasagna you cooked on Friday for the guests. But you don’t want to smell that odor on Monday. Trust us, it’s not a good thing.
That’s why ventilation shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be one of the first things you plan for. Right up there with lighting and planning.
There’s 2 components to air ventilation – air intake and an exhaust. Ideally, an exhaust will be placed on top of your stove so it can remove excess heat generated from the stove through the top exhaust when you’re cooking.
And there should be a 2nd exhaust fan that would move air from the entire kitchen and exhaust it. Both of those should be supplemented with an air intake fan so cool, fresh air is constantly being brought into the kitchen.
There has to be a balance.
A side benefit of having proper ventilation is that your appliances will also last longer because then they wouldn’t be operating in an environment where they are being used as industrial machines.
Spending More Than You Planned
This is another big one (now that I think of it, all the tips in this article are big ones). So make sure you don’t skip any of these or you’ll end up spending a lot more money, or just take on more stress than you had to in the first place.
And regardless of whether you make all the mistakes we mentioned in this article or any other ones, they will all lead to this – you will always end up spending more money than you planned for if you don’t plan things out beforehand and have contingencies in plan if things go off the plan.
This is one of the biggest worries of any homeowner who wants to get their kitchen remodeled.
So how do they avoid spending more?
Simple, plan things out and have proper expectations before you even start.
You should have clear objectives about what you want to achieve and communicate that with your remodeler so both of you are on the same page. The last thing you want is for them misunderstand what your expectations are.
That’s what we think where most issues come from – miscommunication.
So even if you end up making mistakes, make sure that you are cool about it and work with everyone to resolve it. Because at the end of the day, everyone working to remodel your kitchen is on your team. They want you to have the best kitchen possible. So working together is the best way to achieve that.