According to HomeAdvisor, most homeowners spend between $12,000 to $34,000 on kitchen remodels. That’s a lot of money. So you want to make sure that you are not making the same kitchen Remodeling mistakes most people make with their kitchen. The good news is, you found this article before you finished your kitchen remodel project.
The bad news is, most homeowners will still make these mistakes because they are so excited about remodeling their kitchen that they fail to think about the common pitfalls most people fall into. The sad thing is, these mistakes lead to a lot of money being lost and an unsatisfactory experience during the whole process.
So, to make sure that the whole kitchen remodeling process is stress-free or at least low stress for you, keep reading this article.
Common Kitchen Remodeling Mistakes
#1 Not Planning Out the Project
This is common sense, but you’d be surprised by how many people skip this step. You need to plan your kitchen out. But make sure that you take into account your family’s needs and lifestyle. Every family is different. So you’ll need to ask these questions to yourself –
- How often do you cook?
- What appliances do you use most often?
- How much storage do you need? You can start consciously thinking about this the next time you cook something. Make a note of the warehouses you use the most, and if you feel, the placement of those storages can be changed to make it easier for you to reach.
- How much time does your family spend in the kitchen? Maybe this is the place where everyone gathers at the end of the day to talk about their day, socialize and entertain themselves. Maybe when you’re working on your work projects, you find that your kitchen is the best place for that.
- What are the usual places most people sit at? Maybe you could allocate more space to those areas, or if you think those areas have more than enough space, so you could reduce the space you dedicate for seating.
Once you start noticing these things, then you can start making plans on the things you can change around your kitchen. Maybe you cook less often, and so it doesn’t matter if you have a stove in your kitchen. Or you cook three times a day and so having a top of the line stove and oven is at the top of your list.
If you see a lot of things end up on your countertops, something that should be in your cabinets, then you have a storage issue. Having more offices would solve that. Or if you’re not using a lot of the things you have in your cabinets, then you should throw them away and reduce the number of offices you have.
You must go through these things and think about them. This will make it easy for you to plan out your kitchen and turn it into a room you and your family love spending time in.
#2 Indecisiveness
Whenever you are going through with a project, you want to make sure that you are 100% sure about it and that you will be happy with the changes that will be made. You don’t want to change your mind in the middle of a remodeling project because that just delays the whole thing, and in the end, you will end up wasting more money.
You want to be precise about what exactly you want and how you want it. And you also want to make sure that you are willing to live with these changes for decades to come.
Think about the whole project in phases. In the planning phase, you can change your mind as many times as you want. You can take your kitchen remodeling contractors suggestions and change things according to your preference. But once the project is in the execution phase, you can’t go back and change the initial plan.
#3 DIY’ing It
There’s a reason why there are so many kitchen remodelers out there – they are good at what they do, and most people aren’t skilled enough to do it themselves.
Even if you think you are a great carpenter and a planner. And you want to go at it alone, make sure that you consult a kitchen remodeling contractor during the design/planning phase to make sure that you are on the right track and making the right decisions. Or you’ll end up spending six months and won’t have anything to show for it.
If you are going the DIY route, ideally, you want to have a remodeling contractor on standby to give you advice, tips and give you ideas on how you can make things better.
Always work with the guidance of the experts, especially when it comes to something as big as remodeling your kitchen. It will make your life a whole lot easier.
#4 Microplanning/Overdesigning
This is a big one. I know in step 1, I talked about going over how exactly your family uses your kitchen and going over every detail. This is the flipside of that.
According to https://www.aurorakitchenremodeling.com/, some people go too far when it comes to figuring out the daily activities they do in their kitchens and trying to improve those. They either attempt to incorporate too many different kitchen remodeling designs into their remodeling plans that, in the end, once it all comes together, it isn’t functional, aesthetically pleasing, or even welcoming. You don’t want that.
Realize that not all kitchen remodeling designs are supposed to be incorporated into your remodeling plans. You want to make sure that you leave some open space there. If you think you are crowding your kitchen with too many things, leaving free space is the best thing you can do.
You want your kitchen to look good while also being functional – it shouldn’t restrict your workflow, nor should it be so open that it feels like you’re cooking in an open farm.
As they say – it’s all about balance.
#5 Giving Up Counter Space For Other Things
This is a big no-no. Your counter space is one of the essential elements you have in your kitchen. It can be used for anything and everything. This is one of the things that the more you have, the better your kitchen will be.
It doesn’t matter how pleasing your design would look with less counter space; you never want that.
On the flip side, you should always consider different ways you can add counter space to your kitchen. Whether that’s through shelving supports or corbels, add that space!
#6 Not Protecting Other Areas Of Your House When Remodeling
I wanted to save the big one for the last. In almost all cases, people forget about this one.
Whenever you’re remodeling your kitchen, you want to make sure that you’re protecting the other areas of your house from dust, debris and paint drippings. You don’t want any of that getting into your living room or any of the bedrooms.
I remember when I was younger, we were remodeling our kitchen and bathroom at the same time, and we didn’t do this. Next thing I know, I developed an allergy to dust particles that ended up creating a while thick substance on my eyelids. It was so weird because I couldn’t figure out why it was happening to me.
And once both projects were completed, this thing went away like magic. That’s when I realized that it was the dust that caused this allergic reaction.
So the best thing you can do for your family and your sanity is to create “mudrooms” that will lock in the dust and debris within that room and prevent it from spreading into other places.
You can thank me later.