Remodeling the kitchen is a great way to give your home a facelift. As one of the central meeting stations of your home, it normally has the most traffic and sees the most activity. Taking on a remodel, whether by yourself or with a contractor, can be a daunting process, but it doesn’t have to be. These 5 tips will help you down the road to a smooth kitchen remodel.
Do Your Research
It’s your kitchen, but you don’t have to redesign the wheel. There are literally millions of kitchen pictures on the internet, and a ton of great ideas. Be careful, though, because it’s easy to get lost in the crush of information. We here at RTA Cabinet Store suggest going to a website with a great name in the industry, which will have galleries of beautiful kitchens which are achievable on a budget. It’s a great place to start from, and the best places will have tips and suggestions on how to help you in the process.
Design It All
Design your kitchen down to the last detail, and, if you can, draw it or design it on a PC to be able to envision exactly what your kitchen will look like. This can save you an untold number of problems in the end, with color mismatches, non-compatible looks of appliances and your cabinets, and floor-furniture design disasters, just to name a few.
Plan, Plan, Plan
Make a plan. And then let it sit a bit, and revisit it. Show it to others, at least one person who is a professional and another who is a design guru you trust. It will save you many headaches. Kitchens have to be remodeled in a certain order, which is logical, but not always apparent. For example, you may get everything in your list ticked off, all the cabinets chosen, and forget that one little detail, like checking to see if everything you want, down to electrical outlets, is available and in stock. These things, if not meticulously planned, can cause you a big headache.
Get It All
Get all your materials before you are ready to begin. Pick a handy storage place, and make sure you have everything you need to get to work. If you have a contractor, this is easy, as they will take care of the bulk of the work for you, but if you are a DIY type of person, and have purchased RTA cabinets, make sure you have everything else you need. Measuring tools, screwdrivers, electrical outlets, wedges, the list goes on and on. But you will know everything you will need, because you made the plan.
Make an Exit Strategy
Your old kitchen has to go somewhere. But it doesn’t have to go to the trash, nor do you necessarily even have to remove it yourself. Here’s a craftsman tip: offer up your old kitchen online for the right price … free. This is, of course, if the person will come in and remove it and haul it away themselves. Of course, you may want to help them to remove it, but it’s a great way to save you a huge headache.
We hope that these tips help you to move smoothly down the path of your kitchen remodel, and get you that much closer to the kitchen you’ve always wanted.