Pre-Planning is Key to Kitchen Redesign

Before you pick up the phone, to call a contractor to remodel your kitchen, you need a plan.  Unfortunately, planning is often the phase of remodeling and redesigning many homeowners ignore.  They may simply see a design in a leading magazine or on a home-improvement television show and immediately think that particular design will work for them.  The truth of the matter is about 80% of the homeowners who redesign their kitchens in this manner are not satisfied 6 month to a year later, whereas the homeowner’s who spend more time “pre-planning” are more satisfied several years later with their decision.

If you are or have been considering remodeling or redesigning your kitchen or if you are doing a new build and are planning your kitchen design, then chances are you have been leafing through design magazines, watching Do-it-yourself television shows and going to all the home shows in your area.  All of which are fantastic ways to get ideas on how you want your kitchen to look.  However, it’s time to go on to the next step.

It’s time to put down the magazines and move on to your next step by defining your goal.  What is the main reason you want to redesign your kitchen?  Perhaps the existing design is too outdated, or maybe your kitchen is just too small to entertain, or to meet your family needs.  Whatever your needs, now is the time to start defining how you need your kitchen to serve you.  Start by crating two lists.  One list will be everything you hate about the current design of your kitchen.  The second list will be your dream list.  On your second list write down everything, you want your kitchen to do.  Now it’s time to move on to the third step, being realistic.

Nothing more will bring you down to Earth than how much something cost.  In order to obtain a general idea of how much your kitchen remodel will cost you will need to crunch some numbers.  To do this, you could obtain several estimates from reputable contractors or you can visit the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) website at http://www.nari.org/.  There you can find worksheet that can assist you in estimating how much your kitchen remodel will cost.  Once you have an idea of the expense you can then decide whether or not, to go with the granite or copper counter tops or if you want to spend the extra money to upgrade your appliances.  By having an idea of the expense you are facing, you will then be able to compare the items on your list and decide which items are truly important to you.    

Okay, your next step is to set aside the time.  I’m always amused in October when I turn on the television and see advertisements for kitchen remodels, especially the ones that claim you have a brand new kitchen for the holidays.  When remodeling, no matter what room, it's always important to set aside the time when the remodel will not interfere with a special event or occasion.  Another vital bit of information is if you are hiring out the work; make sure that you discuss time lengths when interviewing potential contractors.