Kitchen Remodeling Mistakes You Need To Avoid
Undertaking a kitchen remodeling project is the dream of many homeowners. The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home, while more than 50% of Americans spend at least 30 minutes of everyday cooking. A beautifully appointed kitchen can revolutionize everyday life. Premium appliances and well-thought-out floor plans will make quick work of meal preparation.
Furthermore, if you've worked a comfortable seating area into your design, your new kitchen can become a hub for socializing with family and friends. Want to ensure you get the most for your money? Read on for some common kitchen remodeling mistakes you'll want to avoid.
Photo by Cat Han
1. Not Considering Everyone’s Requirements
If you love nothing more than whipping home-cooked meals at home, it's easy to focus too much on the food prep when designing a kitchen. While meal preparation plays a huge role in your kitchen, think about what else the space will be used for.
Have you a large family? Make sure there's sufficient room for youngsters to study or complete homework assignments. Is your home lacking a dedicated dining space? If your kitchen layout doesn't provide scope for a conventional dining area, think about integrating bar stools and raised dining surfaces.
2. Not Leaving Sufficient Clearance
It's easy to cram too much into a tight space. However, remember that the kitchen is one of the most heavily used parts of any home. Sufficient aisle clearance is crucial to avoid accidents as you prepare meals or tackle cleaning tasks. Ideally, you'll want to leave a minimum of 42 inches between walls, kitchen cabinetry, and any bulky appliances.
For maximum usability, you might want to stretch to a clearance of 48 inches or more. It's also important to think about where you're placing those big kitchen staples. Try to keep refrigerators, ovens, and sinks separated from one another. This will alleviate congestion and leave every kitchen user plenty of space to do their thing.
3. Not Thinking Carefully About Islands
In the United States, around 38% of kitchen remodelling projects include integrating an island. While islands are incredibly functional, you should avoid overwhelming a small space with an oversized central island. Even if a space has sufficient square footage, you should avoid a large island.
Anything too big will serve as an obstacle, affecting the flow of your kitchen. Retrieving a piece of cookware or batch of ingredients shouldn't feel like an expedition. In some cases, it may be worth reconsidering your kitchen remodeling plans. Two strategically placed smaller islands may be a better choice than one large surface.
Furthermore, don't turn a kitchen island into an overpacked storage solution. In smaller kitchens, islands should be utilized for storage. However, go for recessed shelving and cubbies so that stored items aren't protruding.
4. Don’t Revise Your Initial Plans Too Heavily
As with any major home renovation project, it's vital to stick to your plans if you want to keep spending in check. In the US, the average kitchen remodels costs $25,000. However, those investing in premium appliances and materials can pay many times that.
Make sure your material choices are locked in before ordering them. Ensure you've researched appliance reviews and investigated warranties. Finally, don't put contractors to work until all the essentials have been delivered and remodeling work can commence.
5. Don’t Forget the Storage
Storage is at a premium in any kitchen, no matter how large. You'll need to think carefully about storage solutions when designing your dream kitchen. While open shelves and cabinets are obvious choices, there are a wealth of additional storage solutions you can consider.
Will there be a lot of wall space remaining once cabinets have been mounted? Floating shelves and magnetic knife holders are worth looking into. Adding a ceiling-mounted pot and utensil rack above an island is another way to maximize storage capacity.
You can also make the interiors of drawers and cabinets work better for you. Integrated cutlery sorters and knife holders will make everyday organization simple. Tiered storage in overhead cabinets will also make it easier to retrieve ingredients and essential cookware.
6. Not Thinking About the Lighting
It's amazing how many homeowners forget about lighting when designing a new kitchen. However, insufficient lighting is probably one of the key reasons why your current kitchen configuration isn't working out.
If you want to avoid relying on a few ceiling fixtures going forward, make sure you're working plenty of lighting solutions into your new design. Flush mount fixtures are perfect for kitchens. When choosing bulbs, stick to white and warm bulbs to create the right ambiance.
If your kitchen includes a separate dining area, a pendant light fixture is a good investment. Kitchen strip lights are also something to think about. Under-cabinet lights can be installed inexpensively, providing you with a secondary lighting source that will accentuate your overall design.
Whatever lighting options you go for, make sure bulb replacements are affordable and readily available. Placement of light fitting is also important. Replacing a single burnt-out bulb shouldn't be a massive undertaking.
Realizing Your Kitchen Remodeling Project
Kitchen remodeling projects can be time-consuming and expensive affairs. To make your life easier, think carefully when turning your design dreams into a reality. To start, make sure you're considering everyone's requirements.
Next, make sure you're thinking seriously about aisle clearance and placement of key appliances. Don't overfill a small space and ensure there's plenty of aisle clearance to avoid congestion in this busy part of the home.
Thinking about installing an island? A vast freestanding island might look great, but it won't be particularly functional. To make your kitchen more accessible, strip dimensions back. Alternatively, integrate two smaller islands into separate parts of the kitchen.
Storage plays a huge role in the success of any kitchen remodel. Make sure your kitchen provides all the storage you currently need, with plenty of scope for growth. Lighting will also enrich your space, so make sure key areas are properly illuminated and bulb and fixture maintenance are straightforward.
Need some pointers? Head to CADdetails.com for essential inspiration to help you realize your kitchen remodeling ambitions.
Author: Diarmuid Hennessy is the Operations Manager of HomeCheck. Since 2016, they have provided property survey services to homeowners throughout Ireland.
