When you own your own home, you’re in a particular position in that if you want to make changes to your home, you can. Want to paint that wall in the hallway orange? Go for it. Want to tile the ceiling in the bathroom? Be my guest! The only problem is that sometimes people can get drunk on the power of being able to update things as and when they want, and it can lead to you wanting to renovate willy-nilly.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because renovations do have the potential to add value to your home, but you do need to exercise a modicum of caution when you’re choosing what to renovate. In order to ensure that you don’t charge ahead with the fur covered kitchen cupboard doors, here are seven helpful things to consider before you renovate your kitchen – brought to you by Brentwood Kitchens, the kitchen renovation specialists.
1. Know what you want to achieve
It’s often the case with renovations that you don’t just want to achieve a visual spruce up – you want to improve the functionality of your home too. The same applies for kitchen renovations. For example, you might be sick of cooking with an electric hot plate and really want a gas oven. You might need to get gas plumbed in to your home or hire a gas fitter out to sort it for your kitchen – and this can incur extra costs. Think about what you want to achieve and then rank it in order of most important to least. That way, you can work your way down the list instead of working along and then realising you don’t have the money for a critical part of your renovation.
2. Don’t go too crazy with current trends
While you might have your eye on a totally up to the minute design that you saw in a magazine, it might be the case that it’s not going to work in your home, or that it’ll date quickly. It’s far better to stick to timeless designs and to steer clear of the trends.
3. Don’t neglect the details
When you’re working to design your new kitchen with your architect or builder, you need to ensure that you consider the small details as part of the overarching design. Things like taps, handles, finishes and little touches here and there will set your kitchen head and shoulders above your current design and will make you glad that you went the extra mile.
4. Design your space around your appliances
If you use your blender every day, you should design a kitchen that accommodates this! Totally addicted to microwaving? Make sure that you think about this with your design. Your kitchen is being designed for you – and while you need to consider resale value in the design, you can afford to make sure it’s user-friendly, too.
5. Add value to your home
Your kitchen renovation project should consider the resale value as we touched on in the previous point. Part of this is making sure that the kitchen is user-friendly for anyone, not just you. You need to find a happy medium.
6. Think about the sink
You want to make sure that the sink you choose – along with the mixer and depth of the sink – is in line with what you use it for. If you don’t have a dishwasher, you need to ensure that your sink is adequately sized for washing up by hand. If you make a lot of stocks or big meals, you need to ensure that the sink will hold a big stock pot or casserole dish.
7. Think about your family/the use of the kitchen
Make sure that as your family grows and changes that so too can your kitchen to accommodate them. You might want to install a breakfast bar or something similar to use with kids as they grow up as a quick spot for breakfast. No matter what, ensure that the kitchen is flexible in the use of space and cupboards.
Good luck with your renovation, and don’t forget to draw on online inspiration if you get stuck.
