Ok, so you finally decided to design and plan your own dream kitchen, but now you need help with the actual design process. You know that you need to consider appliances, flooring, cabinetry, and countertops, but what else do you need to consider? Planning a kitchen renovation is no small undertaking, but luckily we are here to help you do it right. Here is a brief guide on how to plan for a kitchen remodeling project.
The first thing you should probably do is make sure the design in your head is going to look right once it is implemented. Take a look at various home magazines or other books to make sure that you've got the right idea in mind. Once you are sure that the design you are after is both attractive and feasible, then it is time to move onto the next step, which is taking measurements.
When taking measurements, make sure you account for damaged materials and extra pieces for corners and walls. This is especially true with flooring, where most people forget to account for the pieces they will have to cut near a wall. Also, take each measurement 3 times and use the average of the 3 measurements. This will help you stay accurate in case something happens when trying to measure dimensions.
Once you've got your measurements down, it is time to head to the home store to purchase materials. When choosing your materials, try to make sure that you inspect each and every piece individually. I cannot tell you how many times I was forced to return to the store because I bought a cracked or damaged piece of tile or wood. Although it can take a lot of time to do this, trust me the aggravation you will save yourself is more than worth it.
Once you've purchased your materials, make sure you have a place to transport and store them. You probably won't be using everything immediately, so make sure you have adequate room indoors to store your materials. There is no greater pain than having a project get ruined because of wood or other important materials that were left out in the rain. If you must leave kitchen materials outside, make sure you wrap them in secured plastic sheeting or a tarp.
Now that you've got everything you need and you are ready to start, try to make sure you've got all the tools you'll need for the job. Do the research necessary to know what you'll need. Many times, people forget the easy things, like saws, hammers, laser levels, screws and nails, and tape measures. Trying to do a job without the right tools will cause you more frustration than you deserve, so factor tools into the budget if you need them.
I hope that by doing things the right way, and in a precisely planned manner, that your kitchen renovation goes as planned and you end up with the kitchen of your dreams. Remember to salvage what materials you can in the event you need extra or want to return them to the store. It always a good thing to get a little money back in your pocket when the job is done!
