Every day you walk into your kitchen thinking today you’ll try a new recipe to rekindle your cooking spirits, or simply buy the latest line of your favorite cookware brand but somehow, at the end of the day, you come out unsatisfied, annoyed, and angry at yourself. But you can’t seem to figure out why; the pressing question stuck at the bottom of your throat urges to reveal itself: ‘do I need a kitchen revamp?’
But just the idea of mentally preparing a framework for remodeling your kitchen and drawing up a financial outlay becomes stressful enough for you to procrastinate and postpone all such ‘subversive thoughts, right away.
However, you’re not alone in your struggle, but first, you have to resist the big temptations. Do not give in to your compulsions and just go on a spree of buying the shiniest and most expensive appliances; you’ll make the most out of these savings than from deciding to buy a cheaper kitchen sink.
What’s Really Essential
You must ask yourself what your primary and secondary needs are; what you can do without for the next five months but cannot for the next five years because being able to take your eyes off the shiny bits and focusing on your culinary needs and daily life priorities will yield the best results, and even save you a chunk of cash. For instance, if you’re the type that only uses home to sleep and mostly orders takeaway, then investing in a decent microwave for heating prepared foods and an economically priced refrigerator will be more beneficial than investing in a cookware set you’ll hardly use and large refrigerators that’ll never be filled.
Besides, most kitchen appliances offer more than you need, and some even come with bonus options, and you want to avoid the ones you’ll hardly use. An example is refrigerators with water coolers; yes they sound cool, but how many times will you use them in a week anyway?
On that note, the color of your refurbished kitchen is a priority. Instead of being unconventional, maybe think black and white. It is harder to match some colors of appliances like white as they are always ‘slightly’ different and never quite the ‘same’. Black, on the other hand, is a safe bet and never goes wrong.
The Pro Tips & Ideas
Let’s talk appliances!
Set the Tone
The color of your kitchen can make or break the rest of the atmosphere. It doesn’t cost much and you can do this yourself, or make it a ‘fun’ family activity (if you have one living with you). A light hue to any room adds exquisiteness, a class in subtlety, a story shown instead of being told. Moreover, light colors hide dents, damp walls, cracked cabinets, and renew their looks. Besides, painting always loses its newness, chips, and scrapes off, therefore you can never go wrong with a fresh coat of paint.
New Doors, Old Secrets
Why consider going through the hassle of replacing old cabinets with new ones? The measurements, shape, and size, picking the right color, it all sounds too much. Save the hard work and do the smart work instead; get new doors for your old cabinets, and the guests will look twice at the flashy cabinets because something just ‘feels’ different. Mainly when your cabinets are unsalvageable but have the structure and shape, you can easily get new doors with accurate measurements and matching paints, and voila! New-looking cabinets.
Cabinetry Hardware
A new look on the hardware for your cabinets can also revamp the aesthetics easily. You can pick your time period, whether you want to bring Art Deco back with zig-zag knobs and handles, and patterned cup pulls, or simply get contemporary brass or vintage knobs – the choice is yours. You can do this by yourself and the internet is a useful resource for all the bright ideas you may want to scroll through for once.
Splash the Cash on your Backsplashes
Backsplashes are perhaps one of the most important bits of your kitchen remodeling. They take up a little bit of your real estate but quite necessarily so. The small gap between the countertop and the cabinets becomes the eye-catching section that can uplift the entire outlook of your kitchen but choosing the wrong color or type of tile can ruin it all just as easily. It is literally the final piece to your puzzle as it connects all the dots to your kitchen model altogether.
But it is essential for more reasons than one. A tiled wall prevents oil-splatters, splashes, and perhaps a mug of coffee thrown at you (but you dodge and it hits the wall) from damaging the paint (especially if it’s a fresh coat), or needing to repaint the whole thing again. You can pick from numerous ranges but to be safe, you may choose the white subway tile; it is the most economical and convenient option as it is a timeless classic like ‘Last Christmas’. Moreover, if you have already planned to invest in quality materials and expensive countertops, you can just opt for a backsplash right behind your stove and sink. The stove and sink are the messiest places to be, and a backsplash not only prevents the mess but also draws the spotlight on the most essential area of the kitchen.
The Plumbing Stays!
If you have existing piping and utility that still works just fine, this will save you a chunk. It can easily cost you around five grand each time you move an appliance such as a dishwasher, stove, or sink. Therefore, stick with the current plumbing and work your way around it by installing new dishwashers, sinks, or gas stoves.
Why pick Countertop Dishwashers?
Your first thought should be the size of your dishwasher and space it takes in the kitchen. You’d want a dishwasher that matches seamlessly with your entire kitchen decor; whether it’s matching the finish or color of other appliances you want to go with the most informed choice. Hence, countertop dishwashers are the ultimate answer.
Firstly, countertop dishwashers are the most versatile out of the rest of the kitchen appliances you will pick because they are portable. They don’t take up much space and if you’ve decided to go with the old piping and utility, this is the best solution. Besides, you can install a countertop dishwasher permanently if you wish to anyway. You can install them in the same place as your main water line. They are compact in size and perform just as well as full-size ones. They take up as much space as microwaves and use significantly less water than full-size dishwashers and manual washing. In the end, they will save you money in the entire kitchen remodeling plan, as well as utility bills.
Countertop Concerns
How you want to install the new countertop will depend on the kind you choose. If you own a flat laminate countertop in mint condition, installing a new laminate on top would do just fine. However, if you want a stone countertop, you will need to replace the entire top you already have and install it according to the specific measurements and specifications of the kitchen architecture.
EndNote
Now you must sit down and think. What is non-negotiable and what is just a pent-up temptation that you can do without? Do you live alone or is it a family of five? How big is your kitchen anyway? What are the existing appliances you own already, and how mint are their conditions? Remember, if you don’t know what to do, what to buy, and how to start, there are kitchen remodeling experts just a call away willing to take the burden off your shoulders and do it professionally just the way you’d want, and it’s not as expensive as you may think.
Rita C. Donnell (Jennifer) has spent the last 26 years studying and practicing nutrition science. She has used a larger part of this time in improving people’s livelihoods. She has done so by coming up with unquestionable ideas on how to tackle food problems in her community. Readmore