Kitchen renovation is one of the most expensive domestic design projects there is, especially these days when one needs to consider all kinds of factors. The price of ex display kitchen items, kitchen appliances, kitchen designer’s fees and finally kitchen tools all make it difficult to get the right ‘bang for your buck’.
Kitchen renovation is actually a very wise investment to make and if you take enough care over it, you can end up having a top quality kitchen without paying a heavy price. Here are some top tips to help you get it right.
Decide your Budget
People often decide their budget and then seem to forget all about it. They start purchasing more things than they originally agreed to because they like them and cannot take their mind off them. So decide your budget, but make sure you stick to it. The amount should cover all the materials and appliances you need.
Now you have decided the budget, take it to the kitchen designer. Professional designers cannot give you the best advice without full financial information. Working with a professional designer always brings great benefits. Yes, they will cost you more money up front, but the point is that the end result you will achieve by hiring them will be far better than if you try to do the same things alone. Professionals have experience not only in design ideas, but in saving you money too.
Simplicity
Your kitchen should be simple at heart. Elaboration and too wide a variety of ideas may make it too expensive and even too complicated to use.
Planning
Do your research well before writing your plan. Sometimes you will have your own ideas, and other times you will need to do some research. Good planning at the beginning will save you time and money later on.
Quality
The cost of quality is priceless. Never end up purchasing something of poor quality just to save a bit of money. If you buy things that don’t last, they will become outdated, broken or defunct very quickly and will affect the rest of the kitchen design.
Appliances
You can often take advantage of package deals and easy delivery if you buy your appliances through the same company that is supplying your kitchen.
When you choose the appliances, go for freestanding ones. These are trendy and will save you money as they are great statement pieces. You can also take them with you if you want to when moving house later on.
Colours
Choose neutral colours for all your kitchen cabinets and bench tops. To achieve cost effectiveness, use paint and accessories to add splashes of brighter colour around the room. Once a statement colour becomes outdated, you will be able to change it far more easily than if you had used the paint to cover your entire kitchen.
Door Finish
Melamine is a great value for money option. Go for a satin-smooth melamine finish by a decent brand.
Saving space
One place you can really save in the kitchen is your benchtop selection. New technologies have given life to laminates and you can achieve very effective imitation stone or timber looks. Plus you can select from a wide range of colours.
Kitchen layout
The kitchen layout with the lowest price is the galley kitchen, which requires just one straight run of cabinetry. If you can get the deisgn right, you will also end up with a lot of accessible storage and bench space.