Kitchen

Despite being fun to think about, without proper planning kitchen remodels can be formidable tasks. Construction, plumbing, and electrical systems are typically considered the ultimate headache for overzealous homeowners; however, as they try to choose the colors, styles, and materials for their ideal kitchen makeover these areas can quickly become overwhelming as well.

That’s why we’re sharing these tips and strategies for what to consider when tackling the daunting task of kitchen remodels. Before you buy, move, or demo anything in your existing kitchen, consider this guide as a way to prioritize and plan the remodel to prevent costly mistakes and achieve your ideal kitchen.

1. Know Your Goals

Professional tradesmen have a saying: “Measure twice, cut once.” It has a literal meaning in construction, but it also applies more broadly to any big project, which is to make mistakes while they’re free. Don’t buy materials or demo your space until you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve.

In the case of kitchens, you should ask yourself specific questions about what you hope to achieve by remodeling. Are you trying to expand the space, add more seating, upgrade the appliances, or improve the lighting? It’s probably a combination of objectives, but you should create mental and physical checklists to help make smart decisions.

It’s easy to get caught up in the fun of kitchen remodeling, going down the rabbit hole of paint swatches and tile patterns. These details can quickly become costly in the absence of a clear understanding of the actual desired outcome.

2. Prioritize the Biggest Project

When remodeling a kitchen, you should make lists of priorities, but you should also create separate plans for your biggest goals in the remodel. If you’re hoping to change the floors, counters, cabinets, fixtures, lighting, appliances, or paint, you should consider each aspect of the job separately before tackling them all at once.

As an example, consider a kitchen remodel that changes the floor plan, possibly to create a more open space. A common mistake among kitchen remodelers is to choose countertop materials, buy appliances, or rework the cabinets before cementing the new floor plan.

An efficient remodeling project only moves forward because the biggest priorities are handled first. Make a list of every aspect of the project, and prioritize them by size. You don’t want to circle back to smaller projects because you did them in the wrong order.

3. Focus on Materials

While it’s more fun to haggle over the details of design, the choice of materials is actually more important to consider than the choice of style in most cases. Color and pattern choices seem like crucial concerns until you make a construction mistake like choosing a laminate, which is notoriously lacking in heat resistance, for a countertop that needs to take a beating.

Take your time researching materials before choosing designs. Glass tile, ceramic tile, stone, laminate, and hardwood each have advantages and disadvantages in different kitchen settings. If considering hardwood floors alongside new cabinets, make sure the materials are complementary and not clashing.

This can start with the basic question of whether the color scheme will be warm or cool. The most important thing is to consider how you want them to function in your new kitchen before picking colors and patterns.

4. Don’t Forget the Lighting

Lighting often gets shoved to the bottom of the priorities list in room remodels, but it should be near the top for kitchens. Kitchens need to be bright and visible, with multiple functional lighting sources. If you opt for tiny pendant lights because they look chic, you could be cheating your new kitchen out of its functionality as well as its flow.

Kitchen lighting should be plentiful without cluttering the space. Your material textures and colors should look good in the light you choose, which often means thinking of kitchen lighting in layers. Be sure to include ambient lights, task lighting, and accent lighting, considering each separately and together to maximize functionality.

Take advantage of any natural light you can to make your new kitchen feel open and airy. Take note of glares on fixtures, focal points for task-oriented lighting, and the best locations for accent lights. You should be thinking about lighting even when choosing appliances, countertop materials, tile patterns, and fixtures. After all, it’s the one room where lighting can truly make or break its entire purpose.

5. Contract Professional Maryland Kitchen Remodel Services

Everyone wants to DIY their kitchen to save money, but the truth is that even with a clear design and a strict list of priorities, remodels can be messy, costly projects. One study of DIY projects found that 63% had regrets about a project (top of the list was flooring), 55% said it took much longer than planned, 50% said it was physically harder than expected, and other high scoring categories including being over budget, poor quality, etc.

A professional remodeling company can offer access to luxury brands, experienced tradesmen, permit arrangements, plumbing and electrical expertise, custom design skills, the right equipment, and more to help you refine and execute your vision for your kitchen without making costly mistakes.

Contact our team today to learn how Southern Maryland Kitchen & Bath can help you focus on important tasks, customize a consistent stylistic vision, and minimize costs in your professional kitchen remodel.

It’s believed that 52.5% of people in the city of Baltimore alone live in rented homes – and behind each one is a landlord aiming to create a beautiful place that will appeal to tenants. When it comes to designing the kitchen and keeping everything safe, secure and appealing to potential tenants looking around, meanwhile, there are some specific principles to keep in mind.

Safety First

Safety is a key issue in any rented home. The state of Maryland has a number of laws in place designed to protect tenants, such as structural safety and the maintenance of anti-fire facilities – and you’ll need to be sure you adhere to them. Providing a fire extinguisher near cooking equipment is a good move, as well as a fire blanket. And remember: if the home’s boiler is located in the kitchen, it needs to be in an accessible place so that it can be regularly accessed and serviced to check that there are no gas leaks or other problems on the horizon.

Keep It Pretty

When a potential tenant comes to view your residential rental property, it’s likely that the rooms which require the most hygiene – the kitchen and the bathroom – will be most closely scrutinized. After all, considerable amounts of time are spent in both rooms. So by regularly refreshing your kitchen’s decor and by installing a couple of high-end features (such as a mixer sink or an induction hob), your property will stand out from the rest. This may be an upfront cost, but it’s one that’s likely to pay off as it can reduce the amount of time for which your property remains vacant.

Durable And Long-Lasting

Kitchens are expensive, and there are few things worse for a homeowner than having to repair and reinstall them. For that reason, it’s often worth dealing with a high cost upfront and buying a kitchen that is built to last. Given that some tenants are sadly inclined to not look after their rented properties given that their stake in them is usually low, a kitchen made from durable materials is also a good idea.

Designing your rental home well is an important thing for landlords to do, and there’s nothing worse than making a significant design error – especially in an important, well-used but potentially dangerous area like the kitchen. So by prioritizing safety, aesthetics, and durability, you’ll be able to ensure that you don’t cause problems either for you or for your tenant.

With the holidays approaching, now is the time to plan your kitchen remodel. No other time in the year does our kitchen matter as much as it does than during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Season. Most (if not all) of your holiday memories are formed as you help prepare your holiday meal or while you are entertaining guests around your newly remodeled kitchen. It takes many weeks of preparation (if not many weeks of work and/or lead time waiting for materials to arrive) to create a kitchen masterpiece.

In my many years in the business, I have found that sometimes people have a general idea of what they want their new kitchen to look like or how they want it to function. Other times, they need someone to walk them through the entire process and they want to make sure that they are making good decisions. Although aesthetics are important, this article is designed to help you and your kitchen designer plan out your new kitchen. Here are some general tips and guidelines as you plan out and measure your kitchen:

1) What Don’t You Like About Your Kitchen?

• Is that blind corner cabinet a waste of space?
• Do you wish you had extra seating?
• Do you wish that the cabinets went all the way to the ceiling?
• Do you hate how your kitchen is so closed off from the adjacent room?
• Are there accessories that you wish you had (trash can cabinet, lift gate wall cabinets, appliance garages, etc.)?
• Do you hate having to bend down to look for your most used pots and pans?
• Is your refrigerator too close to your range or is your dishwasher too close to the refrigerator?

We all have certain quirks that annoy us about our kitchen and its functionality. When you prepare your next few meals, write down things that you don’t like about how your kitchen functions to make sure that you address them.

2) Where Is Your Existing “Power Spot”?

Everyone has the 5-10 square feet of space where they spend the majority of the time as they prepare their meals. Identify that spot. We are all creatures of habit and moving our “power spot” may be uncomfortable. You may want to plan your kitchen remodel and placement around that spot.

3) Measure Your Existing Layout.

Some companies offer this as a free service but for those of us that are planners and like to have more control with our remodel, measuring your existing layout may help as you plan your next remodel. As you measure your layout, keep in mind that kitchen measurements should be measured accurately ­– by the quarter of an inch. Being off in your measurements could mean that cabinets will not fit or it could throw the placement (sink center under the window, etc.) off. Everyone knows that walls need to be measured (especially the walls that cabinets are getting installed on) but most people forget to measure for doorways and windows (trim to trim). Although most people have 8 or 9 foot ceilings, double check the measurement of your ceiling height, any existing soffits, lighting, or anything else that may be in the way.

If you like this article and would like design help on your kitchen, bathroom, flooring or other home improvement projects, visit our showroom in the Wildewood Shopping Center in California, MD. You can call our showroom at 301-945-8353 and request a FREE (no-obligation) DESIGN CONSULTATION and ESTIMATE with one of our design specialists.