Kitchen Remodel Ideas

The kitchen is literally the heart of a home, with most of the conversations, discussions, and a lot of culinary experiments taking up most of a family's time spent in it. Remodeling a kitchen, to improve the design and its functionality, can be quite a daunting task. While some lucky ones can hire an architect, buy new appliances, cabinets, and finishes, move fixtures around, add walls, take out walls, or add a new space entirely, there are others who have to stick to remodeling a kitchen on a budget. Knowing how to do this yourself means taking stock of things, the original style, functionality, and how much of what is needed to transform the kitchen the way you want it to be.

Plan the Kitchen Design: While remodeling the kitchen, the first thing to consider is the design. Plan it in such a way that the movement inside the kitchen is smooth and the space is utilized perfectly. While the classic kitchen triangle is the most popular choice, other designs such as the one wall design for long, narrow kitchens or the U-shaped design for increasing efficiency, are equally popular. From kitchen software to book-based designs, the difficult task of space-planning can be made easy with these designing aids.

Demolish the Existing Structure: Before you start off with the remodeling plan, you need to first get rid of the things that you do not need in the kitchen. This involves removing the countertops and other kitchen materials. Remember, that some of these may be hazardous waste and may need disposed.

Paint the Walls: If you are changing the color scheme of the kitchen, then paint or put up a wallpaper to brighten things up. Mixing colors for contrast, such as purples and reds or bright fluorescent colors with earthy tones, is a great option for kitchen colors. You need to get this done before starting off with installing the flooring, the cabinets, and the countertops.

Lay the Flooring: Once the drywalling, plumbing, and painting is done, you need to lay the flooring. Vinyl, tile, laminate, and engineered wood are some of the popular flooring options for kitchens. Most of them are scratch- and dent-resistant and also quite inexpensive. Hardwood floors should be avoided in kitchens as they tend to soak in the moisture.

Install the Countertops and Cabinets: You can either refinish and repaint the old kitchen cabinets or install new ones based on the style you like. There are a range of features, designs, styles, functions, color patterns when it comes to choosing the kitchen cabinet. This can also be based on the entire kitchen design. So while the rustic kitchen cabinets are ideal for the simple old kitchens, contemporary kitchen cabinets are perfect for the modern kitchens. For the countertops, you can choose ceramic tile, granite, marble, stainless steel, engineered stone, soapstone solid surface, laminates, and even concretes. Since these countertop materials are heavy and can be damaged, it is best to get professional help for the installation.