6 Mistakes to Avoid During Your Kitchen Renovation

Kitchens, like any part of your home, need regular updates. In fact, renovating your kitchen should be a priority!

Your kitchen loses its shine over time. Paint on the walls chips off, cabinets become dirty, and floors become full of stains.

In such circumstances, giving a new look to your kitchen does wonders for it. Remodeling a kitchen would also help you incorporate all the latest smart devices that make your kitchen tasks manageable. However, before starting, keep a plan in mind.

Renovations require effort and time. Above all, your new kitchen will need massive amounts of investment. All these changes cost a fortune, especially in the present time. One cannot afford even a slight mistake. Follow these simple tricks to save your money from being wasted.

1. Finalizing Appliances Before Cabinets 

Renovations allow homeowners to add more storage space, such as cabinets. Everything from your crockery to utensils remains safe with enough cabinets. So, plan to build more cabinets in your new kitchen.

However, before hiring an expert for kitchen cabinet refacing and installation of new cabinets, plan out which appliance goes where. Homeowners make the mistake of creating an entire room plan without thinking about where the new appliances will go. It creates trouble once the renovations are over.

List all the appliances you have and plan on adding to your kitchen. Afterwards, discuss with your contractor to ensure they build cabinets without occupying machinery space. From your fridge to water dispensers and ovens, create cabinets around every appliance. It results in better storage space without cramping up the kitchen.

2. Making Aisles Tight

Always make your kitchen aisles wide enough to walk freely. While cooking in your kitchen, you will need space to move around. Thus, making a tight aisle would cause a setback.

When planning to renovate your kitchen space, get an idea about the ideal size of an aisle, including those between islands and walls and appliances. An ideal width is 48 inches because it provides enough space for cooks to navigate in the vicinity.

If you and your partner are both into cooking, plan the space between the features of your kitchen in a way that both of you don’t bump into one another. Remember, an aisle cannot be too tight and neither too wide.

3. Not Planning In 3D

A part of kitchen renovations is to imagine the space in 3D. Several people make the mistake of not considering the size and direction of doors and cabinets. Whether it’s your fridge or oven, its door needs space to open. If you only plan in 2D spaces, things might get tight.

Have a good look at your kitchen and note how much space each cabinet and door takes while opening. After you have an idea, plan changes accordingly. Considering the direction and space of every door is crucial.

4. Over-Sized Islands

It’s a huge mistake to create oversized islands in your kitchen. Some people feel their kitchen is big enough to support a massive island, but it’s equivalent to wasting space. An island length greater than 10 feet makes movement in your kitchen restricted and difficult.

Furthermore, the ideal depth of an island is 4 feet. Anything above this mark makes it difficult to reach the things on top.

The bigger the island you choose, the greater the chances of creating a messier space. You put all your dishes, pots, and baskets on the island. Even your entire family starts to pile up all the dirty dishes in this area.

Instead of creating a problem for yourself, opt for smaller islands.

5. Changing Plans after Renovation Starts

The biggest mistake you make is changing plans during the renovation process. It is poor practice to include new ideas in your current plan once a project kick-starts. If you wonder why, the reason is that changes midstream cost much more, and it could negatively impact the result.

Introducing new changes might confuse your contractor as well. So, decide on every change before starting. Do your homework and have a detailed discussion with your contractor. Furthermore, actively observe all the ongoing renovations.

If anything feels out of place, talk to your contractor and have it changed timely.

6. Don’t Start if You Don’t Have Enough Monitory Resources

Most importantly, always see your budget before planning any renovation. For kitchen renovations, the expenditure could be anywhere from fifty to sixty thousand dollars or more.

So, get a good idea about your bank balance and how much you have for remodeling projects. Start jotting down all the changes you need and how much they cost.

Don’t think of hiring anyone until you don’t have enough resources. In case you fall short of cash mid-way, the entire project will come to a halt. That means your kitchen won’t be functional for a long time.