American Houses

Consideration for remodeling your kitchen can come from a variety of reasons. You may want to update the look, incorporate your personal style and flare, or maybe you’re flipping the home. Whatever your reason is, you can do this at a reasonable cost and not break the bank. Research, innovative techniques and do-it-yourself projects not only save money, but can turn your space from drab to fab.

The first step is to obtain your project plan of how you want to remodel your kitchen and the details that will go into this. Figuring out what changes you want to make and your budget is a good place to start. You can find rennovation ideas on-line, in magazines, home improvement stores, looking at other homes or from talking to friends and family. This can help you figure out what projects you can do yourself and where you’ll need to hire or recruit help. Several questions need to be answered when putting together your project plan. These questions include but are not limited to deciding if you need a designer or if you’re going to do the design yourself. What contractors (i.e. – carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc.) do you need to hire? What friends or family can assist? By creating a detailed project plan this will help avoid additional expenses, projects and ultimately stress.

Small projects that you can do yourself can not only help cut cost, but can be fun too. Updating cabinets and accessories are simple tasks that are easy to do yourself. If your cabinets are in good shape try sanding and re-staining them. Or you can do what I did in one of my former homes, paint them. This gives them a fresh look and updated look at a low cost. Or you can check into having your cabinets refaced. It’s cheaper than replacing them all together. Bu, if your cabinets are too old or damaged to be redone I suggest checking into wholesalers or joining a manufacturing buying group such as Direct Buy to get you today’s styles at lower cost. When you’re finished don’t forget updated cabinet hardware to include with the refreshed look.

Painting your kitchen is another simple task you can complete yourself that makes a tremendous difference. The toughest part is picking out the color scheme and considering how it will go with the rest of your home. Do you want to paint your entire kitchen or just some accents? I personally love to paint because it’s not only easy, but it provides you with instant gratification. Not only that, but its an easy simple way to add your own personal touches. You can be be as creative or as subtle with the colors you choose. Don’t forget that you have to live with the colors, so take your time picking just the right color scheme.

You may want to keep the lighting to the professionals, but I’ve found inexpensive innovative designs at many of the home improvement stores to match the look you desire. If you’re looking to add a romantic, ambient glow you may want to try under-cabinet fluorescents or rope light. Just remember, this may not be enough light if you’ve chosen dark colors like dark blue, green or black. However, you may have an overkill of lighting if you choose powerful overheads, spotlights with lighter colors such as white or bright yellows. Choosing just the right lighting to create the look you desire can also help you be more involved in the design and remodeling process.

You may not want to or be able to do the entire project yourself, so it’s important to hire a good contractor to assist. Contractors can help you decide what should be repaired or replaced and what can just be touched up. It’s important to take bids from several contractors to find not only the right price, but also someone who does quality work, is licensed, insured, and has references. Finding someone you feel comfortable with is also important, because you will be working closely with them. If you don’t get along with them it can make for a miserable remodeling experience.

Remodeling your kitchen can be a large undertaking that may be costly, frustrating and disappointing. However, with some careful planning, patience, research and a do-it-yourself attitude it can be a gratifying experience. Now you know some tips to acquire the look you desire on a budget.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 9:46 pm and is filed under Cheap Remodeling, Home Remodeling, Home improvement, Kitchen Remodeling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.