​What to Ask Before You Renovate Your Kitchen

Remodelling your kitchen sounds like great fun, until you actually have to get down to plan. It’s not some easy project that you can complete on your own in just a day. It takes meticulous planning, research, as well as actual work to make the kitchen of your dreams a reality.
Before you venture out into the world of kitchen remodelling, which is often confusing to navigate on your own, make sure you ask yourself these questions so you know exactly what you need to do.

• Which kitchen style are you going for?

First, you need to decide what kind of style you want for your kitchen. This will give you a basic understanding of what your kitchen should look like after the remodelling. There are tons of styles you can choose from, and you can even come up with your own unique theme. For example, do you want a sleek, clean, modern style, or would you like a quirky, industrial look? Maybe you want your kitchen to look like it’s straight out of a beautiful Tuscan villa. The choice is yours.

• Do you want/need high-tech appliances in your kitchen?

Today, there is no doubt that technology is an important part of our lives. There are tons of fancy, high-tech kitchen appliances available in the market today. Before you go ahead with your kitchen remodel, ask yourself whether you need or want such appliances in your new kitchen. These include smart refrigerators, high-end dishwashers and ovens, and even devices such as Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Carefully consider if you want to have these installed and make sure you discuss it with your contractor first.

• Do you need to draw inspiration from other sources?

Are you extremely sure of exactly what you want for your new kitchen? Or do you need to draw inspiration from other sources? Sure, you may have found many pictures of amazing looking kitchens in magazines, TV, and the internet, but you may not be able to decide if these work well for your kitchen. Gather all your ideas and wishes, whether it’s for your cabinets, your kitchen island, your counter, your walls or ceiling. Perhaps you want to replicate a kitchen design exactly the way it is. Having these in handy will help you materialize your dream kitchen into a reality.

• How much space do you need for cooking?

Next, you need to consider how much cooking space you actually need. For this, you need to think about how you use your kitchen and what you mostly use it for. Factors like what most frustrates you about your current kitchen will also be at play. For instance, if you love cooking or baking, then you will need plenty of prep space on the counters as well as a main sink and a prep sink.

• Are you willing to change what is inside the walls?

Sometimes, remodelling a kitchen also involves changing what is inside the walls and not only what's outside. This means that you will need to do some digging about the construction of your house. Depending on just how much remodelling you plan on doing, you may have to change the plumbing, the venting system, or electrical wiring. Many tend to forget this aspect of remodelling and find themselves in a lot of trouble later on. Accomplishing your new kitchen may require changing these basic layouts as well.

• Have you set a realistic budget for yourself?

It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room – the budget. You need to ask yourself whether the budget you have set for yourself is realistic. In other words, you should know how much you can afford to spend for your project, and you must be very practical about this. It is also important to make sure that your budget can accommodate all the changes you want to make for your new kitchen to come to life.

• How realistic is your vision for your kitchen?

Finally, you need to make sure that your vision can actually be put to work so that it can become a reality. It can be easy to get carried away and have ideas that may not be wholly pragmatic, so make sure that you're realistic in your goals. When it actually comes down to it, chances are that you may need to compromise somewhere, which you must be ready for.
Once you have taken all these into consideration, you can then start working towards making the kitchen of your dreams a reality.