A kitchen remodel is a common expense that many homeowners undertake to boost their property’s value and make things easier for the family in the kitchen. But despite being a rather regular home improvement expenditure, kitchen renovation often turns into an avoidable money pit because people fail to plan well beforehand. That combined with the unexpected hiccups that one may encounter during a kitchen makeover, the entire process gets needlessly complicated, not to mention super costly.

If you don’t want that to happen with you, you should be wary of the following common kitchen remodeling mistakes and conserve your hard-earned money.

Not Having A Plan

One of the most common kitchen renovation mistakes is hands-down not having a plan/vision of what you intend to achieve from the home improvement project you wish to undertake. Of course, the primary goal of any renovation in a house is to give a room/area a lift, but that’s a very vague idea. You need to know exactly what you want to see once the shovels and paint rollers are down. In other words, do you want to make the workflow seamless, or do you want to add a new element, such as an island, or do you simply wish to enhance the overall look?

You need to be clear about the finished product you want to see to streamline the renovation project and devise a conducive strategy that is both cost and time-effective. Therefore, when you decide to give your kitchen a touchup, have a clear vision in your mind about what you want to see when everything is over. Or else, you will not know how to space out all the aspects of the upcoming remodeling job and which section to prioritize more.

Not Realizing How Much Work It will Be

This point is connected with the previous one because when you don’t map out everything to a T, you are less likely to know how much work and time every sub-job of your remodel will take. Resultantly, you will not have a clear idea about how much effort it will take to complete your kitchen’s makeover.

All this lack of clarity will only make things more challenging for you and force you to spend more money than you need. So, to save yourself from the unneeded trouble, carefully sketch out your kitchen remodel and consider every little detail to better construe the timeline of your home improvement project.

Going DIY

With the ubiquitous online tutorials on every possible manual task, many people assume they can DIY their way through a kitchen remodel. While it’s a somewhat workable assumption, it can make matters much more complex for you than they need to be. Doing a paint job yourself, changing a bulb, or fixing a plumbing issue are all pretty straightforward assignments that a person can do singlehandedly.

However, an entire home improvement project like a kitchen renovation is hardly ever a one-person job, especially when the person dabbling with the said task has no experience of the field. So, even if you believe in the power of DIY-ing, you should still consult experts for a kitchen remodel.

Miscalculating Your Budget

Every home makeover project requires a hefty amount of funds, which a homeowner needs to set aside to get through the undertaking without facing any money-related trouble. Putting aside an amount to manage a kitchen renovation means you need to have some idea about the expenses you will incur.

But doing that is only possible if you at least have a half-baked vision of what you intend to get from your kitchen remodel. So, if you are not clear on the point of the final product you wish to see, you cannot calculate the budget right. Consequently, you are likely to underestimate the total expenditure and not keep a sufficient amount ready.

Long story short, know how you want your kitchen to look after the renovation so that you can allocate funds accordingly and not face any financial worries.

Overlooking The Workflow

The kitchen is the center of all activities in a home. Whether making meals for loved ones, having heart-to-heart discussions, or snacking at the most ungodly hours, a kitchen sees too many activities every day. Considering all the action your kitchen witnesses, it needs to have a layout that enhances the efficiency of all that happens in it. For this reason, remodelers always advise homeowners to keep the workflow in mind for their remodel. But unfortunately, in the excitement of getting a new kitchen, many forget to account for the workflow.

The busiest areas in a kitchen are the sink, the stove, and the refrigerator-or what experts call the work triangle. This work triangle should be incorporated in your kitchen to make working seamless. Therefore, you need to think of the flow of work before starting your kitchen remodel.

Not Thinking About Storage

Storage space in a kitchen is never enough. Even when you think you have left sufficient room for keeping stuff, it will not be much. No matter how much space you already have in your kitchen, when getting a makeover, don’t give up any add-ons or units that can hold things and keep your counter tidy.

Often, homeowners don’t think about getting extra drawers or cabinetry when redoing their kitchen and struggle to fit utensils inside cabinets. If you don’t want to face s similar hassle, try to get in as much room for storage as possible.

Not Applying For Financing Soon Enough

A home makeover project can be super expensive and often force homeowners to take out loans or apply for financing. While doing so is a smart move, waiting until the last minute of the improvement assignment can cause problems because you might not get the needed funds within time. Consequently, your remodelers may halt the process, adding to the overall timeline of the makeover.

In simple terms, if you plan to take out a loan or get financing for your kitchen remodels, don’t wait till the eleventh hour to put in the request. Do it as soon as you decide to start the renovation so that you have sufficient capital to take care of all the expected and unexpected expenses along the way.

Not Thinking Of The Resale Value

Many times homeowners disregard the resale value aspect of a kitchen remodel and do not put features appealing for buyers.

Even if you don’t plan to sell your property anytime soon, you cannot completely write off the possibility of that happening ever. You can never be sure what the future has in the cards for you. You might think you will not put your house on the market, but what if you unexpectedly get an appealing job offer in another estate? In such a case, you will have to relocate and give up your estate. In simple terms, you might have to sell your property at any point, so you should consider making additions to your kitchen and the rest of your home, for that matter, to entice buyers.

The best way to appeal to interested candidates is by focusing on the functionality and aesthetic of your kitchen. Aside from thinking about the workflow, invest in the visual aspect of things, such as the backsplash tile, countertops, flooring, etc. Doing so will significantly impact your property’s value and benefit you should you choose to put your house on the market.

Not Covering The Surrounding Items/Space

Starting a home improvement project means exposing your house to dust, paint splotches, and other debris. Naturally, when you begin a kitchen remodel, the area surrounding it will be at risk of getting dirty, warranting an in-depth cleaning round post-renovation. While you will have to clean the space around your kitchen in any case, you can minimize the need for detailed cleaning if you cover the surrounding articles.

The most convenient and manageable way of doing that is by covering everything with plastic sheeting. Another easy approach to reducing the impact of a kitchen remodel on the rest of the house is cordoning off the area undergoing renovation with plastic sheeting and adhesive zipper. Simply put, make a mudroom of your kitchen.

Not Looking Into The Codes

Every county/area has specific codes when it comes to renovating or making changes to a property. That stands with kitchen renovations as well.

People often forget to look into the need to get a permit based on remodeling a kitchen or any other area in the house. Seemingly a trivial issue, not asking for permission from your county administration will come to haunt you later if you don’t do it before starting your home improvement project.

Naturally, without a permit, you might have to remove any significant additions or changes to your home, which will be not only devastating for you but also hard for your pocket. Therefore, to save yourself from the hassle of dealing with code-related issues after a remodel, you should first look into the matter after deciding you want to have a makeover.

Not Having A Theme

When designing any room in a home, having a style is a must to have a guidepost to plan everything accordingly. In simple terms, if you set an overall aesthetic theme, you will know what colors you need, what kind of accents you should incorporate in your home improvement project, etc. This way, you have a point of reference to choose elements. For instance, you are getting ready for a kitchen remodel and choose a monochromatic aesthetic; you will have to find all aspects of the room based on that.

If you don’t set a theme, you will struggle to streamline the design elements of your kitchen remodeling plan, extending the project all over the place. If you wish to prevent that from happening with you, set a theme from the get-go.

If you think you need some help setting a style, ask your kitchen remodelers to guide you or look online for some inspiration.

Not Paying Attention To The Lighting

Lights impact a place’s ambiance tremendously. So, you need to carefully consider the type of lighting you want to have in your kitchen. However, deciding the lighting is an essential step in a kitchen remodel that should be done early because you will have to tweak the wiring accordingly. Let’s say you pick out some fixtures and want to hang them in specified locations but don’t have electrical points there. In that case, you will have to give up your plan of placing lights in targeted areas or new sites.

However, if you plan the lighting system of your kitchen beforehand, you can ask the remodelers to make the necessary arrangements so that your plan can be materialized without hiccups. Therefore, don’t make the mistake of forgetting to pay attention to your kitchen lights.

Not Measuring The Area More Than Once

A common kitchen remodeling blunder is not measuring the area multiple times throughout the makeover project. Of course, if you do size your kitchen more than once, the figures will not change, but that will allow you to buy fitting appliances based on the changes made to your kitchen.

For example, you want to bring in a new kitchen island, but you only measure the space once and decide on the size of the new add-one without accounting for the changes that happen before the island is installed. Imagine you get more counter space that naturally occupies a significant chunk of your kitchen capacity. So if you bring the same kitchen island you had initially selected, you will make everything super congested, not to mention visually unappealing.

No one likes congestion and pieces of equipment stuffed into a small room, especially the kitchen. So keep checking the changing dimensions of your kitchen during the remodel to ensure the proportions of all components remain balanced.

Leaving Picking Out Appliances For Last

Color coordinating kitchen appliances with the rest of the elements are essential if you have a theme in mind. This means you should match both aspects of your kitchen accordingly to avoid ending up with a kitchen that has clashing parts. Doing so is only possible if you select your appliances early on in the project because changing how they look is complex than other components such as the cabinets or countertops.

If you don’t wish to compromise on your kitchen’s aesthetic harmony, choose the machinery before finalizing everything.

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Final Words

Remodeling a kitchen is a costly undertaking that you must do right to ensure you don’t lose your money needlessly. If you want to achieve that, remember the mentioned kitchen remodeling mistakes to avoid.