10 Kitchen Renovation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Written by Artisan Contracting on January 4, 2023
Whether you are doing your own kitchen renovations or are hiring a contractor to do them for you, it’s important to try and avoid the common pitfalls that can negatively affect your project. The last thing you need is to end up with a kitchen you don’t like or one that isn’t functional.
Keep reading to discover ten common kitchen renovation mistakes and how you can avoid them.
1. Not Keeping the Design Compact
While big open kitchens look lovely, when you use your kitchen, you don’t want to be walking very far from the fridge to the counter, stove, and sink. These elements need to be relatively close together, even if the overall kitchen is very large. There are other great things to do with the extra space in your kitchen rather than keep the essential elements far from each other.
2. Or Making it Too Compact
Kitchen design, like many things in life, is a balancing act. In small kitchens, you might be tempted to overwhelm the space with multiple features, but overcrowding can be a big mistake. If a kitchen feels cramped, or you’re bumping into things, you’ll regret including so much in a small space. Make sure that the aisles are wide enough for simple clearance. Plus, counter space is very important in a kitchen, and the lack of it is something that many people complain about. It’s much better to have too much than too little!
Looking for kitchen renovation advice? Contact our team today.
3. Forgetting Your Workflow
It can be frustrating in the kitchen if the placement of features or appliances doesn’t help your workflow. Maybe you need an area beside the oven to put your dishes, or your fridge near a countertop for ease of food preparation. Consider this when you are designing your new kitchen.
4. Going Too Trendy
There are so many exciting trends on the market; we understand wanting to immediately include them in your design. However, if something turns out to be more of a passing trend than something you truly love, you may regret including it in your kitchen. Designs should be made over several months so that you’re sure you really like the design elements on their own merits. Try to avoid adding trendy elements at the last minute.
Your contractor may have a style that they strongly prefer to design, and you’ll see it a lot in their portfolio. However, a great designer will always adapt to the style of their clients and help reflect their tastes and needs.
5. Not Sticking to Your Budget
It can be easy with kitchens to go completely over budget. Make sure that you plan your costs before you start. Prioritize what things you want to spend money on and what you can cut back on, but always keep a bit aside as there will undoubtedly be some unexpected costs.
6. Skimping on Storage
If there is one thing that is guaranteed in our homes today, it’s that there is never enough storage space, so go all out on storage, cupboards, cabinets, and shelves – you will deeply regret not adding enough storage in your new kitchen!
7. Choosing Your Appliances Last
People often leave the choosing of their appliances until the end of the renovation. In fact, these should be the first things to choose as they are the least flexible to change dimensions. Tables, countertops, and cabinets can all be adjusted in size, shape and colour, but your chosen appliance can be much more difficult. Once you have chosen the appliances that you would like, then design the rest of your kitchen around them.
If there is a chance your family might expand, or you may need larger appliances for any reason, choose a larger fridge, dishwasher, and other kitchen appliances. Once the layout and size of the kitchen are set, it’s a huge inconvenience to get something bigger.
8. Forgetting the Big Picture or The Small Details
Another common mistake is that people tend to concentrate either on the big picture or the small details. The trick of a great kitchen remodelling is to keep the big picture in mind – colour schemes, styles etc. whilst paying attention to the small details such as cabinet knobs and handles, drawer dividers or storage solutions.
9. Cabinets Over Sinks
We try to avoid putting cabinets over sinks because the hot water from the sink will work its way into the cabinet, slowly swelling it, and eventually ruining it. Sure, you can replace the cabinet, but it is better to not have to.
10. Not Asking for Help
Remodelling your kitchen isn’t necessarily easy. Never be ashamed to ask for help at any part of the process. Although you might want to design it yourself, speaking to a kitchen designer can help you in ensuring that you haven’t forgotten anything, as well as giving you some useful tips. If you aren’t too confident with plumbing or dealing with electricity, call a plumber or electrician to avoid costly accidents or mistakes.
Build Your Dream Kitchen with Artisan Contracting Today
It is important to get the details right when you are designing your new kitchen, to ensure that the finished article is both how you want it now, and will serve you well in the future. By learning from the mistakes of others, you can go a long way in guaranteeing the success of your project.
Are you thinking about your dream kitchen? Kitchen renovations are easy with Artisan Contracting. Contact our team to learn more about home renovations and how to avoid mistakes.
Updated 2023.
