There are some considerations you will want to think about before beginning the serious work of renovating a kitchen.
Think about how your current kitchen is typically used, and what priorities you have for your new kitchen. What overall designs do you prefer, and what is your budget for this project? Think about resale value, and appeal to potential buyers. The importance of this issue may depend on how long you plan to stay in this home.
Once you have your budget, and a realistic assessment of the condition of your kitchen, it will be easier to determine the scope of your renovation. Does it just need a face-lift, where only painting the cabinets or replacing doors will do the job? Or do you need to relocate appliances, and replace cabinets that are not sturdy, or change the overall perimeter and layout?
It will help immensely to have a plan or rough sketch that shows location of built in items such as heating and cooling registers, cook-top ventilation, current electrical outlets and gas lines. Sketch in, a first draft plan of where you think you want your appliances. Measure any you already own that you want to continue using. This sketch will allow you to determine your goals for the new design, and it will be helpful to your architect, kitchen designer, or cabinet designer to understand what you want, avoid costly mistakes, and complete a beautiful, functional kitchen design.
The planning professional will help you choose cabinetry that will work best for you and also be beautiful in your redesigned kitchen. It is important to decide among the varying quality of available cabinets. And all of the four basic types of cabinets are available at varying quality and costs. The standards are base cabinets, usually 24 inches deep and 36 inches tall, upper cabinets which hang on the wall and are usually 12 inches deep. Tall pantry and broom storage cabinets are typically 83.5 inches in height.
There are many specialty cabinets available to maximize convenience, organization, and effective use of space, These may include corner cabinets, sink fronts, appliance surrounds, etc.
While we’ve been talking about standard cabinetry, many more variations can be built when you elect for custom made cabinetry. If you want to have the traditional period look, you will want solid wood drawer fronts and doors, whether deciding on a flat or flush design or overlay design. Frameless cabinets often are somewhat more economical, depending on what you choose in style and material.
You undoubtedly will want both beauty and function. A current trend is drawers only for base cabinets, which is made possible by newer and stronger glide technology. And these deep drawers maximize accessibility.
You will also need to decide the cabinet finish, color, stain or paint. Here again you are fortunate to be working with a professional to help decide among an enormous selection of options. The knobs, hinges and pulls can be thought of as the jewelry for your kitchen. The styles, materials are extensive, and personal taste and price points are the main considerations.
Working with professional designers is well worth it since a kitchen that does not look good, and does not function as you wish can cost just as much or more than one carefully thought out and planned by experts.