These tips and tricks should help you get exactly the kitchen that you want.
Going for a kitchen remodel and renovation? It can be expensive and nerve-wracking.
You can also end up going for expensive changes that don’t make your life easier, as you try to make your kitchen look like the ones that are featured on magazines and on TV.
To help you avoid most of the basic pitfalls and have a smooth and useful kitchen renovation, we have put together this list of 15 tips and tricks for a successful kitchen remodelling and renovation.
This is all based on our years of experience dealing with actual kitchen renovations and remodelling projects.
15 tips and tricks for your kitchen renovation and remodelling
Here’s how you can save money, add character to the kitchen, and also make it easier to cook!
- Make reducing steps an objective
- Consider repainting cabinets
- Try the island before you buy it
- Control movement
- Get a high quality tap/faucet
- You can build an office into your kitchen
- Watch the corners!
- Before painting, prepare the surfaces
- Make sure the microwave is at the right height
- Leave space for future remodels and appliances
- Find spaces to express your personality
- Watch for gaps on the floor
- Ensure sufficient landing space
- Choose the lighting wisely
- Ensure there is storage space under the cabinets
Make reducing steps an objective
OK. So just reading that title, it might sound confusing. What are wasted steps? Why should you want to reduce them?
Here’s an example: you need bowls and plates to keep food in as they get cooked, right?
Now, if you kept the bowls and plates as close to the cooking area (where your stove, microwave, oven etc are), you would not have to waste time walking to get bowls and plates to keep food in when you cook.
That saves time, and also ensures a better cooking experience as you won’t need to run to get the plates so the food doesn’t get overcooked.
If your kitchen also serves as a breakfast room or a dining room, keep the eating utensils near the breakfast/dining table.
Keep aluminium foils and plastic wraps in one spot as they both serve a common purpose – wrapping food (but do keep them separate as you don’t want to wrap hot food in a plastic wrap).
If you have a dishware keep it near where you store the cutlery for convenient unloading.
Consider repainting cabinets
In our experience, replacing cabinets accounts for an outsized part of the average kitchen remodel cost.
So, think carefully whether you really need new kitchen cabinets. Think separately about their location, their functionality (for example if you want extra storage space), their condition (as in if the shelves are starting to sag), and their appearance.
If it’s only the appearance that’s bothering you (for example the finish has dulled or has become too dark), opt for repainting rather than replacing. You can even try doing it yourself.
Decor tip: For an open look, replace wooden doors with glass doors. You can even remove the doors of some cabinets (of course, depending on what’s inside).
Try the island before you buy it
A kitchen island is a fancy and a useful addition to your kitchen. It gives the kitchen a unique character, and also gives you extra counter and storage space.
On the other hand, a kitchen island eats up floor space that can make the kitchen cramped, make free movement difficult, and ultimately reduce the number of people that can work comfortably in your kitchen.
So, try out the island before you buy one. Mark out the space on the kitchen floor, or build an approximate model with cardboard and then see how well people can traverse the kitchen. Also check whether it’s getting in the way of the cabinet, stove and refrigerator doors being opened and shut.
If you find that an island is cramping your kitchen, opt for a trolley.
Control movement
Make the fridge accessible from the cooking area, from the recycling and cleaning area, and also for people who just want to grab a snack.
If you have children, keep the cooktop out of their way so that they don’t catch onto handles and spill food (especially hot food) while they run around.
Get a high quality tap/faucet
The tap is one of the most worked pieces of hardware in a kitchen, so you should look for a good brand that offers both quality and convenience.
If the tap and sink is in front of a window, ensure that the tap and handle have enough space to be used without your hand hitting the window.
As far as the sink is concerned, make it a single-basin one, and deep enough to keep a pile of dishes but not so deep that you have to stoop to do the dishes.
You can build an office into your kitchen
Have you been looking for some extra office space at home?
Well, the kitchen is not used that much outside of cooking and dining hours, so you can probably create an inbuilt office inside it!
Don’t make it anything too elaborate. A small seating area with a computer station should be adequate. Also add electrical outlets for your laptop and phone and also storage space for your files, papers and so on.
Watch the corners!
For the best efficiency of cabinetry and appliances, make sure their doors have enough space to swing open and shut. Keep the cabinetry and appliances away from corners.
Also, make sure doors won’t touch if opened at the same time.
Before painting, prepare the surfaces
How shiny the finish of a surface is will affect how easily you can clean it. So, make it satin for painted cabinets, semi-gloss on all trim, and eggshell on the walls.
Make sure there are no cracks, nail holes, or otherwise uneven spots on the surfaces that are to be painted. Sandpaper uneven spots, and fill in cracks and holes.
Make sure the microwave is at the right height
It all depends on who’s going to be using the microwave.
For adults, 15 inches above the countertop should be great. Kid-friendly microwaves, on the other hand, should be at a below-the-countertop height.
Leave space for future remodels and appliances
Always try to account for the future.
For example, if you’re getting new cabinets but not replacing your fridge at the moment, make sure there’s enough space between the cabinets to fit in a wider new fridge. You can fill up the space with panels or strips.
Install shelves between the panels, higher than the fridge.
Find spaces to express your personality
You can think of the gap between the countertop and the cabinets as a space t express your personality.
You can fill them with anything, ranging from subway tiles to mosaic patterns to embossed ceramic, and so on.
Watch for gaps on the floor
If you’re changing cabinets but keeping the flooring as it is, you may have to deal with gaps between the old floor and the new cabinets. This can be especially noticeable if your new cabinets don’t fit the existing cabinet pattern.
Try to at least make sure that the widths of the new and old cabinets match.
Ensure sufficient landing space
When you’re planning the remodelling of your kitchen, ensure you have enough space of a countertop on each side of a fridge and a cooktop.
Also remember to have sufficient landing space near the microwave.
Choose the lighting wisely
There are 3 different types of lighting for you to choose from:
- Recessed ceiling lighting: Best over the open floor spaces to provide ambient light so that people can stand and work.
- Under-cabinet lighting: This is for intense tasks at countertops, and also to highlight the backsplash, cabinetry, and countertop.
- Pendants/Ceiling lighting: To brighten work zones like the kitchen island and the sink.
Ensure there is storage space under the cabinets
This is important for you to access essential things of the kitchen without having to have spice racks or knife holders.
Go for under-cabinet drawers and pull-down racks.
Discussing your kitchen renovation project with your interior designer
When you discuss the project with your chosen interior designer in Bangladesh, make sure you:
- Have realistic expectations.
- Discuss all the points of whether you should change something or simply repaint it.
- Make sure they think about the ease of movement and traffic issue.
All the best with your kitchen renovation and remodelling project!
