We all love our HGTV and enjoy scrolling through the beautiful kitchens we see on Pinterest. Then we find ourselves feeling stuck as to how to create those kitchens in our own homes on realistic budgets. After designing & remodeling kitchens for years, we’ve addressed poorly designed space, cumbersome layouts, and dated design for every budget.

Some Keys to Successfully Remodeling Your Kitchen

Select Your Appliances

Selecting your appliances early is essential for a couple of reasons. First, depending on the appliance package you select, they can represent a significant amount of your overall budget. So nailing that cost down will help you set your budget for the remaining work. Second, the final cabinet design can’t be finalized without the specifications of the appliances. So having those decisions made early will allow for the project to proceed efficiently.

Traffic, Traffic, Traffic

A lot of kitchens are actually a good size but feel too small.  We’ve found that the congested feeling is due to poor space planning. Traffic patterns are often simply too narrow or have bad appliance placement. How many of you have stools at a small island with a refrigerator right behind it? If there are kids at the island we can’t get into the fridge! By simply moving the fridge over or making the island a few inches narrower, we can easily solve most of these frustrating traffic issues. Taking the time to think through how best to use the space and then to design the plan accordingly, alleviates these problems.

Light and Paint

I have often told people that we could do nothing but light a room correctly and pick a fresh paint color to make it feel remodeled. Our experience in a room is so impacted by not only the amount of lighting, but also the kind of light. We often remove a large fluorescent light in the kitchen and install can lights with decorative pendants. The warm lighting given by the cans actually changes the way we feel in the room! Paint color is an easy one. No matter the design aesthetic, the right paint color can really bring a room to life.

Materials

When remodeling your kitchen, functionality and flow are certainly important, but it’s the material selections that are the sizzle that sells the steak! Keep in mind there are no wrong answers when it comes to choosing the materials (i.e. cabinet wood species and finish, countertops, backsplash and flooring), it is all about creating your vision.  It seems as if for quite a while now the majority of the remodeled and new home kitchens have had white cabinets. It’s a trend that’s worked for about 200 years! People love the clean fresh look of white. White cabinets also open up endless options for countertop and backsplash ideas. The look of Carrera Marble, or quartz that replicates it, with white subway tile backsplash has been a really popular combination. Having said that, for those looking for a pop of color, white cabinets offer a great backdrop for it. The flooring color options, whether it be tile, wood or vinyl is limitless when pairing with white cabinets. For some though, white is just too……white! They crave the warmth that more natural wood tones offer. While natural wood tones certainly create a warmer aesthetic, the countertop and backsplash options tend to be a little more limited. Further, the floor should be at least two shades darker or lighter than the cabinetry. So, if you have wood flooring, picking the right stain color will be important. Having said all that, there is no better way to create a warm and cozy feel than with natural wood tones.