When you begin planning a major kitchen remodeling project, this gives you the wonderful opportunity to completely rethink and redesign your kitchen. There will be a lot of considerations and choices to make: cabinetry, countertops, appliances, flooring, paint and wallpaper just to name a few. But, the most important choices you are going to make will be related to the layout of your new kitchen.
If you are not happy with your current kitchen, you certainly don’t want to make the same mistakes with your new cabinetry. This is the time to step back and assess what you dislike in the old kitchen and what you desire in the new one. Make a list of things you don’t like or that don’t work very well in your old kitchen. This list will suggest changes you will need to make in your new design. Then make another list of things that you would like your new kitchen to do for you and your family. Consider functionality, storage, entertaining, and traffic flow in your new kitchen.
Before you complete your new design, step outside the box and dream about what is possible. Maybe adding or removing a door, moving a window or knocking out part of a wall. Small structural changes can give you a lot of new possibilities. My own kitchen is a prime example. By eliminating a peninsula and a small pantry, we increased our storage space and countertop area by more than 50%!
In addition to making the lists suggested above, consider using the lifestyle survey available at CabinetDiscounters.com. This survey will help you consider many aspects of how you live in your home and can suggest many things that could affect your design which you might not otherwise consider. You can bring your survey to any of the six convenient Cabinet Discounters’ showrooms in Maryland and Virginia. An experienced designer can give you great advice and show you the many quality products from which to choose. When you purchase your cabinetry and countertops from Cabinet Discounters, there is no charge for the valuable assistance you will receive from our experienced designers. We are happy to coordinate with your contractors or we can install it for you. One caution when you consider structural changes – be sure to work with a professional designer, a qualified contractor or an architect. If you plan to modify walls or remove a soffit, remember that there could be concealed plumbing, venting or electrical wiring in those spaces. You may want to cut some inspection holes in the walls involved to be sure that you do not have an expensive problem before it’s too late. A professional can help you to avoid many problems.