Blog Post

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Renovating Your Kitchen

Tom Ireland • December 7, 2016

Renovating a kitchen represents a significant investment of both time and money. Hopefully, this list can help you avoid common mistakes. The post 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Renovating Your Kitchen appeared first on Andy Schildhorn, PREC.

Renovating a kitchen represents a significant investment of both time and money, so it pays to get it right. There are so many different ways that things can go wrong, but these are the most common. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say, and hopefully, this list can help you to avoid them.

Not setting goals for the renovation – Many people decide on a renovation and then just dive in. It is much better to set a goal or goals for the project before you move ahead. A good way to do this is to list the reasons you are not happy with your current kitchen. With that done, you can make sure your new kitchen addresses these issues. Not enough storage? Too small? Poor layout? Make sure your new kitchen doesn’t have the same problems
Setting an unrealistic budget – A full kitchen renovation doesn’t come cheap, A good rule of thumb is to budget around 10 to 15% of your home’s value. It’s important to set a realistic budget at the beginning and it’s also important to stick to it. Make sure that you don’t spend too quickly early on and run out of money to finish the project, or have to cut corners at the end.
Following the latest trends – While something ultra trendy might seem like a good idea right now, that might very well change over the next five or ten years. Go with something that you will love for years to come.
Ignoring layout practicalities – Professionals talk about a work triangle in the kitchen. That is, going between the stove, fridge and sink. Make sure that they aren’t too far apart and that you can easily move between all three.
Doing it themselves – Unless you really know what you are doing, saving money by taking a DIY approach can be short-sighted. With such a big project, you will really come to regret anything that isn’t up to snuff. Take some time to look around for the right professional(s) to so the job.