If you’re thinking of remodeling the kitchen in your Rochester-area home, you’re not alone. Kitchens and bathrooms are still the most remodeled rooms in the house. But what’s the first thing you think about when you consider remodeling? A lot of homeowners start thinking about what kind of cabinetry they want—what kind of wood, what kind of hardware? Others focus on the kind of countertops they want. Should they go for granite or some other natural surface? And what about a backsplash to tie everything together? Then there’s flooring to consider. Should it be tile? Stone? Maybe something exotic like bamboo?
Those are all fun ideas to wrestle with—even if the sheer number of options can sometimes be a little overwhelming. How your kitchen looks is extremely important. Chances are that you’ll spend a lot of time there, so you want it to look right. But there are some basic things you need to consider first: Things that go beyond cabinets and countertops.
Before you get too wrapped up in the finishes your kitchen will have, you’ll want to revisit why you’re remodeling in the first place. Most homeowners tackle a kitchen-remodeling project because they’re not entirely happy with the way the kitchen works. That’s a bigger issue than just how the kitchen appears.
How do you want to be able to use your kitchen? Are you planning to do a lot of gourmet cooking? Will it be a place where you entertain? Are you planning to eat family meals in the kitchen? Are you a “make-meals-from-scratch” kind of family, or do you tend to pop something into the microwave?
The way you answer those questions will shape how you want to organize the space in your new kitchen. It will also affect the kind of appliances you install and even the work surfaces you put in.
Even if a big reason for remodeling was cosmetic, you’ll want to think about exactly what you wanted to change. Was the kitchen too dark? Are you after more natural light? Did the kitchen feel too cramped? Did it feel cut off from where people tend to gather and eat? Is removing a wall to expand your space an option? By the way, don’t plan on moving a wall until you talk to a builder or an engineer. You need to make sure that the wall you’re planning to move isn’t a load-bearing wall!
Once you figure out how you want to use your kitchen, then you can move on to figuring out what you want it to look like. We’ve got a great guide that can help you design your kitchen to fit your personal style—and get what you really want out of your kitchen. Download our free Home Design Guide here, and you’ll also pick up tips on best practices for usability and some pointers on how to style your new spaces.
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