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Welcome to part three of my series titled, "Four Steps To a Worry-Free Kitchen Makeover." As a design professional, I know firsthand that for many homeowners the thought of a kitchen renovation is accompanied by anxiety over all the decisions that need to be made. I'm teaming up with
Sub-Zero and Wolf to share my tips for each stage of a kitchen renovation to help put your worries to rest.
Here is a look back at the other two posts in this series:
Today's post will address the third step: Executing Your Design Plan.
In my experience the main topics that cause anxiety for homeowners at this stage of the game are; choosing the right professionals, making final decisions, balancing the budget and living through the actual remodel. The design board shown here is from a client project I'm currently working on. Using this project as an example, I would like to walk through the process of executing a design plan and offer my advice on each of these anxiety-inducing topics.
1. Choosing The Right Professionals
The design board shown here is from a client project I'm currently working on. Using this project as an example, I would like to walk through the process of bringing a kitchen design plan to life. These particular clients are undergoing a complete kitchen remodel. They hired a local architect to design the new kitchen layout and a cabinet maker to build new custom cabinetry according to the architect's plans. They asked me to assist with material selection, finishes, paint colors, hardware, furniture, lighting, etc.
In Step One and Step Two of the Worry-Free Kitchen RenovationI I mentioned,
it's important to have the right professionals involved in your project from the beginning. In this case the homeowners have had previous experience working with the three of us and knew we were right for their project. If you are contemplating a remodel and aren't familiar with any local design professionals, trusted resources like
Sub-Zero and Wolf's website can help. Their
"Locate a Designer" feature can quickly provide a list of award-winning kitchen designers in your area.
2. Making Final Selections
Once the plans from the architect were squared away it was time to start making final selections. First we met with the cabinet maker to choose the cabinet style and finish. Then it was time choose their new appliances. My clients visited our local
Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom where they met with a kitchen specialist and selected their brand new rangetop and refrigerators. Visiting the showroom allowed them to experience and get hands on with Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances in full scale kitchen settings before they prurchased.
Here is a look at their selections…
The refrigerator they chose is the
42" wide Sub-Zero Over-and-Under with French Door. This particular model has the most interior capacity of any counter-depth French door model. In addition to a full size refrigerator, they also selected the
Sub-Zero UC-24BG Beverage Center. This beverage center will be perfect for when they are entertaining as well as everyday family life. It offers built-in refrigeration for their new custom bar area. For the cooktop, they selected the
Wolf 48" Sealed Burner Rangetop. They love to cook and this gas range offers everything a chef could want including dual stacked sealed gas burners that offer two levels of heat control.
After checking appliances off the list, it was time for the three of us to start shopping for materials. The photos used throughout this post were taken during our shopping trips to local tile and granite suppliers Ciot and Gennesse Cut Stone. The first selection we made was the granite. Choosing an important, main element like countertop material first can help make all the other selections easier.
Using the granite as our color guide, we were able to narrow down our backsplash options.
3. Balancing The Budget
Since countertop material was one of the biggest expenses, choosing the granite right away gave us a place to start the budget management process. If sticking to a budget is a priority in your kitchen makeover, having your project managed by a kitchen design professional from the early stages will help keep you on track.
Balancing the budget in a remodel is all about give and take. If you find a slab of granite that you are in love with, but it's pricier than your original granite allowance, you may be able to make up the difference in other areas. For instance, using budget friendly, off the shelf hardware as opposed to custom order could save enough money to make up for that more expensive granite. If making decisions like this on your own has you worried that your end result won't be the same, a kitchen design professional will know how and where to make appropriate budget friendly substitutions within the design.
It's important to remember when you're planning a remodel that one change can sometimes lead to another. It's a good idea to leave room in the budget plan for unexpected expenses and/or add-ons. For example, while shopping for granite and backsplash tile for the new kitchen, we came across some beautiful tile flooring options for the adjacent pantry and mudroom. The materials we found really complement the new kitchen design and got us thinking about adding on to our project.
4. Living Through The Re-model Process
Once all the design decisions have been made and materials have been selected, it's time for the work to begin.
Whether you are living in your home through the remodel process or staying somewhere else, expect to be met with some inconveniences. In this case, my clients are living in their home through the entire process. They are prepared to deal with a mess for a few weeks knowing the reward will be a beautiful kitchen they will enjoy for years. Residential interior websites like Houzz.com are a great support center and resource for homeowners. There are many articles,
like this one, related to living through a kitchen remodel that offer a ton of great tips and advice to make things a little easier
.
No matter how much planning goes into a remodel project, it's always best to expect something unexpected. As long as you go into your kitchen remodel project with realistic expectations and an open mind, the process will be much less stressful. If you are managing your own project, be prepared for the possibility of things like contractor delays or product backorders. If you are enlisting a kitchen design professional to oversee your project, they will help manage events like this.
Stay tuned for the fourth and final post in this series.
Join in the conversation and follow Sub-Zero and Wolf on Facebook. For more information on their appliances, visit Sub-Zero or Wolf online.
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