STYLE & NEEDS
The thing about kitchens is that the design choices you make are primarily permanent. Sure, you can always repaint down the road, but the layout of the kitchen, the style of the cabinets, the tile backsplash, the plumbing fixtures, and the lighting placement is all relatively permanent…or at least very expensive to change. It’s risky to let your kitchen be the trial run when it involves such important and expensive decisions. Your experience, needs, and style preferences can change drastically after the first year in your home and it’s because of this that you need to first become very comfortable and confident in your design style and your kitchen’s needs.
In our Nebraska kitchen remodel, we lived in our home for a year before we remodeled the kitchen and in that year, we discovered exactly what our kitchen’s shortfalls were. The layout of the kitchen wasn’t working for us and storage was lacking. We put a lot of thought and time into solving that problem.
However, what I didn’t do was give myself proper time to discover our home’s architectural style and how my personal style would fit into that. Despite waiting a year before remodeling our kitchen, it was still the first project we took on and my style certainly evolved as we continued our renovations room by room. You could visibly see the evolution of my style as you walked through the home and I wish I would have given that more thought.
Before starting a kitchen renovation, know the ins and outs of your current kitchen. Dissect what’s working and what’s not so you can create a list of needs. Once you know that, give yourself proper time to become confident in your style in connection with the architecture of your home and be comfortable making decisions that you know you will love years down the road.
BUDGET
It’s one thing to know your style, it’s another to have the budget to finance it. There’s always a time and place for compromise, but if you don’t have an adequate budget to execute your vision, you’ll find yourself making “good enough” purchases that you may not love a year down the road. Wait until you have a sufficient budget so you can purchase things that you want in the long run…not just in the short run.
SOMETHING TO NOTE: While these are my recommendations, they are not a matter of fact. If you feel confident in your style and comfortable making design decisions, by all means tackle a kitchen remodel early on in your renovation journey!
