We will be remodeling our kitchen this year and the process is completely overwhelming (and we are just in the beginning stages).
For those who have gone through a complete kitchen remodel, what was the "best" decision you made, as well as your biggest regret.
This is going to cost so much that I am nervous about "making a mistake" and not being 100% satisfied with the end product.
Any advice you can offer would be great.....
I recently lived through a major home renovation that included a kitchen remodel that took us down to the studs. It was lenghty and I learned a ton in the process.
I can't pick one "best decision", so I am going to give you several:
1. Take at least 6 months to research what you want. Learn what your style preferences are. Look at tons of kitchen design magazines. Start a kitchen remodel folder and clip out photos of things you love (entire kitchens, flooring, tile work, sinks, faucets, as well as details of kitchens even if you dislike the style) and add these to your folder.
2. If you can afford a designer, do it, and I am not talking about the designers who work at Home Depot (and I mean NO offense to the person here who used them
Store designers are there to sell their products; I want a desinger who will find me what I want and is best for my home; one who actually comes to my home). I mean a real interior designer who is ASID certified, and has some experience in kitchen/bath design which is it's own animal. Although I had strong ideas of what I wanted, my designer helped me with the details and made the process go so much more smoothly. She worked directly with my general contractor on issues, also saving me time and stress.
3. Think about resale, as well as keeping with the integrity of your home when making your decisions. If you have a Craftsman-style home, you would be seriously unwise to put in a Mid-Century modern kitchen. I personally would never go "trendy" in a kitchen and would lean toward longevity especially in your hard surfaces. There are lots of cool, trendy looks in kitchen design, but what that means is that in no time your kitchen will look dated. You will be dropping a bundle, so use your money wisely.
4. Consider custom cabinets. Most people think they are cost prohibitive and that is not true. I got amazing custom cabinets, with self closing drawers, lots of pull outs, transom cabinets on the tops of all my cabinets (I have very high ceilings), incorporated a floor to ceiling bookshelf for my cookbooks, furniture legs on all lower cabinets, and a piece that looks like an old hutch for a very reasonable price. Try and get as much cupboard and drawer space as you can into your design; in fact, more than you need so you have room to grow, so to speak.
There is not one single thing I would do differently in my kitchen in terms of design or function. My only slight disappointment is my counters. I wanted and have soapstone (except I have a different stone on my island), which I love! When it came time to choose our slabs, what I wanted was not available. I wanted the traditional soapstone with white veining, but all that was available was green soapstone (it is not actually green; it is black but instead of the veining being totally white, there is some dark green veining). So, my advice is choose your slabs as early as possible in the process; most fabricators will hold slabs for months.
Below are links to my designers web site to see a couple of photos of my remodeled kitchen and laundry room (the rooms are adjacent to one another). The photos are not that great for the detail. The tile in both rooms is crackled subway tile. I live in a 1903 home.
http://www.spiredesigngroup.com/project14.html
http://www.spiredesigngroup.com/project18.html
