STEP 1

Determine the scope: take a close look at your kitchen, do you really need new floors? Does that soffit need to be removed? Are you sure you need to move the range? Write everything down and re-assess: if you are removing the soffit, your walls and ceiling will need to be repaired. If you are moving your range or sink, gas and water will need to be moved also, and that will require permits and pretty expensive labor from a licensed plumber. Are you replacing your over-the range microwave with a good exhaust hood? If you don’t have a duct outlet, you will need to break the outer wall of you house to create an outlet for your new hood. Are you removing any of the walls? Make sure that the scope of work is worked thoroughly before anything else to minimize surprises. Mind you, opening up walls or floors is usually like opening a can of worms, something else will crawl out and will need to be repaired. Now, take the measurements or recruit a kitchen designer to help you take measurements. That would be a good point to rough-sketch your kitchen.

STEP 3

Narrow down the budget

Ok, this is a tricky one. NKBA recommends spending 10-25% of your home value on kitchen renovation. Now, that’s for everything: cabinets (35%), countertop (11%), appliances (12%), electrical (9%), wall coverings (3%), floor covering(7%), plumbing (3%) and labor (20%). Then, crack the numbers: if you are not changing the floor, subtract that, if you are not changing appliances, take that out, etc. That will determine your rough budget scope for kitchen renovation. Keep in mind that kitchen renovation is probably the most expensive renovation you’ll have to do in your home, but it also has one of the highest impacts on your home value.

STEP 4

Find a designer, or several

Most cabinetry places have a kitchen designer on the premises, and the design is usually complimentary. What this means, is you are supposed to leave a designer with a rendering (a picture) showing your kitchen design from different angles and a price. If you are asked to pay for your kitchen design, you might want to look for another company. It is in designer’s interests to give you a free visual of your kitchen, because that is the best sale tool there is. Your designer will (or should) ask you many questions: who’s cooking in the house, how much use does the kitchen get, what is the style of the rest of the house, are you going to age in home? Again, if the designer is not asking you those questions, maybe you need to look for a different one. If you want to shop around for cabinetry and really like the design, but want to shop around for cabinets, ask your designer to give you a list of cabinets. That, you will be charged for, since the designer is giving you their work, and work needs to be compensated. I usually charge my clients for architectural layout (it shows all cabinetry sizes), but discount that same amount from their kitchen if they chose to purchase the cabinets from me.

STEP 4

Draw out the timeline and try sticking to it

Talk to your designer and you contractor and put together a timeline, that timeline needs to include payment schedule. Remember, do not pay in full until the job is done in full.

FINALLY, STEP 5

Time to party!

Throw a little party for yourself in your new gorgeous kitchen, you deserve it!