If you are committing to renovating your kitchen, it is necessary to follow a series of 8 important steps. Here they are:
1. Know your budget
Your kitchen remodeling budget will be spent on hiring a contractor who will replace your kitchen cabinets and floor tiles, purchasing the countertop for your cabinets, and purchasing equipment and materials.
To calculate your budget, you must first know how much you plan to spend on remodeling your kitchen. For example, you need to know if the kitchen is the only part of the house that is going to be renovated or it is just part of a complete renovation? Another important issue is where you live and whether renovating a kitchen in that area adds any value to your home. The last part becomes especially important when you are planning to sell your house and relocate soon.
2. Define your goals and make a list of your priorities
Your priority for renovating your kitchen may be just to replace cabinets or tiles, or you may want to make your old kitchen look like a whole new kitchen. So it is important to know the possible changes and prioritize them considering your fixed budget.
3. Allocate your budget realistically
Once your budget for the kitchen renovation has been determined, it is time to allocate funds for the various stages of the project. The table below shows the average budget breakdown for remodeling a typical kitchen:
Kitchen Remodeling Cost Ratio
| Task | Ratio |
| Purchasing the cabinets including installation | 55% |
| Appliances | 20% |
| Purchasing the tiles including installation | 10% |
| Plumbing service | 5% |
| Finishing the exposed walls | 3% |
| Unexpected expenses | 7% |
4. Research
We live in the age of the Internet, so there is no excuse for not knowing what you are going to spend thousands of dollars on. From choosing a skilled and reliable contractor to finding an idea for the design of your kitchen cabinets, everything is at your disposal on your computer and for free. For example, with a little bit of browsing on a social media platform like Pinterest, you can get acquainted with the latest kitchen design ideas and share them with your designer or contractor for further discussion and price estimation.
5. Find a contractor
Finding someone who will do the job is the last thing to consider after you did all your assignments and just before starting the job. Choose a local contractor who has a good track record and performs the best reconstruction at a reasonable price.
6. Prepare a plan
Immediately after signing the contract and paying the advance payment, your contractor is obliged to prepare and provide the AutoCad drawing of your desired kitchen that shows your kitchen layout. The cost of this work has already been calculated in the pricing of your cabinets and usually, you can request two or three revisions for free.
The AutoCAD drawing shows the placement of, the stove, the refrigerator, the sink, as well as the type and location of the cabinets that are all dictated by your floor plan and design. With your final confirmation, the drawing will be locked.
7. Choose your favorite design
This is the fun part of the adventure. Based on the plan and according to your research, you pitch your desired design for both cabinets and tiles to the contractor. You can show them some reference photos, a professional render, or even communicate orally.
The key point to remember is to give the contractor a true picture of what is going on in your mind and make sure that he fully understands what you mean. Although it may cost you some bucks, it is wise to ask him to provide you with a rendered image of the work before he starts making it.
8. Finalize the design of the room
This is including, the color of the walls, the style of your appliances, the sinks, the fixtures, decorative items, lighting, and the countertop.
