Everything You Need to Know to Remodel Your Kitchen

The kitchen is undeniably one of the most important rooms in the house—it’s a place to prepare food, eat, socialize, and work. And when it comes to remodeling this popular space, you don’t want to misstep. To help you get started on this overwhelming endeavor, we’ve compiled some useful tips and information for you.

Don’t Move the Plumbing

Moving sinks, ovens, stoves, or dishwashers means you’ll also have to move the water and gas lines they connect to—which can be extremely expensive. Try to keep pipe-connected appliances in their place and free up loads of cash.

Create a Logical Floor-Plan

If you do have the budget to rearrange your pipe-connected fixtures, make sure that your new floor plan makes sense. For instance, your stove, refrigerator, and oven should form the natural triangular pattern, and the dishwasher should be next to the sink. Otherwise, you’ll be doing a lot of unnecessary walking around.

Flooring

Kitchen floors must be able to withstand heavy foot traffic and regular spills, but should also be attractive and suit the overall design of your kitchen. Here are some options to consider:

• Linoleum: This affordable flooring option comes in many styles, colors, and shapes. It’s stain-resistant and low-maintenance but is also easily dented and scratched.
• Laminate: This durable material resembles wood or stone and is easy to install, but on the downside, it’s not waterproof and requires a specific cleaning agent.
• Hardwood: This beautiful material is coveted by many homeowners and will boost the resale value of your home. It’s long-lasting if properly maintained, but also quite expensive.
• Concrete: This trendy material is affordable, low-maintenance and allows for a wide variety of finishes. Concrete is harder to install and can stain if not sealed.
• Ceramic Tiles: This durable flooring option lasts a long time and is easy to clean. It’s reasonably affordable and gives you the opportunity to create some interesting design elements. However, ceramic tile can feel cold to the feet, and installation is time-consuming.

Cabinets

If you’re considering changing your cabinets, here are a few styles to get you started:

• Shaker: This simple design goes well with many kitchen styles. The defining element is the central panel that is recessed from the surrounding trim. Whether your kitchen is farmhouse flip or modern design, shaker cabinets work well.
• Louvered:These cabinets consist of horizontal wood slats and give kitchens a distinctive look. Because there is space in between each slat, these doors are a great option for cabinet ventilation.
• Flat: These cabinets have flat, featureless doors and look great in contemporary and modern-style kitchens. They often come in laminate or wood, with laminate being the more affordable option.
• Inset: This timeless cabinet style is more expensive as it requires much precision to make. The name comes from the fact that it’s set inside the cabinet frame, whereas most doors rest on the outside.

Countertops

Well-chosen countertops make your kitchen easier to use and serve as an important stylistic element. Here are the pros and cons of several popular countertop materials:

• Granite: This stone, up until recently, was the ultimate luxury material for kitchen countertops. It is still a popular option, but other high-quality options have recently emerged. Granite is beautiful, durable, and comes in many colors, but it’s also porous— which means it will have to be re-sealed.
• Quartz: Like granite, quartz is expensive, durable, and comes in many colors, but unlike granite, it’s non-porous, which means you won’t have to worry about sealing it. It is vulnerable to heat and chemicals like bleach.
• Laminate: Although laminate countertops aren’t quite synonymous with luxury, they’re affordable, easy to install, and come in various colors.
• Concrete: Concrete countertops are an emerging trend and give an industrial feel to a kitchen. They’re durable, heat-resistant, and can be stained to any color—but they’re also expensive.
• Butcher Block: The trendy butcher block countertop is made of wood and adds warmth to any kitchen. Unfortunately, it scratches easily and requires maintenance.

Window Treatments

Window treatments aren’t just a great decorative addition—they can also give you more privacy and light control. Here are some options to consider for your kitchen:

• Cellular Shades: These window treatments are great for insulation and light control. They are made of honeycomb-shaped cells and trap air between the window and room, keeping your kitchen a comfortable temperature year-round. You can control the exact amount of light that comes in, ranging from light filtering to blackout.
• Custom Valences: Also known as top treatments, valences are draperies that only cover the top portion of a window. Their advantages are both aesthetic and functional: they make a window appear larger, hide imperfections on walls, and unify different architectural elements. The number of available styles, materials, colors, and designs is endless, which allows you to give your window a personalized, custom look.

If you're looking for more kitchen design ideas check out Jen Reviews' 15 Kitchen Design Ideas to Make Your Kitchen Pop for Cheap.