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Kitchen Renovation Ideas : Inexpensive Renovation Ideas To
Help Transform Your Kitchen
The kitchen is, as it were, the core of the home. Here healthy nutritious
food for the family is cooked and stored. Here also, everyday the family gathers
at the end of the day to chat about the day gone by. It is also the favorite
haunt of people who like everything about food. With such functions imposed on a
kitchen it is essential that the kitchen be designed in a manner that allows all
these tasks to be done as efficiently as possible.
The day you stop enjoying your stay in the kitchen means the kitchen has lived
through its usefulness and needs a renovation.
Renovations can be of many kinds. It can mean replacing the cabinets, cupboards,
stove, utensils and appliances among other things. But such a big budget
renovations can be afforded by only a few. In any case why should you spend so
much money when kitchen renovation on a budget can be done at a fraction of the
big budget price?
You can get ideas for inexpensive renovations from the internet, home
improvement magazines and books. Perhaps the best place to get small budget
renovations is the showrooms where you can see kitchens in a live setting.
Ideas For Inexpensive Renovation
For cheap renovations one should take into account what is least likeable about
the kitchen and find a solution to it. Since kitchen renovations are costly the
best alternative for would be to refurbish rather then replace wherever
possible. You will see how costs of renovation come down dramatically. Before
you take any decision take a hard long look at your kitchen. Yes, many things
are in a state of disrepair but replacement may not be the answer. Perhaps there
is a hole in the cupboard but that might call for a repair not wholesale
replacement. A small piece of similar wood can fix the hole. Good repairs can
make many kitchen cabinets, cupboards and drawers look much better last much
longer.
Any number of DIY books will give you detailed instructions on how to paint,
varnish or replace cupboard doors. The books will even tell you how to fix a
work top, in the process saving you hundreds of dollars. At the most you might
need a helper.
Instead of buying new cabinet or cupboard units fix new shiny handles and watch
how such minimal renovation changes the face of your kitchen. Give the wall a
fresh coat of paint. Painting a wall is better than papering since it turns out
to be lot cheaper. If you don’t like your present tiles there is a cheaper
alternative to replacing them, which is, give them a new coat of paint. That
will give a modern contemporary look to the kitchen.
If you want some permanent changes think of replacing worktops. Nowadays,
worktops can be obtained fairly cheaply if you shop around a bit. However,
remember new worktops may need new tiles. Invest in accessories like a bowl, new
light fittings and spot lights highlighting your favorite area of the kitchen.
These are all cheap accessories but the change they will bring about in your
kitchen will be surprising.
Planning A Kitchen Renovation
Renovating a kitchen isn’t an entirely hassle free job. It disrupts the normal
functioning of the house. To minimize the effects of disruption you should hire
a contractor to help with the project.
Make out a plan of how your finished kitchen should look. Indicate any major
changes like replacing an appliance or a cabinet. Indicate also the dimension of
the kitchen and its constituent parts. This will be of great help to the
contractor.
Try to introduce something new in the kitchen without extending the budget much.
For example instead of the old granite countertop, go for the new quartz
countertop. Take off the old flooring and replace it with the trendy vinyl
flooring. You could do still better with light colored cabinets that give the
kitchen a light, airy and cheerful look.
More importantly plan your kitchen around the triangle formed by the fridge,
sink and stove. All modern professional kitchen designing projects are based
around this triangle. The cook or the chef is at any point of time mostly at any
one of these points. The spaces between these three points are the most
traversed and have to be kept free of obstacles.
Allow enough space for any planned dining area or a kitchen island. But the
smooth functioning of the kitchen must get the highest priority. If the planned
additions get in the way then simply do away with them.
How To Renovate A Small Kitchen
Renovation must chiefly take into consideration the needs of the person who is
working there. Renovating a small kitchen needs more effort since space is a
constraint. The kitchen serves as place to cook, eat and meet in the evening.
Any design should allow for smooth functioning of these activities. The design
should aim at making the most of the limited space.
* The first kitchen renovating tip should take into account the three primary
task of the kitchen; storage, cooking and clean up. A small kitchen makeover
should allow all these functions to be carried out smoothly. One way to do this
is to have a galley kitchen that has cabinets and appliances lined up on each
side of the kitchen.
* The lay out of the kitchen should facilitate ease of movement of men and
materials. The floor plan of the kitchen should therefore be based on the
classic ‘work triangle’. The three points of this classic triangle should be the
three most used features of a kitchen viz. fridge, sink and the stove. The rest
of the kitchen should complement this basic design. The work triangle saves
unnecessary steps while preparing food.
* If the kitchen is extremely small use smaller appliances. Ensure that the
appliances match and the kitchen gives a consistent look. Use lots of lighting
to make your kitchen brighter. Take help of recessed lighting, overhead lighting
and under cabinets lighting to do away with any dark areas.
* Another excellent idea is to have more than one work center. This will allow
two people to work comfortably. To save on costs you can have wheels put on a
dresser and let it double as a kitchen island as well.
How To Renovate A Kitchen Your Self
Kitchen renovation is mainly about organizing and de-cluttering the kitchen as
much as possible. As a beginner you may find the job too difficult. Some help is
therefore justified. Inexpensive computer design software is very helpful in
space planning that is involved in kitchen renovation. Renovating the kitchen
yourself you save considerably on labor charges but it will take more time to
complete the project since you will have to learn at practically every stage.
Measure out the kitchen and map out everything that tells you how much materials
you need. Do some legwork to get the right tools needed for the job. Before
proceeding with the renovation do the necessary work on the exterior of the
kitchen.
Renovation is the right time to install new fixtures and outlets. Let the
electrical work be done by a licensed contractor. Once the electrical work is
complete proceed to paint the kitchen with a light color, if possible, to get
the feel of more space. Paint gives your kitchen the maximum impact with the
least cost. This is the time also to make some changes in the flooring. Next
install any appliances you have bought for the renovation.
Your attention should now shift to the kitchen cabinets. Since cabinets are
storage features enough planning should have gone in to find out how much
storage space you need. If you want to replace cabinets then look for cheap
cabinets offered at discounts. These will be new cabinets that can be installed
very easily. You will get detailed instructions on installation from the
internet or from home improvement books. Instead of replacing the cabinets
explore the possibility of re-facing them. Also think about repainting your
cabinets. Then think about replacing the old knobs and handles with brushed
nickel and you instantly have a new cabinet.
Now install the countertop. These days you get linoleum countertop pieces that
are easy to attach to the top of the cabinets. Next try to do something about
the faucets. New faucets can make your kitchen sparkle.
Your kitchen renovation work is over. Just tie up the loose ends, sit back and
admire your work.
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