When you need renovation work done, it can be very tempting to hire a handyman or low-cost contractor to do the job. After all, these expenses can rack up, and many homeowners see labor as a great area to save money in. 

 

The problem is this: when homeowners hire unprofessional, unskilled workers, they often get low-quality results. These can come in the form of big mistakes, such as poorly done installations that need complete replacement. Or, they can manifest in the smallest details, like untidy finishes or slightly lopsided fixtures. 

 

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most common gaffes we’ve seen unprofessional contractors make. 

 

Lighting Placement

This is an area where low-tier work can really throw off what would otherwise be an attractive renovation. When the placement of light fixtures isn’t planned out properly, you can end up with lights that squeeze up against walls and cabinets. Sometimes, the light’s trim rings can even hit the crown molding. 

 

Conversely, you could be left with lights placed too far from crucial activity points. In kitchens, for example, this can result in your body casting a shadow over the countertop whenever you try to prepare food. 

 

Outlet & Electrical Placement

The placement of electrical outlets and wiring is also often treated as an afterthought by unprofessional renovators. Placing outlets too high or low makes the final product look “not quite right”. And it’s unfortunately not uncommon to see outlets placed in inconvenient locations, or for a room to simply be lacking enough outlets in the first place. 

 

Another fault we frequently run into is the hiding of electrical wires within cabinetry. This may be a quick fix, but the look of it is sloppy and lazy. It’s far better to simply re-run the wires and deliver a sleek final product. 

 

Reusing Existing Plumbing

While it may save a few dollars to keep it as it was, piggybacking off of old plumbing makes the final product look worse than it should. It’s also setting you up for plumbing issues down the road: the old piping may be running at the end of its lifespan. It may be just a year or two before it spouts a leak or starts rusting inside.

 

If you get a new installation, you not only have something that looks nicer, you also have peace of mind knowing that you can rely on fully updated plumbing. 

 

Get Beautiful Results, Guaranteed

We often see these blunders when we’re asked to fix work that was done by unofficial or low-skilled contractors. In these cases, homeowners usually wish that they had just gone with qualified professionals in the first place. It would have saved them more time and money in the long run. 

 

This is why we urge homeowners to always seek the help of contractors that have a reputation for masterful work. The differences can be subtle at times, but the final product they deliver looks polished, well-planned, and professional. 

 

If you’d like to talk to expert contractors about your renovation plans, get in touch with our team today. 

Designing a new kitchen requires you to make thorough plans. If you want to get great results, you need to know how you’ll address every last detail. Unfortunately, it can be easy to get lost in the process and make some big design mistakes.

Here we will examine the top 5 things to avoid in your kitchen design, and how you can effectively prevent these common blunders.

1. Lack of Functional Lighting

Kitchens that are too dim can be inconvenient at best and hazardous at worst. From chopping vegetables to tending hot pans on the stove, typical kitchen work calls for ample lighting. Yet many kitchens lack the illumination that’s truly needed.

You can avoid this by strategically planning your lighting based on your kitchen’s layout. Think about where ingredients will be prepared, where the cooking is done, where pans will be set to cool, and where food will be served. Each zone needs to have sufficient lighting for how it will be used.

Varying your lighting types and installing multiple light sources is one of the most effective ways accomplish this. For example, a combination of recessed lighting, hanging pendant fixtures, and under-cabinet lighting could ensure that every space has the appropriate level of illumination.

*Extra Tip: Make sure that your light switches are placed in useful and logical places. For optimal comfort and flexibility, set them up so that each light source has its own switch. This will give you have the option to select the specific level of lighting you want, which is great for setting a relaxed mood.

2. Not Accommodating Entertaining

Of course the needs and dining habits of your household should be prioritized when envisioning a new kitchen design. But that shouldn’t cause you to ignore how well your kitchen accommodates entertaining.

Even if you don’t entertain often, the ideal kitchen should be able to function well on the occasions that you do. This will prevent overcrowding, disfunction, and undue mess when it comes time to cook for your guests.

Islands with seating; ample preparation space, and even dedicated storage zones for the items only used when entertaining are all common features used to make kitchens guest-friendly. Consider giving your kitchen an open plan, or setting up a designated area especially for entertaining.

 

3. Storage Inefficiency

Far too many kitchens waste storage space. Either spots are left empty, or the cabinets and drawers themselves aren’t designed to maximize storage capacity.

You can sidestep this problem with some careful planning. Evaluate where you need storage, what you actually store, and what you access most. This will shape what types of storage you choose, where you place them, and what organization systems you should add.

To make the most use of your kitchen’s space, there are some simple rules you can follow: Always install cabinets in the space over your refrigerator. And unless the tops of your cabinets will be used as shelves, make sure that your cabinets reach up to your ceiling or crown molding.

4. Forgetting Practical Essentials

It’s certainly the most fun to concentrate on the glamorous elements of kitchen design. Finding elegant light fixtures or the perfect statement backsplash is great, but you should put just as much effort into sorting out all of the “boring” details. This includes planning how and where you will incorporate garbage cans, electrical outlets, ventilation, and other essentials into your design.

One effective way to deal with this is to make a list of your kitchen annoyances. Maybe there isn’t an ideal place to plug in your food processor, or your current kitchen doesn’t have a good place for a trash can. Perhaps smoke and smells linger in the air long after cooking. In any case, writing down these problems will help you figure out what practical solutions you’ll need to include in your new kitchen design.  

5. Design that Doesn’t Match Your Lifestyle

One common mistake made by homeowners is designing a kitchen that doesn’t reflect how they actually live. For example, they may have planned their kitchen to be set up for large formal dinners, but in reality, their family prefers to eat quick and casual meals at the breakfast bar. Or, they don’t have much time to clean, but their design is too high maintenance (featuring open shelving that acquires dust).

To counter this, ask yourself some questions about how your household normally interacts with your kitchen. Your kitchen’s design should take your answers into account.

• How do you prefer to take your meals? Is this practical for your schedule?
• Do you entertain often?
• Do you have the time and desire to work regularly in the kitchen?
• Is your cooking style simple, or elaborate?
• Is your kitchen space used for any activities not related to cooking and eating?

Build Your Flawless Kitchen

Avoiding common kitchen design mistakes is easy when you have experts to guide you. Our team specializes in helping homeowners plan beautiful kitchens that are perfectly suited to their needs. If you need help with your own kitchen renovation, get in touch. We’re happy to lend a hand.

Set Up Your Consultation

You’ve decided to remodel your kitchen. Now what? Not knowing where to start, many homeowners start by looking at appliances. Others start by collecting inspiring kitchen photos. Some decide they need more room. Others simply want to upgrade their current kitchen. Homeowners may find themselves in this exploration stage for a year or longer before they start interviewing kitchen designers or general contractors.

Once you’ve pondered long enough and you’re ready to green-light a kitchen remodeling project, then what? We’ll start with the first 9 steps.

Step 1: Think about what you need

This step is all about how you use your kitchen, and finding the layout and features that fit your household’s lifestyle. Get ideas from every resource possible. Think about your priorities: how many people will be cooking and gathering here, and how they’ll need to move around in it. Do you need an addition? Or can you work with your existing kitchen footprint?

If you haven’t already, start saving photos of kitchens with features that suit your style.

Step 2: Research and plan

Ready to green-light that project and take the plunge? The best place to start is by formulating what’s commonly referred to as a scope of work and figuring out your preliminary budget.

Both of these may be subject to change, so don’t feel like you have only once chance at this. Budget and scope are intertwined and often change many times during the design process as you become more educated and able to reconcile what you want and what you can afford. As a homeowner, you’re not expected to walk into this knowing what everything should cost. Remember, this is an educational process.

Step 3: Find the professionals you will need

Even if you’re going the DIY route, unless you’re building your own kitchen cabinets and doing your own electrical and plumbing, you’re going to have to work with a professional at some point.

Some people start by visiting big-box stores or cabinet showrooms where they can see everything. Many homeowners get referrals from friends or colleagues and start by hiring an architect or designer. Still others might work on their own with a builder or contractor. Pros are available to help you with everything from contracts and permits to space planning, budgets, choosing finishes and fixtures, shopping, ordering products, helping you set up a temporary kitchen, and managing your project from start to finish.

Step 4: Schematic design

This phase includes sketches, space planning, preliminary floor plans and elevations showing the layout and cabinet sizes. Try to focus on layout and space planning, even though you’ll want to talk about what the kitchen will look like.

Begin the contractor interview process early and give them a preliminary drawing packet and scope of work to get some ballpark construction numbers.

Step 5: Fixture and finish specification

Throughout this process, and probably long before, you have been saving photos of kitchens you love. You’ve found your style, whether it’s modern, classic, traditional, cottage or a personal style in between. You probably know if you want a white kitchen, a natural wood kitchen, or some color.

Now you need to make your final selection of finishes and fixtures. This usually includes cabinetry, countertop material, kitchen appliances, kitchen sink, light fixtures, flooring, backsplash and hardware.

Step 6: Work on design development and construction documents

This is the stage when you finalize the design and prepare final floor plans, elevations, details and, if applicable, mechanical and electrical drawings, lighting switch plans, and exterior elevations.

This is where your final permit set or Construction Drawings (CDs) come into play. It’s important to have finishes and fixtures selected at this time, since this is what will be considered in the final pricing from the contractor.

You’ll submit drawings for permits. These have a lead time, so check the timing with your local village. You’ll need an architect, designer or licensed contractor signed up to finalize the paperwork and pick up your permits, so get ready to hire someone in the next step.

Step 7: Get contractor estimates

If you don’t already have a licensed contractor on your project, your next step is to find one to carry the project through. Try to get at least 3 different contractor estimates. Do preliminary walk-throughs with the contractors once the schematic designs are done to get some ballpark estimates and find out if you’re on the right track or need to pull back some to fit the budget.

Step 8: Get ready for demo

The big day is upon us, most likely something like 4-8 weeks from when you submitted for permits. Time to get that schedule firmed up and plan on cleaning out the cabinets, putting what you don’t need in storage and — if you’re living in the house during construction — setting up a temporary kitchen so you don’t lose your mind!

You may be moving out of your house temporarily, but most homeowners white-knuckle it and try to live in the house through construction. Preparation and organization can save your sanity.

Discuss the logistics ahead of time with your contractor. Will you meet once a week for updates? Will you have to be out of the house for certain tasks like demo or flooring? What about debris removal and dust? Are there any family allergy issues? What is a typical work day for the crew? Getting all this on the table beforehand can set expectations and make for a smoother ride.

Step 9: Surviving the dreaded punch list

Once construction is over, well … almost over … there’s always this annoying little list of items that are missing, wrong, or simply forgotten about. A missing light switch plate, a caulk line that shrank and pulled away from the wall, paint touch ups — small things like this, and sometimes bigger things like the hood doesn’t work, or there’s a big scratch in the newly refinished floor.

It’s inevitable that the contractor may have to make multiple visits back to the house to finish these items; prepare yourself for more than one visit and you’ll be fine. The best way to approach this is with a Zen attitude. Things happen, little things get missed. It’s sort of like making a list for the grocery store and still forgetting some key ingredient. We all do it.

Article Posted On: http://www.forbes.com/sites/houzz/2014/10/10/how-to-remodel-your-kitchen/