CONSULTATION ACo | Love Where You Live
Kitchen Remodels: Everything You Need to Know
What does it cost?
Kitchen Remodel Ideas: What You Need to Know
- Why Should You Remodel Your Kitchen?
- What Can You Expect to Spend on Kitchen Remodel Ideas?
- How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel
- How to Select the Best Kitchen Countertops
- One of the Most Overlooked Components in Kitchen Remodel Ideas
- How Virtual Reality Could Solve Your Kitchen Remodel Anxiety
- Virtual In-Home Design
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The Basics of a Kitchen Remodel: Building the Kitchen of Your Dreams
The kitchen is the heart of your home. It is where your family gathers, meals are served, and memories are made. Even in houses where cooking isn’t necessarily a top priority, the kitchen usually becomes the stomping grounds for snacking, cleaning, and casual conversations. For those reasons, and many more, it is important to get your kitchen remodel right.
The remodel process can be daunting, but we remove the worry by guiding homeowners through design and installation to ensure they truly love where they live.
Get your kitchen remodel started off right by answering three important questions:
- Do you love (or even like) the way your kitchen looks? If you don’t love it, change it!
- Is your kitchen current? If your finishes are looking worn, your appliances run down, it is time to upgrade.
- Do you like the way your kitchen functions? If your kitchen doesn’t work for you, think about what will make it more a more convenient, welcoming happy space.
Whether you’re looking for minimal modifications or a modern kitchen overhaul, with the right flooring, countertops, cabinets, and accessories you can completely transform your kitchen to a space that is warm, inviting, and enjoyable for all who enter.
Why Should You Remodel Your Kitchen?
When you walk into your kitchen each morning to grab a cup of coffee before work, or to make the kids lunches for school, are you happy with your space? At ACo, our top priority is to help you love where you live. We want you to walk into your kitchen every morning feeling a sense of comfort, happiness, and satisfaction. The only way to achieve that is to have a kitchen you love! Not feeling these emotions? Maybe it’s time for an update!
Besides creating an area where you love to spend time, kitchen remodels are an overall great investment. While it’s certainly an investment of both your money and time, the results, however minimal, can bring high returns—like these:
- ACo Kitchen Renovation // Haverstick
- A Bright and Beautiful Kitchen Remodel
- Two Rooms into One: A Kitchen Transformation
The 5 Main Reasons to Remodel Your Kitchen
- Your Kitchen Isn’t Functional or Convenient – Do you have enough storage? Is there enough countertop space? Are the appliances efficient? Is the sink easy to clean? If all of these are a problem for you, then it’s time to upgrade. Remodeling the kitchen can update an awkward layout and, in turn, improve storage, offer additional prep space, and create a welcoming space for gathering.
- You Want Upgrades That Meet the Needs of Your Household – Do your kids do homework at the kitchen counter? Do your friends or family gather there during parties, but the island isn’t big enough? Remodeling your kitchen can help to create a space that works better for your family depending on if they want more entertainment area, easier walkways, or additional storage.
- You Don’t Like the Way Your Kitchen Looks – Remodeling your kitchen is an excellent excuse for upgrading style and design to better fit your tastes and look more modern. By updating your kitchen with the latest trends, not only can your kitchen look refreshing, you can feel refreshed too. A new kitchen can lead to a new mindset – you are happier, you take better care of your home, and you are proud to show off a stunning space.
- You Want to Boost Resale Value – A new kitchen is a big plus for those in the market for a home that they would prefer not to have to update themselves. It often means landing a sale much more quickly than if you had outdated cabinetry and old countertops.
- You Care About Energy Efficiency and Savings – This isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind when homeowners think about remodeling, but homeowners who opt to renovate from older kitchens have the ability to select water and energy saving appliances and materials. A kitchen is the most used room in the home. You need to be able to operate efficiently in the space. Not only that, but with advancements in technology today, having a smart kitchen can make everyone’s life a bit easier.
With our proven team of experts and worry-free service, ACo makes remodeling easy—even helping you identify the latest kitchen design trends to determine which updates will get the most return on investment all while matching your style.
What Can You Expect to Spend on Kitchen Remodel Ideas?
One of the most common topics our clients ask us about when it comes to remodeling is the budget. However, with each project and home being different, it is nearly impossible to give a set figure on what a renovation should cost.
When planning your remodel, it’s important to consider how long you intend to stay in your home. If you think you will be selling within the next five years, you will want to look at any improvements as an investment.
However, if you are planning on staying in your current home for longer, choose updates that will make you happiest and make your life easier.
For a complete kitchen remodel, we recommend budgeting 10% to 20% of your home’s value. According to Remodeling Magazine, the average budget for an upscale kitchen renovation in the Midwest is about $126,000.
Learn more about the cost of remodeling your kitchen, then check out our kitchen remodel calculator to help determine your budget.
How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel
For some new homeowners, the idea of starting a kitchen remodel can feel a bit overwhelming. The thought of giving up such a high-functioning space for an extended period of time in order to make necessary updates may seem…well…unnecessary. To help combat fears and prepare you for what’s ahead, here are some best practices and helpful tips to get you going.
1. Plan Ahead
When it comes to prep work, start by cleaning out your kitchen and getting rid of anything you don’t use or need. Then set aside anything you feel you will need for a temporary kitchen setup and put the rest away in storage.
2. Set Up a Temporary Kitchen
During your renovation, certain appliances and plumbing won’t be available for use. This would be the time to designate a space in your house for plugging in things like a microwave or crockpot as well as washing dishes using the bathroom or laundry room sink. Try to keep everything contained to one area and away from construction dust. Here are a few items to consider for your temporary kitchen:
- Coffee Maker
- Hot Plate
- Toaster/Toaster Oven
- Slow Cooker
- Electric Skillet
- Microwave
- Mini Fridge
- Chest Freezer
- Tupperware
- Good Knives
- A large cutting board
- Grilling Tools
- Plastic Cutlery
3. Protect Pets and Kids
A construction zone is no place for children and pets and could have potential safety hazards. If you have younger children or pets, invest in baby gates or other barriers to keep them away from the construction area.
4. Prepare the Surrounding Spaces
If your kitchen is adjacent to a living room or dining room, it might be wise to take down nearby wall hangings or other valuables so nothing falls over or breaks. If you want to protect furniture, consider purchasing plastic or canvas furniture covers.
5. Communicate With Your Contractor
They have been through this many times and can advise you on what to expect during construction, as well as offer solutions to problems that arise. Open and honest communication will see you through any home project!
Looking for additional tips on surviving a remodel? Read more about what you should know before you remodel for a stress-less project.
How to Select the Best Kitchen Countertops
When selecting a countertop for your kitchen remodel, there are many factors to consider: layout, finish, style, hardware, design, etc. While these elements will influence the overall aesthetics of your kitchen, you can’t forget the need for functionality.
Now, you have some choices to make in that arena, like whether you want a bar or counter height, quartz or granite, or maybe even if you want built-in seating. But before all of that, you must consider one thing: your lifestyle.
Are you more eat and entertain or prep and indulge? Do you want something more cost effective or something more sustainable? The point is that determining how you will use your kitchen and how it fits into your lifestyle will make decisions like choosing countertops much easier.
Here are some of the most common countertop factors for you to consider:
- The Kitchen Island: Bar or Counter? – When it comes to choosing a bar vs. a counter in your redesign for the kitchen island you might need to ask the following questions.
- Do you entertain at your island? – If you are looking to host your friends and family, consider making your kitchen island bar height at 42 inches tall, which will provide more flexibility for guests and work as an ideal serving area for food.
- Do you eat at your island? – If you envision your family sitting down for a meal, then a 36-inch counter height island might better suit your needs. This height allows kids to get up and down easily, and it feels more like a home rather than a restaurant or bar.
- Do you use this as a prep space? – Enjoy chatting with guests as you chop your veggies? Then you would ideally want to have additional prep space on your island. Chef’s prep tables are generally 36 inches tall and make it easier to keep supplies and movement at a comfortable level.
- Quartz or Granite? – Many homeowners ask for our opinion on quartz vs. granite and we often tell them there isn’t a clear-cut answer. Below are considerations to think through.
- Aesthetics – Granite is a natural material quarried from the Earth that features unique pops of color and varied patterns. Quartz is an engineered stone with a more consistent appearance available in a variety of colors and styles. Between these two, homeowner’s preference is what will win the day.
- Durability & Maintenance – While granite is considered a durable stone, it is still susceptible to fissures and pits. If these imperfections are small, they can be repaired with epoxy. Granite is also vulnerable to staining due to its natural porosity, so sealing is needed. Quartz ranks slightly higher on the hardness scale making it more durable than granite. It is also non-porous so staining is never a worry. Overall, quartz rules the day if durability is important.
- Cost – While granite starts at a lower price point than quartz, there is a very large price range associated with natural stone. In general, granite tends to be a bit friendlier on the pocketbook.
- Sustainability – The manufacturing processes for both granite and quartz are very labor-intensive requiring a lot of energy. While safe in homes, in some instances small amounts of Radon are found in granite slabs. Some quartz companies use recycled content to make up their products and are known to leave a smaller carbon footprint. That said, small amounts of VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) are sometimes found in quartz. When it comes to sustainability, it helps to research the specific product and company to determine the option that is right for you.
One of the Most Overlooked Components in Kitchen Remodel Ideas
Survey says… accessories. That’s right—the small design tweaks from corner storage to backsplash organization can turn an ordinary remodel into an extraordinary one. When considering updating your kitchen don’t forget to review accessories you might find useful or interesting to the new space.
How Virtual Reality Could Solve Your Kitchen Remodel Anxiety
Remember the days when you were limited to dreaming about what your kitchen remodel might look like, only to be let down once it’s actually finished?
Thanks to Virtual Reality (VR), those days are all but gone.
VR is transforming the home remodel process by eliminating the gap between your imagination and the space you’re remodeling.
What does that mean for you?
Using VR technology, you can experience an immersive, 3D rendering of your kitchen remodel before construction even begins. Now, you can see how everything in your remodel—the kitchen, appliances, cabinets, ceilings, floors, furniture, and kitchen lighting—aesthetically interacting to ensure your new design meets all of your needs, removing surprises down the road and helping manage costs.
VIRTUAL IN-HOME DESIGN
Are you ready to tackle a home improvement project while practicing social distancing, but aren’t sure where to start? Want to see how your kitchen remodel ideas might look?
ACo is here to help.
Using video conferencing, in home measuring apps, virtual reality, and even our flooring visualizer, our designers will guide you through design and installation of your project from afar.
Love Where You Live
At ACo, we want you to love where you live. That is our promise to you, and it guides everything we do.
Kitchen remodel ideas can be daunting, but we are here to help! We guide you through our simple approach – The ACo Way – to ensure a worry-free new kitchen experience that allows you to love where you live.
Our cultivated team of experts, specializing in everything from design to construction, partner with you through every step of your project. Through open communication and well-defined expectations, we help you manage the emotional rollercoaster.
Get started on your new kitchen by connecting with ACo. Connect with us for a complimentary in-home design consultation, or visit our one-stop shop at our showroom + design studio. When you’re ready to love where you live with a luxurious kitchen, lavish bath, beautiful cabinets, or stunning flooring space, we’re ready to make it happen.