Remodeling a kitchen can be a great move that makes your home much more functional and stylish, and can add greatly to its value. But it’s important not to underestimate what a big undertaking this can be, and the need to involve a Kingwood/Humble home remodeling service. Get started with this mini-guide to remodeling your kitchen.

Think About How It Will Be Used

The first thing to ask yourself when undertaking a kitchen remodel is how will it be used? The needs and demands of a kitchen vary greatly depending on who is using it and how. Are you a gourmet chef, or an aspiring one? Are there two or more cooks in the family? Do you regularly use the kitchen as a place to hang out? Will the kid’s homework be done there?

All of these considerations will dictate what is needed. If you plan to entertain, including cooking everything from scratch, you’re going to need plenty of countertop space and extra storage for all the utensils and devices beyond the common ones we all have. If someone else in the family is a pastry chef who’ll be whipping up dessert while you prepare the main course for your guests, that translates into even more countertop space being required. If the kids eat in the kitchen, that means having a table big enough to accommodate them. You also need to decide if you’ll have non-standard appliances, like wine coolers, for example.

Determine the Layout

Deciding what the main uses of your kitchen will be will help you decide the layout, though that will also be determined to a large extent by the space available. The kitchen area in small homes may only allow for a single run of cabinets, a sink, and an oven along one wall. With more space available, this can be extended to an L-shape layout, or even a U-shape layout along three walls.

With more room, free-standing islands become a possibility. Decide what you think you want based on your needs, the available space, and the requirement to accommodate free-standing furniture like tables, chairs, and dressers. But remember that your general contractor may have a reason why it won’t work exactly as you envision, so be prepared to alter plans accordingly.

Create a Plan and Budget

The budget is going to be dominated by the major renovations needed as well the cost of new appliances, cabinets, plumbing and materials with substantial cost implications such as granite countertops. High-end details such as recessed refrigerators and in-wall ovens will also have an influence. If your budget gets too high, remember you still may be able to realize your general plan by scaling back on some of these. Major considerations are what structural changes are needed, including large ones like removing non-supporting walls to create an open floor plan, and whether you want a new floor or island installed.

Choose Cabinetry, Countertops, and Floors

Put some time aside for this as there are a lot of choices to be made and a huge range of possibilities. You may think you know what you want only to find you haven’t considered small details like cabinet hardware and tile back-splashes that can easily chew up as much time as picking wall colors or flooring materials. You also may find that two things you were initially set on don’t go so well together, forcing you to rethink the overall look. Visiting the showroom of a kitchen remodeling service in Kingwood/Humble like Houston Custom Carpets can make this easier as you will have something to look at, as well as access to our brochures and samples.

Find the Right Contractor

This is where it can go very right or very very wrong depending on whether you pick the right kitchen remodeling in Houston. Do not make the mistake of underestimating the role of a good general contractor in a kitchen remodel. A general contractor’s job is to guide and oversee the project as a whole, including overseeing all the specialists who will be involved. In a kitchen remodel this can be a whole lot, including framers, plumbers, plasterers, carpenters, and stonemasons, as well as the floor remodeling experts.

What you don’t want is to have someone in charge of all the above who doesn’t know how to execute all the moving parts professionally and efficiently. Scheduling all these different people and understanding the order in which things need to be done, and when they can be shuffled around, is part of what makes a good general contractor.

If you’re ready to start your new kitchen remodel, contact Houston Custom Carpets Flooring & Remodeling for more guidance on how to get started on your next home project in the Kingwood and Humble area.