Cook Up A Great New Kitchen!
If you spend a lot of time cooking, eating and simply being in our kitchen, you recognize why the kitchen is one of the top draws for homebuyers, and also how kitchen remodels tend to be good investments.
Most homeowners can expect to recoup over 60 percent of their kitchen renovation costs down the road, upon the home’s resale, but in the meantime, a kitchen upgrade is a great way to bring function and joy to your everyday life.
Before breaking out the sledgehammer, take the time to plan out your wants and needs carefully. A cramped kitchen, for example, may not actually be too small, it may just be organised ineffectively. In fact, you may have extra storage room right in front of your eyes, in the form of higher cabinets that reach the ceiling, allowing for storage of little used or seasonal dishes, or bare wall space that can accommodate extra shelving, or even a yawning ceiling, ideal for installing a rack for hanging large pots and other cumbersome but necessary cookware.
Shifting appliances around can sometimes create more space without qualifying as a kitchen reno, but if you do have visions of a new kitchen with a completely different footprint, recognize the magnitude of the reshuffling before you start. Once you start knocking down walls and changing the location of plumbing and electrical outlets, you’re into major renovation territory, and correspondingly major costs.
Finally, if you’re not planning on moving, but instead intending to age in place, remember to talk to your kitchen contractor about planning a wide kitchen entrance to accommodate walkers or wheelchairs down the road, a wall oven instead of traditional stove , and adding pullout shelves to base cabinets for greater accessibility.
