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A Kitchen Design Plan Can Keep Your Renovation on Track and Within Budget
by Francine L. Huff
Designing a new kitchen requires careful planning and a realistic budget. Having these tools will help you stay focused and avoid having caviar dreams on a cream cheese budget. Putting together a plan with kitchen design ideas will also help you make better decisions when choosing materials and hiring help.
A kitchen makeover may be one of the most expensive and complicated projects you do in your home. In 2005, the average cost for a mid-range kitchen remodel was $43,862 and an upscale remodel was $81,552, according to Remodeling magazine. Kitchen cabinets tend to be the most costly part of designing a new kitchen, and high-quality ones can costs tens of thousands of dollars. But if existing cabinets can be saved, your kitchen design ideas could call for refacing or refinishing old cabinets instead.
A good kitchen design can help fix the layout of your space. While software and other online resources can help you come up with kitchen design ideas you may want to hire a professional space planner and kitchen design expert. A trip to your local home improvement store can also give you kitchen design ideas. Make sure that in the process of designing your new kitchen you get the features you really need that fit within your budget.
When designing high end kitchens decorators love to include stainless steel professional grade appliances. But stainless steel can jack up the price of your kitchen design project if you're not too careful. If you're not a professional chef and can do without stainless steel look for something less expensive. If you're on a tight budget steer clear of trendy appliances and gadgets that you'll never use. Do you really need a refrigerator the size of a whole room in your house? And why go to the expense of adding a wine refrigerator if you don't even drink?
Designing your new kitchen should be fun. Just don't get carried away making unrealistic plans that you can't afford. Although taking on such a large project can be stressful, a good kitchen design plan can help you stay on track and within budget until your project is completed.
Francine L. Huff is a freelance journalist and the author of She has appeared on a variety of TV and radio shows.
