How to renovate a kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of any home – a place where families gather to make meals to be shared with love. Not only do families gather in the kitchen space to discover what’s for dinner or raid the cupboards for snacks, but guests usually always congregate in kitchens at parties. It’s little wonder you’re thinking of renovating the pulse of your home to better fit the lives of you and your family.

Whether you’re looking to make small changes to your kitchen or desire a complete transformation, well executed renovations can add value to your home and make you fall in love with the space all over again.

Where to start?

If you’re always brainstorming ideas to freshen up your kitchen and searching for inspiration for your dream space on websites such as Pinterest, you’ll be ready to get started.

But if you haven’t started looking into this yet, now’s the time to start flicking through interior magazines and searching sites such as Pinterest to discover the style for you.

Without good planning, a home renovation of any kind can become time-consuming and expensive exercise, so it’s important to be prepared, so starting with design ideas is a great place to begin.

Once you have a clear vision of how you’d like your revamped kitchen to look, you’ll need to make a list of priorities (the jobs you want to be done first) and then things you need to do prep.

For instance, if painting your cupboard doors and revamping the interior with a pretty wallpaper is top of the list you’ll need to:

• Research and buy the best paint, primer, wallpaper and sandpaper
• Empty the contents of the cupboard and store in a labelled box
• Thoroughly clean the interior of the unit and the door
• Sand the door
• Apply the wallpaper to the interior
• Apply a primer and allow to dry
• Apply your paint

If you put together these types of ‘to do’ list along with your priorities list, you’ll be in an organised position, ready to tackle your exciting renovation project.

Small scale changes

Completely remodelling a kitchen can be an expensive and time consuming exercise, but there are many effective ways to update your kitchen without the elevated cost and hassle.

If you’re someone who loves to cook, the chances are you’re in your kitchen a lot, so you need it to be a place you enjoy spending your time. So what small scale updates can you make to your kitchen?

Update cabinet doors

This is a job that could completely transform and lift your whole space. It will take some work and time to prepare but this won’t be an expensive update. Tired cabinet doors can be cleaned, sanded, primed and repainted in a different colour or even refaced with a plastic wrap. The cupboard handles may also be in need of a refresh, so shop around for some you really love and add those to your new look kitchen aesthetic.

Light fitting changes

Another really simple change that could lift your space. If you’ve opted to go for new cupboard handles, you could possible match your light fittings with the material or design of those. It’s subtle changes such as this that can add that splash of style you’re looking for from your kitchen.

Updating flooring

While this may not be the small project you were thinking, if this is the only update you need to make, you’ll feel like you have a whole new kitchen by updating your flooring. If you love the way a hardwood floor looks but haven’t the budget for that kind of upgrade, look into vinyl flooring – there are some amazing options to choose from.

Worktop change

Again, this may not be a super easy or cheap project, but if it’s the main thing you need to do it will make all the difference.

Take a look at your tiles

They may only need a good scrub or require replacing completely, but again, tiles can really lift the look of your kitchen. Add character with a patterned set, go for a sleek neutral finish or add a pop of bright colour – whatever you choose, it will be an eye-catching update.

Appliance upgrades

If you have tired old appliances that don’t match your kitchen, now could be the time to upgrade them. This is a really simple change which includes straight swaps. If you’ve been dreaming of getting that new toaster, microwave or fridge then now’s the time – whatever colour or style you have your heart set on, shop around for the best deal and go for it.

These are smaller updates or bigger but more focused jobs that won’t take up lots of time or money. However, larger scale renovations incorporate all of these things at once, possibly more, making it a bigger and more costly undertaking.

Larger renovations

If you’ve saved some budget and have your heart set on a larger renovation with a complete transformation, you will need to up the ante when it comes to being organised.

For this, you could invest in a storage unit for peace of mind. Clear away big pieces of furniture and appliances such as ovens and tumble dryers plus pieces of furniture such as large dining tables and chairs. A full-scale renovation will probably include removing and replacing cupboards, so emptying your units of all those tins, pieces of cookware and utensils then boxing them up into categories is advised. You can then safely store these items securely in a unit until your renovation is complete and your kitchen is ready to welcome them all back.

When it comes to large-scale renovations, there are a number of aspects of a kitchen you could tackle. From a complete layout change, to adding an island, installing custom cabinets, hardwood floors or custom counters and buying high-end appliances to fit into your new layout – a large renovation is a big project.

Due to this being such a big undertaking, it’s advised that you take your time to decide what you want and employ the advice and services of an expert. Gather all of those ideas you brainstormed at the beginning of the process and shop around for quotes from professionals before you commit to anything.

Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from friends and family – not only will that help you find someone perfect for the job, it’ll also help you steer clear of anyone with a bad reputation. While bringing someone on board to advise and install could be an expensive option, it’s far more sensible than trying to tackle the job yourself. If you’re inexperienced when it comes to DIY, you may make some mistakes that end up being costly.

Whichever route you decide to go down, remember being organised is the key to making sure the job gets done properly, at the best quality and just how you envisioned it. Prepare the area by clearing away, cleaning, boxing up and using a storage unit if the renovation requires you to clear the space. Gather your ideas and get excited for your brand new dream kitchen.