10 Basic Kitchen Remodelling Mistakes – And how to avoid them!
Everyone likes the idea of a completely remodelled kitchen, with new paint, tiles and flooring, new appliances and matching kitchen worktops. Fitting out your kitchen properly should be something that you think about and plan first, a little preparation goes a long way, and can make all the difference to the finished look of your new kitchen.
Think About The Steps You Need to Take
There are 10 basic mistakes that people make when remodelling kitchens, and with a little forethought and common sense, they can easily be avoided.
1. Not doing your preparation – it doesn’t matter how much you pay for paint, tiles and flooring if you don’t prepare first. Walls should be sanded smooth if necessary, and clean and dry. Floors should be clean, dust free and even, and should you require any kind of underlay, don’t be tempted to go without.
2. Appliances don’t fit. Measure everything first, and then measure it again. It’s amazing how many people build all their units, and at the end realise that the spaces left for the cooker and integral dishwasher are too narrow.
3. Plugs and sockets. Plan your kitchen layout carefully, or you could find that you end up with the main sockets over the sink, or unreachable. Ensure that all appliances can easily reach where you wish to plug them in.
4. Don’t put too much in. Again, while it’s good to have all the mod cons, you need to have a big enough kitchen to hold them.
5. Choose colours with care. Even if purple is your favourite colour, it tends to not work in the kitchen. Choose shades which work well together, and which don’t clash with your furniture and appliances.
6. Avoid clutter. May people either try to cram too much into a small kitchen, or clutter it all together in bigger rooms. Neither works well.
7. Check your finishes. Make sure that paint is waterproof and that soft furnishings are heat and flame retardant.
8. Check which way all doors and drawers open. You’d be surprised how many people put in drawers or cupboards and are surprised when the wall behind them means they can’t open them.
9. Make sure that all your plumbing is accessible. A dishwasher may look great by the door but if it’s nowhere near your water supply and waste pipe you won’t be able to use it.
10. Finally, ensure that the person who uses the kitchen most can actually reach your new kitchen units. While cupboards along an entire wall may look fabulous, if you have to lean over the cooker to reach, or if they are too high to reach at all, they will be of little actual use.
If you plan ahead, prepare well and use a little common sense, you should easily be able to install the kitchen of your dreams. A good, well thought through kitchen will be stunning to look at, and one hundred percent functional.