With all the light that the warmer months bring, during the summer you may have noticed that your kitchen is not looking as clean, fresh and stylish as you would like. Or maybe you are considering selling your home and are thinking about what elements around your property need work.
Since the kitchen is such a key part of any home, and often where we spend most of our time together as a family, it is one of the first rooms in a home that people renovate. However, full remodels are expensive, both in terms of money and energy, so you don’t want to go ahead with a major renovation in this space before you’re ready.
Need some help making up your mind about whether or not to proceed? If so, here are some signs that show you a kitchen remodel may be in order this year.
You plan to sell soon
If you plan to put your home on the market in the coming year and hope to get the highest price for it, your kitchen needs to look the part. The cooking area is one of the biggest factors people consider when choosing a home, so don’t let this room drag the entire property down and affect its value.
It is generally worth changing the kitchen before trying to sell it, particularly if the rest of the house has been modernized and looks good. If, however, you have no plans to move on from the property for years, you may be able to leave the current kitchen as it is for now.
Cleaning and maintenance is too much work for too little result
A major sign that your kitchen needs to be redone is if it takes a large amount of cleaning and maintenance each month to keep it looking decent. Also, if you put a lot of elbow grease into the kitchen but still see little result for your efforts, this is even more of an indication.
Some things take a minimal cleaning every few months to get them back to new or at least as good as you need them to be. For example, if you look up how to best clean your dishwasheryou will find a few simple steps to follow to make this device smell fresh and clean well in no time (as long as it is not too old and worn out, of course).
However, when it comes to things like scratched, chipped or discolored linoleum floors, tiled floors or backsplashes with deep, dirty grout lines, or cooktops with baked-on grease that won’t change, it’s an issue another. These types of issues usually cannot be fixed no matter how hard you try, so when your kitchen gets to this point, a remodel is the best option.
The kitchen space is too small
A common problem for many homeowners is that their kitchen is simply too small for their needs. If this is something you are sick of dealing with, you won’t have what you need unless you clear out the kitchen area and start over, you can probably find some extra space by knocking down a wall or adding cabinets that go ‘ forward. floor to ceiling to give you more storage.
Doing a total renovation will help you plan the space in a way that suits your specific needs. For example, you may want to add a long countertop for your family to eat breakfast or for the children to do homework while you cook meals. Alternatively, you may be more interested in finding extra room to add larger or additional appliances. On the other hand, you may need more preparation space, through countertops and an island.
The layout does not work
Sometimes your kitchen area is big enough but it wasn’t designed well in the first place, or at least to not match the way you want to use it. For example, if your cooking area is not functional, you will probably notice that you and your family members bump into each other when trying to get to things in the kitchen, or that you have to walk too far between the appliances when cooking.
Something may also prevent you from being able to open some doors or drawers at times (eg if a dishwasher is opened next to them), or you may be regularly frustrated because you cannot reach tools when you want to use them. These are all indicators of bad kitchen design and a sign that you need to renovate.
Renovating your kitchen is a big and expensive job, and it causes certain inconveniences during the process. However, if you are dealing with one or more of the signs listed above, making the investment of time, money, and energy should be worth it in the end.
