Most people consider the kitchen to be the heart of the home. It’s where family and friends gather to chat, cook, eat and simply enjoy each other’s company. So is it any wonder that it is one of the first rooms people choose to update in the home?
If you are thinking about renovating your kitchen, don’t start until you have read the following 6 essential kitchen renovation tips.
1. Create a kitchen that suits how you use it
This point is most important if the purpose of the renovation is for the benefit of you and your family rather than specifically to sell your home. Ask yourself how you like to use the kitchen. Do you love to cook and entertain groups of family and friends? If so, ensure you design a kitchen that complements this. Plan lots of bench space and good quality cooking appliances large enough to cater to the numbers you like to cook for. On the other hand, if cooking is not your passion and you’re less likely to regularly whip up a feast for a crowd, you should consider a kitchen design with more emphasis on appliance storage rather than large ovens and cooktops.
2. Good function and flow
There’s no point having a beautiful looking kitchen if it lacks functionality and flow. When designing your kitchen, ensure your most used elements, such as the fridge, sink, oven and cooktop, are positioned so that you can easily transition between them. For instance, avoid placing the fridge cavity opposite the sink, as they are commonly the two most high traffic areas in the room. Put a high priority on bench space too as insufficient bench space will create challenges when preparing meals. If you are including an island bench in your design ensure you allow sufficient space to move all the way around it and flow from fridge to bench to cooktop to sink.
3. Storage solutions
Even in the smallest space, ample storage is a must in a kitchen. There are clever ways to ensure no space is wasted with the inclusion of customised drawers, cabinets, shelves and even hooks inside the pantry for very compact spaces. Designing to minimise clutter will ensure you end up with a clean, modern, functional kitchen.
4. Ensure you have enough power points
Carefully consider how many power points you will need in the kitchen before it is designed. This will save frustration later when you realise you don’t have enough for all your appliances, not to mention the cost of having to bring the electrician back to fix it.
5. Create sufficient bench space for your favourite and most used appliances
Many of today’s kitchen appliances are made to be on show as much as they are to be functional. So rather than hiding all your beautiful appliances away, think about where you would like to place them on the bench (close to a power source).
6. Select your major appliances first
Most people who renovate a kitchen want to upgrade their major appliances like the cooktop, oven, dishwasher, fridge and rangehood as well. By selecting your appliances first it will be easier to find cabinets and countertops that fit them rather than the other way around.
Renovating the kitchen of an investment property you intend to flip?
If you are a property flipper (someone who buys property and renovates it to sell based on a strategic budget) the one thing you shouldn’t scrimp on in the kitchen (and bathrooms), according to house flipping experts, is the aesthetics – things like quality tiles and splashbacks, stone benchtops and quality appliances – because these are things today’s buyers notice and will pay more for.