Can a Cabinet Knob change make a difference?

5 Tips for Planning a New Kitchen

Though the holidays are steadily approaching and the economy is not all too encouraging, now is a great time to finally remodel or update your kitchen. Recent television shows have encouraged homeowners to entire gut out their homes and replace kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms with celebrity-style appliances, kitchen cabinet hardware and accessories. While luxurious, not all homeowners have a multi-million dollar budget for remodeling; whether you fall in this category or not, stick to these simple five renovating tips and you’ll be more than satisfied with the results.

Tip #1: Draw a Blueprint

If you’ve watched enough television or subscribe to home decorating magazines, chances are you have thousands of “ideal” remodeling setups for your kitchen. But what you envision and what makes sense for your home could be two entirely different concepts.

Sit down with your family members and create a list of areas you’d like to redesign or replace. Keep in mind the function of your kitchen, as well as who will use it for the next five to seven years (the average time between kitchen remodeling). For busy homes with little children, a kitchen with open cabinets, bar stools and hanging gadgets could be disastrous!

Tip #2: Create a Budget

Now, with your list of remodeling aspects in hand, it’s time to do some research. Creating a budget for your home remodeling project is the most critical step. Check out both in-store and online store prices for what you’d like to replace such as a kitchen faucet; chances are, you’ll save money shopping online (and most stores offer free shipping and handling, so you won’t waste time driving around).

After you’ve browsed and compared, it’s time to figure out where the money to fund the remodeling will be coming from. Especially with the ever-tightening economy, it may be best to plan long-term, saving a few hundred dollars each month. It’s not worth the risk of spending an entire month’s paycheck immediately; you never know what could happen in the future. A few frugal tips to saving include eliminating the everyday luxuries such as take out dinners, coffees on the go, mid-day fast food stops and extraneous shopping. Your total budget should also include a small buffer for accidents, replacements and extra tools you may need.

Tip #3: Plan Accordingly

Your kitchen is the hub of your family’s home; you cook, eat, balance the check book, oversee homework and probably read the paper over a cup of coffee each morning. Depending on the scale of your remodeling project, one or all of these daily routines could be interrupted by the redesign. Before you do anything, it is absolutely crucial that you plan ahead for a make-shift kitchen.

You should prepare one area to store food in an easily accessible area, as well as where you will be able to cook food (if at all). If cooking is not an option, prepare frozen meals ahead of time that you can easily defrost and pop into a microwave that’s easily portable. Along with cooking, if you are replacing cabinets and cabinet hardware such as door knobs and locksets, create a safe, dry area to temporarily stash your plates, silverware, pots and pans.

Tip #4: Do-it-yourself Replacements

Believe it or not, a significant portion of kitchen remodeling elements can be done with a little hard work on your part, without calling in the professionals (and it’s a great money saver too!). Cabinet knobs, hinges and drawer pulls are small parts that are often overlooked but can totally add a new, fresh feeling to any kitchen. Consider switching typical chrome colors for a dark, luxurious finish, such as satin nickel cabinet knobs; the contrast between light and dark will make your kitchen look like you’ve replaced the cabinets themselves (which can be costly).

Tip #5:

Kitchen remodeling can be a daunting, inconvenient task. By following these simple tips, you’ve (hopefully) stuck to your well-planned budget, so you’ll be ready to celebrate 2009 in style!