So you are thinking about remodeling your kitchen… Where do you start? If you and your kitchen needs help, you’ll find information here – from budgets to designs – that help you figure out where to start.
Find a reasonable budget
Your first step is to arrive at an overall budget. Here is a budget model widely used by remodeling professionals. Take the estimated sales price of your home if you were going to sell it today. In the Central Florida market (Orlando, Winter Park, Windermere) 15-20% of the selling value should be the budget for your remodel project. Half of that amount, should be budgeted for cabinetry. For example, if your home has an estimated value of $500,000 the estimated budget for your Kitchen remodel should be $75,000 and $37,500 should be the cabinetry portion of the budget. Based on a reasonable quality to value ratio. Be honest with yourself. These are big numbers for most of us to digest. A remodel in not ever as in-expensive as we think. Professionals installing quality products will carry a cost. If you think you can remodel your house with a $5,000 cabinet budget, you are not being honest with yourself and ultimately your contractor and designer.
Find a qualified designer
The second step is to consult a kitchen designer or a interior designer. Ask questions about how they work, what is their design philosophy, and get to know them. These people will be in your home helping you to create a space that everyone in your family will use daily. Discuss your goals and ideas with your prospective designer and then ask them for their interpretation. The easier it is to communicate with your designer, the better your finished product will be. Be honest and up front regarding your budget. If you can not trust the the designer to work within your actual budget, you probably should not hand them $20,000 in the first place. A reputable designer will not inflate the price and max out your budget.
Do not be surprised if you are asked for a consultation fee. These fees can range from a flat design fees of a couple hundred dollars to over $10,000. These fees are the same professional consulting fees an attorney, architect, or accountant would be paid. You are paying for their expertise, education, and experience. They should be look at as keeping both you and designer honest about the process. If the designer does not offer a design agreement, ask for one. The agreement should detail your goals, design expectation, and schedule for completion of the design package. At the end of the design process your should have a design package that includes scaled drawings, renderings, cabinet layouts, item lists, and cabinet specifications. Since the design fee is just like it sounds, an agreement for design only, it will be your property. The designer would obviously like to be the supplier of your cabinets and will most likely deduct the design fee from the contract for the remodel. You also have to option of getting competitive bids on your design, and since you have a complete package including specifications, you could get a true “apples to apples” quotation. Hopefully, since you have a good relationship with your designer, getting another quote would not be a consideration.
Visualize your finished space
Once you have selected a cabinet company and designer, the next step is either a showroom with a similar design or review your blue prints if the kitchen space hasn’t been built yet. From these measurements the designer will create a layout and renderings for you to review. Again, this a back forth process. You should expect a several renditions.
Choose your finishes
The next step is pick out door styles and finishes. We would suggest for you to look at Kitchen and Bath magazines for ideas or stop by our studio. Monarch Kitchen and Bath Design have several displays with numerous door samples and brochures to help you with your process of designing your dream kitchen.
