Keeping a kitchen well-functioning and pleasant is one of the best things you can do for your home. Plus, updating a kitchen is the kind of thing that you can approach in a lot of different ways. It can be great for the value of your home, and according to the 2024 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, a minor kitchen remodel can recoup 96 percent of the investment. However, there are key kitchen renovation challenges that you may encounter.
It’s important to know about the potential challenges that you might run into when you are planning to renovate your kitchen. It’s best to be aware of these challenges, so that you are prepared and have a means of dealing with them. This is going to make it a lot easier for you to approach the whole project. With that in mind, here are some of the main challenges that you may find yourself running into when you are renovating your kitchen.
Timing Errors
Time is one of the biggest kitchen renovation challenges that homeowners face. There’s no doubt that renovating an entire kitchen can take a lot of time. You will need to make sure that you are prepared for this. It’s likely that you will need to think about when is the best time to carry out such a renovation. It is going to affect your daily life considerably while it’s happening and in process. It’s also important to not plan a major kitchen renovation before you plan to host guests or a party. We always say that if you can’t 100 percent guarantee that you’ll finish before the holidays, don’t even try. Wait until after the new year.
So think about when might be the best time to do it, and start planning out your renovation as soon as possible. There is a lot of planning and decision-making to do before you get started. Having an understanding of the timing involved is really going to make a huge difference in the amount of stress you feel during the process.
Budget Mistakes
A kitchen renovation is also very expensive. Though you may add value to the home, you need the cash upfront to be able to pursue the renovation. To that end, it’s important that you are budgeting it as effectively and fully as possible. Every renovation experiences a surprise or two, whether it’s a delay in materials or a schedule issue with a contractor. It’s essential to budget at least 10 percent for surprises.
In order to avoid as many surprises as possible, do all you can to avoid any mistakes in the budget. These can happen all too easily for first-timers. You might forget to budget for fixtures or not allocate enough for primer and paint. The main way you can avoid mistakes is by going over the budget and looking into all the details. That way, you should be able to avoid most of the common mistakes homeowners make.
In general, you should also just be aware that projects tend to last longer and cost more than initially planned. If you plan for extra time, you’re considerably less likely to find yourself in financial trouble later.
Keeping Costs Low
Budget is among one of the biggest kitchen renovation challenges. Of course everyone wants to keep costs low. In order to do that, while still getting good results, you need to be excellent at planning and maintaining the schedule. As one part of budget-friendly planning, think about less expensive ways to achieve what you want.
For instance, rather than replacing your entire cabinets, could you opt instead for some kitchen cabinet refacing? This is where you keep the original cabinets but simply replace the fronts, and it can give the effect of a completely new cabinet at a fraction of the cost. Same goes with your kitchen backsplash. You could paint the tiles to update the look without having to retile. That’s just two ways to keep your renovation cheaper while also ensuring great visual results.
There are still other ways to keep the cost of your renovation low. Consider shopping your local Habitat ReStore to save money on more affordable paint and materials. And you can always keep costs down by doing much of the work yourself, too.
Planning For Living During Renovation
There’s no doubt that a kitchen renovation has a way of upending your life for a few weeks or months. That can be a major part of the stress. It’s vital that you are making plans for your day-to-day life while the renovation takes place. So consider where you will do your cooking, how you are going to refrigerate your food, and where you will clean your dishes while you are renovating. These are some of the most important functions of the kitchen and you’ll need to have something figured out.
Having considered the common kitchen renovation challenges and having fully-formed plans can make the project considerably more enjoyable, too.
Choosing Designs & Decor
One of the more stressful kitchen renovation challenges can actually be figuring out what you (and your family) want. In order to be truly happy with the results, you will have to choose many things, including paint colors, cabinet profiles, fixtures, and appliances.
Give yourself time to go through the options, so you end up with a kitchen that you like. Don’t rush through the decision-making process.
Finding The Right Help
In terms of who can help with your kitchen renovation, there are a lot of ways to find the right tradespeople. If you don’t already know skilled trades, it may seem challenging to find a construction team that will work well with you and deliver what you want. We suggest looking at the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and National Kitchen and Bath Association for local licensed and certified pros. You may need some help from friends and family during the renovation process. Always ask them early, and consider giving them a gift card as a thank you for their help.
What kitchen renovation challenges have you faced? Share in the comments below.
