Kitchen Renovations Part 1

“Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses”, that is the classic saying. It does seem like when you have a party the kitchen is always full of people. Therefore, it is one of the most important room to feel comfortable in and get right.

As I always say the starting point is always the same, what is your budget including a contingency fund. Like all kitchen renovations it starts with what you can afford without regrets. If that amount is $35,000 with 10% contingency of $3500 your budget is $31,500, the $3500 should cover anything(hopefully) unexpected that may come up.

But let’s get to today subject and that would be the levels of kitchen renovation.

1. The Refresh Kitchen- the most economical of the bunch, in this scenario you are keeping the layout the same and most likely the cupboards, appliances and floors. So, what are you doing? Backsplash can totally change mood and look of the kitchen for quite a reasonable price. Another great option is to either paint your existing cupboards or just replacing your doors and painting the cupboard boxes to match. Upgrading your counter tops but not going with solid surface most likely a high-grade laminate counter top. Lastly a fresh paint job which also which also does a great job transforming any room.

2. The New Kitchen- This level is when everything is new, but nothing is moved, no walls torn down essentially keeping the home infrastructure the same maybe minor layout changes, like adding an island if kitchen can accommodate it. This kind of renovation is for those who are fine with layout but who may or you would like to upgrade the quality of materials throughout kitchen. This most likely includes floors, all new cupboards, solid surface counter tops even possibly upgrading of appliances in addition to backsplash and painting and some customization.

3. Down To The Studs Kitchen-This is where we put on the big boy/girl pants and take everything down to the studs where we start removing walls moving plumbing, where any kind of customization becomes and option whether it be a pot filler in the wall to moving the sink to an island in the middle of the room. This is the renovation where planning and understanding what you want final product to be is most important. You will probably need design help and the budget is quite different from other to options because of the labour intensity of moving things like pipes, ducts, gas lines and more. This level of reno can be the most satisfying as few compromises need to be made.

  4. The Hybrid Kitchen- This is combining elements from any of the previous 3 levels and blending them together. For example, you might do the back splash and cupboard painting from refresh and new floors and solid surface countertops from New Kitchen, while closing off an entrance and moving plumbing for the fridge to a more ideal location. This probably the most popular level of Reno we see today.

Column and Joist is here to help you every step of the way on your journey to brand new kitchen we hope to hear from you soon, be good and stay safe.