Thinking about giving your kitchen or bath a full makeover or maybe wondering about remaking the kitchen and baths at the same time? No matter what kind of renovation you’re envisioning, or how soon you want it done, planning each step in the beginning with a professional will likely make all the difference between a waste of time and a new look you can smile about.
“There are many things to consider when remodeling a kitchen or bath,” said Jay Valk, owner of Classic Kitchens of Charleston. “And whether the job is large or small, initial planning is essential.”
Planning Makes Perfect
For example, suppose you have a 30-year-old kitchen or bathroom, the original cabinets of which have seen better days. In greater Charleston and surrounding areas, there are several hundred contractors and remodelers to choose from and untold thousands of individual options to consider for designing and installing new cabinets.
Perhaps you think all you have to do is contact a contractor, schedule an appointment and in practically no time you’ll have new cabinets in place of your old ones. Valk said rarely is it ever that simple, as he usually spends much of the early stages of the renovation process going over design options, pricing, scope, selection of suppliers, finishes, colors and style.
“For kitchens especially, new cabinets not only have to fit in the space, they have to go with the new look and feel that you’re after,” Valk said. “So this first means researching and considering different size ranges and the right appliances – whether you want your refrigerator covered with panels, whether you prefer a stove with a stainless-steel hood or a wooden hood and whether the appliances you’re considering would be panel-ready.”
Daily disruption to your normal home life is another factor to consider, especially if you have school children and can’t undertake any large-scale renovations until the summer months. As for the time to complete the job, projects vary depending on size and scope and unforeseen individual conditions, but your contractor will be able to work with you on your own unique situation.
“Despite what you may have heard, remodeling does not have to be a stressful experience,” Valk said. “Our focus is on you, our client, and ensuring your project runs smoothly and according to schedule.”
Cost Doesn’t Equal Quality
As for cost, both Valk and several colleagues added that pricing, while important, should not be the key factor in deciding on either a contractor, a set of appliances or a new cabinet look.
“Quality is not fast or cheap – if a contractor can start tomorrow, there is a reason,” said Hunter Baker, owner of Hunter Baker Homes and Renovations in Mount Pleasant. “My advice to all clients is not to pick a contractor solely on price. Speak with the contractor and review their estimate in detail. Many times you will find that what they have included in their estimate may not be what you are expecting.”
However, usually the planning phase will give both you and the contractor time to go over details, eliminate unnecessary work or accessories and replace part of your original idea with something better.
“In the process, you’ll find out more about the different performance characteristics of wood species or about the fiber content of carpet than you ever cared to know,” Valk said. “But it has enabled you to make a decision based on facts as well as instinct.”
Additionally, you will almost certainly change or at least alter your original idea. For instance, imagine you have just moved into an existing home built in 1960 and the kitchen has this look: all-natural, original wood corner cabinets top and bottom, white tile or linoleum flooring, black range and gray dishwasher, all in wrap-around style.
Further pretend that the cabinets have decayed in color, the dishwasher and range are on different sides, the linoleum looks worn and dated, the refrigerator is too small for your family’s needs, the dark range makes the kitchen seem small and sort of uninviting and the overall design makes mealtimes more helterskelter and chaotic than a daily joy.
Weigh Your Options Carefully
Researching and consulting with contractors like Valk and Baker might reveal a design that can make your kitchen look like it functions, such as:
- Installing shaker cabinets, painted white to give the kitchen a light look and feel. Or, if your original cabinets are the kind that you can’t find anymore and you have always liked their style but still want to give them a fresh look, cabinet refacing can be a great alternative to replacing them entirely.
- Replacing the flooring with a light or light-dark hardwood look to add quality.
- Adding a black-and-white-veined marble island facing outside windows so that more natural light falls on you and the food you prepare. If you also want the island to double as a dining bar area with stools, Valk can walk you through previous designs to give you some ideas.
- Adding an open-air marble island separate from the food preparing area for extra comfort and efficiency.
- Installing a medium-gray range with a high metal hood that adds contrast to the white cabinets and a cooking area with combination regular eyes and stir fry grill for special occasions.
By the time you’ve gotten this far, you might also decide the kitchen area needs bigger windows for a look that feels more outdoors even when you’re inside. If so, one additional benefit, especially if your kitchen windows came with the original home, is that new windows will likely be designed and rated to withstand hurricane-force winds.
You might determine the new ensemble would go even better with newer lighting that is less glaring and more energy-efficient as well. Moreover, do you opt for one extra-large stainless-steel refrigerator with two doors, two smaller refrigerators side-by-side because that’s the only way you could fit them in the available space or something else that you didn’t even know was an option?
All of the above applies to bathrooms as well, with items that include oversized tubs, stand-alone showers with marble or tiled walls, rough-cut or smooth-cut tile, cabinets with towel space built right in, picture windows to let in more natural light or even adding in an entire new bathroom where you think it would function better.
Valk noted that all design, construction and subsequent renovations almost always go smoothly after they and the clients have done all the necessary planning, which varies in the amount of time. So far, since opening in 2011, Valk said he has never had two remodeling jobs that were alike, or even close enough to be similar.
“Renovations usually reflect the individual taste of the client,” Valk said. “We average about 100 new clients each year over the greater Charleston area, and so far, every one of them has wanted renovations done to their home or bath for aesthetics.”
More than any other reason though, employing someone who will take the necessary time to get your kitchen or bath in the shape you want, or think you want, will go a long way to making you feel right at home, even when you’re not at home.
“We’ve assembled a team over the last 12 years that is second to none in the business,” Valk said. “And whether it’s your kitchen or your bath, we have different levels of cabinetry to fit everyone’s needs for any job, large or small.”
By L. C. Leach III
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