With the holidays just around the corner, the time is ripe to start thinking about home preparations.
Is your home ready for guests? Are you looking for in-home upgrades? Is a new or renovated kitchen in order? If you start now, you can make all of the necessary upgrades, or consider moving into a Sam Rodgers home with an existing dream kitchen. If by some chance, it’s not quite what you had in mind, it can be, because Sam Rodgers says Yes to customization. Either way, plenty of entertaining is on the horizon and a new kitchen is one of the most practical upgrades to be enjoyed this time of year.
Before you make any calls to upgrade your current kitchen, here are 5 things you should know.
Pay for your design.
At the end of the day, your kitchen renovation will only be as good as its design. By hiring a veteran designer with plenty of experience, you won’t be incurring the risk of something to regret. The cost for the design portion of a renovation is typically anywhere from 3 to 10% of your overall budget and well worth it.
Because the paychecks for designers at home centers, cabinet shops, and kitchen stores come from the retailers of products they’re selling, your design choices will be limited to the options they make available. When you pay for your renovations yourself, however, you don’t need to worry about limitations or conflicts of interest.
Keep your budget on track.
To avoid “over-improving,” it’s a good rule of thumb to cap your kitchen renovation budget at 15% of your home’s value, according to John Bredemeyer, President of Realcorp. (Check your town assessor’s site or a real estate site). According to Money Magazine, divvying up the budget should look something like this: about 30% on cabinets, 14% on appliances, 10% on countertops, 5% on lighting, 4% on plumbing fixtures, 2% on paint, 1% on tiles, and 35% on windows, labor, flooring, etc.
Upgrade without breaking the bank.
Because many currently occupied homes were built before the turn of the century, many kitchens are undersized. If a significant renovation is what you want (i.e. knocking down walls and starting from scratch), there are a couple things you can do to expand your kitchen space affordably:
- Use current space. By stealing some prime square footage from a hallway, closet, porch, or something unneeded, you can expand your kitchen space at up to half the cost (depending on project, location, the home, etc.).
- Use light, airy colors. Ample light is critical. White, light neutrals (i.e. pale gray, beige), and pale pastel shades reflect natural light, keeping the kitchen clean and fresh. Just a few popular choices to accompany this thought include white subway tile, quartz, and light granite.
If it ain’t broke, keep it.
By limiting how much of your old kitchen you replace, you can cut your upgrade costs pretty significantly. If your original kitchen windows are in fair shape, or if the original wood floors underneath your tiling are decent, you could potentially save thousands of dollars. Keeping the appliances and plumbing fixtures where they currently are (instead of having to remove and reinstall them) will save you a few hundred dollars as well.
Moving soon? Keep it cosmetic.
If you plan to list your home for sale within the next 5-10 years, it’s better to keep your kitchen renovations cosmetic rather than spending thousands of dollars on tear-downs and complete overhaul projects. For instance, consider repainting old cabinets, refinish your wood flooring, install a new faucet, or touch up other current kitchen hardware. Whatever the project, keeping it strictly cosmetic is a better time and money saver for those looking to put their home on the market within the next decade.
Because a kitchen upgrade is one of the most significant changes you can make to a home (and a huge player in increasing your home’s resale value), it’s well worth the work (and the cost) to give yourself your dream kitchen.
At Sam Rodgers Homes, our kitchen designs are customizable and personalizable from the largest fixtures to the smallest details. Our Design Studio team is always ready to address your kitchen needs and preferences.
Get in touch with a Sam Rodgers Homes rep today to start building your dreams in one of our homes!
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