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Remodeling your kitchen can be a monumental task but adds a substantially better experience within your home – and possibly increases the value of your home, too.

Half of Americans use their kitchen to prepare a meal up to six times per week, and a third claim they cook in their kitchen every single day. But an outdated or inefficient layout of a kitchen can make things not only more difficult, but less desirable.

When should you remodel your kitchen?

Here in Charlotte, North Carolina, a kitchen remodel is becoming more and more popular as the average age of a home is about 27 years old. This means a good portion of those homes are even older, and likely long overdue for something more modern.

A modern kitchen has changed a lot in the past 27 years when considering technology, kitchen layouts, aesthetics and design, and quality of materials. In addition, craftsmanship differences of the home can vary widely if the home was mass-produced and not custom built.

Here are the main reasons you might want to consider remodeling your kitchen:

• You don’t like the way it looks
• It doesn’t have the right amount of storage space
• Newer appliances no longer match the cabinets
• The space no longer works for your growing family
• Increasing the resale value of your home
• Adding updated utility, like a gas range or pot filler

If more than one of these resonates with you, it may be time to look into a remodel of your kitchen to see what extra benefits you might be able realize.

What parts of the kitchen can be updated?

The most common part of a kitchen remodel are the kitchen cabinets and countertops. This is because they’re the largest part of the kitchen you see, visually speaking. Large appliances and flooring round out the top three.

Here’s a bigger list of things you can update:

• Cabinets
• Countertops
• Appliances
• Islands & Bar Tops
• Flooring
• Closets, Pantries & Nooks
• Sinks and Faucets
• Backsplashes or Paint
• Windows
• Mouldings
• Hardware
• Lighting

In a perfect world, your new kitchen will combine all the aspects of your kitchen into a beautiful, new, cohesive look you love and are excited to see for years to come.

But just because you’re remodeling your kitchen doesn’t mean you have to change everything – certain styles lend themselves to having the character of something older with a modern touch to bring it all to life.

For example, you may want to keep a large island but update the countertop, or perhaps leave the wood flooring but modify the paint color and add a fresh backsplash to make it look new.

What are the steps to remodeling a kitchen?

The steps to remodeling a kitchen are going to vary based on how in-depth your remodel is going to be.

If you’re touching up paint and adding fresh hardware, it’s quite simple. If you’re gutting and replacing everything… you’re going to want to plan ahead.

If you are planning a complete remodel, here’s how to plan it all out:

Figure Out What You HAVE to Have

Whether or not you’re sticking to a tight budget, you should first decide what is most important. The less of a budget you have, the more important this is, of course – you want to make sure you ultimately get what you really want.

Search for inspiration and begin making lists of things you like (and DON’T like) and set them in order by priority. As you begin to figure in costs, the wants at the bottom of the list may need to be saved for another time.

Set a REALISTIC Budget

A kitchen remodel tends to be one of the more expensive updates to your home, so you may want to figure in the total project cost early on. And after you’ve set your budget, be prepared to stick to it, as even small tweaks can send it spiraling.

Some even recommend not going over a certain percentage value of your home, but this may not be realistic in all parts of the country depending on what you desire to have. If adding value to your home is your only goal, this is especially true.

Now, take your “Must Have” list, line-item the costs for each thing, and you’ll quickly find out what fits and what doesn’t.

If you are handy and don’t mind a little DIY, you may be able to stretch your budget. If you are hiring a professional for any or all of the work, add a percentage of the cost for the work and installation.

Get to Work

If you’re able to begin work by yourself, go for it.

But a few things to consider, first:

• Don’t forget you may lose certain aspects of using your kitchen for a period of time – plan ahead if you need to cook while construction is happening
• Don’t attempt something you aren’t confident in without having a back up plan – you may end up making things worse than when you started
• Don’t forget to check building codes if you’re making substantial changes – certain things may need an inspection afterwards to ensure proper work

If you’re hiring out some or all of the work, you’re going to want to find a contractor, designer, or specialist, depending on how much of the work you’re going to be paying somebody else to complete.

Consider:

• Licensing and insurance
• Permitting and inspections
• Prices and payment options
• Planning processes
• Lead times and completion timelines

Aside from these, you’ll want to be able to see their previous work, and maybe even read up how others have reviewed their communication and final project in the past.

Prepare for Hurdles

Lastly, expect the unexpected. With just about every home project, especially large-scale kitchen remodels, you need to be prepared for something to come up.

For instance, availability of materials or appliances may change or become scarce. Perhaps weather has an impact if you’re going to need to demo or expand an external wall, or be adding windows.

In any case, understand things can and do cause small missteps from time-to-time. Just be ready and considerate if a plan or timeline does need some flexibility.

How much does a kitchen remodel cost?

Perhaps one of the biggest questions regarding the remodeling of a kitchen come down to cost.

But, like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

A minor remodel or resurfacing can run just a few hundred dollars if you’re doing all the work and just touching up what is already there. You’ll have the cost of materials, and then just your time and effort in completing the job.

But you may just be putting a band-aid on and not solving your kitchen woes for the long term.

If you’re overhauling and redoing everything, it’s not uncommon for a kitchen remodel to run into the tens of thousands of dollars very quickly. The costs of materials and labor, appliances, finishes and hardware from beginning to end may push the budget pretty rapidly.

But, if done well, it may be one of the best modifications to your home you’ll ever do.

Not all furniture is the same. Some, called heirloom furniture, is made of the highest quality materials and formed with expert craftsmanship, and can be priceless, being passed down from one generation to the next.

But what makes it so desirable and why do consumers and collectors pay so much for it?

What Sets Heirloom Furniture Apart

Most furniture bought in stores is made in bulk, by machines, and carries no uniqueness. The build quality and materials can be good, but pales in comparison to hand-made. For most of them, the purchaser has to assemble it themselves, in fact.

Heirloom furniture is entirely different – it’s made from the highest quality materials, usually hand selected by an expert craftsman, and is cut, assembled, and finished to be a one-of-a-kind piece built to last.

In essence, it all starts with the material used. But the process and intense scrutiny from the woodworker to make the very best final product is the key ingredient. True heirloom furniture takes time, expertise, and ageless design.

Heirloom furniture is something you’d find at an estate sale, if it’s not being passed down to family members. You won’t find it at local stores or in a Craigslist ad (unless you were extremely lucky).

Professional Plan Design

A lot goes into planning high-level furniture when you consider all the different parts of the build which can be customized.

First, the craftsman is going to need to discuss with the client what they want, what their estimated build specs are going to be, what materials and design elements they wish to have, and any other small details they need to discover in order to make it just right.

Then, it’s up to the craftsman to go back to the drawing board and find the balance of utilizing every detail received from the client, but also allow his or her own creativity to bring it to life with character, uniqueness, and their own touch of love.

Last, once approved by the client, the design goes to the drafting process where the final details, measurements, and the material inventory can be completed.

Sourcing Top-of-the-Line Materials

One of the most important steps in building furniture which can last decades, or even centuries, is choosing wood which can withstand years of daily use and not become brittle, cracked, or easily scratched.

Best in class woods, which are more dense, strong and have beautiful, naturally occurring grains include:

• Oak
• Mahogany
• Cedar

Because of their density, they are heavier, as well, and more difficult to work with at ultra high levels of precision. Mistakes can be costly, so the process will require a notable amount of patience, accuracy and skill from the craftsman.

Wood can be sourced from many places, but master woodworkers tend to rely on reputable sellers, and each piece of the project will be individually inspected to ensure it lives up to the specifications and quality requirements to create a near perfect end product.

Inspection includes:

• Ensuring boards are matching in color
• Confirming grain and knots in the wood are consistent
• Verifying boards are straight, compact, and not splintered

If a single piece of the furniture loses its integrity, it can reduce the integrity of the entire work, so no shortcuts can be afforded when selecting materials.

Heirloom Furniture Construction

With the plan and materials in hand, the craftsman is ready to begin the process of physically building the furniture. This part of the process can vary from woodworker to woodworker, especially depending on which type of piece is being built.

In the beginning, there will be a proper order of operations to constructing the furniture, especially when considering certain types of joints being used. The craftsman is going to want to avoid having to redo work, so a chronological construction timeline can be important.

Another thing to consider is not just how foundational pieces fit together, but what parts of the furniture may move, like drawers. Certain clearances will be needed, or individual cuts will need to be made before they are installed to account for these features.

Yet another item which has to be considered is if assembly can be completed before installation. If the final piece is larger than a standard door frame, and there’s no other way to get it to it’s final destination in one piece, it may require the build be able to be constructed on-site. This is especially helpful if the work is not going to be permanently installed.

The Finishing Touches

Some people love the raw look and feel of unfinished wood, where others may want it finished with a certain texture, certain stain or color. Depending on what the finished product calls for, there could also be a need for custom fasteners, hardware, drawers, or even modern accessory installation.

The last and final step of the entire build process is careful delivery. An often neglected, albeit crucial step, is to safely transport, move, and install the heirloom furniture at its final resting place. With the amount of time, effort and expertise going into creating it, delivery is a critical component.