Many contractors would love to answer that question with another question: How much money do you have to spend?
An accurate estimate of kitchen remodeling costs depends on many factors. Just where your house and kitchen are makes a difference. Homes in large cities tend to have more expensive remodeling jobs than those in the suburbs.
Region of the country makes a difference as well, with the Mountain Region spending an average $20,800 for a full kitchen remodeling job, where as the full treatment will set the New England home-owner back around $35,100. Seattle home-owners, in general, spend near the national average at $26,800.
The National Kitchen and Bath Association sets a rough guideline for kitchen remodeling at 11-22% of the value of the home. This sounds like the diamond industry recommendation of three month’s pay for an engagement ring, but the NKBA figure feels accurate. The kitchen is the traditional center of the home, and more families are discovering the fun and savings of home cooking.
Northwest home-owners lead the nation in DIY, with 33% of surveyed home-owners in Seattle, and 34% of those in Portland, reporting their intent accomplish at least part of their kitchen remodeling job with their own hands. It would seem that the extent of the job would have a bearing on the cost of the remodel.
Just as every family is different, each kitchen will have its own needs. Some remodeling jobs will feel complete with a simple coat of paint and a few updated appliances. Other kitchens will need to be completely gutted, with new cabinets, appliances, flooring and counter-tops installed. A popular, but expensive, addition to many remodeling jobs is openning the architecture of the kitchen.
The notion of the kitchen as a separate workspace is falling from favor. This has interesting implications for your dinner parties, as the place where the meal was prepared will be on display throughout the gathering. Most hostesses find that the dinner party usually winds up socializing in the kitchen, anyway.
Opening the kitchen to the rest of the living space may entail converting a wall to a bar or island. Such a change to the structure of the home may require the attention of an architect in order to proceed safely.
In addition to updated appliances, popular upgrades for kitchen remodeling jobs will often include new or updated cabinetry. Prefab or custom cabinetry are options, but there may be significant savings if the existing cabinets are structurally sound. Often new drawer and door faces can be installed for a fraction of the cost of new cabinets.
The ultimate refresh for cabinets may be counter-tops, and modern kitchens call for seamless, solid topped counters. Whether solid stone, man-made or composite, these durable, heat resistant work surfaces are great for food preparation because they are so simple to sanitize between jobs.
Kitchen flooring needs to be comfortable to walk, stand, and work on, but these considerations may be secondary to ease of clean up. Spills are inevitable in an active kitchen, so a solid, non-porous surface makes the most sense. Hardwood and engineered wood flooring is popular, but may be damaged by dropped dishes and spills. Tiles are popular in restaurant kitchens, and can be very attractive in the home as well.
For the latest in Kitchen Remodeling ideas and possibilities, contact the experts at Corvus Construction today!