by Mindy Laughton

Our homes contain many different types of rooms, but there is perhaps none more important than the kitchen. It’s the place where meals are prepared and usually eaten, but it is much more than that. It’s where those important dinnertime conversations take place, where homework is done, where midnight medication of sick kids is done, and where the special meals (beyond spaghetti night) are prepared.

Accommodating all these functions requires a kitchen with well-planned, well-designed, and well-built features, and these needs are often the driving force behind kitchen remodeling projects in the home.

When the time has come for you to reinvent your most important room, don’t simply think of the cosmetic aspects. A renovation is an ideal time to address some of the things you never thought of doing or that had already been left out by the previous owner. Don’t let this chance pass you by!

As a rule, appliances and sinks are fairly straightforward in terms of layout. You know that there are standard sizes for most of them, so the planning process is pretty quick. It’s the cabinetry and shelving that really provide opportunities for upgrades.

Kitchen storage isn’t just a matter of putting things inside a cabinet. A good strategy for organizing your kitchen will help you prioritize things based on frequency of use. For example, the standard skillets and pots should be at arm’s length for their regular use, and they can even be hung up above an island to keep them from using up cabinet space. On the other hand, stock pots and other seldom-used items should be designated for the more out-of-reach areas.

Think about all these things as you start to design your kitchen! Get online and look at what others have done. Make notes, draw sketches, print photos, and document all the things that come to mind as you begin thinking about your potential layout. Then contact a design professional and see what it would take to make your ideas reality.

Your ideas might end up taking you down the path toward a more aggressive renovation than you had planned. It can bring on a bit of a gut-check about the financial and logistical commitment you are making to take on a bigger project than you first envisioned. We’ve all been there on one project or another, and it can be a very difficult crossroads.

When you hit that pinch point, look at things from a couple of angles. Think about issues like whether you’ll be renovating again in a few years or if you are expecting this to be a 20-year commitment. It can be much easier to justify your time and money when you know you won’t have to do it again anytime soon! You also need to consider just how inefficient your current kitchen is. If you find yourself tripping over people and things as you prepare a meal, it may be much easier to decide on a major project. 

Finally, look at the future. If you expect to retire in the home, make the kitchen the way you want it! There are a lot of meals between now and then, so make their preparation easy. On the other hand, should your plans include a potential sale in the next few years, your focus might need to narrow onto features that have a broader appeal to many potential future buyers rather than steps that feel like they’re yours alone.

The kitchen is important to the family in so many ways. We use it in so many ways that help our family do more than just stay nourished. It’s a business office, a therapy clinic, a party venue, and much more. When it’s not functioning the way it should, a renovation can help it meet all these needs.