How to know if your kitchen is ready for a renovation.

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1. Is your kitchen short on cabinet space? Do you find yourself storing pots, pans, small appliances, serving platters in other rooms because there is not enough cabinet space in the kitchen. Are your cabinets showing the wear and tear of many years of hard use? New cabinets can be designed to address your actual storage needs. A well designed cabinetry layout can solve these storage needs sometimes without expanding the actual kitchen footprint.

2. Is your kitchen functional? Sometimes a kitchen has adequate space but the design and layout are so poor, that it still does not function well and you are frustrated every time you work in your kitchen. Some kitchen layouts could actually be dangerous when small children are in the space, examples: low mounted microwave. A well planned functional design and layout could solve numerous problems with regards to how your kitchen functions.

3. Are you short on countertop space? Do you find yourself balancing and shuffling things around just to have enough space to prepare a meal, bake or entertain? Is it a nightmare to clean your current countertop? Do you have space to work on projects in your kitchen or are you forced to juggle items to get the space that you need? I remember many years ago designing a kitchen in my own former home. I went from just a few feet of countertop to an enormous amount of countertop space. The first few times I cooked in this new space, I found myself cooking and balancing everything within a 2 foot radius, then I realized how much my former kitchen with it’s lack of space was really impacting the way I did things. I quickly adjusted to the new feeling of freedom that I had with more countertop space, and it felt heavenly!

4. Are your appliances outdated? Chances are old appliances are also running up your electric bill. Sometimes updating built in appliances require changes to your cabinetry, so it’s best to look at the plans for the rest of the kitchen before updating and decide what is best for you, your kitchen, your budget, as a whole.

5. Does your kitchen suit your lifestyle? A small, poor functioning space doesn’t lend itself to entertaining. You might try to entertain but find yourself cut off from guests because of your kitchen layout. Are you unable to cook because everyone is jammed into your kitchen? Or perhaps you would love to have a more open space where you could prepare a meal while watching the kids in the living room or have some space at the kitchen counter to oversee kids doing their homework while you prepare dinner. The kitchen is surely the central hub of the home, and a well designed space could ensure that your kitchen is functioning for your lifestyle.

6. Do you like to be in your kitchen? Does it reflect your tastes? Or does your dark dreary kitchen drive you out of the room as quickly as possible. The kitchen should be the heart of the home. It should look and feel good and well as function well. Materials used should combine together to create a cohesive balanced look. All the the materials in your kitchen, flooring, countertop, backsplash should be durable and easy to maintain.

7. Is your current outdated kitchen de-valuing your home? So often clients come to me ready to finally renovate their kitchen because they are getting ready to sell their home, this is usually after years of thinking about a kitchen renovation. They are now ready to sell and finding that their old kitchen is bringing down the value of their home. Most clients wish that they had done a renovation sooner so they had the opportunity to enjoy the renovated space while they were living in the home.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of designing and renovating kitchens for countless clients. Many times I am invited back to to the home a few months, or even years later, usually for a new project. This presents an opportunity for me to actually get to see how my client and their family is functioning in their redesigned kitchen. I observe how the space is being used now in comparison to what I observed on my first initial visit, remembering how disconnected the kitchen was from the family’s needs. It is always amazing to see how a well designed space can improve the function and lifestyle of my clients.

How to know if your kitchen is ready for a renovation.

One of my recent projects.

Gia

Gia Milazzo Smith Interior Designer near Princeton MA
Gia

Interior Designer Gia Milazzo Smith has created homes individually tailored to each client across New England. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including Best of Houzz for multiple years, and one of her showhouses has been published in Coastal Home magazine. Read More About Gia Milazzo Smith.