Monday, May 12, 2008

Kitchen Remodeling Costs

Everyone would like to have their dream kitchen, but the reality is much different than this. The cost of kitchen remodeling is always likely to be an obstacle to getting just the kitchen that you want. You might dream of having a flat top grill like used by professionals, marble countertops, luxurious lighting at just the right level, and all kinds of other fancy things, but let's face it – most of us, if not all of us, have to keep kitchen remodeling costs down. We are all faced with having to remodel the kitchen on a budget. This is no reason why you can't get just the kitchen that you would like, however, or at least something reasonably close to it. If you plan carefully, kitchen remodeling costs should be no obstacle at all, and that is a fact.

Of course one of the most expensive parts of kitchen remodeling cost is hiring the services of a professional, so if you can eliminate this expense, you can eliminate a good portion of your costs. The fact is that, doing it yourself, no matter what your talking about, almost always takes down the kitchen remodeling costs as long as you can do it correctly the first time. You have to know first if you are handy around the house and good at putting things together before you undertake such a project, however. It might save kitchen remodeling costs in theory, but there is no point in taking on a major construction project if you are only going to fail at it and have to hire someone to do it all over again. This is not a way to save costs of kitchen remodeling.

Of course, the biggest factor in kitchen remodeling costs, is the hardware that you buy. If you can buy cabinets direct, as well as buying wholesale countertops and stoves, you'll save a whole lot of money. If you can buy or this equipment used or second hand, you can save even more money. You should take the time to look around your neighborhood and see what used hardware is available. More and more, suppliers are offering all kinds of secondhand equipment to keep down kitchen remodeling costs because the environmental, as well as the economic advantages of using secondhand stuff is obvious. One of the best things about getting this secondhand stuff is that it might allow you to make a kitchen you would have never been able to even dream of without it.

Kitchen Cupboards

For Christmas this coming winter, I'm getting myself a big present. I have decided that I am tired of complaining about and staring at my horribly outdated kitchen cupboards. When we bought our home about six years ago, my only hesitation in buying the house was the fact that the kitchen had not been updated in many years. The kitchen cupboards were hideous. They were large and had plenty of storage, but incredibly outdated. We had every intention of tearing them out and getting new ones within a year but we always found something else that required financial dedication. This year, I'm getting my new kitchen cupboards.

I secretly went to Home Depot and looked around. With the help of some salespeople, I found some incredibly modern kitchen cupboards that may be in my price range. I took some notes, wrote down prices and colors and drove home to talk to my husband about my need. Surprisingly, he didn't have a fit over my idea of getting kitchen cupboards from Santa this year. He wanted to know details and pricings, what my ideas and intentions were. I showed him some brochures that had various textures and photos of modern kitchen cupboards and he began to choose out some that he was in favor of. Unfortunately, his idea of modern kitchen cupboards and my ideas didn't quite work out. We attempted to compromise but after I tried to get him to accompany me back to Home Depot, he reluctantly agreed. Afterall, you cannot pick kitchen cupboards out from a brochure. He needed to touch them and be able to see inside of them. I wanted him to fall in love with the ones that I was in love with.

Despite the fact that I knew Home Depot had a nice selection of kitchen cupboards on display, he wanted to shop around and compare. As long as I was able to get a new modern kitchen for Christmas, I was not opposed to spending a little extra time shopping around. I was thrilled that he even wanted to be a part of the process. Finally, after visiting a few local stores and some chain stores, we ended up back at Home Depot. We did compromise and both agree on some kitchen cupboards that would make our kitchen look completely new and much brighter. They were spacious and attractive. I tried to tell him that we needed new countertops to match the new kitchen cupboards but that idea didn't make it too far. I was perfectly content signing the paperwork to have everything delivered and installed within a few weeks. Since Home Depot had what we were looking for, Santa wouldn't have to figure out a way to get kitchen cupboards down through our chimney.