In the days before heating and electricity got into our homes, the kitchen was the central room to spend time in. It was warm, inviting, and had food.
Even today, the kitchen is a place where many hours are spent preparing delicious, healthy meals for your family. It’s a room where many memories are made, which is why your kitchen should look and feel amazing. If your kitchen isn’t functioning well or looks outdated, it may be time for a renovation.
But remodeling a kitchen isn’t exactly cheap. An average kitchen remodel currently costs between $13,386 – $38,329.
To help you start your kitchen remodeling project as soon as possible, we wanted to share some of our favorite tips for budgeting the cost of a kitchen remodel. Keep reading to learn what steps to take.
1. Decide What Your Goals are Before You Budget for the Cost of Your Kitchen Remodel
Take a look at your kitchen and decide what your goals are before you decide what your kitchen renovation costs should be. Make sure that while you’re deciding what’s most important to change, you keep in mind that merging form and function will work best for your needs.
Perhaps your kitchen functions well and just needs an updated look. Making these types of changes will help keep the average kitchen remodel cost down. However, if your kitchen isn’t functioning well, your cost will be higher.
2. Determine How Often You Use Your Kitchen
While many households still consider their kitchen to be the hub of most of their activity, that’s not always true. Perhaps you prefer to order take-out most nights or have a relationship only with your microwave.
In this case, it’s not worth it to spend thousands of dollars on a remodel for a kitchen you barely use. Instead, do the minor amount in order to make the home more sellable when you’re ready to leave.
However, if you and your family love cooking and spending time in your kitchen, then it’s worth making the extra investment to remodel the kitchen. Do you just eat there or do you entertain guests as well? Your budget should reflect the amount of time spent in the kitchen and what types of activities are performed there.
3. Do Some Research On Kitchen Remodel Costs
Before you determine a budget, do some research to find out how much everything costs. See if there are ways to lower your budget by choosing different options.
Perhaps you need new kitchen cabinets. Understand that materials vary depending on their quality. You can lower your costs by choosing less costly materials.
The more you’re aware of what everything truly costs, including the price of labor, the better you can allocate your kitchen remodeling budget.
To save money, opt for materials that are durable but not as expensive. If you’re hiring a kitchen remodeling company, have them help you do a breakdown of the costs of labor versus the cost of materials.
Also, if you’re handy and feel you can do some of the labor yourself prior to the renovation, that will help to offset costs. Just make sure to coordinate that with your any contractors you may hire, as some may not allow sharing the project or certain parts of it.
Do a Google search on how much it costs to remodel a kitchen to see what your options are. You may find crafty ways to save on costs just by spending extra time doing research.
You’ll also find great ideas you can incorporate into your own kitchen remodeling project.
4. Plan Your Budget for Unexpected Costs
When you’re planning your budget, always make room for unexpected costs.
Perhaps when your refrigerator is removed, you may find some water damage underneath it. That may cost extra to get fixed.
Maybe the electrical wiring in that area of your home was done incorrectly when you moved in and it’s now a safety hazard. Reserving some extra budget for these unforeseeable items, as well as staying flexible, can help you keep your sanity during your kitchen remodeling project.
Also, make sure you stay flexible with your options but always stay firm with your budget. Maybe you won’t get the oven you’ve always wanted but the trade-off is a great-looking kitchen and no debt.
5. Factor in How Long You Plan to Stay in the Home
While the average cost of a kitchen remodel is $22,648, there are several factors that must be weighed before you decide how much to spend.
If you aren’t planning on staying in your home for longer than five years, it may not be worth it to spend a ton of money on a kitchen remodel. Instead, it may be worth it to do the bare minimum in order to get a better return when you’re ready to sell your home.
If you are moving within five years, you also have to determine whether or not you can recoup the costs of your remodeling job when you go to sell your home. Make sure you choose materials that will appeal to a large group of people since kitchens are a big selling point for homes.
If you do plan to stay in your home indefinitely, you have more leeway on how you want to design and how much you want to spend. However, you also don’t need to do everything right away.
If your budget is limited, consider doing part of the kitchen remodel now and then saving some of it for next year. There’s nothing wrong with breaking the project into phases. Just make sure that the splitting doesn’t cause too much extra overhead.
6. Use the 5% to 15% Rule
The 5 to 15 percent rule is a guideline that the building and remodeling industries have used for years. It’s a great way to get a sense of what a reasonable price to spend on your remodeling project is.
To use this rule to determine the average kitchen remodel cost for you, take a look at the current value of your home. Your kitchen remodeling cost should amount to no less than 5% and no more than 15% of your home’s value.
Most people choose to spend about 8%.
Spending less than 5% of the value of your home typically gives you very limited options. Spending more than 15% may force you to take on extra debt and you may not recoup those costs when you go to sell your home.
7. Find the Best Company to Work With
Part of keeping your kitchen remodel costs down is by working with a company that is willing to work with your budget. But you also need to make sure they do quality work. Check their references and reputation before you work with them.
Make sure they’re willing to sit down with you to discuss your budget and will answer all your questions.
We’re committed to providing our clients with quality service that’s always within your budget. To learn more about our kitchen remodeling services, contact us today at (503) 208-3687.
