The Contemporary Kitchen Remodel: 7 Considerations You Shouldn’t Ignore
Bringing your tired kitchen up to date is an exciting project. When it comes to home improvements, nothing is envied more than a new bespoke, contemporary kitchen. Sleek, oozing class and decidedly smug with itself, the contemporary kitchen is an interiors feature not many of us would turn our noses up at.
If you are all set to get started with your kitchen remodel, take a quick peek at 7 of the things we think are really important considerations when you are bringing a contemporary feature into your home. Get your style choice wrong and it could end up being a costly mistake.
- Does a contemporary kitchen suit the overall style of your home?
A contemporary kitchen does work in most properties. Even older properties can weather a contemporary kitchen, especially if the rest of the home’s interiors are up-to-date and reasonably modern. However, there are occasions when the contemporary kitchen stands out like a sore thumb and really shouldn’t be the style of choice. Historic properties do lend more favourably to traditional kitchen styles, as do old-fashioned compact country cottages.
- Are you staying or selling?
If you are remodelling your kitchen purely for your own benefit, and you can be sure you aren’t likely to move in the next 2-3 years, then put your all into making your contemporary kitchen everything you dreamed of and more. However, if you are updating your kitchen just so you can put your home on the market in a reasonable state, you’ll want to keep the cost low, while maximising impact. It’s also good advice to keep the design relatively neutral to appeal to a maximum audience.
- Are you prioritizing style over substance?
It’s easy to get carried away when you get the opportunity to restyle your kitchen. Contemporary kitchens look so good, it’s sometimes easy to forget all about functionality. You just expect modern designs to have cool functions, right? Wrong. A modern kitchen can have as many design faults and as much clunky functionality as any traditional, shaker or other kitchen style. The devil is in the detail.
- Do you need help?
If you really want your kitchen’s function to match its fabulous style, and to hold its value, you might choose to work with a kitchen designer. Contemporary kitchens need as much thoughtful planning as any other home improvement project. It’s one of the areas in the home that benefit hugely from an expert eye.
Investing in a kitchen designer may seem like a costly undertaking, but it is worth every penny if you get the kitchen of your dreams. Cutting corners with kitchen design could cost you more in the long term. Be sure to ask for references and check testimonials so you know you’re working with a reputable kitchen design company.
- Are you playing it too safe?
A lot of contemporary designs are actually fairly uniform, especially off-the-peg versions. White, high-gloss contemporary kitchens are as iconic and modern as you can get. But play the design game too safely and your kitchen could end up looking like hundreds of other contemporary kitchen spaces in hundreds of other homes.
- Does your lifestyle match your kitchen design ideas?
The life you lead should most definitely inform your kitchen design decisions. If you want the kitchen to be the hub of your home, then choose an appropriate design. Make it comfortable and user friendly. If minimalist living is your top priority, make use of every inch for hidden storage space to leave your kitchen clutter-free. If you’re the type that mostly eats out or grabs a takeaway, don’t waste money on high-end appliances that you’ll never use. You won’t need a chef-grade, six-burner stove top!
- Don’t be fooled by awesome pictures of open shelving
Take a look in any high-end kitchen magazine and you’ll likely see streamlined cabinetry, awesome lighting features and cool open shelving with minimal, but very cool displays of art and funky kitchen appliances. Open shelving is bang on trend in the contemporary kitchen.
But, and there’s a very big BUT, how many of us can actually keep them looking orderly and sparsely populated with only the coolest pieces of our kitchen clutter? If you’re not absolutely sure you can keep those open shelves neat, tidy and clutter free, don’t make the mistake of copying glossy magazines. You’ll only end up disappointed.
In summary, plan carefully. Be mindful of your property style and your lifestyle. Don’t play it too safely, and maybe consider using a kitchen designer. Think about functionality, as well as style. Be realistic about matching your lifestyle with the kitchen designs in glossy magazines (open shelving isn’t for everyone). Don’t over-invest if you are moving in less than 2 years.
Good luck!
Passionate about interior design? Check out my e-books:
[ebook_store ebook_id=”16032″][ebook_store ebook_id=”15760″]
