Creating Your Wish List and Understanding What is Most Important to You
When it comes time to describe your dream kitchen to a designer or remodeling specialist it can be difficult. Luckily there is an online tool to help, Houzz.com. This online community of homeowners, architects, designers and remodeling experts includes photos from around the world allowing you to browse and get inspired! It’s simple, when you see something you LOVE all you need to do is save that photo to an idea book. Before you know it you will have a collection of photographs that will demonstrate your sense of style and give you the ability to describe your dream kitchen without saying a word.
Transitional Kitchen Design by Case Design/Remodeling
Creating separate albums for each kitchen component is ideal. Think about your favorite colours, materials you love and your style preferences. Use these keywords to search houzz or google images for items if you are not sure what you are looking for.
- Kitchen Styles; is your style modern, contemporary, traditional or transitional?
- Cabinets; will you reface the existing cabinets? or will you replace with new maple, alder, cherry or oak cabinets?
- Countertops; will your budget allow for granite, quartz or corian?
- Kitchen Islands; will your island be solely for preparing meals or will it work as additional storage?
- Backsplash; what kind of statement will you make? will you use a mosaic, brick or herringbone pattern? Will it be done in glass, stone or a porceiln tile?
- Flooring; will you keep and refinish the existing floor or replace with new ceramic tiles, hardwood, vinyl or laminate?
- Appliances; think about your stove, range hood, fridge, dishwasher and microwave, will they be white, black or stainless steel? maybe it’s time to treat yourself by adding that wine fridge you have always wanted
- Lighting; how will you set the mood, will it be with pendant lights, under cabinet lighting, pot lights or a beautiful chandelier? What lights will you want to set on dimmers?
- Sinks; do you prefer stainless steel, cast iron, composite or fireclay? will the profile be an under mount, apron or drop-in sink?
- Faucets; what finish will you select? brushed nickel, stainless steel, polished chrome or brass? what features will you want included; a pull-down, touch-free, extended-reach or a pull-out faucet?
- Hardware; the material and style options are endless with kitchen hardware, most standard cabinet pulls and knobs come in different varieties of chrome, brass, nickel, black, white, copper and bronze.
- Paint Colours; selecting the paint colour is totally up to you. If you are not sure Our designers will provide excellent advice to selecting the best paint colour.
Getting Started With Your Kitchen Remodel
Modern Kitchen Design by Case Design/Remodeling
Now that you have a clear understanding of what you want for your new kitchen it’s time to bring in a professional Halifax kitchen company to provide expert advice. Scheduling a design consultation with Case Design/Remodeling is complementary and we don’t just design kitchens we build them as well! We select the best project developer suited for your project and schedule them to visit you at your home. During the consultation they will get more familiar with the space by taking site measurements and photos then they will sit down with you discus your goals, timeline and budget. They will also go over our process and show you photographs of our work. If you decide that Case Design/Remodeling would be a good fit to design and remodel your kitchen a written agreement and development fee will be charged for 3D renderings, preliminary design and estimate. Your project developer and assigned designer will collaborate on a preliminary design and estimate to present to you at our Halifax Office. Once you have selected the design of your choice what’s next?
Meeting your Designer to Finalize Material Selections
There will be so much to discuss when you first meet with the designer assigned to your kitchen remodel. Make sure your idea book is full of inspiration, then simply share it with your designer. Once your designer has reviewed your Houzz idea book, they will follow up with you to confirm your goals and make sure they are on the right path with the design layout and material selections. Next our office will call you to schedule a meeting at our office to present multiple material selections for you to decide on. After carefully pre-planning, you can start adding practical touches to your preliminary kitchen plans. Your designer is there to help you make the right decisions and to ensure your project stays on time and on budget. Planning for a kitchen remodel is a complex affair, during the material selections phase your designer is happy to answer any questions you have related to material options for your kitchen renovation.
Finalizing the Details to your Kitchen Remodel
Once your final material decisions have been finalized our team is ready to narrow down total costs and prepare your contract documents to present at the next meeting held at our Halifax office. Your final contract will include everything you need to know about your remodeling project; the scope of work, work schedule, final selections, estimated start date, total cost, design and renderings. Finally the REAL excitement begins, preparing for the build!
For tips on preparing for a home remodeling project check out this blog post. If you are new to our site and would like us to give you a call to discuss your project, please sign up for a free design consultation by clicking here.