Dear CJ,

We recently purchased an older home in a great community. We got it for a great price too. Although it has been well cared for we know we want to renovate the kitchen & bathrooms. Eventually we would also like to decorate all the rooms to our style.

Since it’s not in our budget to do all the rooms at once we want to start with the kitchen first. We know this will be a big undertaking so we want to be prepared.

Do you have a checklist for a complete kitchen design that we can follow?

Best Regards,

Tracey L.

Dear Tracy,

I’m so glad you reached out to me. A complete kitchen design is one of the best improvements you can make to your home. As they say, it is the heart of the home. It’s where you gather with family & friends. It’s the space that fuels us, literally & figuratively.

BUT…it’s also the one that is the most inconvenient when under renovation. SO you need to have a clear checklist of what you need & what you need to do. The better prepared you are the smoother the process will be.

Here are the 10 components for your kitchen design checklist.

Appliances

Selecting your appliances should be the first item on your checklist. They are the meat & potatoes of your kitchen design. Everything else will be built around them. So starting here is key.

You have probably already been dreaming about your favorite cooktop or range. Or maybe it’s the idea of having a double oven. I know for me it was. I designed my entire kitchen around my 48” black Viking range. Or maybe for you, it’s a built-in refrigerator that gets you excited.

Whichever appliance it is it’s important to do your research. Appliances are like buying a new car. It’s a purchase you’ll have for a long time. Your appliances will be your constant companions. You want to be sure you’ll get along & bring out the best in each other.

Reviews are helpful but subjective. You can’t always rely on them. This is where it might be a good investment to sign up for Consumer Reports. Over the years many of my clients have used Consumer Reports to make their appliance purchases & been very happy with their selections. Do your homework ; ) & it will pay off.

Cabinetry

Selecting & designing your cabinet layout should be next on your checklist. This will no doubt be your largest purchase. Even if you select something simple in design, the fact is that it makes up the bulk of your kitchen. The cabinet design will take the longest to plan for & finalize. It’s all customized so you don’t want to rush but do know cabinets have the longest lead time. For some vendors it could be as quick as 6-8 weeks but some will be as long as 8-10 weeks.

Before you start looking for cabinets, take photos of the interiors of your current cabinets. This will help the kitchen designer understand how to make the improvements you need to help you access the cookware & utensils you use often. Your pots & pans can tell the story. The more decisions you make before meeting with the kitchen designer the sooner you can check this one off your list.

The goal is to create a layout that will make cooking a dream & not a chore.

Food for thought before you meet with a kitchen designer….

• Do you want painted or stained cabinets? Light or dark?

• Know what door style you prefer. Simple slab style doors & the shaker style will be the most economical. Raised & recessed panels, applied molding & other details will add to the cost.

• You will also be selecting whether you want inset , partial or full overlay doors. Partial overlay will be the least expensive but maybe you prefer the look of inset.

• Do you want a peninsula that floats off of the main counters or a freestanding island?

• Think of the flow you need for working in the kitchen. Is it generally just you or do you work as a team. For multiple users, you’ll want to be sure the spacing between your perimeter & island is 42” or possibly a little more depending on your circumstances. A sole user can get by with 36'“.

• Pullout shelves are great but it’s important to know that you do lose usable storage space in the cabinet. Maybe you want them in key places & can get by without them in other areas.

• Would glass doors work nicely in your design somewhere? Or do you need more practical storage throughout?

Lighting

Next on your checklist for a complete kitchen design is lighting. The reason I think lighting is the next priority over plumbing is that its likely you’ll want to make changes to your existing lighting plan. I find this to be the case for most of the kitchens I design. Lighting is so important for all the functions that take place for the many ways you use your kitchen. Your lead time for lighting is usually 2-4 weeks if in stock.

The key is layers of light. My earlier post, Home Lighting for Your Health & Well-Being will help guide you on what is appropriate for your kitchen.

Whether you decide to purchase LED fixtures or fixtures that accept incandescent lighting be sure to stay consistent within your kitchen. This will give you a cohesive illumination throughout. Refer to my earlier post Healthy Home Lighting for more in depth information on LED vs Incandescent.

A few tips before you start shopping…

• Know what finish you would like to accent with. Brushed Nickel, Polished Nickel, Satin Brass, Oil Rubbed Bronze. This is the jewelry to dress up your look. Make it your statement piece.

• If you currently have kitchen fixtures take note of what you do & don’t like about them. Do they provide the right amount of light? Is the size appropriate for the area? It’s a starting point to work with. Sometimes knowing what you don’t like is a good place to start.

Plumbing

Now it’s time to select your plumbing fixtures. The kitchen is much easier than a bathroom. For the most part you’ll be selecting a sink & faucet. A few of other items to consider are a pot filler to mount behind your range & a second sink & faucet for your island. You can play off of the finish of your appliances or lighting. Either one will work nicely.

Kitchen plumbing fixtures will generally have a 2-4 week lead time.

Backsplash Tile

Your backsplash is next on your checklist, before your countertops. It’s like choosing your top first then the pants to go with it. You can expect tile to have a 2-4 week lead time, but sometimes longer.

There was a time when a backsplash was simply a practical & functional element of the kitchen. A protection to keep spaghetti sauce from splattering & staining your walls. BUT NOW….although it still does exactly that, it’s a statement piece. This is a place to show your creative side or your organized side. Whatever it is, have fun adding something new.

If your brain functions better on the Left Side, opt for a simple, clean geometric. You can achieve great results with classic subway or an updated look like this from The Tile Shop. Glass, Stone, Porcelain are all great choices. Be sure that you ask questions about clean-ability and maintenance. Glass & Porcelain will be easier to maintain and clean than Natural Stone because the are less porous.

New Countertops

Next on your checklist is countertops. Clients often wonder why this isn’t further up on the checklist. In most cases you’ll find what you want in a local warehouse. Once you select & purchase your countertop material it won’t be measured until your cabinets are installed. The turn around time at that point is generally 2-2 1/2 weeks.

The most popular choices are Quartz (engineered stone) & natural stones like Granite & Quartzite (the most expensive.) This will be your second largest expense. You can select Quartz (engineered stone) by looking at samples. However, take it a step further and ask the fabricator to show you photos of projects they have used that particular choice before. Sometimes you’ll see some nice veining on the sample yet be surprised that there are some areas that have none. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it’s nice to know what to expect ahead of time.

When it comes to natural stone you definitely want to take it a step further and select your own slabs. From there you’ll want to have them tape off the sections to show you how the cuts will layout. If there is an area of the stone you really don’t like ask them to work around it. Some fabricators will provide you with a computer rendering on how the stone will line up on your counters. It’s important to find a quality fabricator that will provide you with the best tools to understand how the end results will look. It’s too large of an investment not to. You should be thrilled with the end results.

If stone isn’t in your budget, then laminate is affordable and can pull off a great look. When we were doubling the size of our 1893 Farmhouse back in 2002, as you might imagine we had exceeded our budget. At the last minute I chose to do laminate kitchen countertops instead of granite. I had the intention of replacing the counters in the future. 18 years later, I still have the original laminate counters. I just haven’t been able to justify replacing them because they still look good. My base cabinets are black to match my Viking 48”, black range. The counters are Wilsonart Blackstar Granite in the shiny finish. I can’t begin to tell you how many people, including appraisers, have mistaken them for the real thing. I know it’s crazy. My point is, that if solid stone is not in your budget, then consider laminate. There are some surprisingly beautiful options for a quarter of the price.

Have fun expressing yourself.

Flooring

While your cabinets are on order this is a good time to decide on your flooring. Will you refinish existing wood floors? Will you replace them with new wood or tile? Whatever you decide, be sure you have the flooring on location before any demolition is started. You want a smooth transition from start to finish with as little downtime as possible.

Even your outdated golden oak floors can be revived by having them sanded and stained a darker tone. This article has some great inspiration photos of how your outdated oak floor can look. A sample board is helpful in selecting a stain color, however, wood varies & has a mind of it’s own. Have your flooring expert show you a few options on your floor once they have been sanded down. Recheck it before they apply the finish coat so you can decide if the color is rich enough or whether it needs an additional coat of stain.

Another option would be to remove & replace your existing golden oak with a prefinished engineered wood floor. There are a variety of species and stain colors to choose from. Some of the benefits to this are that you know exactly what you’re getting and it has a factory finish that will wear longer than a finish done on site.

Some of you might prefer the look and functionality of a porcelain or vinyl tile. Make sure you do your research to be confident with your selection. Put it through the test by borrowing multiple samples to try. This might not be your most expensive selection but it is one of the hardest to replace if you grow tired of it. You want something that will wear well.

The best way to weigh out your decision is to bring out a flooring expert that will educate & guide you on your final decision.

Cabinet Hardware

Before your cabinets arrive be sure to select & order your cabinet hardware. You’ll want to install them right after the countertops are installed.

This is another place to express yourself. Select a finish that coordinates with your lighting. I like to use knobs on doors & handles on drawers. You want to pick something that works with your style but also that functions well. Something that feels good to your hands. Be careful to avoid handles that go beyond the posts. This type tends to catch the loops on your jeans.

Furniture

Now it’s time to really have some fun. TIME TO PICK THE FURNITURE! I love this part. This is where you add the comfort to the place you’ll get to enjoy your yummy creations. You have time for this while the cabinets are being built, but don’t drag your feet too much. You’ll want to have a complete kitchen design as soon as possible.

Accessories

Last, but never least are accessories. Plants are always a great choice & can be changed out from season to season. For more on accessories be sure to check out my earlier post What to Put On Kitchen Countertops for Decoration. Get this one checked off your list. You want your accessories to own their real estate before it gets borrowed by a pile of papers.

I hope this checklist get’s you off to a great start for a complete kitchen design.

If you’re still struggling, consider my Local or Online Design Services!

I’m here to help!

Your Home Loving Expert,

CJ