Light at the End of the Tunnel: How I Learned to Do a Proper Kitchen Remodel
By Simon Harris
I have lived in my home for over 50 years now, and during this time I have had an occasion to remodel our kitchen three times. Along the way I have learned many things -- and made many mistakes. I'd like to share a few of these learning experiences with you; hopefully you won't make the same mistakes I did.
My first kitchen remodel I did many years ago, when I was quite young. Full of life and vigor, I thought I was up to doing the task myself. So, without consulting anyone else, I began by tearing down our existing kitchen cabinets -- I thought all I had to do was run out and purchase some unfinished kitchen cabinets, splash some paint on them and I would be all set. How wrong I was! I ended up with a big mess on my hands (I guess you knew that would happen, didn't you?)
Anyhow, I managed to salvage the situation as best as I could -- but I was left with a less-than-perfect looking set of cabinets. And because we were on a limited budget, it was many years before I could afford to fix up the kitchen again. In the meantime I had to be content with improving the appearance of my kitchen by buying some trendy collectible kitchen plates and a new set of kitchen cookware. How I longed to have our old painted kitchen cabinets back!
My next attempt at a kitchen remodeling was done about 20 years ago. I found out that our church was going to remodel their kitchen and dispose of their metal kitchen cabinets. Thinking this would be a real bargain, I made arrangements to purchase them. Everything looked like it was going to work out just great, until I brought those metal kitchen cabinets home and found that they would not fit properly in my existing kitchen space -- I measured incorrectly! Well, I managed to jury-rig a plumbing change (the existing under-counter plumbing was the problem) and had to go out and purchase a cheap discount kitchen faucet kit -- it looked really tacky, and those used metal cabinets had really seen better days. Again, I had to put up with something that just didn't look right.
About two years ago I decided I had enough. I went to a local dealer and they had a neat computer-based, interactive kitchen design software program that allowed me to fool around and try out different types of kitchen designs, different woods, etc. In about an hour and a half I found a kitchen design that looked super-duper. At that point, I let the professionals take over -- they ordered everything I would need, and then came out to the house and installed at all over the course of a weekend. They brought everything with them, and cleaned up the area just fine -- the only thing I had to do was purchase a few kitchen cabinet organizers to stick inside the kitchen cabinets.
So what have I learned these past years? First of all, don't over-estimate your abilities. Secondly, don't take drastic actions that can't be reversed (such as demolishing your existing cabinetry or ripping up your kitchen floor) without laying a lot of thought and planning before hand. Third, be humble enough to consider if you might be better off, in the end, by spending more to have a professional take care of everything for you. If I had it to do all over again my recommendation would be: Unless you remodel kitchens yourself for a living, this is one project that's best left to the pros.
About the author
Simon Harris owns and operates http://www.kitchen-guy.com Give Your Kitchen A Makeover from http://www.FreeArticlesAndContent.com
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