Kitchen remodeling projects can be overwhelming, but thankfully there are many tricks of the trade that you can learn well before you even get started! This is amazing news, because it will allow you to know what you need to do first, who to turn to if you are struggling with anything, and how to create the kitchen of your dreams on a budget.

Here is your beginner’s guide to kitchen remodeling:

1. Create Your Budget

The first thing that you need to do before anything else is to create your budget! You cannot even really think of where things will go, what you will buy, and how much larger you want this space until you have that magic number in mind. And then once you do, take at least ten percent of it away! That ten percent will be placed into a contingency fund so that it will cover all those little things that go wrong during the remodeling process.

2. Plan Your Layout and Your Lighting

Hopefully, you can keep your layout basically the same, as it will help you keep your budget in line. However, we understand that you may need to make a few changes to make this space more functional. As you are planning your layout, you will also want to plan your lighting, as that is quite important if you want to see what you are doing in any area of your kitchen.

3. Test for Harmful Substances Before You Start Tearing Things Apart

This is especially important in older homes where asbestos and lead lurk, and it is better to know before you get exposed to it. This is one of those things that you may need your contingency fund to fix.

4. Decide Who Your Contractor Will Be

You might fancy yourself the big DIY person but consider how long kitchen remodels actually take! If you do this on your own in your spare time, you could be looking at months without a kitchen. However, if you find the perfect contractor, you may have your new kitchen up and running in about a month.

5. Obtain Your Permits

Sometimes a contractor will tackle this step for you, so make sure you ask. However, if they do not, then you will need to go and apply for the necessary permits to do the work that you want to do. Skipping this step may mean that you will need to tear everything down in the future.

6. Determine What You are Splurging on and What You are Saving Money on

There are so many places where you can splurge in a kitchen, which is why you will need to determine which splurges are going to enhance this space the most. A zillion dollar stove is definitely not going to make you cook any more than you do if you hate to cook, but a wine cooler may significantly change the ways that you spend your evenings.

7. Choose All Those Finishes

You may know what types of finishes you want in your remodeled kitchen, but it is important to make sure that they are within your budget. Therefore, price them all out and see if there are any changes that you can make, that you will still be happy with, so that you can save your budget.

8. Create Your Timeline

We recommend sitting down with your contractor and creating a timeline of when each step of the project will be completed. It is better to do this rather than a basic end date, as a more detailed timeline will allow you to see if you are on schedule much easier.

9. Purchase Your Items, Finish Hiring the Professionals, and Get to Work

Once you have completed the above eight steps, you will be ready to purchase your products, finish hiring any of the professionals that you need, and get the work started.

There is your beginner’s guide to kitchen remodeling, and while there is so much to do with a project like this, if you follow the steps, you will find that it is easier than you think. And, before you know it, you will be sitting in your brand-new remodeled kitchen.