7 Steps And Helpful Hints for Your Kitchen Remodel

Step 1
Find your design style. Pinterest is a great place to get ideas but it's important to think about how you prefer to use your kitchen and what your personal style is like, and what the rest of your home looks like too. You wouldn't want a completely modernized kitchen in a log cabin 20 miles from the closest neighbor. Aristokraft offers a great tool to help you find your design preference.

Step 2
Define your budget. Kitchen remodels can be fairly simple and cost-efficient or they can get expensive quickly. Use this renovation cost calculator to help you stay on track and determine how much each area of your remodel will cost. 

Step 3
Design your room. Sure you may want all open upper shelving and black lower cabinets but have you thought about how that will work with your lifestyle? Will you need to go buy all new (matching) dishes for your open upper shelves? Will that fit into your budget? Do you have time to dust those lower black cabinets off once a week (if not more, depending on who you live with)?

Some helpful hints that we've found we really like over the years: put the silverware drawer near the dishwasher (also, include a dishwasher), put at least one cabinet between the kitchen sink and stove if they're on the same wall so you have some counter space when you're cooking, and always remember the "triangle" when placing your stove sink and refrigerator in your kitchen space. 

Step 4
​Pick out your cabinets. There are a lot of things that go into picking out kitchen cabinets. You will need to make a lot of decisions and we highly suggest using a designer from the beginning. They have experience with these products and know what has worked for their customers in the past and what has not. You have to choose how your cabinets are constructed, what wood they're made out of (even if you want painted cabinets), the finish, whether or not you want a glaze, the hardware, what organization will be in each cabinet, if you want moulding or not, and all of the other little details. Don't get overwhelmed, just call us and set up an appointment with Jodie. ;) 

Step 5
Pick out your countertops. Now that the cabinet decisions from step 4 are over, you can pick out a countertop. You have a lot to choose from in this area as well. You will want to pick out your material first and can choose from laminate (the most cost efficient), solid surface, marble, granite, or quartz (the least cost efficient but the biggest wow factor). These all have their own specific finishes as well. 

Step 6
Accessorize! It's time to pick out a backsplash (if you want one), a sink (Blanco Silgranit are our favorites), a faucet, and appliances if you don't already have those. 

Step 7
Enjoy your newly remodeled kitchen! Send us photos of your project and comment below some of the things you struggled with so we can write more and help educate others to avoid them! 

​-Hillary Whitman

Stone Gray Purestyle Laminate in Lillian from Aristokraft