KITCHEN

REMODEL

9 TIPS HOW TO REMODEL YOUR KITCHEN ON BUDGET

Kitchen is one of the most expensive interior furnishings you may purchase in your lifetime. We have written our blog with 9 key tips to inspire you with our practical advice how to create the most functional and beautiful space where small changes can make lot of difference.

Lenka Marsh, Saint & Noire founder and interior designer has been in the kitchen industry for astonishing 20 years designing and supplying kitchens from many of renowned brands to clients in residential and property development market.

‘‘Great kitchen is like a perfect suit; it’s tailored to your needs, your lifestyle and property. But at some point, you may feel that your kitchen needs updating. At Saint & Noire we work with existing kitchens and helping our clients to find best solution to remodel their space into something unique, functional and on budget.’

Lenka Marsh, Founder & Interior Designer Saint & Noire

  no.1 Budget is the designer

Listing your must-haves and nice-to-haves is great start of the process. Most homeowners during a kitchen renovation are failing to plan and budget. A successful kitchen remodel requires good planning, resourcing the right products and appointing reliable labour.

no.2 Kitchen Triangle

Regardless of how stylish your kitchen looks on the designs which you have selected from Instagram; it won’t be functional if your key appliances are not in correct position and distances.

We are recommending creating ‘a chef’s triangle’ between your preparation, cooking, and refrigeration zones. Installing those three primary work elements close to each other makes the kitchen more efficient, easier, and safer.

no.3 Fitting appliances

When it comes to redesigning your kitchen, measurements are crucial and a one-to-two-inch difference can have detrimental effect on fitting the appliances in, especially refrigeration, ovens, or your washing machine where you must allow for ventilation and clearances for service voids, electrical plugs and plumbing.

no.4 Kitchen Islands

If you have the space for a kitchen island, it’s important to get the design right in the early planning stages as it can play a significant role in your overall scheme. ‘Form follows function’ so you want to make sure that you use it to its full potential.

Ensure it works both as a cooking and entertaining space by changing work surface materials to suit each area specifically, for example, opt for a softened textured wood to split the entertaining area; creating a sushi bar separate from the cooking and preparation area.

no.5 Making work your service voids

One if the trickiest parts of any kitchen is making sure your appliances are installed correctly.

Make sure you allow enough heights between the worktop and flooring, so you have niche large enough to fit any freestanding appliance in. It is also important to make sure that you can open the dishwasher or fridge without handles hitting on other cabinets or open any other appliance without blocking flow in the room.

no.6 Installing flooring + Cabinets

If you decide for a brand-new flooring for your current kitchen there is great variety of materials available- resin, polished concrete, vinyl, porcelain tiles or solid, engineered wood, the choice is yours.

Also order of installation kitchen units + flooring during any refurbishment works is very important. If your cabinets are installed on top of the new floor, engineered wood floor can lose the ability to expand and contract so it may be difficult to remove it in future without damaging the cabinets.

no.7 Painting your cabinets

Painting your existing kitchen cabinets can help you save a lot of money. However, you may regret your decision in a few months’ time as you may not have the professional equipment and correct paint to prep the cabinets properly and the paint might not adhere well. We have a team of painting experts who can advise you on type of paint, whether you would like to have the kitchen fronts hand painted, or spray painted in any colour choice or texture; where sky is the limit.

no.8 Kitchen Designer Tricks

If your kitchen cabinets are made from quality material the easiest and cheapest solution is get your kitchen resprayed in new colour and perhaps change your worktops too. Your colour choices are very important and should always be in timeless neutral palette which emphasises any natural light to visually expand the space.

Using veneer or different texture on wall units, changing door handles, using eclectic tiles, adding grooved panels on islands, or fitting reflective bronze mirror splashbacks will give any monochrome kitchen the ultimate designer look.

no.9 Maximising your storage

When updating or completely refurbishing your kitchen, you want to ensure that you make most of your cabinets to create maximum storage possible.

Using tall section of cabinets storing seasonal items can help you to make useful space for daily necessities in your base units.

Downsizing your appliances will expand your cabinet capacity or even installing drawer packs instead of hinged cabinets can organise your cooking equipment better; helping you to free some worktop space.

Accessories such as magnetic strip up to hang knives safely out the way- or pull-out chopping boards or any other accessories will turn your cooking space into ultimate chef’s kitchen.

If you have any questions regarding kitchen remodel,  please contact us and we will advise and guide you how to achieve your vision.