The best times and conversations in any home happen in the kitchen. It’s the room in the house that everyone wants to congregate in and see what’s cooking—literally and figuratively. The kitchen is the heartbeat of every house. But lately, you’ve noticed some peeling paint, funky smells, and no one hanging out and drinking wine in the kitchen while you cook. What gives? Maybe it’s time to make some changes.
Calling a professional remodeling contractor and starting a kitchen renovation is a big job. You’re going to be without your kitchen for a long time. You had better be sure that you want to start the project and are committed to it—otherwise, you will be miserable during the work. To help you out, here are some sure-fire signs you need to update your kitchen.
Not Enough Storage Space
Storage space is always in demand. In a busy home, there is never enough of it. Be it a closet, pantry, or cabinet space, there is one immutable rule: if there’s empty space, it won’t stay that way for long. The kitchen is no exception to this rule. Appliances big and small, pots and pans, dishes, glasses, and food all need somewhere to go. Revamping the kitchen layout can open up some new spaces for storage. A floating island is a good way to create more space.
No Countertop Space
Any home cook will tell you that there’s never enough counter space. Even if there is 400 square feet of counter space, it’s not enough. Only being able to put two dishes and one appliance on the counter means you don’t have enough space. If you have to cook dinner one dish at a time, and constantly shuffle bowls around, you need more counter space. Not having enough countertop space makes cooking a nightmare and leads to pizza night every night.
Outdated or Awful Cabinets
Because there are so many of them in a kitchen, cabinets are the first thing people see. The eye is drawn to them, and they set the mood for the kitchen. If they are 40-years-old, yellowing, and have outdated hardware, they are making your kitchen look old. No matter how new and fancy the oven and refrigerator are, the cabinets are speaking for the entire kitchen. New cabinets will overhaul your entire kitchen’s look.
Horrible Layout
A kitchen should comfortably accommodate more than one person at a time. If it can’t do that, it’s got a horrible floor plan that cannot be defeated. No amount of paint or new cabinets will overcome that critical flaw. Standing back to back in a kitchen, unable to move is a nightmare for anyone. There needs to be natural flow and movement in a kitchen, and everything needs to be accessible. To get rid of a bad layout means starting from scratch and getting that dream kitchen. There’s no way around it. If you’re taking the time to rip out cabinets to reposition them, you might as well upgrade and get new ones. Then the countertops won’t fit anymore, so you’ll need new tops. The sink won’t match the new tops; got to replace that. Ditto for the appliances. It’s obvious that a total gut job is in order here.
Mold and Mildew
Mold and mildew will ruin a kitchen; not to mention, it’s a health hazard. Black mold can cause respiratory illness to anyone that breathes it in. The space under the sink is a prime spot for mold to grow, since it’s dark and wet. You can try to scrub it and clean the area to get rid of it, but there’s no guarantee that it won’t come back. It can be hard to get rid of. Worst of all, that’s only the mold you can see. More mold could be growing in between the back of the cabinet and the wall. The best way to be certain it’s gone is to remove the moldy cabinet or drywall and replace it.
Bad Lighting
Good lighting in the kitchen is essential. You need to see what you’re doing in there, so you don’t add too much salt to the pound cake. Having a kitchen that is too dark will make it unpleasant to be in. You want the kitchen to be a warm gathering place for the whole family. Subtlety is the key to kitchen lighting. You want it to be bright in there, but not like an operating room. Adding under cabinet lights is a sneaky way to bring some light without flooding the area.
New Appliances Don’t Fit
Imagine that your oven breaks and is beyond repair. It’s so old that they don’t make the parts to repair it, and no one is old enough to remember how to fix it even if the parts were available. Now imagine you bring a fancy new oven home, you’re ready to install it, and it doesn’t fit. The new oven or dishwasher is too big for the opening, and no matter what you try, it won’t go in. That is a dreadful sign that your kitchen is out-of-date and desperately needs an upgrade. An appliance not fitting says your kitchen is so old that they improved appliances several times over since it was made.
You Don’t Want to Be There
Probably the biggest sign that you need to update your kitchen is that you don’t want to be in there. Typically, everyone wants to be in the kitchen and around the action. Making dinner for the family or baking cookies with the grandkids is fun and it’s quality time spent. But if you hate your kitchen and how it looks, you won’t want to spend any time in there, and that’s a shame. It doesn’t matter the reason why you don’t want to be in there. It could be that it’s old and decrepit, ugly to look at, or the appliances don’t work; your reasons are your reasons. Make some small changes at first and see how that goes. If your position on the kitchen hasn’t changed, go bigger and change more until you have a kitchen you want to be in.
