Kitchen Renovation- Step One
Some great clients of ours have asked us to renovate their kitchen! We have already completed 3 of their bathrooms, their foyer and their family room and since their family room and their kitchen are in the same Great Room, it only makes sense that they would like a better design flow between the two spaces. We love renovating kitchens and we are going to take you through the process as we progress with their project.
Step One
Measure, photograph and take notes on all site conditions that we need to consider for the physical design of the new kitchen. This is where we will ask our client to share any inspiration images, Pinterest Boards and wish lists that they may have for their new space. This is also when we need to first establish a working budget. To be clear, we are not asking how much money you have so we can spend it all, we are simply looking for a number to stay within and not waste our client’s time and money by sourcing unrealistic items that would not fit within the investment that they are comfortable in making. We will work with our clients to create a budget to include design time, contractor and project management fees, millwork, stone, tile, flooring, appliances, plumbing fixtures, lighting, cabinet hardware, accessories and more.
Taking photographs of the existing kitchen space and finding out what works for our clients and what they can’t stand is essential in being able to deliver a new kitchen space that is going to meet all of their needs and design requirements. In this space, we feel that the large wall which divides the kitchen and the dining area blocks off the view, so we are going to eliminate this and create more counter space. Also, we are going to reconfigure the seating at the island so there aren’t four people all shoulder to shoulder and one person will now be on the end for better eye to eye conversations. We are also going to provide more hidden storage so less items will be on the surfaces which will help create a more zen space, less clutter and more organization.
Pictures of the existing Kitchen
After measuring the space and obtaining all of the information we need, we can now start to draw up some concept drawings to get the ball rolling and create the conversation with our clients on what the perfect kitchen to them looks like. We always start by drawing up the existing plan and elevations and we locate the existing pot lights, pendants, switches, appliances and all electrical outlets.
Drawing of the Existing Kitchen on AutoCAD. The PDF link shows a more clear image.
So there you have the very first steps to designing a new kitchen for clients… We typically come up with about 3 different layouts in plan form to propose and to start the discussion. After a client meeting to go over layouts and do necessary mark ups for revisions, we can then get ready to progress to the next steps which will be.
- Appliance Shopping. All of the appliances need to be known so we can locate them, they may have new sizes and electrical requirements.
- Start the talk about finishes and materials.
- Reflected Ceiling Plan for pendants, pot lights, sound system, etc.
- Elevations of all walls to show the base cabinets and uppers and everything in between.
- Start to send out drawing packages to Contractors for quotes and timelines.
We will dive into the above bullet points in our next post – Step Two!
Read STEP TWO HERE
