Get the Most Value When Remodeling Your Kitchen – Part I

Posted: November 17, 2015

“How much should I expect to spend on remodeling my kitchen?”

This is a great question and answering it will help you streamline your kitchen remodeling decisions.

We answer this question in a few easy steps, and base it on the premise that you wish to obtain the most value from your investment. Let’s examine how to determine a budget for your kitchen remodeling project.

1. Setting expectations – expect to recoup 70-90% of your investment if you sell your home. This number can be greater if your existing kitchen is at the end of its useful life. Also, there is the return factor of enjoyment that you will receive while you are living with your new kitchen – more on this aspect in a later post.

2. Estimate the value of your home and the value of the homes in your neighborhood. You don’t want to over improve your home because it will be hard to recoup the investment if you sell your home. You want the value of your home to reflect the value of the neighborhood.

3. A reasonable budget for your kitchen remodel is to spend 10-20% percent of the value of your home. Spending 10% or less might not be a good investment even though the price tag is lower. Also, it will be difficult to recoup your investment if you spend over 20% of the value of your home in your kitchen. You can expect to spend different percentage amount for home’s that are valued at either the bottom and higher ends of the market. Expect to spend a higher percentage of the home’s value for lower priced homes and expect to spend a lower percentage of the home’s value for homes over $750,000.

4. Strike your budget. Creating your kitchen budget for 15% of the value of your home is a good mark. This allows for some upward movement to include some wish list items – like Wide Plank Floors – without overspending. It also allows for some downward movement without the fear of spending too little and wasting your money on insignificant or low value improvements.

This information will help streamline your decisions by focusing your cabinetry, appliance, plumbing, flooring, countertops and construction work on products and choices that fit your budget. If you’re not sure what selections are appropriate for your budget visit your local kitchen and bath designer and ask for assistance in making selections that are appropriate for your budget. Yes, this means you will need to share your budget number with the designer. It is difficult for a designer to provide you with the best service if they do not know this important piece of information.

By using the Superior Woodcraft blog you can also help narrow down your selections by using the reference library that contains links to many kitchen and bath products. This is a great resource that can help save you time. Completing this first step of your kitchen remodeling project will eliminate wasted time and reduce frustration levels created by evaluating inappropriate selections. Determining your budget will help create a more streamlined and enjoyable process.

And now for some before and after pictures: