How often should you upgrade your kitchen?
How often should you update your kitchen? If you’re jonesing for a new kitchen, that’s the question on your mind. In most homes, the kitchen tends to be one of the rooms which is used the most. Giving you a place to cook, eat, and socialize, this space has long been a crucial element in a home, and it would be very hard to live without it.
With all of this use, though, rooms like these don’t tend to last quite as long as the others in your home. To help you to get an idea of how long most kitchens will last, this post will be exploring some of the key elements which make them age, giving you an idea of when your kitchen might be done for.
Update Your Kitchen According to Time & Trends
Kitchen decor is a surprisingly large area in the field of design, and there are loads of trends that are always on the move. This means that most kitchens will start to look a little bit dated as time goes on. Keeping a room like this in fashion will be essential if you want to host, while also making you feel better about the room as you use it on a day to day basis. Of course, though, there’s no need to move from a style if you still really like it.
Use & Abuse
Most people will use their kitchen least once a day. Here, they’ll enjoy cooking, with people passing through and using other parts of the space throughout the day. While they are designed to be hardy, this can make the room deteriorate very quickly. After a handful of years, it will be easy to tell that you have used your kitchen so much. And, the chances are likely you’ll become dissatisfied with its condition happy once it becomes very obvious. Cleaning can help with this, but nothing will beat a renovation.
The Environment
The high standards of energy efficiency being achieved today far surpass the standards of your old kitchen appliances. This means that owning washing machines, cookers, and other machines which are getting old can be very bad for the environment, especially when you use them each day. In most cases, enough improvement has been made in this area each decade or so to make it worth upgrading.TechnologyEnvironmental technology isn’t the only advancement being seen in kitchens, though, with loads of other techy gizmos and cooking gadgets which are designed to make life easier hitting the market. Of course, in this sort of field, staying ahead of the kitchen remodeling game can often be expensive. This will be worth it, though, especially when you are able to use your kitchen for jobs which you never thought would have been possible at home.
When Should You Replace Your Kitchen Cabinets?
When Should You Replace Your Kitchen Cabinets?Have you ever had an old car that required constant repairs? Eventually it gets down to the question: does it make more economic sense to get a new car, or continue making repairs? This same conundrum can occur with your kitchen cabinets as they begin to show signs of ageing.
It’s not uncommon for people to start resurfacing their cabinets only to realize it costs a lot more than they were expecting to make their old cabinets look new. Many homeowners begin restoring original cabinets, and get 70% through the project before wishing they had just replaced the cabinets. That doesn’t mean it’s always a bad idea to repair over replace, in fact sometimes it’s smarter to resurface cabinets than to buy completely new ones. Here we explain the difference between cabinets you should replace vs. cabinets you should restore.
Signs to Tell if your Kitchen needs Renovation
To fully determine if your kitchen needs even a FAST KITCHEN REMODELING, you must evaluate its structure and appliances objectively. Cracked tiles, water damage in the sink, filthy and uncleansed cabinets and drawers, and old appliances are signs that your kitchen needs a make-over. There are no general rules in kitchen remodeling, yet it is essential to check these things in your kitchen to confirm if you need to update your place.
These are some of the factors to check to help you fully decide if your kitchen needs a massive change this year.
Your kitchen is outdated
This issue is one of the usual reasons most homeowners decide to remodel their kitchens. If you sense that there are many ways to modernize your kitchen, then this is a good sign your kitchen has to undergo renovation. Updating an already outdated kitchen provides you with modern amenities and some items that are present in contemporary kitchens like a designated coffee area and a more and better storage capacity. Moreover, modernized kitchen means lesser clutter, cleaner lines and details, and neutral color combination. If you see updated kitchen trends that you want or can integrate into your area, all of these will be possible by a kitchen remodel.
You can afford a kitchen renovation project
Everybody wants to have a more appealing or modernized kitchen. Unfortunately, this desire for a newly-furnished kitchen challenges our time, but most of all, our pockets. Kitchen renovation projects are not cheap-it may even require you to spend some of your hard-earned savings to accomplish it.
For those who are not sure if they can afford it for now, why don’t you check your existing equity and determine how much it will you cost to renovate your kitchen first? But if you can spend some amounts of money to furnish your kitchen, feel free to make the most of it!
Your existing kitchen space isn’t functional anymore
They say that change is the only permanent thing in the world, and that goes with your kitchen. Maybe a few years ago, your kitchen fit just for you and your spouse. But as time went by, a new life with either a new career or the children makes your kitchen not working for you anymore. Maybe you will need additional space where anyone can do their stuff like doing homework or socialization. Regardless, whatever you need to make your kitchen more functional can be resolved by a kitchen renovation.
When Do You Need a New Dishwasher?
For many households, dishwashers are indispensable, providing a valuable way to reduce post-meal tasks and improve overall cleanliness. However, dishwashers get old, break, and need replacements during kitchen updates, just like any other appliance.
Modern dishwashers are designed to last around 10 years, but if you start seeing these signs of wear and tear issues before that point, it may be time to invest in a repairman or a new dishwasher:
- Rust on the exterior that can indicate a water leak that isn’t necessarily visible
- Standing water in your dishwasher, indicating a serious clog
- A door that doesn’t properly latch or lock
- Cold dishes following a cycle
- Cracks or damage to the door or frame
- Leaking water on the floor under the unit
- Dishes that are spotty or dirty after a wash cycle
In some cases, a repair or parts replacement can fix these issues, but most of the time, a full replacement is the best option. Replacing a dishwasher will increase energy efficiency and improve the quality of your kitchen cleaning endeavors.
Top Signs Your Cabinets Need To Be Replace
Kitchen cabinets are exposed to more water, steam, and other damaging elements than cabinets in most other parts of your home. Because of all kitchen cabinets must endure, they often need to be replaced before other cabinets in your home installed at the same time. Here are 5 signs you should consider replacing over refacing your cabinets.
Water Damage
Are your cabinets swollen, not properly closing, or showing dark color spots? If yes, your problem might be water damage. Since most kitchen cabinets are crafted from wood, water damage is a likely occurrence. Wood can easily be damaged by water, and in your kitchen there is always a lot of water, especially if you have a leak somewhere.
In some minor instances, water damaged cabinets can be fixed. Here are signs of more serious water damage if the:
- Wood has started to warp.
- Cabinets are bubbling up on the inside or outside.
- Outsides are de-laminating.
- Wood has started to blacken, or otherwise change colors.
- Cabinets show signs of mold.
- Cabinets do not open or close properly.
The first step is always to find and then stop the source of the water from getting into the wood. Next, you want to sufficiently dry out the cabinet. Once dry, the appropriate repairs can be made, if possible. This will include replacing certain parts and bleaching out stains, a process that can take some time and money. You want to be sure that it is possible to repair your cabinets before embarking on the task.
Overall Function Is Frustrating
If the overall function of your cabinets does not work for you, this is another sign that you may want to replace instead of repair. No matter how aesthetically pleasing you refinish your cabinets to look if they do not efficiently function you will still be craving a remodel.
Signs the design of your cabinets could benefit from replacement:
- If your cabinets are hard to access and require removing items in order to reach other items tucked in the back.
- If the cabinets open up all wrong. For instance, if you open 2 cabinet doors at once and they slam into one another.
- The drawers do not open without getting stuck, making an odd sound, or causing some sort of issue. This is a sign of further damage beneath the surface. Simply removing the drawers and refacing them will not fix the problem.
“Soft” Cabinets
Have your cabinets gone soft? Push on the sides of your cabinet walls, do they feel soft at all? If so, this is a sign that your cabinets are badly damaged will soon fall apart completely. The sides of your cabinets are SO important, if they are not in good condition there is no point to waste money making aesthetic changes.
Moldy Cabinets
Mold can grow from so many different surfaces, including your kitchen cabinets. When mold is caught early on it can be cleaned up and stopped, but when mold is left unidentified it will continue to grow and worsen. Not only can mold compromise the general integrity of your cabinets, but also large quantities of mold can hamper you and your family’s health. Mold is usually caused by a water leak somewhere, so at the first sign of mold you should identify the source of water so that the problem does not continue to occur.