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Find a Contractor and Create the Custom Kitchen of Your Dreams
By Alison Markham, Broker-Associate, GRI, Realtor® | February 20, 2008
Creating a custom kitchen in your remodeling or new home plans is a major task. A custom kitchen requires careful planning of many details in several different areas. Getting started begins with taking what’s in your head and putting it onto paper. It needs to meet all the possible uses you may have for it. This will include activities such as cooking, dining, and socializing. Considering your home’s style along with your budget will also help you establish a plan.
While this may sound like a large order, a thorough plan can ultimately bring you the results you want. Begin by browsing and saving ideas from magazines, the Internet and any other resources you find appealing. Start a file to save all the pictures and specifications as well as all the cabinet, appliance and flooring information.
It’s a good idea to establish a budget (how much you’re willing to spend) before you actually have the plans drawn. Without this kind of planning, you may have major expense surprises in the middle of building your kitchen. As you budget, the goal is to spend your dollars on what is important to you
Once you’ve gathered enough ideas and information, and established a budget it’s time to begin planning your custom kitchen.
Custom Kitchens
Every kitchen must begin with a floor plan. This floor plan must set the “triangle” of your kitchen. The kitchen triangle is composed of three work areas: food storage, food preparation and clean up. How these areas are designed and placed in conjunction with each other sets the stage for the functionality of your kitchen.
Combine a well-drawn plan with styles and accent pieces to display your own unique style and tastes and your custom kitchen will become a successful reality.
Many Internet sites offer virtual planning that allows you to construct an image of your proposed custom kitchen designs. By creating more than one plan using these virtual designers, you get great opportunities to compare, evaluate and combine solutions to create near perfect custom kitchens. It will also allow you some time to look at what you’ve created so you have exactly what you want before your construction begins.
Finding the right contractor for your project and communicating your plans ensures the contractor understands your needs, style, and desires before the project starts. It will also help you get both accurate pricing and a better estimate of the project timeline from your contractor and will minimize any problems that may arise during the construction phase.
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