Budgeting for a kitchen remodel can be difficult. Costs can vary based on the existing value of your house and the improvements you’d like to make. Here at Springs, we expect a major kitchen remodel to cost anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of the total value of your home. If you want to put a dollar figure on budgeting for a kitchen remodel, we usually start in the $45,000 to $55,000 range. When you’re dealing with that kind of dollar figure, the less left to chance the better. Proper planning for a kitchen remodel starts with your budget.
Springs Home Improvement doesn’t just have tips for budgeting, but also years of experience in helping Colorado Springs homeowners and property managers with interior remodels, including bathroom and kitchen remodels. We work with you to keep costs reasonable without cutting corners. Here are some things worth considering as you plan your budget and your project scope of work.
Why Are You Remodeling?
With a kitchen remodel, your first consideration should be why you’re remodeling, and who you’re doing it for. If you’re staying in your home, plan your design and choose your materials to best fit your lifestyle. If you’re renovating to sell, however, it pays to consider design trends and potential buyers. A kitchen remodel can have a significant impact on your home’s value.
Determine What You Can Afford
No kitchen remodel done by a respectable contractor is ever “cheap.” If you want somebody who won’t cut corners, you’ll need to budget accordingly. Don’t forget “hidden” costs, like going out to eat during your remodel. You can always keep a coffee maker in the living room or set up a temporary kitchen with fridge, microwave, and toaster. However, it’s likely that you won’t be cooking as normal for some time.
Plan a Cushion
It’s important to leave a cushion of about 20% of your total kitchen remodel budget to hedge against changes and cost overruns. Water damage, rot, or something as simple as changing your mind about the fixtures you chose can all add time and expenses to your remodel. During our design phase, we invest significant time in examining the possibilities and impact of the remodel on adjoining areas, like flooring, lighting, paint, or trim work to ensure the scope of work meets your desired outcome and budget. Set aside some money for surprises, and, if you come in under budget, it’s a pleasant surprise. You just don’t want to come up short.
Know Where the Money is Coming From
Just as important as budgeting for a kitchen remodel is knowing where your money is coming from. You may have significant savings you’ve set aside explicitly for a remodel. Or, you may decide to borrow against a retirement account or to take a home equity loan. Each of these approaches has its advantages and drawbacks. Here at Springs, we proudly offer financing through a partnership with Hearth. However, we also recommend a talk with your CPA or financial advisor to determine what’s best for you.
Figure Out Your Priorities
Not every kitchen remodel involves gutting your entire kitchen and rebuilding from scratch. You may have replaced your appliances in the last few years and could be perfectly happy with them. Others may be looking at a growing family or changing priorities and deciding to either expand or downsize accordingly. Knowing what you need, what you want, and the things you can do without will make budgeting for your kitchen remodel that much easier.
Gather Your Information
Once you’ve established your rough budget and your scope of work, put it all together. A spreadsheet works well because you’ll be able to keep things organized. It’s important to list all of the possibilities so your kitchen remodel is exactly what you want. Most people who have regrets following a remodel have them because they went without a desired aspect due to worries about budget caused by a failure to plan, when, in reality, the overall cost of their project was low enough to accommodate everything they wanted. But even a list and numbers scrawled on a legal pad is better than nothing. Gathering everything in one place helps you identify things you may have overlooked.
Talk to Your Remodeling Contractor
Now that you’ve done all of the above, it’s a good idea to talk to a remodeling contractor. Your initial kitchen remodeling consultation with Springs Home Improvement is not a cost estimate. We’ll go over your wants and needs and listen to your budget. We’ll step in to identify items you’ve missed, and help you to identify areas where your numbers could use revision. Issues may arise that could add to your final cost, but we can often offset these with different material and fixture choices. You don’t want any surprises to appear. Neither do we. By working together, we can keep your scope of work and budget in harmony.
If we’re a good fit for each other, we’ll start with a design proposal to accurately visualize every aspect of your project. We’ll also provide a written fixed bid. You can find more details on our process here. If you’re curious about what we can do for you, we encourage you to reach out. Springs Home Improvement has created exceptional kitchens for hundreds of your neighbors here in Colorado Springs. Let us help you next.
