Kitchen Remodel Ideas

We all know that the housing market sucks right now, but how can we make our homes stand out from the crowd on a budget? It is no surprise to most if I mention a kitchen remodel. What you may not be aware of are some alternative kitchen remodel ideas. Most kitchen remodel ideas are easier than you might think and a lot easier on the wallet.

Any realtor will tell you that a kitchen on average constitutes 15% of a homes value. They would also throw numbers at you in the range of 75-90% return on investment (ROI) for a medium sized kitchen remodel. This all sounds great but money is tight for almost everyone right now. What other kitchen remodel ideas could there be?

The first step is to not assume that places like Lowes and Home Depot are going to offer you the best deal. The reason I say this is because the custom cabinetry market is becoming downright cut-throat. They are willing to offer you a better quality, custom product for close to the same price as the chain stores. Many shops are willing to do the work just to pay for their expenses of keeping the doors open for another month and food on the table in hopes the market will rebound a little further.They will surely have their own kitchen remodel ideas to bring to the table as well.

The second step is to throw out the notion of needing to gut the entire kitchen out and start from scratch. Now that you are entertaining the idea of a custom cabinet shop, you can pick and choose what kitchen remodel ideas to update. A good cabinet shop is able to custom match preexisting colors and stains so new work will blend with old. Some of the most common kitchen remodel face-lift possibilities are as follows:

- Addition or changing of moldings
    Crown Molding
    Base Molding
    Light Rail
- Change out Doors and Drawer Fronts
- Glazing and/or Color Changes
- Addition of Carved Appliques
- Hardware Upgrades
    Knobs
    Hinges
    Softclose Slides and Door Plungers

So even though the housing market still has a long way to go, don't loose an opportunity to get bargain priced upgrades using some of these kitchen remodel ideas. These upgrades will not only increase the value of your home for when you are ready to sell it, but make it more enjoyable until that time presents itself. You are however going to still have to go to Lowes or Home Depot for your appliance upgrades.

-M@

Images borrowed  from move.com.

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