I’m sure you’ve experienced this: you notice a pesky stray thread sticking out of your favorite t-shirt, your go-to gym shorts, or your standard athletic socks and you pull it, hoping for a quick and easy break-off…

You grasp it firmly and give it a tug, aiming to break it off and solve the nagging issue at hand. But, as you pull, the string unravels itself from its intended location and function and you find yourself pulling and pulling, attempting to find the end of this seemingly never-ending thread! ‘Where is the end of this thing!?!’

I’m going to suggest to you that when you are planning a kitchen remodel project in your home, deciding where to stop your kitchen remodel can be a very similar experience to pulling a string out of a sock. Without a clear project starting and stopping point, a kitchen remodel can quickly spill over into the great room, down the hall, into the entryway, dining room and before you know it, the project has increased in scope well beyond what you originally set out for.

The lesson here is that if you are planning on remodeling your kitchen, you should plan on the scope of the project extending to include the adjacent rooms in some way to make the transition from ‘new space’ to existing space as smooth as possible. Once you start ‘pulling the string’ it can be difficult to find the end of it!

Consider the following implications of remodeling a kitchen:

  • If you plan to replace flooring in the kitchen, is there a natural stopping point where the new flooring will easily transition to the existing flooring? If not, you’ll need to plan on re-finishing hardwoods or replacing flooring into the adjacent areas to end at a natural transition point.
  • If you add new trim or baseboards in the kitchen, is there a good place where the new trim to meet the old trim? Do they match? Or, will you need to replace the baseboard in a larger area of your home?
  • Can you paint the kitchen walls and ceilings a new color without re-painting a larger section of the home?
  • If your remodel requires drywall patching or texture work on the ceiling, you’ll want to blend the new texture with the old. Is there a natural stopping point like a ceiling to wall corner? If not, this will likely extend into an area that you weren’t planning on remodeling. When you re-paint, do you have matching paint to blend with the old?
  • Once you put in new, designer light fixtures and finishes in your kitchen, do the light fixtures in the adjoining spaces match? You may end up replacing them as well. The same thing goes for door hardware.
  • If you have a kitchen that is open to a great room, it may look strange to have a brand new kitchen on one end and then a dated fireplace and entertainment center in the great room 15 feet away. I have found it very common that our clients choose to include a great room facelift in their kitchen remodel project.

My recommendation is that you consider updating the entire floor of your home where your kitchen is located at the time that you decide to upgrade and remodel your kitchen. This will give you the opportunity to create a much more cohesive design flow so that your newly remodeled space doesn’t look sorely out of place in an otherwise dated home.

If your kitchen is centrally located, plan on replacing flooring, trim, paint, lighting fixtures, and door hardware in the areas that immediately surround it. If your kitchen adjoins a dining room or great room, use this as an opportunity to update those spaces as well. If you are going to invest time and money into a remodel, you might as well knock out several projects at the same time so that you can enjoy them more!

If you live in Colorado Springs, Monument, or Black Forest and are looking for a kitchen design or kitchen remodeling contractor, please contact us! We’d have a Simple 8 Step Remodeling Process and we would love to help you think through your kitchen design and budget to come up with a plan that helps you find the end of your remodeling string in a way that adds lasting value and enjoyment to your home!