First-Time Kitchen Renovation Tips For Single Moms!
For those of us who are single moms, things can be tricky at times. There’s just so much to stay on top of and not always a lot of help around the house either. If you’re thinking about some renovations, chances are you’re half inclined to just forget about it.
Hold on a moment, though. You can actually achieve a new look for your kitchen by adopting a certain approach that makes sense for you. First off, you can begin by taking a look at kitchen cabinets online to get some formative ideas.
It’s quite crucial to get into the right mindset for a project like this. You need to make your mind up and believe that what you’re looking for is possible! Any job, no matter how big, can be completed if it’s broken into manageable chunks.
Plan, Assess, and Plan Again!
Right at the outset, you need a plan. Take a walk around your kitchen, and make a note of a few things before you put your mind to anything. These will be the basis of your renovation from here on in.
Traffic
How do you and your family use the space? If you have a single entry, this will be different from space with two doors. Folks will tend to move through spaces in very specific ways, so note this down. If you like the flow, keep it. If not, come up with another that works better.
An effortless and accurate way of determining this is to take a walk around. Enter the space as you normally would, but make a note of your movements as you go. Then watch how your kids navigate there, too.
You don’t have to think of it in feng shui terms, exactly, but something along those basic lines will work. It’s all about looking at how you all move around and deciding whether to keep that kind of flow or change it up.
Function
Take a look at the types of tasks you and your family perform in the kitchen space. Some families use the space in a range of practical and social ways, while others might rarely enter the room at all.
Considering the function can be very helpful in deciding just how you want things to change. If the kitchen is a focal area for family socialization, that will be different from a kitchen that’s mostly food storage and washing area.
Utility
Take a look at the ways these functions are handled. If you’re one for bulk storage of foodstuffs, examine your storage. If you cook every day, consider your stove, oven, and prepping facilities. Are these adequate, or not?
If you seldom use the kitchen in social settings, maybe the center workspace can be shifted off to the side to provide more space. These kinds of pragmatic choices around the way the room is utilized can make a huge impact.
Keeping Costs Low
Children are a rewarding and challenging blessing. They are also often expensive to raise, so, unsurprisingly, cost-effectiveness is super essential to single moms. You simply have to watch those pennies closely!
Whatever your particular budget may be, you can minimize costs at every level of your renovation. With your detailed plan in front of you, look at the options available. Perhaps the shade of paint you thought of initially can be altered slightly for a cheaper kind.
It may be that the precise cabinet option you had in mind is costly, while a very similar one will do the job at half the price. This is what makes planning so pivotal at the early stages. It gives you the room for manoeuver that can save serious dollars in the end.
Child-Resistant Option
Depending on the ages of your children, you will have to think about a two-way street. You don’t want things in your kitchen that can easily be damaged by kids, but you definitely wouldn’t want something that could hurt them, either!
For some, this will entail installing shelves that house sharp knives a little higher up. It may involve choosing electricity over gas for the stove and oven or replacing an exposed extractor fan. The hazards are numerous in this regard, so it pays to be cautious.
A very common trick is to use cheaper emulsion paints higher up on walls and cabinets, but then apply enamel paint to the lower sections. This allows you to easily wipe away those wonderful artworks, after everyone has admired them for a while, of course!
Retain the Basics
Your plan may be extensive, or it may just involve some minor changes. That’s very much up to the individual and depends on a lot of things. However, wherever practical, you should keep hold of the basics.
For example, moving a single appliance like an oven can end up being a massive undertaking. You may just want to move it a few feet to the left, but that might involve ripping up the floors and walls to get to the mains supply.
If you’re dead set on moving the appliance, so be it. Then it must be done, but it will definitely involve getting someone in, and the costs also begin to rocket upward. When you’re in the planning stages, take care to note this kind of thing.
Some Last Thoughts
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a mere step. Every incremental success from there is itself just another little step. So a kitchen renovation seems like a pipe dream that can become a reality!
It all comes down to being clever about what you’re doing. Planning is vital because it not only sets up your overall picture but also delineates the steps required. Being smart about it is what will get you there.
In any case, if you’re a single mom, you’re already handling a much tougher task than a trifling renovation. Unleash yourself! You may be surprised at how effective you can be!
