A down economy provides about zero enjoyment for anyone. I don’t care who you are, ask around and you’ll find that most people you know have had to make changes or ‘tighten their belt” when it comes to their spending this past year. The same is true for people who have been considering remodeling. I’ve been in the kitchen and bath industry for a long time and statistically, when new home construction goes down, remodeling goes up. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for this current recession, which is a shame. Not because I work in this industry, but because a lot of people are missing out.
In case you have been living in the dark ages, it is a widely known fact that kitchen and bath remodels can carry the biggest return on investment when it comes to home improvement. Now, this is only true when the project has been done properly; meaning quality products and labor have been used because you can spot a poorly executed remodel from a mile away. The fact of the matter is that any time you put money into your home; you’ll most definitely recoup a good amount of your original investment at some point in the future. Add to that, a ton of manufacturers have been offering tremendous discounts and special offers over the past year or so to stimulate spending, resulting in one of the best times to consider remodeling.
Now, I understand that most people do not have a clue what an actual kitchen remodel costs, but a rule of thumb in the industry is to take 10-20% of your home’s value and that will give you a pretty accurate guide as to how much money you should anticipate spending on a full and complete kitchen remodel. If you drop much below that figure, you risk sacrificing quality in some aspect of your project whether it is quality of product, quality of design and planning, or quality of labor. For those who can’t spend the money for a full remodel, Thompson Price – Kitchens, Baths & Home has put together this series of posts as recommendations to update your kitchen or bath without spending a fortune. The following material comes from a seminar we presented at the St. Louis Home Show a back in 2009 which was tremendously successful:
Thompson Price’s – How to Remodel a Kitchen or Bath without Spending a Fortune
I. Replace (or add) cabinet hardware: We designers tend to think of cabinet hardware (or knobs and pulls) as jewelry for your cabinetry. It’s true. A simple, yet elegantly styled knob or pull can really add to the overall appeal of your cabinets. This is especially true if you don’t currently have hardware on your cabinetry. What’s more, if you don’t have hardware on your cabinets already, the oils from your fingers can over time ruin the finish of those gorgeous cabinets of yours adding one more benefit to always having knobs or pulls on all of your doors and drawers.
There’s a wide variety of cabinet hardware available from designer styles made from solid brass and constructed right here in the USA to cheaper knockoffs that are significantly less expensive but don’t have the same finish quality, are produced over in China, and will not last as long as some more expensive products. Expect to spend anywhere from under a hundred dollars to several hundred dollars depending on type, style, material and finish for a kitchen with 20 doors and drawers. Popular brands that Thompson Price recommends are Top Knobs, Jeffrey Alexander, Amerock, and Colonial Bronze.
A quick precaution – should you decide to replace hardware on your own (especially if you have pulls or ‘handles’), make sure you measure your existing pulls from center to center because there are a few different common lengths available. I would hate for you to spend money on nice kitchen cabinet hardware only to find that it doesn’t fit.
- Thompson Price
Tags: cabinetry, hardware, kitchen design, kitchen remodel, remodeling on a budget
