Kitchen Renovation-Getting Inspiration

Kitchen renovations can be very intimidating. Once you've committed to the fact that a renovation is in your future you must decide what you want your result to be. It's important to get some clarity about this before you start talking to kitchen designers and kitchen contractors. Without that clarity, am suggesting you want to be clear about the layout, the style, and key elements you'll want in your finished kitchen. You may become overwhelmed by all the options you have. It is very helpful to have pictures to show to kitchen designers and contractors as well. Those pictures will help the professionals to narrow their suggestions to your preferences. You'll save time and reduce frustration in the process. I'm not suggesting you will need to have made all your decisions in advance. You will want to have a very good idea of what you want your new kitchen to look like. How do you know?

Where to Find Inspiration for Your Kitchen Renovation

Television

A good place to start zeroing in on those key elements is by watching home improvement programs on television. It's a helpful practice after watching a program with a renovation you like to take the time to make notes about the changes that resonated with you. You'll start to see a pattern that will help guide you in making decisions for your kitchen.

Online

Online sites can be very helpful as well. My favorite site in planning my renovation was www.houzz.com. There are thousands and thousands of pictures that will help you define your style and preferences. You can ask questions about the products you see in the pictures and save your favorite kitchens to your own idea book.

One of kitchen inspirations from www.houzz.com

Open Houses

I found open houses and home tours to be helpful as well. Seeing real kitchens helped convince me as to the style direction I wanted for my kitchen. Pictures are great, but actually seeing installed cabinets, appliances, lighting, counters and floors is even better. Standing in a lovely kitchen and imagining yourself living and cooking in a similar space is very helpful in making decisions. These are some pictures I took at a model home tour. These pictures highly influenced my final kitchen design.

Inspiration Pictures from a Model Home Tour

It is definitely worth the time and effort to research the design elements you want in your renovated kitchen. The extra time you put in up front will make you happier in the end result. Here's how my design research influence my end state kitchen.

My Kitchen-Before

Inspiration Translated to Results

This is the fourth post is my series about my kitchen renovation. Next is: Five Tips to Survive a Kitchen Renovation

Previous posts in this series:
#1 Time for a Kitchen Renovation
#2 Five Questions to Answer When Planning a Kitchen Renovation
#3 Kitchen Renovation-The Plan
Before you go.....Never miss a Just One Donna post by signing up to receive posts in your email or your favorite RSS feed. Links are in the sidebar.

Comments

UnknownApril 18, 2016 at 11:16 AM
Great ideas! I love Houzz, too. It's so easy to collect ideas there, make notes and refer to them later. Thanks for sharing all your inspirations!
Blessings~
Kim @ Curtain Queen Creates :-)
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