Spring is now in full bloom, and many homeowners are planning renovation projects in their  kitchen or baths over the next few months. What is the process a homeowner should expect to go through as they plan out a kitchen or bath project—where to begin?

First, take a careful inventory of your existing space. What are you thinking about changing in your kitchen or bath area? Appliances, fixtures, flooring, cabinetry and countertops need to be considered. Do you want better task lighting under the cabinets or island pendant lighting? A renovation is a great time to upgrade the lighting in your space. Don’t forget to consider re-painting, a new backsplash tile and even the type of hardware for your cabinetry. Take “before” photos of your existing space and try to gather a digital scrapbook of your preferences for the new space from sites like Houzz or Pinterest. Many of Cranbury Design Center’s clients invest time looking at websites, watching home improvement shows and flipping through magazines and books to help them envision their dream kitchen space.

Once you have a general outline of the scope of your project, contact your design professional who will come out to your home to discuss your project and provide a general estimate of what your project will cost. This estimate, along with estimates for your appliances, fixtures and tile make up your proposed budget. The final budget is confirmed once actual cabinet choices, countertop materials and other project items are selected.

Time considerations are also important. In addition to design time, many projects require township building permits which, depending on the township, can take several weeks before a project can start. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time before the desired completion time of the project to allow for these items. It’s better to start early to make time for appliance, cabinetry, countertop, tile and accessory decisions.

Once your project starts, Cranbury Design Center uses a project management approach to get your job done on time. Every project they take on is managed by a project manager. They create an initial project schedule and plan, assist clients with shopping trips to make project selections, monitor  deliveries and handle all trade professionals involved with the project. Constant updates to clients ensure the project stays on schedule and within budget. This is an integral component of the process.

How Cranbury Achieved this Vision
Cranbury eliminated the walls between the dining room and kitchen to create a new large island for seating and serving, a cooking area and lots of storage. The new column shows where the old rooms met.

The back area on the right, with the beautiful arched window above the main sink, includes a smaller island used as the beverage area and seating. They also added a new window seat area. All in, the clients added a more open flow to their kitchen, plenty of seating for their active family and storage for all their needs.

A newly remodeled foyer, including new stair posts, wood floors and eliminating the formal living room to accommodate a new dining room location were also completed.

The results: A creative use of the client’s existing spaces to dramatically expand the kitchen and living spaces and create the kitchen of their dreams!

For more information about how Cranbury Design can help you with your kitchen or bathroom project, call (609) 448-5600 or visit CranburyDesignCenter.com.

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 19, Issue 8 (February 2019). 
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