Easy Kitchen Updates From an Expert Kitchen Contractor in Kansas City
They say a kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where moms and grandmas (and maybe even dads and grandpas!) prepare home-cooked meals. It’s where family and friends gather. It’s often where meals are shared and conversations are had.
It’s where memories are made.
With so many important things happening in and around your kitchen, you want a space that’s going to be both beautiful and functional, and that will endure for years.
But if you’ve watched basically any home renovation show on TV, you probably have an image of walls being torn down and cabinets being ripped off when you think of renovating a kitchen. And, of course, with all that work comes lots of money, right?
Wrong! Updating the look and feel of your kitchen doesn’t need to cost tens of thousands of dollars. Kitchens are versatile spaces, which means there are many things you can do to give it a fresh facelift without a ton of dough (no pun intended).
Below, we share some of our favorite kitchen remodeling projects that can dramatically change the look and functionality of your kitchen without breaking your budget.
New Kitchen Cabinet Installation
Your cabinets set the tone of your kitchen, and they can be upgraded in a variety of ways. While you can certainly replace all of your cabinets, you also have other options. For example, adding new doors to existing cabinetry can make your kitchen look like a whole new room. NextGen Remodeling’s custom cabinet maker can ensure your new cabinet doors will fit your existing cabinets without sacrificing style.
A fresh coat of paint is another tried and true project to revitalize a dated kitchen. While it may seem simple enough for you to DIY this project yourself, you’ll find that it’s actually more complicated – and time consuming – than you thought. Between removing doors and hardware, covering and protecting other kitchen surfaces, prepping the cabinets, and painting them, there’s a lot of work that goes into repainting cabinetry. And then there’s the issue of figuring out what kind of paint to use in order to achieve the style you’re envisioning, while still choosing a paint that’s durable enough to withstand spills, splashes, bumps, and the other abuse it’ll take in such a high-use area. Turning to an expert is often the preferred method for getting a cabinet makeover, and it’s still quite cost-effective.
For an open, contemporary look, consider removing the upper cabinets and replacing them with floating shelves. A similar look can be achieved by removing your cabinet doors and painting the existing cabinets. You can line the back of the cabinets with a contrasting paint color, wallpaper, shiplap, backsplash…the possibilities are endless! This style allows you to display your favorite dishes, servingware, cookbooks, utensils, or decor.
Update Your Backsplash
A new backsplash is a great way to bring a little personality into your old kitchen, and the range of options is vast. Most opt for tile, but some are drawn to the industrial sleekness of glass or metal panels, and embossed tin and copper have made a comeback for those wanting a touch of the turn of the century.
Tile comes in nearly every material including porcelain, ceramic, glass, stone, metal, and faux wood. To bring rustic mountain charm to your kitchen, consider rough wood or stone tiles. An otherwise neutral kitchen can benefit from a bold and colorful porcelain or glass mosaic backsplash. For a timeless look that can weather the changing trends, try sleek subway tiles.
The areas above the stove and above the sink are visual focal points for every kitchen, so often they are given their own unique backsplash. Sometimes this can mean a change in the direction of the existing tiles, a large pendant, an intricate mosaic, or a total change in material, like an embossed tin panel. Of course, one of the biggest determining factors of whether your new backsplash looks garish or gorgeous is how well it fits with your countertops. For help selecting and installing a new backsplash, call NextGen Remodeling and our designers can help you pick a backsplash that matches your countertop, or help you choose a new countertop.
And speaking of countertops…
Replace Kitchen Countertops
Updated kitchen countertops are always a prominent feature highlighted in house listings, and for good reason. Unlike some remodeling projects that have purely cosmetic value, updating your kitchen countertops can improve the utility of the kitchen as well as its appearance. There are many material options for countertops, and each come with their own benefits and drawbacks.
For decades, granite has been the gold standard for countertops. Not only is it available in a wide variety of colors and textures, it is also extremely durable – able to withstand a hot skillet being left on it without discoloration – and nearly impossible to dent or scratch. However, granite is also a porous stone, so it can easily absorb liquids and oils if not properly sealed every few years.
Soapstone is a lesser known, but increasingly desirable, natural stone countertop option. It is as heat resistant as granite, but very nonporous, so it doesn’t require any special treatment to stay waterproof and stainproof. As one might expect from its name, soapstone is very soft and can be scratched and dented, but unlike other natural stone countertops, you can fix any scratches with a bit of sandpaper without compromising its stain resistance.
A third natural stone option is marble. It is renowned for its beauty and luxury, though like soapstone it is quite soft and easily dented, and like granite it is porous so it requires regular sealing and proper care to ensure it isn’t stained. Like both the above natural stones, though, it is very heat resistant.
Engineered countertops offer an alternative to natural stone, with its own advantages and disadvantages. Solid-surface and quartz countertops use a blend of natural stone and polymers. They are very stain resistant and don’t require regular resealing. Quartz is very scratch-resistant, and while engineered countertops tend to scratch easily, they are similar to soapstone in that they can be easily repaired with a lightly abrasive pad. Both are fairly heat resistant, but not to the same extent as natural stone. They come in a far wider variety of colors and patterns than natural stones, so you can perfectly match them with your kitchen.
NextGen Remodeling works with a local granite and stone company who offers a wide range of countertop options in a modern showroom. We are happy to help you select the perfect new countertop for your home, budget, and style. And to show off those new countertops and brighten up your kitchen, consider using a professional kitchen contractor in Kansas City, like NextGen Remodeling, to install under-cabinet lighting.
Install New Kitchen Fixtures
Your faucet, cabinet hardware, and lighting easily date your kitchen; fortunately, they’re also easy to replace. Brushed nickel and oil-rubbed bronze are still the top choices for a timeless kitchen. For a bold, more contemporary look, consider matte black finishes. Single-handed faucets dominate both for their streamlined shape and ease of use. For a sleek, modern look, choose thin, oversized drawer pulls that can work for cabinet doors and drawers. A cozy, farmhouse kitchen is perfectly complemented by bin pulls, particularly in a dark, oil-rubbed bronze or weathered brass. Replace your boring recessed lighting and fluorescent bulbs with pendant lights that can go with any style. Be sure to use a licensed and insured bath and kitchen remodeler like NextGen Remodeling for any electrical or plumbing work.
Kitchen and Bathroom Remodels in Kansas City
Of course, choosing the right kitchen and bathroom contractor in Kansas City is also a critical piece of any remodeling equation. No matter how large or small your project is, choose NextGen Remodeling for kitchen remodeling in Overland Park, KS; Leawood, KS; Shawnee, KS; Lenexa, KS; Brookside, MO; and the greater Kansas City area. Click here to start your online estimate today.