Renovating kitchens is a lot of fun (it’s why we’re always excited to dive into new projects!). But projects like these can also be a lot of work! Before deciding to remodel your kitchen, you should make sure it’s the right time for you and your household to undertake a remodeling project.

Wondering if now is the time to give your kitchen some much-deserved TLC? Here are five signs a kitchen remodel is long overdue.

1. You Avoid Your Kitchen Like the Plague

Would you rather be literally anywhere else in your house besides the kitchen? Does the discomfort or unpleasant look of your kitchen keep you from making home-cooked meals? When you’re entertaining, do you find yourself trying to steer guests away from the kitchen and in the living room instead? Whether your issues are cosmetic or functional, having a kitchen you actually want to use is important!

Large or small, the kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s where your family gathers to spend quality time together over a delicious meal. It’s where you and your loved ones enjoy a quiet cup of coffee before work. It’s where your friends congregate to prepare snacks before watching the big game, or when the new season of your favorite TV show drops.

Or maybe it’s the aesthetic that’s keeping you away. One big issue we see that keeps people from enjoying their kitchen is the lighting. Without a good mix of recessed lights and soft pendant lighting, you may find yourself repelled by lights that are too bright — or deterred by lighting that is too dim — for your ever-shifting needs. If your kitchen doesn’t meet your needs and make you feel happy to be there, it’s not serving its purpose! And a home without a heart isn’t much of a home at all.

1. Your Counter Space is Always Cluttered

How are your counters looking? Are they constantly packed with groceries, dishes, and smaller appliances that don’t have anywhere else to go? If you’re struggling to find counter space because you’ve run out of room, you need more storage space!

Kitchens of any size or style can be updated with creative storage solutions to keep the clutter off your counters and tidily organized in practical storage. Storage that helps conceal all the ins and outs of your kitchen is always on-trend, so this is a renovation you’ll never regret investing in!

Cabinetry also creates a beautiful palette to build your kitchen aesthetic. You can paint them a fun color, stain them, or even keep it simple and white but with a unique panel style. Storage isn’t a boring kitchen upgrade — it’s both functionally essential and aesthetically important! Remodeling for the sake of storage is just as much an opportunity to revisit your kitchen style as any other renovation.

1. Your Household is Growing or Changing

Your current kitchen may have been fine when your household was just one or two people, but now that you have teenagers passing through for snacks at all hours of the day (and night!), or a baby being fed in a high chair while you cook dinner for everyone else, or a toddler pulling out all the pots and pans underfoot, your needs have likely changed.

You might need to open up your kitchen for more space, or adjust your organization to keep unsafe foods and kitchen utensils out of the reach of little ones. You may need a new refrigerator to accommodate more hungry mouths. As your kitchen needs change, your kitchen needs to change to keep up with them!

On the other hand, perhaps you’re facing more of an empty nest and your kids are now adults and living in spaces of their own. That’s also a good time for a kitchen remodel, to make your space work for your new needs! Maybe you’d like to repurpose the space where kids used to do homework into a coffee station or a home bar, for example. Or maybe it’s time for a refresh now that your kids are older and the cabinets are no longer at risk of crayon scribbles! You deserve to have a kitchen space that fits your current place in life! 

1. You Feel Like Everything is Breaking

If you have handles falling off, faucets leaking, and more broken appliances than working ones . . . you are long past due for a kitchen renovation! Not only will broken appliances make it difficult to actually cook and bake regularly, but they also just don’t look very nice, which leads us back to the first sign it’s time to remodel. If you’re not happy to be in your kitchen, you won’t use it.

A renovation can be as simple as replacing the broken things and moving on, but if you’re already diving into the essential kitchen updates, why not incorporate some fun ones too? Don’t just replace the broken faucet with a boring new one. Experiment with a different finish, and replace your fixtures and cabinet handles to match! And hey, since you’re already removing the hardware from your cabinets, how does a fresh coat of paint sound? It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but even these simple refreshes can completely transform your kitchen into a beautiful space you’ll want to spend every free moment in.

1. You’re Ready for a Change

Maybe your kitchen is working just fine. Nothing is broken, it’s big enough for your household size, has plenty of storage, and isn’t unpleasant to look at. It’s just not quite what you want. You’re just ready for a project and something different in your home.

The kitchen is one of the best places for cosmetic remodels because it’s so visually central to your home, even if it’s not an open concept design. Odds are, every friend, relative, or guest who enters your home will spend some amount of time in your kitchen. It should be a space you’re proud to show off!

Once You Start, You Won’t Stop

Renovating your kitchen is a great way to inspire you into a new home aesthetic, and you may want to update the surrounding areas to match! So be warned: the home remodeling bug is addictive!If you’re in the Kansas City area and are ready to dip your toes in the deep end and start exploring kitchen remodel options, whether large or small in scope, let’s chat about it! Feel free to reach out anytime, we’re always happy to answer any questions you may have.