How Much Should I Expect to Spend on Remodeling My Kitchen? - 2

        

In the first article concerning How Much Should I Expect to Spend On Remodeling My Kitchen we learned that to gain the most value from your investment you should expect to invest between 10-20% of the value of your home in your kitchen. Investing less than 10% of the value of your home when remodeling your kitchen could be a waste of money and could even decrease the value of your home.  Spending greater than 20% could result in an over-improvement, which won't allow you to capture the full value of your investment. In this segment we’ll discuss the next critical consideration – your kitchen floor plan.

Should you keep the existing floor plan or make changes?

In most cases maintaining the existing floor plan will result in a cost savings. When you maintain the existing floor plan you don’t need to relocate plumbing, electrical and gas lines, which will save you money. Also, you don’t need to change windows, doors or walls. The drawback is that you are limited to the existing floor plan. If the utilities lines, windows and doors need to be replaced anyway then the additional cost to place the new items in a different location is just the incremental cost. In this situation changing the floor plan could be very cost effective or provide even greater value.

Why would you consider changing the floor plan?

People often change the floor plan of their kitchen to improve the flow and function of the space in order to provide greater utility. A greater level of utility improves the value of the kitchen. If you have ever lived with a poorly designed kitchen then you understand how frustrating, inefficient, and even dangerous this space can be. You really understand how it lowers the quality of your daily life. When you are contemplating changing the floor plan the best questions to ask yourself is what improvements will be accomplished, what additional benefits will those improvements provide and finally what is the price tag for realizing those improvements? You achieve a positive value level when the level of utility received is greater than the price paid for achieving that utility: Value  = Utility – Price.

When creating your budget for your kitchen remodeling project it is important to consider whether to keep your existing floor plan or modify it. Price isn't the only consideration.  In addition to the price of modifying the floor plan it is important to define utility that the changes will provide in order to determine the net value that will be realized. To get the most return for your investment only consider changing the existing floor plan if you can realize a positive value.  For help consult your local kitchen designer to discuss whether or not it makes sense to change the floor plan of your kitchen. 

In  How Much Should I Expect to Spend On Remodeling My Kitchen we covered the total budget (10-20% of the value of your home) and the impact of altering the existing floor plan. Stay tuned to learn more about product selection and how to gain the most value from your investment.

Related Article:

How Much Should I Expect to Spend On Remodeling My Kitchen

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Superior Woodcraft, Inc.
Superior Woodcraft Blog

Superior Woodcraft is a local custom cabinet maker from Doylestown, Pa - the heart of Bucks County.