Does your kitchen annoy you every time you have to use it? Do you hate the way it looks? If you want to breathe new life into your home, remodeling your kitchen can be a good option. Plus, kitchen renovations offer a good return on investment down the road. Here are a few signs it’s time to remodel your kitchen:

1. There is Not Enough Space

If you feel cramped in your kitchen, it’s probably time to remodel. Having enough space to work and move comfortably is important for everyone, especially for people with growing families or for people who love to cook. This is also why remodeling the kitchen is one of the remodeling ideas for entertaining at home.

If you can’t walk through the kitchen without bumping into something – or someone – you need more space. Evaluating the current state of the kitchen, including pain points, function, flow, etc., are all essential steps in a good kitchen remodel checklist.

If it works with your home layout and structure, you can consider knocking down a wall and doubling the room. Rethinking interior rooms like this and opening them up when possible is one of the consistent home renovation trends.

2. Your Kitchen is Lacking Storage Space

When one of the main complaints about a current kitchen is that there isn’t enough space, it’s also often true that the kitchen also doesn’t have enough storage space. Not having enough counter space to work or storage space in the kitchen is one of the major signs it’s time to remodel your kitchen. These are essential things to consider when remodeling a kitchen.

Depending on the space you have available and your needs for your new kitchen, you may be able to include a walk-in pantry or another type of smaller kitchen pantry to get more storage space. Adding more overhead cabinets for vertical storage can also be helpful. Extending upper cabinets to the ceiling is a kitchen cabinet trend that can help increase overall cabinet storage.

For the cook who keeps running out of counter space, you can toss out tabletop appliances in favor of mounted ones – or just extend the counter! Including a kitchen island in your new kitchen design is a classic way to get more storage and more prep space. Plenty of storage is a consistent kitchen remodeling trend, so you never have to worry about that going out of style.

3. Kitchen Surfaces Are Deteriorated

Counters, paint, floor tiles, backsplashes, and more see a significant amount of use in the kitchen. They get stained, damaged, and worn down over time. Over the years, surfaces like these begin to look rough around the edges or straight-up damaged to the point of needing to be replaced.

Damaged or outdated flooring is one of the big signs your kitchen needs to be remodeled. New flooring is also one of the ways to modernize an outdated kitchen. Countertops, lower cabinets, the kitchen sink, and prep surfaces are some other areas that are also likely showing wear and tear if your flooring is and are great areas for kitchen upgrades.

If you’re thinking about selling, then repairing these surfaces and remodeling your kitchen are necessary. Even if you’re not concerned about cosmetics or aren’t thinking of putting your home on the market, degraded surfaces can erode the layers beneath and they can make your kitchen increasingly harder to keep clean.

Delaying repairs in these areas can cause bigger issues and is a home maintenance mistake you don’t want to make. It’s a good idea to remodel before a little scratch becomes a deep crevasse or some damage in one area leads to extensive and expensive repairs in a lot of areas.

4. You Have Outdated Appliances

High energy bills and lackluster performance from your appliances can indicate a change is in order. Outdated appliances are one of the top ways you might be losing money on your energy bills. Kitchen appliances now, especially Energy Star, use much less electricity than 10 years, or even 5 years, ago.

Including new appliances in your kitchen renovation is one of the tips to make your home more energy-efficient. But, it won’t just save you money, it will also increase the value of your home while improving your comfort and ease of use while you’re in it. You may even be able to extend your savings beyond your energy bills and qualify for tax credits!

5. The Lighting is All Wrong

Lighting is important to any room and is particularly important in the kitchen. You need a good mix of overhead lighting, task lighting, and more kitchen lighting ideas to get the light you need where and when you want it. You also don’t want to ignore natural light.

Getting the lighting wrong and ignoring natural light are some common kitchen remodeling mistakes to avoid. If your current kitchen has the wrong lighting or is missing essential types of lighting, it’s worth considering whether you just need to replace some fixtures or if it’s time to remodel your kitchen.

This is also a great time to make sure the overhead lighting you have is what you need and that any under cabinet lighting, task lighting, and other task or prep areas have the right fixtures and lighting. Upgrading the lighting is one of the best ways to update a kitchen.

If you need to add natural light, there are several popular kitchen window styles that can help you get what you want. It’s popular to have a window near the kitchen sink, but you’re not limited to that or just that. Skylights and sun tunnels are other popular options for kitchens. If your kitchen and dining room are connected to your deck or patio, sliding glass patio doors can also let in more natural light while creating a more seamless transition from indoor to outdoor living spaces.

6. There is Damage That Prevents Use

Damage that prevents use is one of the most straightforward and urgent signs it’s time to remodel your kitchen. If you’ve experienced a catastrophic event in your kitchen, mitigating damage as soon as possible and remodeling is necessary.

Having a leaky roof can cause detrimental water damage and even wood rot over time. Faulty plumbing can burst and leak right through cabinet floors. Whether it’s a busted cabinet, a rusty pipe, or something else, if your kitchen has sustained damage that prevents you from using it, it’s time to get repairs underway.

And, since you have to get work done anyway, it’s a good opportunity to redesign and upgrade your kitchen to get what you want. There are plenty of kitchen home improvement ideas to choose from. An experienced, reputable contractor will help you narrow down the options to the ones that will help you get what you want and need out of your new kitchen.

Remodel Your Kitchen With Zephyr Thomas

There are many benefits of kitchen remodeling and these are all some signs it’s time to remodel your kitchen. Addressing specific issues and then going further can help you identify pain points and goals for a kitchen renovation.

This is why one of the kitchen remodeling tips is to assess your current kitchen. To make sure it’s done right, call Zephyr Thomas at 717-399-4708 or stop by to discuss your remodeling needs. We’ll see to it that your kitchen looks, and is, better than ever.

Check out the video below to see an overview of just some of the interior renovations we can help you with, including bathroom renovation, kitchen remodeling, finished basements, and more!