Avoid The Zero Point Renovation and Get Great Kitchen Results



Beautiful Simple Contemporary Kitchen by MCK+B



Recently I was visited in the showroom by someone interested in renovating their kitchen in a home they wish to sell in 2 years. I spoke to them a bit about the size of the kitchen and the look they wanted to achieve. I  gave them some literature and noticed they also had Home Depot Kitchen Brochures, including what I consider to be the nicest line HD carries which is KraftMaid.We began to discuss the budget for the project and the value of the home, which they revealed to be a $10,000.00 budget  including new appliances, in a home valued at $500,000. Granted the kitchen was tiny, it still wasn't a realistic number. A client this far off the mark, may need to explore the market more and hear similar from a few designers before they reevaluate their budget.

I attempted to explain to them  what they were proposing was a "Zero Point Renovation". This is a remodel that is so far below what the property value demands that when you go to sell your home, you get absolutely zero to negative credit from prospective buyers. In other words, you may actually get less for your home if you rip out older but nonetheless good quality materials, and put in new poor quality in it's place. When people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home they will look closely at the kitchen and bathrooms. And if you are going to live there for 2-3 years before selling it, the poor quality renovation will be truly lackluster by then.

When they asked me what is reasonable to spend on a kitchen remodel, I told them 10-15% of a homes value. Now I know there are many who believe the real number is 15-20% , but I think that a well spent 10% is plenty, and if the kitchen is small as in their case, and the appliances are going to be a nice quality GE, but not SubZero-Wolf or comparable, then realistically they could get the entire project done for 7-8% or $40,000. For that with the right design advice, I would expect them to be able to get:





Stylish Upper East Side kitchen with a view


• semi-custom cabinetry
• basic granite or Caesarstone counter tops
• Ge Profile appliances in black(possibly stainless)
• natural stone or glass tile backsplash(Susan Jablon Mosaics is a great cost effective online resource)
• under cabinet lighting
• recessed lighting in the work area
• under mount sink
• Kohler Pulldown Simplice faucet in Vibrant Stainless at under $300.00 is a bargain  
• Hardware is a great thing to save money by purchasing online (I recommend you order samples in at least the amount of the restocking fee, that way you hold them and know you like them before ordering the whole kitchen worth a risk being disappointed)

There are certain fixed costs in a kitchen remodel, namely the labor, including electrical and plumbing costs. Many times homeowners seek to save money by just cutting everything they can out of their cabinetry expenses. And while I've heard the expression "a box is a box" a few hundred times in past years, and there is  room for an argument here, but you aren't just giving up the box, it's the door, drawers, and more importantly the finish. I gave up being a field representative for a cabinet company, simply because they did business in a lower price point, and it was heartbreaking to meet with consumers disappointed and complaining about the finish of their cabinets after they were installed.  It's better to avoid this disappointment, shop, look closely at what you are buying at set your expectations appropriately.

I recommend a  balanced approached when trying to cut costs. Take advantage of some of the websites and tips I offered above as a way to get a well blended design and the most out of your renovation budget. In the end I believe you'll be more satisfied overall.

Kitchen Appliances, How Much is Too Much?

As the Kitchen Remodeling industry is beginning to show signs of life after the long winter, I am faced with the age old question: How much should I spend on new appliances?

This is a very personal decision, and the answers to this potential dilemma are simple: "whatever you like" or as the NKBA suggests 15 percent of your overall budget, or yet again somewhere in between. A quick check of retail appliance prices will confirm that it's easy to spend $15,000 on the essential appliances. See specific examples in this quick reference Kitchen Remodeling Guide.

I can tell you that the major league appliance players in the all-star lineup, are doing a bang up job whetting the appetites of consumers for their top shelf wares. I almost never leave a preliminary design appointment without having heard the names:

Viking

Wolf

AGA

Gaggenau

Blue star

Sub-Zero

Bertazzoni

Perlick

Thermador

Heartland

I love these brands, for the features and the look, the colors and the versatility. Hearing my client wants to have the 30" Viking self cleaning oven as their kitchen centerpiece is like music to my ears. But if their total budget is $30,000 for the entire kitchen, and they have to replace their flooring, upgrade their electrical panel, add new lighting, solid surface counter tops, and new cabinets, the math won't work.

How we as professionals handle this moment of realization is critical, these artfully designed appliances our clients want are unceremoniously plunked in the kitchens of "average" TV sitcom families, tucked into photo layouts in home fashion magazines, and featured daily on HGTV.

If you deliver this information with a thud, you may never hear from your prospective client again. They may buy a kitchen, and they may downsize their appliance budget, and take your advice, but if you aren't gentle and dont offer creative and helpful alternative solutions they won't buy from you.This is where tact and good planning become crucial.

I recommend the following:

have pre-specified and priced appliance packages at various price points available to show your clients. Don't make them wait, offer it up.

Make sure you photograph kitchens where your clients have used reasonably priced alternatives such as:
Electrolux, Kitchen Aid, or GE Cafe series

Feature these kitchen photos prominently in your showroom. When the kitchen is admired, you can point out that the appliance were at a considerable savings allowing for other upgrades.

If you don't offer appliances, an appliance retailer near your showroom will undoubtedly partner with you and provide marketing materials to assist with your clients.

Use this retailer (he/she is now your good friend a.k.a.:Appliance Guru) to refer your clientele to, and always give them time to prepare with advance notice that you are sending someone over.

Advise them of the reasonable spend limit so your Appliance Guru can safeguard your plan for your client, making sure the expectations substantially met, or better yet exceeded.

Best practice:go with your client, but let the appliance people be the experts.

If the NKBA suggests 15 percent of the budget be set aside for appliances, that means that on a $45,000 kitchen you have approximately $6800 to spend. Why do I say approximately, because 15% is a suggestion, not a law, and we can trim down some other expenses in favor of a Sub-Zero refrigerator if it's been wanted forever and it makes the dream kitchen come true. What we don't want to do is drain the well so dry that we have to use the refrigerator box as a pantry when we're done!