Kitchen Remodeling in New Orleans: Ways to Save Money

We provide kitchen remodeling in New Orleans for discerning homeowners that want their kitchen to look absolutely stunning.  We love what we do and enjoy both the design and build process.  Since we work with clients that have both small and large budgets, we are often asked what aspects of the remodel a homeowner can do on their own in order to save money.  If you want the kitchen of your dreams, it may be possible to get there sooner by hiring us to do the major work while you handle the small details.  We still advise that you hire a contractor to deal with any electrical or plumbing issues along with installing the cabinetry.  However, with that in mind, here are some kitchen remodeling hacks that you can try:

• Backsplash ideas.  There are new products on the market that make it incredibly easy to get a beautiful backsplash without a lot of work.  For gorgeous subway tile, we can install it for a finished look.  If, however, you want something more earthy or rustic, we suggest trying Airstone.  This is a product that can be purchased at the local hardware store. It looks like interesting, natural stone tiles, but they are fake and can be easily applied to your walls using a simple adhesive.  This way if you have the budget for your main kitchen remodel, but not the backsplash, you can create your own for $100 or less. 
• Refinishing cabinetry.  When conducting kitchen remodeling in New Orleans, we sometimes find homeowners that want to keep their existing cabinetry because they like the layout, or the cabinets are original to the home.  If this is the case, it is possible to refinish the cabinets and preserve them for future use.  We recommend having a professional (us) refinish them for you since it can be complicated and challenging to get them to look perfect.  Still, this can be a good way to keep your original materials and decrease your waste.
• Hardware.  This is an excellent and easy way to improve the appearance of your kitchen.  If your cabinets are the right color and in great shape, but look dated, change your hardware.  Purchase some modern or funky knobs and drawer pulls then replace your old ones.  This will make your kitchen look like you updated it, even if you only screwed in a few knobs.
• Paint. If you don’t mind getting dirty, you can save money on your remodel by painting the kitchen yourself.  This is one of the easiest parts of the job but will still shave off several hundred dollars in labor.  The nice thing about paint is that you can change the color as often as you like in order to improve the look of your home. 
• Faucet.  While conducting kitchen remodeling in New Orleans, we have found that by switching out a dated faucet for a new and beautiful one, an entire sink can look new, even if it’s not.  This is one hack that can save you money.

To learn more about how to remodel your kitchen, schedule an appointment so that we can view your space and discuss ideas. 

Kitchen Cabinet Installation is Not for the Faint of Heart

We provide professional kitchen cabinet installation so that you don’t have to worry about a kitchen nightmare.  While many people are interested in learning how to do things around the house, installing kitchen cabinets is more complicated that it initially appears.  This is due to several factors including challenges lining them up correctly and ensuring that they are properly secured to the wall.  In this situation, making a simple mistake can have costly consequences.

Instead of trying your hand at cabinet installation, we recommend working with an expert.  We can help you to design your cabinetry, build custom cabinets so that your home is beautifully unique, and install them to perfection.  Designing custom cabinets can be a lot of fun and gives you the opportunity to really let your creative side flourish.  Just like “there’s an app for that”… well there’s a cabinet for that too.  Regardless of what you are trying to store, a custom cabinet can help.  This allows for you to consider every way that your kitchen is used and have cabinetry designed for it.  For example, if you like to bake your own bread using a bread maker, we can design a “house” for it so that your machine is always plugged in and ready to go, without being visible when it isn’t in use.  The same is true for the toaster, coffee pot, rice maker and any other small appliances that you regularly use.

Simultaneously, interesting features can be incorporated into your custom cabinetry such as having plugins for your iPad built into the center island.  Though these features are small, they can make a big difference.  We can even install a hidden garbage shoot so that you can wipe the counter crumbs directly into the can instead of your hand first.  When you combine a lot of time-saving measures into your kitchen cabinet installation, life gets just a little bit easier.

Why you shouldn’t try kitchen cabinet installation on your own….

We say that this is not for the faint of heart due to the massive amounts of frustration that first-time DIY couples get when trying to remodel a kitchen.  Tearing out the existing cabinetry is a job in and of itself.  Once done, you have to make sure that the floor is flat, and the walls are prepared before installing any of the cabinetry.  Those that don’t check the floor may find that their cabinets and counters have a slant once in place.

Another common, and more costly, mistake is hanging the cabinets without finding the studs.  Drywall is incredibly thin, so thin, in fact, that you can snap off a piece without a tool, you can punch a hole through it…. the list goes on.  This becomes incredibly challenging if you are trying to hang cabinets.  Screwing a heavy cabinet that is supposed to hold equally heavy dishes into drywall is not safe.  You need to find the 2x4 studs behind the drywall and use them as an anchor for your cabinets so that you don’t find yourself in a kitchen full of broken dishes, or call to have us complete the job for you.