24 May Kitchen Remodel Costs and What the TV Shows Don’t Tell You

Before you embark on a kitchen remodel, it’s very important to set realistic expectations and a plausible plan about how much time and money your project will cost you. If you’re ready for a new kitchen, it’s worth it — but making sure you know as much as possible about the process will help you to plan accurately, budget accordingly, and avoid frustration during your home-remodeling experience.

While home-improvement shows can be a great way to get ideas on the design of your new kitchen, there’s a lot about the logistics and costs involved in these projects that aren’t shown on TV. Here are some top tips about kitchen remodel costs that you won’t learn from TV shows:

1. Your kitchen remodel will take more than a few days.

While most home-improvement reality shows portray remodel projects taking just a few days to complete, these types of projects actually take much longer since most home projects don’t have a 40-person crew to help out! Depending on the extent and coordination of your remodel project, the time it takes may vary—but don’t set your sights on a weeklong process.

2. Kitchen remodeling will require difficult coordination, which can end up costing you more.

Not only will your remodel project likely take longer than the TV projects show you, the coordination process that’s necessary in any major remodel project will require a lot of time, energy, communication, and even money. The many steps of any kitchen remodel include buying materials, installing new appliances, painting, decision making, and more. Since it’s not likely that you’ll have a host to coordinate each part of your remodel, you’ll need to plan out each individual part of the project and make sure they’re completed in the correct order. Many of these parts will depend on one another—like deciding on your new appliances early on, so you know their dimensions and can fit them into your plan. Make sure to talk to experts to identify all the pieces that need to be done, and to create a realistic timeline for all of them. It likely won’t be a catastrophe if your plan isn’t perfect, but it may cost you a bit extra—for example, rush ordering a new appliance, or paying for more of a painter’s time than you expected.

3. The costs of the remodel itself aren’t the only ones you need to think about. The reality of living without a kitchen during a remodel isn’t something that’s usually featured on home-improvement shows. Though it’s not necessarily a part of your remodel budget, you should make sure to think about the cost of eating out for the duration of your project, or even staying someplace else for a few days, depending on the extent of your remodel.

4. You can spend as much or as little as you want on materials, but you also need to consider quality. The good news is that materials for your new kitchen, like countertops and flooring, don’t need to cost you a fortune. However, don’t think you can save a ton of money on choosing lower-cost materials; you need to look into the real costs of good quality and attractive materials before planning out your budget.

Even if you haven’t made final decisions about each material you want to use in your remodel before you begin, make sure you have a realistic idea in mind of the costs associated with the ones that are best for you. You have a lot of options to choose from based on look, quality, and cost, and choosing what you need wisely can help cut down on some of the costs.