Start with a budget. That's right, figure out how much you have to spend and don't budge from it.

By setting a fixed budget price, you end up getting a remodel or a new kitchen without overextending yourself. You definitely do not want to get through half the project only to find that you no longer have any money to finish with. This can and has cost numerous marriages.

Once you have a budget set, find a kitchen design studio or local lumber yard with a good display area and designers. Generally, you will have to pay to get them to design for you, this is typical. Would you want to spend hours with someone, working on their ideas and not get paid for it? I am pretty sure you wouldn't. Quite often, this amount is taken off your material purchase anyway. However, be careful, some places are out to make as much as possible off you and they may not deduct anything.

Most design studios have design books you can look through, as well as displays set up so you can see what things look like, but if they don't, there are plenty of books and magazines you can search through. Find things you like, pasting them in a scrapbook if possible, so you have things to show your designer. This speeds up the process a bit and helps to ensure that you get what you want.

Try to get an idea of what you would like the new kitchen to look like. Try to do this prior to going to the design studio. You want functionality above anything else, so start there. You know that you will need a range or cook top, a refrigerator, an oven, a sink and a dishwasher. Begin with these and work your way around. Measure your walls and lay out where you think you would like things placed, remembering all the while that whoever designs the kitchen will show you if something works or not and if it is even feasible to put it there.

Try to go to the studio with an open mind. Realize that there are more variations of cabinets than you can imagine. You can have over 10,000 choices with some of the cabinet companies out there. You will choose the type of wood, stain or color, finish and door style. Then you will have to choose how the door overlay looks and what type of hinges you want. You will have to figure out if you want drawers on all of your cabinets or if you want full height doors. Once these choices are made, it only gets more overwhelming, you then have to pick hardware style and counter top material and look. All the while you have to coordinate this with different wall colors, making sure they don't have an adverse effect on your other rooms or on your dishes.

When you have your budget decided and your styles and colors chosen and you have come up with a rough sketch of where you think things will be, give all of that information to a kitchen designer and let him or her aid you in the successful completion of your project. Allow them to get the basics into your kitchen and then ask them what extras you can afford. If you don't know what it is for, you probably do not need it.
They will usually come to your house and measure and note what you have existing. They will get a good idea of what you will be putting in your kitchen and what rooms are directly affected by the kitchen. They will probably lay it out and try to make all of your wants and desires work and they will try to fit everything together at or under your budget.

Basically, the biggest thing you need to do before starting is know your budget. Next, know what you want in the kitchen, from cabinets to counter tops, from colors to appliances and everything in between. Finally, choose a designer that will work with you. This person will help you and listen to you and try to fit your wants in rather than push their ideas.

Learn more about this author, Dennis Fletcher.
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