Were Legos really THAT important?

To me, building a kitchen is a lot like playing with Legos. There is a lot of twisting, turning, putting together and taking apart before the design is complete, let alone installed. That is why when I heard this response to a very common questions, I was bothered with my own stubbornness not to have thought of it, but enlightened with the answer itself.

I am often asked, " What is the difference between your Semi-custom and Full Custom cabinetry lines? and "Why does full custom cost more than Semi Custom"? The answer it seems, boils down to Legos!!!

If you were to go to the toy store and buy a basic Lego building block set, you would spend $19.99.

This set would allow you to build a nice house (or kitchen) but many modifications or stand out pieces are not available. If you wanted to modify a piece itself, it would take time (or money) to make that change.

Now, if you are to buy the Master set for $49.99,

more options are available with out modification charges. You can build a much larger house (or kitchen) with more options and variations built in. Modifications can still be made, but the need for them is less.

So, in short...it's Lego's! I never knew it when I was 3-4 years old playing with my first set of Legos, that I was practising for my career. I also never knew that when I was begging my parents for that bigger set of Legos, it really was a NEED...I needed to work on my kitchen design!!!

http://www.hicksdistributors.com/

Designing custom kitchens in Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County,Pennsylvania.

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What is my Remodeling Budget?

2 weeks ago, I wrote a post about setting a budget for your kitchen remodel. After getting some great feed back on that post, I realized most customers don't know HOW to set a budget, or where to start.

We have found this to be a helpful budget calculator to find what a good budget for you kitchen remodel might be:

Most homeowners will spend 15% of their homes value on a kitchen remodel.

Of that number:

35% gets spent on Cabinetry

11% on Counter tops

12% on Appliances

9% on Lighting

3% on Drywall

7% on Flooring

3% on Plumbing

20% on Labor

Using this formula, redoing a kitchen in an estimated $500,000 home should cost about $75,000.

$26,250 will be spent on Cabinets

$8,250 on Counter tops

$9,000 on Appliances

$6,750 on Lighting

$2,250 on Drywall

$5,250 on Flooring

$2,250 on Plumbing

$15,000 on Labor

Obviously this is a standard formula and it can be tweaked in either direction, but it does give homeowners and contractors a great starting point. Customers can always go above budget or below, but it is important to try to stick to the value of the house in terms of re-sale. If you put more money into the kitchen than your budget allows you MAY not get that back out when you go to sell your home. Vice Versa, if you but less into a kitchen remodel, you many not get as much back at re-sale either because the new buyers may need to spruce it up.

All in all, you need to make you kitchen your own. Personal touches here and there add depth and character to you kitchen. Even if you plan to sell your home soon. Make sure the kitchen is a space you are happy in. Most of the time, that will translate into others being happy there too!

http://www.hicksdistributors.com/

Designing custom kitchens in Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County,Pennsylvania.

Be a fan on facebook... www.facebook.com/hicksdistributors

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"Where do we start?"

When remodeling your kitchen, it seems like a logical enough question to ask. The answer however, is not so straight forward, do you start by picking the cabinets, or do you pick the floor first? Are counter tops the most important, or are appliances. The honest answer, is that does not lie with the products at all...

Where you truly start is with a budget. I know many home owners are leery of contractors, and hesitate to give out specifics on their budget, truth be told, a budget really helps a contractor to allow a homeowner to afford the kitchen they are looking for.

I often get asked both at work and with friends/family what kitchen cabinets cost. This is a tough question to answer. We have bought cabinets for kitchens that cost $1,500.00 and we have bought cabinets for kitchens that cost $65,000; the average falls somewhere in the middle. Setting a budget for a project and telling your contractor allows him to funnel your ideas into a logical expectation.

Creating a budget also allows you to reel yourself in. It is very easy in ANY project to add $500 here and $500 there. On big ticket items, it doesn't seem like that much at the time, but it adds up quickly. Having a budget allows you to know the minimum and maximum you can spend. The last thing you want to do is over extend yourself.

AFTER a budget is set, you can start to choose your tangible objects. As for what comes first here, that is up to the customer. Most customers go straight for the outside look of the cabinets. Some have set in their mind what they are looking for INSIDE the cabinets. There is no right or wrong choice to this aspect of your kitchen. Whatever is most important to you is what you should choose first. What do you look for when you go into someon else's home? Do you look at the cabinets first, or the counters, the appliances, or the floor. Pick what you notice first, because you want that to be what you love in your new space.

http://www.hicksdistributors.com/

Designing custom kitchens in Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County,Pennsylvania.
Be a fan on facebook... www.facebook.com/hicksdistributors
Follow us on Twitter... http://twitter.com/HDICabinets