Tired of your old kitchen and want to give it a facelift? Discount Kitchens is the obvious choice for kitchen cabinet sourcing in Toronto. However, there comes the question: how much can you really change your kitchen cabinet layout? Updating the kitchen cabinets in your home can really improve your quality of life. But, do you have to simply replace your current cabinets with the same? Or can you go a little wild with the layout? Let’s take a closer look.
Limitations
Let’s start with the limitations of kitchen cabinet replacement, since the limitations are straightforward. There are certain things you’ll have to work around with your new kitchen cabinet layout. Let’s break those things down.
Appliances
The first thing we have to keep in mind is that you’ll still need to fit your appliances in your kitchen. If you’re planning to replace your appliances, make sure you have the exact appliances picked out before deciding on your kitchen cabinets. The exact dimensions of every kitchen appliance are different. If your new oven is just 2 inches too wide, you’ll be in for a world of hurt.
However, as long as your appliances are near the outlets they need for power, there’s some wiggle room in terms of placement. That means, if your new stove needs to sit 6 inches to the left from where it used to to accommodate a new set of double cabinets, you can do that.
Space
The next limitation is one of the most obvious. No matter what kind of cabinets you buy, you will be limited on floor space. Without removing a wall or doing further remodeling, you’ll have to work with the area your current kitchen provides. For some, that may mean taking up roughly the same amount of wall space. For others, you may be able to incorporate or remove an island to use space more efficiently.
There are also kitchens that have underutilized wall space that may allow a significant expansion in storage and counter space. Take a look at the space your kitchen has to offer and take some measurements. That will do a lot to clear up how much you should add or subtract from your kitchen cabinet equation in order to have a comfortable kitchen cabinet layout.
Flooring
And, finally, we have to take flooring into consideration. If your kitchen has laminate or vinyl flooring, there is a good chance that new cabinetry will require replacement flooring. This is because new cabinets will mean new dimensions. Your new cabinets may be slightly larger or smaller than the ones before them. Because of that, your old sheet vinyl will no longer meet the edges of the cabinetry.
Fortunately, vinyl is fairly cheap to replace, when considering overall renovation costs. However, if you have hardwood flooring that’s only been sealed or coated up to the edge of the cabinets, you may want to ensure any new cabinetry is at least as deep as your old cabinets. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to refinish your floors, which is neither expensive nor fun.
Next Up: Possibilities
To keep reading, check out part 2, where we discuss the ways you most certainly can change your kitchen cabinet layout.