Experience has shown us over and over that many people go into their new kitchen or remodel in the Chicagoland area with tunnel vision – mainly focused on their budget.

Many times this single focus leads to them to NOT look into options we KNOW they would want to do. Even to where they would give up something else in order to make the budget work. But the budget ends up ruling the day and they go down a limited road.

Kitchen and bath industry studies have shown that over 1/3 of homeowners, after their project is complete, wish they had done more and regret that they didn’t. Whether it’s better quality cabinets, more organization and accessories inside of them, or a higher grade of countertops, whatever. It’s a sad feeling to have after spending a chunk of your life for something you and your family should enjoy for years.

Our Recommendation

Here’s what you’ll hear in many places: “decide what you want to spend, and stick to it”. That’s an acceptable philosophy, as long as it is independent and doesn't interrupt the second philosophy: “go in with eyes OPEN and educate yourself on the options you dream of to determine what you REALLY want. Then prioritize the list from most important to least”.  We call this the list of “gems”.

Once you have these 2 things: your target budget and your target list of gems, then it’s MUCH easier to make sure you don’t end up with regrets. You start with the top gem and go down the priority list to ensure you get the most important things to you.

You see, some gems are MUCH more valuable than others (as far as making you happy with your new kitchen). There may be one gem that makes all the difference in your kitchen to you. This is the large gem. Then there may be smaller gems you find as you go through designing. Sadly many don’t look hard enough to find that large gem because they’re too focused on their budget. They end up with a couple of small gems that they’re “ok” with, when they could’ve had the large gem instead and been completely overjoyed with the result.

One Question to Rule All Others

Here’s the secret question to ask yourself as you prepare for your new kitchen or remodel. When you look at all the options and say “I want that”, ask yourself this question: “Why do I want that?”. The answer to that question will lead you to ALL the gems. 

Here’s what I mean – let’s say you saw a pantry organizer pullout and said “I WANT THAT”. Well if you stop there and tell your designer, you’ll get just that; a nice pantry pullout organizer. BUT – if you ask yourself the magic question “why do I want that”, the answer might be, “because I’m borderline OCD and I really need everything to have a place to be organized in my kitchen so I can live happily”.

There’s your gem. If I’m your designer I now know exactly how to make your life completely happy forever, and you will LOVE your new kitchen more than you ever would without me knowing that gem.

So go into your kitchen with eyes open to the possibilities. Then once you know what your largest gems are (the ones that will make you most happy), you can merge those with your budget and end up at a much happier place.

Our designers at Brakur have been formally trained to find the gems in your Chicagoland kitchen remodel, and will help you to ensure there are no regrets when you’re done. Just happiness.

Contact us to set an appointment. 

You can also download the Kitchen Remodel survival kit which will help you ensure you cover everything to avoid regrets. Click below.