Kitchen Remodeling

Overview

Most kitchens are limited by a decision somebody made forty years ago. A wall in the wrong place, a window that stops a run of cabinets, plumbing stacked against the one wall that would otherwise be perfect for the range. A kitchen renovation that only replaces what is already there inherits every one of those compromises.

Because Yosef is a structural engineer by training, the first conversation is usually about what can move rather than what cannot. Sometimes the wall you assumed was structural is not. Sometimes it is, and the answer is a beam and a pair of posts rather than abandoning the plan. Either way you find out at the design stage, not halfway through demolition.

Opening up a kitchen properly

Removing a wall between a kitchen and a living area is the single change that transforms a home more than any other — and the one most often done badly. It requires knowing what the wall carries, sizing the beam for the span, getting the load down to the foundation through posts that actually land on something, and having it engineered and inspected. Done right it is invisible. Done wrong you get a ceiling that sags a year later. More on that here.

Cabinetry: where the money actually goes

Cabinets are usually 35–45% of a kitchen budget, and the price range between the cheapest and the best is enormous. The parts worth paying for are the box construction, the drawer boxes and the hardware — the things you touch every day and cannot upgrade later. Door style and finish are the things you see, and they cost far less to change your mind about. We will tell you where to spend and where it makes no difference.