If you ask the people who have gone through a kitchen renovation, many of them would have said “I have made a big mistake…” or “I should have considered this…”
Now that you have decided to own an aluminium kitchen cabinet, getting an accurate list of details that you should consider is important.
In order to avoid poor decision making, I have taken the liberty to list out the common mistakes as well as issues that would not have crossed your mind.
Below are the 13 mistakes to avoid during the renovation of your aluminium kitchen.
1. Selection Done Based On Pricing Only
2. Unrealistic Budgeting
3. Choosing The Wrong Company
4. Forgo Practicality For Style Or Trend
5. Bad Timeline Planning
6. Lack Of Kitchen Workflow Planning
7. Insufficient Storage Space
8. Shortfall Of Kitchen Countertop Space
9. Too Few Electrical Outlets
10. Bad Planning On Electrical Outlet Positions
11. Delay In Purchasing Appliances
12. Not Taking Account On Lightings
13. Ventilation Not Considered
1. Selection Done Based On Pricing Only
This is perhaps one of the huge but common mistakes made by many families when comparing prices between built-in furniture companies.
Cheapest does not always mean it is the best when it comes to the quality of the furniture and workmanship as well as after-sales services.
A good example of a company that provides good quality built-in aluminium kitchen cabinets, reasonable priced, trustable after-sales service is BLENO Kitchen which has more than 20 years of experience.
Expert Tips:
Get a quotation from at least two companies for comparison and make sure there is no other hidden cost.
2. Unrealistic Budgeting
It is understandable that renovation of a new house might cause a burnt in our pockets.
However, you must seriously consider the lifespan of your kitchen cabinet and never ever give an unrealistic budget into it.
Kitchen is the busiest area of your house as it is used majority of the day and hence, you should not compromise on the quality by cutting down on your budget substantially.
Also read: Aluminium Kitchen Cabinet Vs Wood (15 Comparison Factors)
3. Choosing The Wrong Company
It would be a nightmare if you ended up choosing the wrong company to be in charge of your renovation especially when it comes to aluminium kitchen cabinets.
Many companies out there want to jump into the bandwagon of aluminium kitchen cabinets due to its increasing popularity.
Some of these companies will falsely claim that they are an expert in this line of work and might end up producing low-grade quality and unsatisfactory planning of your kitchen cabinet.
With more than 20 years of experience in kitchen cabinetry, BLENO Kitchen has proved to be a top contender in providing high-quality aluminium kitchen cabinet.
Expert Tips:
Request the company to provide you their company profile as well as the list of past projects with photos as proof according to the construction dates.
4. Forgo Practicality For Style Or Trend
Everyone wants to be in-style or follow the latest trend of aluminium kitchen cabinet design, but is it practical for usage?
Your No.1 aim should be for a workable, comfortable, smooth flowing kitchen layout and design.
5. Bad Timeline Planning
Good timeline planning comes hand in hand with getting a reliable company to handle the renovation of your kitchen cabinets.
Renovation of the kitchen area always takes up a large amount of construction time as it is the most complicated part of your home.
If the company you have engaged in have terrible timeline planning, you will experience a delay in getting your home ready on time.
Therefore, make sure that you choose a company that has a long list of positive testimonials such as BLENO Kitchen.
6. Lack Of Kitchen Workflow Planning
Good kitchen design planning would give a smooth workflow for efficient functionality.
Workflow in this sense means that you would not need to move around aimlessly and feel uncomfortable while you move from one area to another.
Also read: How To Select The Best Aluminium Kitchen Cabinet
Planning of your kitchen workflow should include cooking, preparation, cleaning, appliances, kitchenware and a food storage zone.
An example of a bad workflow planning would be having your preparation zone being far away from your cooking zone.
7. Insufficient Storage Space
It is understandable that some people would prefer to have a simple and minimal kitchen design.
This would be alright if you do not plan to cook and rarely make use of your kitchen.
However, for most people especially families, this would not be the case.
You have to make sure that there are enough kitchen cabinets to store everything such as your pots and pans, plates and bowls, dry food, kitchen appliances, seasonings and others.
List out all the items that need to be arranged in your kitchen before the design planning is made.
Expert Tips:
Add about 30% extra storage on top of your original planned cabinets to cater for additional items such as newly bought kitchenware or appliances.
8. Shortfall Of Kitchen Countertop Space
The lack of kitchen countertop space is usually the culprit of a messy kitchen with many items being cramped up your countertop.
Also read: How To Choose Aluminium Kitchen Cabinet Door
Similar to planning your kitchen storage, you must also need to list out all the items that you will place on the countertop as well as the area you need for food preparation.
Expert Tips:
Add on about 20% countertop space in addition to your original plan because it usually ends up being used for some other miscellaneous items.
You may also consider adding a kitchen island placed opposite your kitchen stove.
9. Too Few Electrical Outlets
Electrical outlets always seemed to be lacking once you have fully utilise your kitchen.
In order to avoid needing to use extension wires, you will need to make sure that you have sufficient outlets for all of your appliances.
Also read: Aluminium Kitchen Cabinet 3G vs 4G
Consider every single appliance such as oven, microwave, kitchen hob, kitchen hood, refrigerator, rice cooker, food steamer, slow cooker, water filter, bread toaster, stand mixer and others.
Expert Tips:
If you have limited space for a long kitchen countertop, make sure that you have additional kitchen cabinets to store the appliances that you do not use daily such as slow cooker, food steamer or stand mixer.
10. Bad Planning On Electrical Outlet Positions
Other than making sure you have enough electrical outlets, the position of these outlets is just as important.
If you do not plan at an early stage, you will face the issue of messy wires going everywhere around your kitchen countertop.
11. Delay In Purchasing Appliances
To avoid having the above issues such as countertop space, lack of kitchen cabinets and electrical outlets, you must purchase your appliances at an earlier stage.
Appliances that would affect the kitchen design such as refrigerator, built in oven, microwave or washing machine (if it is being placed in the kitchen) MUST be purchased early.
Expert Tips:
If you do not want to purchase early due to lack of space in your old home and the unsuitability of placing in your new home due to renovation, then get the exact dimensions of the appliances to be passed on to the kitchen planner.
12. Not Taking Account On Lightings
A kitchen will function better with proper and brighter lightings.
You do not want to be faced with a dark area while you do your food preparation and cooking.
A kitchen with dimmed lighting might give out a nicer ambience but do plan it only around the area that you do not need much brightness.
Expert Tips:
Light strips such as LED lightings can also be added under the top kitchen cabinets to provide enough lighting onto the countertop.
13. Ventilation Not Considered
You need proper ventilation to have a good air circulation in order to avoid a smokey and greasy kitchen.
Discuss with your contractor on the placement of your ventilator before the construction of your kitchen cabinets because they might be able to conceal the ducting of your ventilator from your cooking hood.
Expert Tips:
Get a good kitchen planner cum contractor such as BLENO that can coordinate the above for you.
I hope the above list of mistakes would let you make better decisions while planning your aluminium kitchen.
Basically, you can avoid majority of these mistakes by engaging a reliable aluminium kitchen cabinet company.
Look into companies like BLENO which can give you a top-notch service and you will have less headache while facing the problems that might occur.
