Estimated Read Time: 6 Minutes

Your kitchen is the heart of your home, where meals are prepared and memories are made. A renovation not only improves its functionality but also provides a fresh canvas to express your personal style and creativity.

Whatever the reason, it might be time for you to undergo a long overdue home improvement project! 

At Deslaurier, we have over 40 years of experience manufacturing custom cabinets and providing kitchen design expertise. While we do not offer renovation services, we have spent decades partnering with Contractors and Renovators to give our clients the custom kitchen of their dreams. 

Deslaurier design consultant, Adele Jacobs, shares her expert insights on 7 signs that it might be time for you to transform your cooking space!  

Let’s get started! 

1. Outdated Style 

One of the primary reasons to undergo a renovation is that you no longer like the look of your kitchen. 

This happens with a lot of traditional-style kitchens. Perhaps the general appeal of decorative trim and ornamentation has faded, and you want to update it with a sleek and streamlined design. 

Homeowners typically want a more contemporary look and will choose to renovate purely for aesthetic reasons.

This is what’s referred to as a “cosmetic” renovation. Cosmetic renovations don’t require a building permit and are essentially done purely to freshen up the look of your kitchen. 

A renovation can be a rewarding experience, allowing you to create a space that reflects your current personal style and design preferences.

Refurbishing your kitchen can come in various ways, such as new cabinetry, flooring, countertops, fixtures, or wall paint. Anything that doesn’t result in structural changes to the space. 

If you love your kitchen arrangement but want to give it a facelift, a cosmetic renovation is perfect for you. 

2. Addressing Damage and Deterioration

Renovating your kitchen can take care of any pesky maintenance or repair issues your current kitchen may face.

Whether your kitchen countertops have been stained or scorched, the painted finish on your cabinets is beginning to chip away, or you have incessantly creaky flooring—it might be time to get rid of those headaches for good! 

Through kitchen updates, you have the chance to replace worn-out features with sturdier, longer-lasting materials.

Materials like ultra-durable, new-age Dekton countertops or fresh planks of long-lasting hardwood flooring can help fortify your kitchen’s resistance for decades to come.

Damage and maintenance issues can also present themselves in more urgent matters, such as plumbing or electrical concerns – think leaky sink pipes or electrical wiring that needs replacing – that might result in a more impromptu renovation. 

The sooner you catch these problems, the more time you’ll have to plan your new kitchen. 

3. Add More Function 

The ideal kitchen not only looks good but performs great as well. 

For all the different design styles and tastes out there, one thing is true about older kitchens: they don’t offer the same functionality as their contemporary counterparts. 

That just comes with the continuous advancement of new kitchen storage solutions. In terms of functional storage and cabinet accessories, there are a lot more options than there were even a decade ago:

“In the last 10 to 15 years I’d say a lot has changed when it comes to functional accessories and storage” – Jacobs

Features like recycling pullouts, spice and oil racks, and a wide variety of corner cabinet solutions are constantly being improved to enhance the practicality of modern-day kitchens. 

The unfortunate part is most of these accessories cannot be added to your existing cabinets. Most likely, you will have to change the cabinet boxes entirely for new accessories and storage features—resulting in a renovation. 

4. You Want to Change the Layout

Another way to increase function in your kitchen is by performing a “structural” renovation to alter the layout. 

Many homeowners want to take a wall or two down to create an open-concept kitchen and living space or to clear room for a generous central island. 

As Jacobs states, contemporary kitchens have taken on a larger role in the home:

“I think the way people use their kitchens has changed a lot. There’s a lot more entertaining within the kitchen.” - Jacobs

In recent years, dining rooms are being used less and less as the kitchen has grown to become the entertainment hub of the home. Sit-down meals and social gatherings are taking place in the kitchen, with the rise of open-concept homes providing continuity between kitchens and living rooms. 

Modern kitchens also incorporate more “specific zones” applicable to everyday use. Things like bar areas, breakfast nooks, and coffee stations are all commonplace in the same room, rather than being separated. 

Whatever your goal, altering the layout of your kitchen will change how you use your home every day. 

It will also automatically require a complete kitchen redesign.

5. Moving Plumbing or Electrical Work

If you want to change the location of appliances, sinks, or other plumbing and electrical work, that’s an automatic signal of a full-blown kitchen renovation.

Altering or moving electrical and plumbing work will undoubtedly require walls (and possibly flooring) to be opened up. 

It’s crucial that you work with licensed electricians and plumbers when undergoing a project like this.

6. Looking to Update Your Appliances

Rather than rearranging the layout with your existing appliances, maybe you want entirely new ones instead. Sounds simple enough. 

Unfortunately, more often than not you will still have to undergo a renovation. 

“Appliances have gotten bigger and the clearances and restrictions on them have changed quite a bit” - Jacobs

What does that mean? 

Unless your appliances are free-standing on their own, it is highly unlikely that the shiny new appliances you have your eye on will fit into the existing space of your current ones. 

You will need to alter or replace the surrounding cabinetry. 

Matching new cabinets to your existing kitchen – referred to as “retrofitting” – is not as easy as it may sound. It’s extremely time-consuming and you will never match the colour of your new cabinets the *exact* same as your current ones. 

Even if the cabinet finish has been custom colour matched, your existing cabinetry has subtly faded over the years and freshly painted cabinets will look brighter and noticeably different. 

In the end, you’ll most likely need to outfit your entire kitchen with new cabinets. 

7. To Add Resale Value

And lastly, sometimes a kitchen renovation isn’t just for you. 

The best renovations for resale value include kitchens and bathrooms, as these rooms have a significant impact on increasing the overall value of your home.

However, creating a kitchen design that is going to sell is easier said than done. 

“You’ll want features that are going to appeal to a lot of people” - Jacobs

Focus on features that are timeless rather than trendy and avoid personal preferences when designing. Potential homebuyers might not have the same taste as you, and a kitchen renovation based on resale value should cater to the masses, rather than yourself.

Neutral elements, like white or wood grain cabinets – hardwood floors – light quartz countertops – will all increase the universal appeal of your kitchen, and your home. 

Design with Deslaurier Custom Cabinets 

Whether it’s time for an updated facelift or you want to knock down a few walls, we hope these 7 reasons to renovate your kitchen kickstart you on your home-improvement journey. 

If you have your eye on custom cabinetry for your upcoming kitchen renovation, Deslaurier Custom Cabinets has everything you need. With over 40 years of experience in our name, we provide our clients with a fully customized design process with our talented team of designers. 

Book a free consultation today with a Deslaurier kitchen expert at our Ottawa showroom!

Live outside the area? Find a Dealer to connect with a Deslaurier dealer near you! Interested in becoming an authorized Deslaurier dealer? Visit our Become a Dealer page to learn more!