What Is the Best Time of Year to Remodel Your Kitchen?

Kitchens are the most popular room in a house to remodel, due to the numerous benefits and smart reasons to do so. Remodeling a kitchen dramatically increases your home’s resale value, making it a smart investment into your equity. It also adds functionality and convenience to one of the most common household workspaces, allowing you to cook, eat, and clean with more ease.   A kitchen remodel can even save you money on water and power bills, and you can take the chance to implement your perfect kitchen layout, along with upgrading cabinetry and appliances. Lastly, a remodeled kitchen is the perfect way to showcase your taste and style to guests, and to help bring the family closer together by sharing mealtimes.  

Culinary Considerations

Kitchen upgrades are one of the most common renovations that real estate agents recommend for those thinking about selling their house, due to the way it pays for itself through resale value and the impression that a nice kitchen makes on a potential buyer. After all, a lot of time is spent in the kitchen, so you want it to be comfortable. With all these reasons, it’s easy to see why so many people remodel their kitchens every year - it’s estimated that there are about 10 million kitchen remodeling jobs completed every year in America.   However, like all major projects, it’s important to get the timing right. Part of that involves choosing the right time of year to start the project, to avoid delays and inconveniences. To do so, the best time of year to remodel your kitchen is summer, although there are benefits and drawbacks to the other seasons as well.

Long Summer Days

The primary reasons for choosing summer to begin any major construction work, like a kitchen remodel, is because the days are longer which provides more time to work and the weather is nice, which means that rain delays won’t happen and materials can be left outside.  Another good reason to start the job in summer is that many contractors are very busy in the spring and fall, but not as busy in the summer. Many construction jobs are more difficult in the winter, due to the short days and cold, wet weather. This leads many companies and professionals to hire contractors when the weather clears up, but summer tends to be a good time to hire people. Some kitchen remodels include an addition, which might require outside work. Starting in the summer will make this demolition and construction far easier.   When planning your new kitchen, selecting the right colors, textures, and materials is everything. The right paint color scheme can literally increase your home’s value, and the same holds true for indoor color schemes as well. In summer, the lighting will be at its peak, so you can get a truer feel for how everything will look in natural lighting, helping you choose the right cabinets, paint, counters, appliances, and everything else more accurately.   Also, summer is the perfect time for outdoor grilling or other forms of meal prep. Keep in mind that during the remodel, you may not be able to use your kitchen for a while. When it’s summer that’s no problem - just break out the grill and tongs, and you’re all set. There’s one more reason why people might consider summer the best time to begin an extensive home remodeling project - the ability to travel. Many families plan a vacation or other trip during the summer when the kids are off of school and parents can get time off of busy jobs more easily. Take advantage of this ability to evacuate your house for a while, and you won’t have to deal with the worst of the messes and inconveniences.  

The Smartest Room to Remodel

You’ll be surprised at how much difference a new kitchen makes in your day-to-day life. It’s easy to underestimate the amount of time you spend cooking, cleaning, or eating in the kitchen. Nothing brings a family together like sharing meals, especially dinner, and a remodeled kitchen is the best way for you to facilitate this.   Of course, there’s one more thing to keep in mind when it comes to contracting work, which is that although summer is a good time to work, the planning stage must begin far before that. Don’t neglect planning and budgeting, and make sure that any parts you need will be there in time. Supply chain issues and shortages have been an issue in recent years, only underscoring the need to plan ahead. Remember, there’s no completely wrong way to remodel a house! Make it your own, and if you’d rather do the job in the middle of winter, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. However, you will be able to take advantage of some noticeable benefits in summer that will make the job more efficient, easy, and enjoyable for everyone.