You’ve decided to remodel your kitchen. Now what? Not knowing where to start, many homeowners fall into two camps. Some start by looking at appliances. Others start by collecting inspiring kitchen photos. Some decide they need more room. Others simply want to upgrade their current kitchen. Homeowners may find themselves in this exploration stage for a year or longer before they start interviewing kitchen designers or general contractors.

Once you’ve pondered long enough and you’re ready to green-light a kitchen remodeling project, then what? We’ll start with the first 9 steps and we’ll get into the nitty-gritty details under specific steps as we move through the complete workbook.

Step 1: Think about what you need

This step is all about how you use your kitchen, and finding the layout and features that fit your household’s lifestyle. Get ideas from every resource possible, including Houzz guides and photos, kitchen showrooms, books and magazines.Think about your priorities: how many people will be cooking and gathering here, and how they’ll need to move around in it. Do you need an addition? Or can you work with your existing kitchen footprint?

If you haven’t already, start saving photos of kitchens with features that suit your style. Your collection can be organized and beautiful like a scrapbook or it can be filled with random, unorganized images. I actually prefer the latter, because I like to randomly stuff images into my folders and ideabooks and go back to them later on for edits.

How to Organize Your Ideas | Browse kitchen photos and save your favorites

Step 2: Research and plan

Ready to green-light that project and take the plunge? The best place to start is by formulating what’s commonly referred to as a scope of work and figuring out your preliminary budget.

Both of these may be subject to change, so don’t feel like you have only once chance at this. Budget and scope are intertwined and often change many times during the design process as you become more educated and able to reconcile what you want and what you can afford. As a homeowner, you’re not expected to walk into this knowing what everything should cost. Remember, this is an educational process.

How to Map Our Your Scope of Work | 3 Common Kitchen Budgets

Step 3: Find the professionals you will need

Even if you’re going the DIY route, unless you’re building your own kitchen cabinets and doing your own electrical and plumbing, you’re going to have to work with a professional at some point. It may be as brief as leaning on your salesperson to help you in selecting and ordering your appliances or cabinets, but it’s something to plan on either way.

Some people start by visiting big-box stores or cabinet showrooms where they can see everything. Many homeowners get referrals from friends or colleagues and start by hiring an architect or designer. Still others might work on their own with a builder or contractor. Pros are available to help you with everything from contracts and permits to space planning, budgets, choosing finishes and fixtures, shopping, ordering products, helping you set up a temporary kitchen, and managing your project from start to finish.

How to Work With a Kitchen Designer | When Do You Need a Pro?

Step 4: Schematic design

This phase includes sketches, space planning, preliminary floor plans and elevations showing the layout and cabinet sizes. I try to keep my clients focused more on layout and space planning, even though the temptation is to talk about what the kitchen will look like. But I find that getting caught up in the look too early can distract from the space planning phase.

Plus, you need a plan in order to figure out what materials will go where, and how many square feet you will need, and ultimately how much this will cost. I like to begin the contractor interview process early and give them a preliminary drawing packet and scope of work so we can get some ballpark construction numbers. At the same time you can be sending out drawings for estimates on some top choices of finishes and fixtures.

More on Planning Your Space | How to Read a Floor Plan

Step 5: Fixture and finish specification

Throughout this process, and probably long before, you have been saving photos of kitchens you love into your ideabooks and folders. You’ve found your style, whether it’s modern, classic, traditional, cottage or a personal style in between. You probably know if you want a white kitchen, a natural wood kitchen, or some color.

Now you need to make your final selection of finishes and fixtures. This usually includes:

• Cabinetry construction type, doorstyle, finish and color
• Countertop material
• Refrigerators and other appliances
• Kitchen sink and faucet
• Light fixtures
• Flooring
• Backsplash
• Decorative hardware

More on planning your layout and appliances

Step 6: Work on design development and construction documents

This is the stage when you finalize the design and prepare final floor plans, elevations, details and, if applicable, mechanical and electrical drawings, lighting switch plans, and exterior elevations.

This is where your final permit set or Construction Drawings (CDs) come into play. It’s important to have finishes and fixtures selected at this time, since this is what will be considered in the final pricing from the contractor.

You’ll submit drawings for permits. These have a lead time, so check the timing with your local village. You’ll need an architect, designer or licensed contractor signed up to finalize the paperwork and pick up your permits, so get ready to hire someone in the next step. I often find that we’re submitting for permits around the same time or a little bit after we’ve placed the cabinet order, due to similar lead times.

Step 7: Get contractor estimates

If you don’t already have a licensed contractor on your project, your next step is to find one to carry the project through. I always recommend to my clients to get at least 3 different contractor estimates. I like to do preliminary walk-throughs with the contractors once the schematic designs are done so we can get some ballpark estimates and find out if we’re on the right track or need to pull back some to fit the budget.

What to Look for in a Contractor’s Contract

Step 8: Get ready for demo

The big day is upon us, most likely something like 4-8 weeks from when you submitted for permits. Time to get that schedule firmed up and plan on cleaning out the cabinets, putting what you don’t need in storage and — if you’re living in the house during construction — setting up a temporary kitchen so you don’t lose your mind!

You may be moving out of your house temporarily, but most homeowners white-knuckle it and try to live in the house through construction. Preparation and organization can save your sanity.

Discuss the logistics ahead of time with your contractor. Will you meet once a week for updates? Will you have to be out of the house for certain tasks like demo or flooring? What about debris removal and dust? Are there any family allergy issues? What is a typical work day for the crew? Getting all this on the table beforehand can set expectations and make for a smoother ride.

4 Ways to Get Ready for Kitchen Construction

Step 9: Surviving the dreaded punch list

Once construction is over, well … almost over … there’s always this annoying little list of items that are missing, wrong, or simply forgotten about. A missing light switch plate, a caulk line that shrank and pulled away from the wall, paint touch ups — small things like this, and sometimes bigger things like the hood doesn’t work, or there’s a big scratch in the newly refinished floor.

Sometimes the homeowner does the punch list. It can be as informal as an emailed list of items that need to be fixed or finished. I like to use a little form I put together that identifies the item to be fixed or finished, the responsible party and the date of completion. I send it to the client for review, changes and additions, and then off to the contractor.

It’s inevitable that the contractor may have to make multiple visits back to the house to finish these items; prepare yourself for more than one visit and you’ll be fine.The best way to approach this is with a Zen attitude. Things happen, little things get missed. It’s sort of like making a list for the grocery store and still forgetting some key ingredient. We all do it.

Next: How to Plan Your Scope of Work

More: Browse kitchen photos | Find an architect, designer or contractor

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White continues — and will continue — to be the overwhelmingly popular choice for kitchen cabinets. Some 42 percent of homeowners will choose white cabinets this year, according to a recent Houzz study on kitchen trends. But the choices you make in addition to the white cabinets will make the difference between having a comfortable, bright space and an icy lair reminiscent of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The following kitchens with white cabinets show how to introduce color, contrast and warmth.

1. Accessories and Color

Designers: Orsi Panos of Orsi Panos Interiors and Louie Katsis of Olympic Kitchens

Location: Toronto

Homeowners’ request: Overhaul a combined kitchen, family area and seating area into a new kitchen with white cabinets and a dining area.

Balance: Open walnut shelf. Blue gray paint on the peninsula — “It’s just enough color so the kitchen doesn’t feel all-white,” designer Orsi Panos says. Accessories like large wood cutting boards, plants and blue-and-white dishes bring more balance.

Special features: Quartz countertops. Full-height cabinetry. Nine-foot ceiling.

Also on the team: Lyons Construction (general contractor; flooring installation)

Peninsula accent paint: Lead Grey, Benjamin Moore; cabinet paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore; wall paint: On the Rocks, Sherwin-Williams; countertops: Calacatta Nuvo quartz, Diamante Granite and Marble; pendant lights: Union Lighting; backsplash tile: Olympia Tile; stools: Shelter Furniture; faucet: Plumbing & Parts Home Centre; runner rug: H&M Home; art: Art Interiors; flooring: hardwood, Summit International Flooring

See more of this kitchen and home

2. Contrast

Designer: Senalee V. Kapelevich of SVK Interior Design
Location: San Francisco
Size: 169 square feet (15.7 square meters); 13 by 13 feet (3.9 by 3.9 meters)

Homeowners’ request: An open, family-friendly kitchen in a Scandinavian style that’s not too cold.

Balance: Honed black granite countertops, black steel stools and shelf brackets contrast the white cabinets and walls. A butcher block countertop on the island, along with wood shelves, adds warmth. “Then we layered on our accent color, which was mint,” designer Senalee Kapelevich says. “We worked that in through the accessories and the lighting.”

Designer secret: “Anytime you work on a home that is 100 years old, you always have surprises hiding in your walls after you open them up,” Kapelevich says. “Typically you are forced into upgrading most of your electrical and plumbing. These are upgrades that are expensive but necessary. I always have clients reserve 15 to 20 percent of their total budget to address unexpected issues.”

Also on the team: Michele Lee Willson Photography

Cabinetry: Columbia Cabinets; countertops: honed black granite and butcher block; pendant lights: Barn Light Electric Co.; bar stools: Etsy; shelving: Rejuvenation
See more of this kitchen

3. Warmth

Designer: Kellie Boyce of Studio77 Interiors
Location: Atlanta
Size: 358 square feet (33.2 square meters); 26½ by 13½ feet (8 by 4.1 meters)

Homeowners’ request: More open layout, classic look, clean lines, modern fixtures and finishes, mudroom.

Balance: Red oak floors and custom range hood with walnut stain bring warmth. A gray painted island introduces contrast.

Special features: Motorized pullout trash can next to the sink. Microwave built into the island. Large pantry cabinet.

Why the design works: “Changing the location of the door to the garage was really what made the difference in this design,” designer Kellie Boyce says. “I was able to utilize that wall and make this kitchen much more functional.”

Designer secret: “Some might ask why we didn’t take the cabinets to the ceiling,” Boyce says. “It was really a matter of cost. To add additional cabinetry would cost more.”

“Uh-oh” moment: “We knew we had a plumbing vent stack to deal with which was located in the kitchen,” Boyce says. “We were under the assumption that we could move it. When opening up the walls and investigating further, [we discovered] it was not an ideal situation to move this pipe. We went back to the drawing board and had to rework the cabinetry at the sink wall to accommodate this pipe. We were able to turn the pipe into the mudroom and rework the cabinetry slightly in there as well. There is an end cabinet at the sink wall that is actually a shallow cabinet, and behind it we hid the pipe.”

Also on the team: Piedmont Craftsmen Homes; Dove Studio (cabinetry); Jeff Herr Photography

Backsplash tile: Specialty Tile Products; cabinetry: Shiloh, Dove Studio; countertops: LG quartz, Toro Granite; pendants: Elk Lighting; cabinet hardware: Lily pull, Top Knobs; island paint: Classic Gray, Benjamin Moore

See more of this kitchen

From the rustic and traditional to the bold and contemporary, the latest log cabin kitchen trends are all about versatility and contrast!

Log homes offer endless opportunities to play with texture and color combinations, whatever your style is. In fact, our designers here at Confederation Log & Timber Frame have noticed that more and more log home owners are opting for a more modern, contemporary look instead of the traditional all-wood aesthetic.

Curious about what else is trending in log home kitchens? We were, so we asked our head designer Matthew Reinwald to weigh in, as well as a couple of professional kitchen designers. Here are the 6 top trends they’ve identified in log home kitchens.

1. Kitchens as the Center of the Home

Open floor plans have always ruled for log homes, but Louie Katsis, Certified Kitchen Designer at Olympic Kitchens, says that kitchens are becoming more and more “active living centers,” where “the line between living/dining and kitchen are blurred.”

There is a recent trend towards smaller floor plans as a whole, but not necessarily smaller kitchens. “I wouldn’t say the trend is towards smaller kitchens,” says Katsis. “Most clients are not dreaming of a massive mansion anymore, but rather a smart, well-designed home that works for them.”

“If anything, people would rather have the larger kitchen,” says our head designer, Matt. “Really, more counter space is what people are looking for so they can have a working area.”

Natasha Nash, Designer at Laurysen Kitchens, has the same experience with keeping kitchens large, open, and a continuous part of the home. For log homes, she says, “one of the difficult aspects is trying finding wall space for cabinetry. So a lot of them have extensive islands. The last log home I did had a 12 foot long island. Basically their entire kitchen was an island!”

In Your Home: Your kitchen isn’t just for cooking! When choosing your design options, think of your kitchen as the heart of your home.

2. Slate Floors

The all-wood look is becoming “way less popular,” says Katsis.

With log home kitchen floors, says Matt, many of our clients “will primarily lean more towards the tiles or ceramics.”

Nash agrees that lately it’s all about slate. “Usually if they’re not doing the wood, they’re going to be doing a natural stone, and it’s usually slate. They’re not going towards the marble or anything like that – it’s not going to fit.”

While slate may be trending right now, many owners still stick with wood throughout the house, Matt says. “With the log homes they do like the feel of the wood continuing throughout.”

In Your Home: While wood flooring helps to keep your home design consistent, slate flooring can provide a welcome and more modern contrast.

3. Monochrome Cabinets

“Black is definitely trending right now,” says Matt. “With the kitchens I would say they are going more towards the contemporary. They are going more for the clean, finished look. What is fairly common is the mix of black with natural wood color.”

In Nash’s work designing log home kitchens, she’s found that “the black trend is more regional,” but “white and grey are way more popular” than before.

“The thing about log homes is, you’re going to have a lot of wood in there. So any time you have a lot of wood in the structure, you want to counterbalance that with something that is solid,” Nash explains. “I’ve never done a wood cabinet in a log home. Usually it’s a painted finish, a cream color – not a stark white but an off-white – or a grey. Though white is a lot more popular than grey for log homes.”

“Off white is popular,” agrees Katsis. “Gone are the days of knotty pine for kitchens.”

In Your Home: Kitchen trends in cabinetry are all about playing up on contrast. Don’t be afraid to go bold with bright white or striking black.

4. Quartz or Granite Counters

“In cottages, a natural-looking counter is preferred,” says Katsis, with many clients opting for “practical quartz counters that look like real stone.”

“Quartz tends to be the reigning king right now,” agrees Nash. “Though I will say within the log home community, they tend to go for more natural finishes. So I’m seeing more granite in log home building than quartz, because the rest of the space is pretty organic.”

“You either have really wild patterned granites, or you’re going to have the really, really plain quartzes. There’s no middle ground,” Nash continues.

In Your Home: Again, this trend is all about contrast. A patterned granite can be the focal piece of your kitchen, or a solid quartz can help to unite a busier look.

5. Live Edge Breakfast Bars

Example of live edge breakfast bar. See in the Gallery: “The Ellwood”

“A lot of homes are starting to do a live edge countertop for the breakfast bar,” Matt says. “What a live edge is, essential it’s a piece of lumber but instead of it being a square cut on the end of it, it’s got the natural features of the log.”

In Your Home: The touch of natural wood at the edge of a breakfast bar counter is a subtle way to continue the wood texture throughout the house, without overwhelming the decor with one texture.

6. Chimney Style Range Hoods

Playing up the contrast of the stainless steel range hoods against wood walls and painted cabinetry makes for a very trendy, modern look.

“We used to see a lot of wood facade, but stainless steel are a lot more common,” says Nash. “That mixture of textures that’s a lot more common in log homes than it is in standard home. Because you’ve got this automatic texture everywhere, people are really playing off of that by picking up on different textures in the room.”

In Your Home: A smooth, reflective metal is a beautiful way to play up the contrast between your bold cabinets and the wood of a log home.

Your Kitchen, Your Style

Log home kitchens can be rustic and traditional, or modern and contemporary – it’s all in the details. We’ve seen our clients run the gamut in their own homes, or even mix up the two extremes together.

“Clients still want that rustic charm, but it’s more subdued,” says Katsis. “A rustic wood floor and a few rustic accents pieces will usually do the trick when mixed into a modern backdrop.”

While log homes may bring to mind rustic decor, don’t feel limited in your design options! Playing with texture and bringing modern color and finishes into the mix, you can create a modern, stylish kitchen in your log home.

What does your dream kitchen look like? Are you playing with texture for 2016, or are you in love with a more traditional log home look?

Have a question for our design team, or want to get started designing your own log home? We’re happy to help! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have a favorite photo from the gallery!