Permits and planning ahead

Your number one priority should be to secure a building permit from your local city or county government. Failure to do so could ultimately make your project much more costly.

A set of architectural plans will really help you and your service professional visualize the finished project, but any design preparations can be helpful. Consult with a designer for ideas or check out magazines and cut out ideas, designs or photos that approximate what you want, or simply make a sketch of what your plans are. Any of these things will eliminate surprises and minimize or eliminate misunderstandings.

Rearranging your kitchen

Letting your service professional know about moving appliances helps him better judge how much work will be necessary to complete your project. For instance, bringing in plumbing, electricity or a gas or phone line might necessitate structural or wall changes. It will also let him know if he needs to contact other tradespeople to finish the project.

Any addition to a home (big or small) affects your home's structure. But a "structural change" for home projects means construction significant enough to require moving load-bearing walls (walls that are necessary to hold up your ceiling) or creating new windows or doors.

As a rule, a private building engineer should design or approve all structural changes. Then you will need to pull permits from your local municipality, and the local building department will check the plan.

The U-shaped kitchen works best in medium-sized kitchens and makes your cabinets and appliances easily accessible.

The L-shaped, right-angle floor plan is a good choice for kitchens that open into other rooms or are part of a great room.

One-wall layouts, which don't offer as much counter or storage space as other plans, are generally found in rental suites, apartments and condos.

A center island can make a large area into a better working and storage space.

Surfaces

Stone is just what its name implies: quarried slate, limestone, flagstone, granite, or marble. A third material, stone tile, is made from real stone aggregate suspended in a polymer binder. It's a relatively affordable alternative to stone.

Because tile and stone floors are heavy and unforgiving of movement, they're best applied over a strong, unyielding base; otherwise, they will crack.

Vinyl is one of the most practical flooring materials. With vinyl flooring, a dropped milk glass has a chance of survival, and the resulting spill is easy to clean up with a damp cloth. Underfoot, vinyl flooring is comfortable, skid-resistant, quiet, and warm. In addition, it's relatively inexpensive and readily available in a wide array of patterns and colors.

-- Tips courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com