6 kitchen renovation tips from a NEFF customer
When it comes to renovating, some things you just have to learn as you go.
But to save you some time and effort, we asked NEFF customers Holly Docherty and Angie Lonergan (@reno_gals) for their top 6 renovation tips. The Brisbane-based pair recently renovated a 1950s-built Queenslander home and share the good and the bad – so you can tackle your kitchen revamp like a pro!
What was the hardest part about renovating your kitchen?
Organising all our trades in the right order was hard. Next time we would ideally use one company to do absolutely everything.
There are pros and cons to both ways – if the one team all works together then it’s brilliant. But if you choose a team and one of the trades gets held up, you don’t have the freedom to find a different one.
What was the best thing you did when renovating your kitchen?
The best thing we did was choosing good quality appliances. We were so happy with our choice of gas cooktop over induction and love the NEFF Slide&Hide ovens we installed. They just cook everything to perfection – we especially loved to cook lamb roasts. We also loved our integrated dishwasher and having a double sink in our island bench, as well as a deep single sink in the butler’s kitchen. Everything is just so practical and functional!
Start your kitchen renovation journey today with a quick phone call with one of our NEFF specialists.
What do you wish you knew before starting?
We wish we knew not to rely so heavily on individual trades to talk to each other.
There are so many trades involved in a kitchen renovation, from the designer to the cabinet maker, the electrician, plumber, stone mason, appliance supplier, builder, plasterer, tiler.
We wish we had researched all the regulations around installing appliances and had our finger on the pulse a little more ourselves.
We had a major issue with how close our gas cooktop was installed to the splashback and had to get a brand-new stone benchtop cut to meet building code.
Always check the specifications and regulations before purchasing or installing!
What’s something you would do differently next time?
Next time we would spend more time planning and sourcing the exact materials we want to use. It’s also important to speak to the builder or cabinet maker in the planning stage too. Our last renovation was quite rushed, and we didn’t feel we had a decent amount of time to plan and talk through each element of the design including things like how deep the drawers were going to be. Every little detail matters!
For more planning inspiration, check out the 4 design trends tipped to dominate 2023.
Was your budget spot on, over or under?
Our budget was spot on – but we did make compromises to get there. This included not having overhead cabinetry in the main kitchen, only in the butler’s kitchen. We also saved by not having a waterfall stone bench on our island – and stuck with a thinner stone (20mm) so we could afford a nicer type from the premium range. Purchasing our products and appliances on sale also helped us save on costs.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for other people renovating a kitchen?
Spend a decent amount of time in the designing and planning stage and think of all the practical and functional things you love about a kitchen you have been in, if it’s in a friend’s kitchen or family, or even better, think about kitchens you’ve been in that don’t function well and think about how they would work better. Think of the small unthought of things, will your upper cabinets go to the ceiling, or do you need bulk heads installed? We also purchased all our appliances, taps and sinks prior to even beginning the cabinetry design so that it was all there to give to the cabinet maker to build around the sizes. Think about if a double sink or single sink better for you, do you cook a lot and want a larger 900mm oven or 2 stacked 600mm ovens, do you want these ovens side by side or stacked? Think of aesthetics but also practically and spend money on quality appliances.
Hear more from our customers in this before and after kitchen renovation article.
Or book in a demonstration at a NEFF showroom near you and see our products for yourself!
About NEFF
NEFF is a German-engineered kitchen appliance brand, with a product range that includes ovens, cooktops, rangehoods, coffee machines and dishwashers designed to make life in the kitchen a daily pleasure. For people who love to cook, NEFF gives you the tools to creative meaningful connections, express your creativity and make memories. Because real life happens in the kitchen.
Learn more about NEFF here.