In addition to the overall design aesthetic, you should also need to consider your work style, cooking style, and lifestyle and how those will play into the kitchen layout and features.
But like most things in life, careful planning will go a long way toward setting accurate expectations and minimizing stress and complications. Many experts will also tell you that can be a time consuming and occasionally stressful project. Updating or adding a bathroom is second on the list for adding value. All of this won't be easy or inexpensive, but the resulting safer building will be worth it.“A kitchen remodel is one of the best ways to add value to your house…it can give you close to a 100 percent return on your investment” according to TLC’s Top 10 Ways to Add Value to Your Home. And there are strict regulations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will most likely have to be dealt with.
Most significantly, we'll have to make sure our new windows and doors meet or exceed the appropriate design pressure (DP) rating (a factor of wind speed, size and location). Since our project is located in coastal Florida, we'll have to mitigate the effects of hurricanes. So let's remember this earthquake and its disastrous results every time we want to complain about "onerous" building codes and regulations. Remember the May 2008 earthquake in China that toppled many buildings, including schools, that cost many people, including children, their lives? This was a disaster that would have been avoidable with the existence of better building codes more strictly enforced. Though all of these rules will at times make us want to moan and complain, they exist to protect life and property. From earthquake resistance in California to impact resistance in coastal Florida, just about every town, village and city has a specific and unique set of building codes, ordinances and regulations that any project will have to comply with. Research the codes, ordinances and regulations.