Author: mwcms

Contractor Selection Guide

A kitchen remodel is one of the most rewarding home improvement projects, but finding the right kitchen contractor can make or break your experience. Whether you’re updating cabinets, replacing countertops, or doing a full renovation, hiring the right professional ensures a smooth and successful transformation. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you hire a trustworthy kitchen contractor.

1. Define Your Project Goals

Before reaching out to contractors, outline what you want to achieve. Are you looking for a simple refresh, such as new cabinet doors and a backsplash, or a complete remodel with layout changes? Knowing your scope will help you communicate effectively and get accurate estimates.

2. Research Local Contractors

Colorado has a variety of home remodeling professionals, but not all specialize in kitchens. Search for kitchen contractors in Littleton with experience in kitchen renovations. Check online reviews, ask for referrals, and visit company websites to see portfolios of past work.

3. Verify Credentials and Licensing

Any contractor you hire should be properly licensed and insured. In Colorado, general contractors are not required to have a state license, but many cities and counties—including Littleton—have their own requirements. Make sure your chosen contractor meets local licensing and insurance standards to protect yourself from liability.

4. Ask for References

A reputable kitchen contractor in Littleton should provide references from past clients. Contact these homeowners to ask about their experience, including communication, timeliness, and overall satisfaction with the completed project.

5. Get Multiple Quotes

Don’t settle for the first estimate you receive. Gather at least three bids from different contractors to compare pricing, timelines, and included services. Keep in mind that the cheapest option isn’t always the best—look for a balance of value and quality.

6. Review the Contract Carefully

A professional contractor will provide a detailed contract outlining the project scope, materials, labor costs, timeline, and payment schedule. Avoid vague agreements and never pay the full amount upfront. A reasonable deposit (typically 10-30%) is standard. Keep in mind we do things differently, so no upfront deposit is needed when working with The Furnished Kitchen Remodling

7. Discuss Permits and Regulations

Depending on your remodel, certain changes may require permits from the city. A knowledgeable contractor will handle the permitting process, ensuring that all work meets local building codes and regulations. If a contractor asks you, the homeowner, to handle permits you should consider this a red flag. Give us a call if you have any questions about permitting 303-960-8151.

8. Establish Clear Communication

Good communication is key to a successful renovation. Ask how your contractor prefers to communicate (email, phone, in-person meetings) and establish expectations for project updates.

9. Plan for Potential Delays

Even the best-planned projects can experience delays due to material shortages or unforeseen structural issues. Ask your contractor how they handle setbacks and what their backup plan looks like.

10. Trust Your Instincts

If something feels off during the hiring process—whether it’s poor communication, a lack of professionalism, or unclear pricing—trust your gut. A kitchen remodel is a major investment, and you want to work with someone you feel confident in.

Final Thoughts

Hiring the right kitchen contractor in Littleton can mean the difference between a stress-free renovation and a nightmare project. By following these steps, you’ll be well-equipped to choose a skilled professional who brings your kitchen vision to life.

Smart Strategies for Remodeling a Kitchen on a Budget

Dreaming of a kitchen makeover but worried about the cost? You’re not alone! Kitchen remodeling costs can quickly add up, but with the right approach, you can create a stunning, functional space without breaking the bank. At The Furnished Kitchen, we specialize in high-end kitchen transformations, but we also know how to stretch a dollar to maximize value.

If you’re looking for tips on remodeling a kitchen on a budget, the key is prioritizing smart upgrades that enhance your space while keeping expenses in check. Let’s explore cost-saving kitchen remodeling strategies that deliver style and function without unnecessary spending.

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How to Cut Kitchen Remodeling Costs Without Sacrificing Style

Kitchen remodels are one of the most valuable home improvements, but they also come with one of the highest price tags. Materials alone can make up 45% to 70% of your budget! However, thoughtful planning can help keep your expenses under control.

Here are some tips on remodeling a kitchen on a budget while maintaining quality:

✅ Stick to the existing layout – Avoid moving walls, plumbing, and electrical components. Major structural changes increase labor and material costs.

✅ Keep your current appliances and fixtures – If they still work well, they may just need a refresh or minor repairs.

✅ Refinish instead of replacing – Cabinets, countertops, and flooring can often be refurbished rather than fully replaced.

✅ Shop for discounts – Overstock materials, scratch-and-dent appliances, and builder-grade finishes can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

✅ Work with a contractor who understands budgeting – Clear communication and budget-conscious recommendations prevent unexpected expenses.

At The Furnished Kitchen, we help homeowners build a realistic remodeling budget and connect them with trusted vendors to get high-quality materials at the best prices. Now, let’s break down where you can save the most in your kitchen renovation.

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1. Save Big on Cabinets

Cabinetry can be one of the most expensive elements in a kitchen remodel, but you don’t always need brand-new cabinets to achieve a fresh look.

Refinish or Paint Existing Cabinets

If your cabinets are structurally sound, painting them is one of the most cost-effective upgrades. However, cabinet painting requires proper preparation—using the right primer, paint, and technique ensures a long-lasting, professional finish.

Refacing Cabinets

Cabinet refacing (replacing only the doors and drawer fronts) can cut costs by 50-60% compared to buying new cabinets while still delivering a modern, updated look.

Mix New & Existing Cabinetry

Want taller cabinets or an island? Consider mixing new cabinets with refaced lower ones—this avoids costly changes to countertops, flooring, and plumbing while still modernizing your kitchen design.

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2. Cut Costs on Kitchen Appliances

Appliances can take up a huge chunk of your budget, but you don’t always need to buy brand-new, full-price models. Here’s how to get premium appliances for less:

Buy Scratch-and-Dent Appliances – Small dents or scratches won’t affect performance but can slash the price by hundreds of dollars. Plus, they still come with full manufacturer warranties!

Shop Overstock & Liquidation Sales – Many retailers sell surplus appliances at major discounts. We help our clients find reputable sources for discounted, high-quality kitchen appliances.

Keep What Still Works – If your appliances are still functional, consider waiting to replace them later to spread out costs.

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3. Budget-Friendly Kitchen Flooring Options

If your current flooring works with your updated kitchen style, keeping it can eliminate a big expense. But if you need new flooring, consider these cost-effective options:

Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) – Affordable, waterproof, and easy to install, LVP mimics the look of hardwood at a fraction of the price.

Large-Format Tile – Fewer grout lines mean faster installation and lower labor costs while still delivering a sleek, modern look.

Refinish Existing Hardwood – If you already have wood floors, refinishing instead of replacing them saves money and preserves character.

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4. Affordable Countertop Upgrades

Countertops can transform the look of a kitchen, but materials like quartz and granite can be pricey. Here are some ways to cut costs without sacrificing beauty:

Resurface or Paint Countertops – Specialty countertop paints mimic natural stone at a fraction of the price.

Shop Overstock Countertops – Denver has liquidators offering high-end stone slabs at deep discounts. We help homeowners find quality overstock countertops at affordable prices.

Choose Budget-Friendly Materials – Consider ceramic tile, wood, laminate, or composite materials instead of expensive quartz or granite. They offer durability and style at a much lower price.

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Final Thoughts: A Beautiful Kitchen on a Budget IS Possible!

Remodeling a kitchen on a budget doesn’t mean sacrificing quality—it means making smart choices that maximize value. You can create your dream kitchen without overspending by refurbishing instead of replacing, shopping for discounted materials, and working with a budget-conscious contractor.

At The Furnished Kitchen, we specialize in affordable, high-quality kitchen remodels. If you’re ready to upgrade your space without breaking the bank, we’d love to help!

🔹 Need expert guidance? Contact The Furnished Kitchen today.
🔹 Want more budget-friendly remodeling tips? Check out our blog on How to Hire a Kitchen Contractor..

Want a new kitchen? If you are on a tight budget, contact The Furnished Kitchen by calling 303-960-8151. We look forward to building your dream kitchen but with a balance between cost and quality.

What Are The Seven Most Common Characteristics of a Broken Kitchen?

The shutdown in Denver from the COVID-19 creates more time in the kitchen for most people. Over the last 60 days, problems not noticed before are now more significant and irritating. Mitch, the owner of My Furnished Kitchen, says “that about 60 percent of kitchens are broken.”

What are the seven most common characteristics of a broken kitchen?

1. Workflow Issues – A well-thought kitchen workflow enhances the cooking experience. Ingredients, cookware, and utensils within reach allow a cook to prepare a meal efficiently. The paths between the refrigerator, stove, cabinets, and sink are the busiest in the kitchen. If these features are side by side, more effort is required to prepare food. If you do not cook much, the inconvenience is not a big deal but becomes much more noticeable with more time in the kitchen.

2. Installing Appliances Last – A kitchen remodel might look broken when the owner installs the appliances last. Since the cabinets go in first, more allowances are given around the cabinetry to make sure the range, dishwasher, and refrigerator fit. The kitchen does not have a finished look since gaps exist between the cabinets and appliances. The cook in the family might find this tiresome after cooking day after day during the shutdown.

3. Picking the Wrong Size – Do-it-yourselfers sometimes buy kitchen items on sale. Or they buy the wrong size because they did not measure or just “eyeballed it.” Ill-fitting fixtures, lights and furniture give the entire kitchen a sloppy look.

4. Owner Indecisiveness – Owners sometimes cannot make up their minds, and they do not give the kitchen remodeler a clear vision of what they want. Project uncertainty leads to delays, unexpected expenses, and frustration. The final look of the kitchen usually reflects the owner’s indecisiveness. An experienced remodeling contractor like My Furnished Kitchen understands that building a census with the owners on the final kitchen design and budget is key to a successful project.

5. Skimping on Storage – The frustration of a hurried cook goes up exponentially when he or she cannot find the things needed to complete a meal. Overcrowded drawers and cabinets point to skimping on storage. The Furnished Kitchen understands the importance of storage when designing a kitchen. Mitch incorporates Lazy Susans, roll-out drawers, tray dividers, and cabinet and drawer inserts to maximize every inch of storage space. Finding things when you need them dramatically enhances the cooking experience.

6. Forgetting About Finishes – Sometimes it is the small things that make a kitchen look great. It is natural to focus on countertops, flooring, and appliances when building a kitchen, but some forget about minor design details. It is little things like backsplashes, cabinet pulls, and finishes that make a kitchen pop and increase the enjoyment of the space. Fortunately, owners can add these items later to improve the look of a kitchen.

7. Over Designing a Kitchen – Sometimes, people avoid making decisions by incorporating all their ideas into their remodeling plans with little regard on how the kitchen looks when completed. The result is like an overdone beef roast – tough to swallow. The finished kitchen is not welcoming, comfortable, or functional. An experienced kitchen remodeling contractor like The Furnished Kitchen helps owners make decisions to create a space they love, and within a budget, they can afford.

Want a new kitchen? If you are on a tight budget, contact The Furnished Kitchen by calling 303-960-8151. We look forward to building your dream kitchen but with a balance between cost and quality.

The Furnished Kitchen differentiates itself in the Denver marketplace by our unique consultative approach to remodeling kitchens. The owner, usually the husband and wife, are crucial participants in the design to conceptualize and approve a new kitchen construction project. The Furnished Kitchens’s budgetary process produces a kitchen our clients envisions at a price they expect. Our consultative approach consists of the following stages: discovery, education, budget, and quotation.

Discovery Stage

Typically, the kitchen is the center of the house for family and guests. The Furnished Kitchen creates cooking spaces that are intimate and engaging, but the skill comes with understanding what a customer wants for their kitchen. We clarify the design of the kitchen through a discovery process, starting with a meeting with the husband and wife decision-making team. We ask the following questions to get up to speed on what the owners are thinking about their new kitchen.

1. What kitchen design do you have in mind?
2. Are you just starting the process?
3. Have you talked to neighbors or friends to get kitchen ideas and contractor references?
4. Have you started to shop for materials for your kitchen? Cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc
5. Have you hired a kitchen designer?
6. Is this your forever home? If not, how long do you plan to stay in your current home?

Design

1. What are the most critical features each owner wants in the new kitchen?
2. Please describe your current kitchen. What do you like and don’t like about it?
3. What features or results would you like to see to get the best outcome?
4. What are your thoughts about appliances, cabinets, hard surfaces, and flooring?

Budget

1. Have you established a budget?
2. How can we help you create a budget for your kitchen remodeling project?

Education Stage

Our kitchen modeling approach is unique because of its project management focus. Exceptional project management is all about obtaining results and accountability. We take what we learned from the Discovery Stage and start educating the owner on how to complete a kitchen that they will value and love. The Furnished Kitchen strives for transparency, high customer satisfaction, and a finished kitchen result that meets their expectations.

The kitchen design process starts with defining where the owners want to cook. A well thought out workflow between the refrigerator, stove/oven, cabinetry, and countertop work area produces an enjoyable cooking experience. The next issue is style. Does the client want a modern or traditional look or an eclectic design that is a unique mix of the two? To help conceptualize the kitchen, we discuss the following design issues:

1. Kitchen aesthetics and functionality
2. Feel/comfort/flow
3. Design enhancing the value and enjoyment of the home
4. Storage at your fingertips

We encourage the customer to trust their visual senses to find a plan that meets their cooking needs and how they want the kitchen to fit into their home’s layout. The Furnished Kitchen asks them to visit showcase displays at appliance stores and go to Houzz and Pinterest to find pictures of kitchens they like. We encourage the client to collect their ideas in a scrapbook.

Budget Stage

Material selection accounts for 45 to 70 percent of the budget. The difficulty comes in making value judgments when pricing items like appliances, cabinetry, flooring, and countertops. Manufactures do the same with their entry, mid-range, and premium product lines by making material choices to achieve a particular price point. The options can be overwhelming. It is like going to a golf store to buy a putter. The golfer walks into the store, and there is a wall of a hundred putters. Where do you start?

The Furnished Kitchen’s value proposition comes into play here. We are an experienced kitchen remodeling contractor with many happy customers. We continuously educate ourselves about pricing, value, and quality of each component of a kitchen so we can make pertinent product recommendations. We provide a supplier list (Mitch’s list) to the owners and ask them to visit showrooms to select the appliances, cabinetry, flooring, and hard surfaces they want for their new kitchen. The Furnished Kitchen has cultivated great sources for our clients that offer value, wide choice, and great pricing. The client can also expect to be treated well by these vendors. We start with the large ticket items listed below:

1. Appliances – We educate the customer on brands, rough pricing, and the benefits of one brand over the other.
2. Cabinets – We educate them on the different types of cabinetry and describe cost differences.
3. Flooring – We educate them about flooring options. In the case of hardwood floors, we discuss the correct way to finish the wood to maximize its durability and beauty.
4. Hard Surfaces – The countertop choices are wide-ranging from natural to manufactured materials. We explain each option and how to gain the best value.

By using The Furnished Kitchen budget process, the owners see where their money is going. They add each kitchen component to the budget, then adjust the numbers to what they can afford. By using Mitch’s List, they obtain any available builder’s discounts when they purchase the materials directly from each vendor. Assuming the owners follow The Furnished Kitchen’s budgetary process and take our large item and material recommendations, we are proud that the budget at the beginning of the project remains the same at its conclusion. At this point, there is no obligation to use our sources or to hire The Furnished Kitchen for their remodeling job.

An important consideration in deciding what to buy for a kitchen remodeling project is how long the client will be in the house. Longevity helps define what value the customer strives to achieve and the total cost of ownership of the kitchen. If the customer plans to stay in their home for over ten years, there is enough time to recoup a high-end kitchen investment. If their stay is less then three years, the materials selected for the kitchen should reflect a shorter time to recover their investment. After all the large items are selected, The Furnished Kitchen produces an initial design that hopefully gets at least an 85 to 90 percent grade. Then, all parties sit down, and we use software to make design modifications on the fly until everyone is satisfied.

Quotation Stage

The Furnished Kitchen uses the information gathered in all the stages described above to produce a budget and design for the kitchen remodel. We add the construction and installation estimates to the client’s efforts to define materials cost. Once the budget and plan are complete, we present the owner with a quotation to construct their kitchen.

The Furnished Kitchen takes great pride in this design and budgetary approach since the customer gets the kitchen they envisioned at a price they can afford. We limit the number of projects we take on to maintain the speed and quality of construction. If hired, we retain our unique consultative approach to kitchen remodeling by focusing on the following:

1. Professional design with excellent flow
2. Line item based budget
3. Outstanding builder/contractor pricing
4. Convenient large item selection and purchase
5. Care and pride in work
6. Customer satisfaction
7. Speedy installations
8. Trust
9. Open and clear communications

The Furnished Kitchen offers the owners a list of ten references before a kitchen project starts. We hope that after all the due diligence conducted by both parties, the owner chooses us to remodel their kitchen. Do not take our word for it, below is a video of one of our customers describing The Furnished Kitchen’s unique design and budget process. For more information on how to choose a contractor, click here to view our white paper titled “How To Choose A Kitchen Remodeling Contractor.”