Today, I want to share some tips and helpful things that can save you a headache or two, should you ever decide to renovate a kitchen.
Even if you think your remodel is “simple” I am here to tell you there is no such thing. So let’s get really honest about what you should know before you ever demo your space.
Avoid Demolition for as Long as Possible
When you are ready to start renovating a kitchen, hold off demolition until you absolutely need to clear the space.
Why?
Timelines always get pushed back and inevitably something slows you down. Just because your cabinets are supposed to arrive in March doesn’t mean you hammer them down in February. Wait until you know without a shadow of a doubt they are arriving. In some cases, you might get away with waiting until cabinets arrive so you can ensure you have everything you ordered!
We actually demolished our kitchen right as our cabinets arrived, but we didn’t install immediately. It was about a two month process to get things installed — slowly but surely, we DIY’ed the install — and that’s when we discovered our oven cabinet was never sent!
Double-check Your Order
You or your contractor should verify everything arrives when items are delivered.
As I mentioned above, we only discovered nearly two months after our cabinets arrived that we were missing our entire oven cabinet. I would highly recommend you check for everything within the first 48 hours of delivery. Find your plans and make sure you can account for everything. In some cases, the cabinets may be labeled (very convenient).
Have a Secondary Kitchen Ready During the Process
A kitchen remodel is no small task and it takes a toll on your family. Having some sort of makeshift kitchen will save you a lot of headache and lessen the inconvenience. We didn’t have a sink in our temporary kitchen, but we had a full size refrigerator, a small cooktop, and a microwave. It was really annoying to wash bottles and dishes in a bathroom sink, so we lessened our dishes and went with paper plates at times.
Was it the most economical choice?
No.
Did it keep me sane with two small children?
Yes.
Find ways to make the process a little less inconvenient so you can still have a warm meal at home.
Prepare for the Worst Case Scenario
Be it money or the time it takes to get something done. Be prepared and expect things happen that create a delay or things cost more than anticipated.
When you special order appliances for example, be aware they almost never arrive when you tbink. Our dishwasher was delayed two weeks due to an issue with supply chain. However, two weeks is hardly anything to worry about. There are plenty of people that wait months and months to get something delivered after the original delivery date.
Try to plan for the worst case and if you can, order things like special appliances at the time you order cabinets.
Renovations are Messy and Stressful
If given the choice to do it again, I would honestly pay someone to install the kitchen. The few thousand dollars saved was not worth it.
It took way too long and put a strain on my family. With young children the process was slow and every timeline went out the window. Kids get sick, someone gets injured, work becomes hectic, the list goes on and on for reasons you will get sidelined.
Knowing that nothing will go exactly as planned, be ready to add a buffer to your timeline.
Check Your Design 7 Times
Now is 7 an exaggeration?
Maybe.
Do not neglect reviewing your layout several times. Measure everything and tape things out. Walk the space.
I don’t know how many times I put out blue painters tape to make sure I liked the size of our island. I left the tape just as it would be and I would walk around it to get a feel for the flow. I did this for several days. Then I would tape out another size and do it again.
Did my husband think I was a bit crazy?
Sure.
Was he really surprised by this?
No, not at all. He expects this sort of behavior from me.
The point is you need to really make sure you are absolutely happy with the layout and don’t rely on someone else to get things right. Check their measurements, check the work yourself.
If you avoid reviewing every detail of the plan, it will only cost you more time and money when it goes wrong. Then you are going to wish you had taken a step back before you went forward.
Plan for the Future
Sounds obvious, but try to anticipate what your needs will be today and years down the road. We have small children now, but one day they will be teenagers. What does that mean? They will eat a whole lot more.
Knowing this is one day going to become extremely important, we maximized every square inch to get storage.
To maximize space, we made sure to pick one of the largest standard depth refrigerators we could find.
I also made it abundantly clear we needed to fit 4 people comfortably at the island. If I need to fit 5, we could squeeze in one more.
I also just knew that I wanted two built-in trash cans. We me that lived next to the sink and one that was in the center of the island.
Why?
My main reason was for the few times I may host people for a party or larger gathering, I didn’t want to worry about one trash can being filled up. Turns out, with little kids and growing family, it is rather convenient in general!
Choose Your Countertops Before Your Cabinets
I mentioned this in my post 4 Fatal Kitchen Design Mistakes and for good reason! Cabinets come in so many colors and if you go custom you can pick from any number of paint colors! However, counters can be more limiting. Depending on your material choice and budget, you find that your options get narrowed down quickly.
For all of the details, check out my post on this topic.
Conclusion
Speaking from personal experience, these 8 things were really important for me to understand looking back. Do I regret the remodel?
Not at all.
Just take it from me and don’t jump into a kitchen remodel lightly. It comes with plenty of headaches and problems along the way.
In fact, could someone create an entire book on this subject?
Yes, I would say so.
Hopefully, knowing some of these things before you too start a renovation will help you create a more enjoyable and convenient process.
Share a tip or two for a kitchen remodel in the comments below? If you want to feature your kitchen or any other space on Kinsale Home, let’s connect!
From the time I was a young child, I have loved interior design and beautiful things. Ten-year-old me would create “floor plans” on notebook paper and design the dream homes of my siblings. We would have an initial meeting and after jotting down their wish list, I got to work creating the home of their dreams.
After designing the layout, I would take the Sunday newspaper ads (are those still a thing?) and cut out pictures of furniture, lamps, and accessories to create mood boards for each room in the home. When I was all done, weeks and weeks later, I would showcase my work and pitch my design ideas to a sibling.
If you too enjoy beautiful things and the process of turning a vision into a reality, welcome! If you love watching homes transform, but just don’t know how to start or have the resources to buy everything you like, stick around. I love finding affordable and practical design solutions to give YOU a gorgeous home you can be proud of.
Together, let’s reveal what’s possible.
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