Renovating Your Kitchen? – What to Expect

What you can expect:

• Living without your kitchen

  • The beginning of the actual construction of your kitchen renovation is a very exciting time! But the process can be trying on your whole family. A positive attitude and always keeping in mind how awesome the new space will be, how much it will improve your lives, helps you to minimize the stress surrounding the project.
  • If you have small children, emphasize what a wonderful adventure this is! Make it fun to do things differently for awhile.
  • Some strategies for kitchen-less living:
    • Use the grill. It’s amazing what you can cook beside just meat. And it’s not just for the warm months … my Dad always used the grill all year long.
    • Use a hot plate or crockpot. A propane camping stove.
    • Have salads & cold food… gazpacho anyone?
    • Pretend you’re camping. (But with a refrigerator.) …and the tent isn’t leaking.
    • Get take-out or prepared foods from the market.

• Effects on the rest of your house

  • When your kitchen is vacated to allow for the construction to begin, another room will become the “temporary kitchen”. At a minimum, it will have the refrigerator, some “counter space” (a table?) for food prep and usually a way to do some minimal cooking. (Maybe a microwave or hot plate.)
  • This means that some of your other living spaces will shrink. (Time for some cozy family time?)
  • As with any construction project, it also means dust & dirt. No matter how wonderful your contractor is, how diligently they put up dust barriers and clean off their boots – there will still be dust in the rest of the house. So lighten up on your expectations of a pristine house while you’re under construction… maybe use it as an excuse to let things slide a little & skip a cleaning here & there?

• How long does it really take?

  • Typically a full kitchen renovation takes a good 2 months, depending on the size & complexity of the project. If there are items with a long lead-time, be sure that they are ordered before everything is ripped apart. Talk to your contractor about exactly how long your specific project will take. Also, the more decisions you’ve made ahead of time, the smoother the construction will go & the quicker you’ll be able to love & enjoy your wonderful new kitchen.

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