Planning and Preparing for Your Kitchen Remodel
The kitchen is the epicenter and most used room in the home. Homeowners visit the K&B showroom armed with months of research, scouring design magazines, home improvement television shows, Instagram, Pinterest, and friends and family who have recently renovated. Then, they finally decide to move forward. It’s both an exciting time but also a bit overwhelming. Remodeling your kitchen is not always easy, but it is worth it. Once the decision is made to remodel, we advise specific steps to make the renovation process less stressful and less time-consuming.
Creating a dream kitchen provides an excellent opportunity to curate what currently exists, and that process will help define storage needs for the future. The number one regret among homeowners after renovating their kitchen is not investing enough in storage and organization. We recommend sorting your kitchen gear into three categories:
Items you will need to store.
Items you will need to use during the renovation.
Items you want to recycle/donate/dispose of.
The recycle/donate/dispose of option is often most important. Homeowners should determine how many sets of dishes they actually need or want. Do you want to keep dinnerware and serving dishes that are faded, cracked, or chipped? How often do you use a saucer with your coffee cup? If never is the answer, do you need to keep saucers? If you have serving pieces or fine china, real silver, and large pots and pans that are used occasionally – think turkey roasting pans – then determine if you can store those items in other rooms in the house to make more room in your kitchen for the items that you use daily.
Mugs and food storage containers are additional items that most homeowners have in abundance. Many mugs have sentimental value if they were acquired from trips, art shows, etc. Determine if they are needed or wanted in your new kitchen. Also, determine how many storage containers you actually use and the right sizes.
Small appliances and cooking utensils are additional categories ripe for curation when planning a new dream kitchen. We encourage homeowners to give away the small appliances and gadgets they don’t use or whose functionality is covered by other appliances.
Look toward the future and what your lifestyle is likely to be in the next three to five years and beyond can aid in the curation process. What items will you need? What items do you love and can’t part ways with, and what new ones will make your life that much easier and more enjoyable?
After curating, the next step is to create a temporary kitchen in your garage, basement, utility room, or other location to simplify cooking, eating, and cleaning up at home during the renovation. You will minimize the expense of dining out and ordering takeout by creating a place to cook and store groceries. You may use a combination of the following to create a temporary kitchen:
Grill
Microwave
Hot plate
Camping stove
Refrigerator (If you are replacing your existing refrigerator, the renovation provides a perfect opportunity to move the fridge to the basement, garage, or other location that offers additional refrigeration space)
Toaster oven
Sandwich press
Stick blender
Pressure cooker and/or slow cooker
Depending on the scope, a kitchen renovation can take several weeks to several months. Simply replacing what currently exists in the same footprint can take less time than expanding or reconfiguring space, ventilation, plumbing, electrical and structural components, and systems.
Planning for Life without a Kitchen
Coffee maker
Electric skillet
Folding or portable tables and chairs
Temporary trash and recycling bins
Your grill, toaster oven, microwave, or camping stove offer functionality comparable to an oven. A pressure cooker or slow cooker lets you make a one-pot meal that can satisfy even the most finicky palates.
Maintaining a positive attitude and a good sense of humor help. Remember that the inconveniences you experience during the renovation process are temporary, and the reward of having a brand-new kitchen that serves as the epicenter of your home is long-lasting and priceless.
If you would like additional guidance for curating your kitchen, effective storage solutions in your new dream kitchen and creating a temporary kitchen, please call our showroom at 440-543-8050 to make an appointment or visit our showroom at 8454 Washington Street in Chagrin Falls. We look forward to bringing your dream kitchen to life!