Kitchen Renovation: The During

The official planning of our kitchen started in January of last year (2016). The contractor took measurements of everything, found out as much as they could about our existing electrical, plumbing, and structure, and then drew up a plan for us. I liked it, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. We kept all of their ideas in place, aside from moving one section of cabinets and the refrigerator. This caused us to have to close up a window, which most people would probably think is insane, but I really wanted a triangular placement of the sink, stove, and refrigerator. Plus, the space is small and we already have 5 other windows in the room. Honestly, there wasn't room for much creativity in the overall plans because the space is relatively small to begin with, and we had a stairwell, chimney, and back door to work around.

Over the next couple of months we made selections. I selected the countertops, cabinets, and floors through our builder and their vendors. The hardware, light fixtures, appliances, plumbing fixtures, sink, back door, paint color, and backsplash were all me. I did a lot of internet research, took a lot of trips to visit various stores that sold the above, and watched a lot of HGTV. But mostly, I just picked what I liked. Since all of the selections were made over a long period of time, I was a little afraid they wouldn't all look good once together, but luckily for me they did. In our previous two homes I'd made some design choices that I look back on and seriously regret, but this time, we finally found our groove. Honorable mention to Will who selected and installed the pantry shelving, and who installed the open shelving I bought.

Demolition began in April, and our kitchen was finished in July, so the whole thing took about 3.5 months. It pretty much went down like this.

Demolition and clean up. Let me tell you, it was really fun having a napping toddler and dogs that are terrified of loud noises during all of this. #not. Well worth the stress though!

Leveling the floor (the eat in area was a step down from the rest of the kitchen).

Making the ceiling one height, drywalling the drop ceiling.

Fixing the structure below our back door (surprise cost - insert mad face emoji).

Framing, insulating, drywall.

Updating the electrical.

Flooring installed.

Cabinet installation.

Countertops, appliances, plumbing, hardware, and backsplash installed.

Painting.

Throw in a few inspections and there you have it. I'll post one more kitchen update with more detail on the selections we made, and the after photos!